Climate & Warming
This natural atmospheric process traps heat radiation near the surface of the Earth, preventing it from reflecting into space.
What is the greenhouse effect?
This is the baseline, slightly acidic pH level of normal, unpolluted rainwater falling to Earth.
What is 5.5?
This devastating process occurs when heat stress or pollution causes coral polyps to expel their colorful symbiotic algae
What is coral bleaching?
This broad term refers to anything that actively damages the environment and harms the living organisms inside it.
What is pollution?
This is defined as a group of organisms belonging to the exact same species living together in the same environment.
What is a population?
This is the primary greenhouse gas released during the complete combustion of fossil fuels.
What is carbon dioxide?
These two specific gases react with atmospheric water vapor and oxygen to generate dangerous acid rain.
What are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides?
This is the scientific name of the crucial microscopic algae that live inside coral polyps in a mutualistic relationship.
What is zooxanthellae?
This is the ecological term for the dangerous process where agricultural pesticides increase in concentration as they move up a food chain.
What is biomagnification?
These are the four core demographic factors that directly dictate how fast a specific population grows or shrinks.
What are birth rate, death rate, immigration, and emigration?
This dangerous, poisonous gas is generated when fossil fuels undergo incomplete combustion in a limited supply of air.
What is carbon monoxide?
These are the two specific acids that are formed in clouds when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water vapor.
What are sulfuric acid and nitric acid?
This chemical phenomenon occurs when the ocean absorbs excess atmospheric carbon dioxide, lowering the water's pH.
What is ocean acidification?
This rapid, suffocating algal growth happens when fertilizers cause a massive nutrient increase in water bodies.
What is eutrophication?
This environmental term describes conditions or resources that limit and constrain the overall growth of a population.
What is a limiting factor?
This long-term warming trend of the Earth's surface is driven heavily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
What is global warming?
This specific leached salt compound can weaken plant roots and accumulate dangerously in the gills of fish.
What is aluminum sulfate?
These are the microscopic, colonial animals that actively build coral reefs by secreting calcium carbonate.
What are coral polyps?
This type of bacteria multiplies rapidly to break down dead algae during eutrophication, completely stripping the water of oxygen.
What is aerobic bacteria?
This responsible travel practice minimizes impact, builds environmental awareness, and helps sustain local communities.
What is ecotourism?
This term describes the long-term shifts in global weather and climate patterns currently driven by human activities.
What is climate change?
This is the physical mechanism that causes fish to suffocate and die when acid rain run-off pollutes rivers.
What is the fish produce excess mucus to clear salts, which clogs their gills?
Ocean acidification harms marine life by slowing down this specific skeletal building process.
What is calcification?
This dangerous, waterborne disease can contaminate groundwater if untreated sewage leaks into local water supplies.
What is aerobic bacteria?
This device can be equipped in vehicle exhaust systems by manufacturers to convert toxic carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide.
What is a catalytic converter?