Water & Weathering
This property measures how easily water can flow through a material.
What is permeability?
The breakdown of rock without changing its composition is called this.
What is weathering?
Resources that can be replaced naturally in a short period of time are called these.
What are renewable resources?
This gas is the largest contributor to recent human-caused climate change.
What is carbon dioxide?
The replacement of natural surfaces with roads and buildings increases this effect in cities.
What is the urban heat island effect?
Clay has high porosity but low permeability because its particles are very ______.
What are small/tightly packed?
Moving sediment by water, wind, ice, or gravity is called this.
What is erosion?
Coal, oil, and natural gas belong to this group of energy resources.
What are fossil fuels?
Burning fossil fuels transfers carbon from the geosphere to this Earth system.
What is the atmosphere?
According to the NYC heat island investigation, neighborhoods with more of this tend to have lower temperatures.
What is tree cover?
When groundwater recharge exceeds the amount of water pumped out by wells, this happens to the water table.
Water table increases
Sediment carried by a river is most likely deposited when the river's ______ decreases.
What is velocity?
A resource that forms so slowly that it cannot be replaced on human timescales is called this.
What is a nonrenewable resource?
Increased atmospheric CO₂ causes oceans to absorb more carbon dioxide, leading to this process.
What is ocean acidification?
Converting forests and wetlands into developed land generally causes biodiversity to ______.
What is decrease?
This property describes the amount of open space between sediment particles that can hold water.
What is porosity?
Acid rain is an example of this type of weathering.
What is chemical weathering?
A forest ecosystem contains trees, soil organisms, insects, birds, and mammals. The variety of living organisms in this ecosystem is known as ______.
What is biodiversity?
Coastal restoration helps reduce atmospheric carbon because mangroves and seagrasses act as ______ sinks.
What are carbon sinks?
Increasing tree cover in cities can create a positive feedback by reducing temperatures, improving biodiversity, and supporting even more ______.
What is vegetation/tree growth?
A layer of clay is located beneath a layer of sand. Groundwater moving downward through the sand will likely slow down or stop when it reaches the clay because clay has ______ permeability.
What is low permeability?
Large rocks are broken into smaller pieces by processes such as freezing and thawing, abrasion, and root growth, without changing the rock’s composition. This type of weathering is called ______.
What is physical (mechanical) weathering?
Removing large amounts of vegetation from an area can reduce biodiversity, increase erosion, and decrease soil quality. This demonstrates that natural resources are connected through ______ within Earth systems.
What are interactions or feedback loops?
The unit described how increased CO₂ can lower ocean pH, harm shell-building organisms, reduce biodiversity, and affect human food supplies. This sequence is an example of a ______ system interaction.
What is an Earth system/feedback?
The Welikia Project showed that much of Manhattan's original ecosystems were replaced through this process.
What is urbanization/development?