Introduction to Earth Systems
Adjacent tectonic plates interact to form three different types of boundaries. What are they?
Divergent
Convergent
Transform
What are the four types of soil?
Clay
Loam
Sand
Silt
The process of digging deep into the soil and turning it over
Breaks up soil structure
Exposes buried materials to the air
Plowing
What is the term for all the land in an area that drains into a particular stream, river, or wetland?
Watershed
Planting and harvesting of domesticated plant species/raising domesticated animals for food is called what?
Agriculture
What tectonic plate boundary describes an area below the ocean where the plates move away from each other?
Divergent
What type of rock is formed directly from magma?
Igneous
This is an agricultural method in which land is cleared by burning vegetation
Nutrients release into the soil
Farmed for few years until soil is depleted
Shifting agriculture
Slash-and-burn
What are two examples of a watershed?
River
Lake
Bay
What is the Green Revolution?
A period of modernization and mechanization in the agricultural industry
Increased yield and helped farmers feed a growing human population
What tectonic plate boundary describes an area where one plate moves toward the other plate and collides?
Convergent
What type of rock is formed when sediments such as muds, sands, or gravels are compressed by overlying sediments?
Sedimentary
What is the difference between organic fertilizer and synthetic fertilizer?
Organic Fertilizer: natural matter, decomposes slowly, less expensive
Synthetic Fertilizer: manufactured commercially from minerals and gases; nutrients absorb quickly; bad for environment
Watersheds have five main characteristics that affect the movement of water and nutrients. What are they?
Area
Length
Slope
Soils
Vegetation
What are some advantages and disadvantages of the Green Revolution?
Increased food production dramatically
Smaller number of farmers were able to feed more people
Also resulted in greater use of fossil fuels and greater environmental degradation
Depletion of air, water, soil, and destroyed ecosystems
What tectonic plate boundary describes an area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other?
Transform
What type of rock is formed when sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or other metamorphic rock is subjected to high temperature and pressure?
Metamorphic
What are three consequences of slash-and-burn agriculture?
Soil compaction (consequence of tilling)
Air pollution/climate change
What role does vegetation play in a watershed?
Plants play a key role in holding onto soils with their roots.
When plants are removed, the watershed can experience much more erosion (especially on steep slopes)
The presence of plants also facilitates water percolating into the soil through the many pathways made by roots.
Plants also take up large amounts of nutrients from the soils and assimilate the nutrients in their tissues.
Therefore, the presence of vegetation and watershed area/length/slope play a key role in the amount of water that leaves a watershed and the amount of soil sediments that are carried away.
What are the four types of pesticides used in farming?
Herbicide
Insecticide
Broad-Spectrum
Selective Pesticide
What are the five layers of the Earth?
Crust/Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
What are the six soil horizons?
O (Organic)
A (Topsoil)
E (Eluviation Layer)
B (Subsoil)
C (Parent Rock)
R (Bedrock)
In all fertilizers, there are three common nutrients. What are they?
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
What role does area and length play in a watershed?
The area of the watershed can vary from a few hectares to thousands of hectares that drain water from multiple states.
The length of a watershed is measured along the main flow of the water in a stream or river that drains the watershed from the beginning of the outlet of the watershed.
The greater watershed length = longer travel time
Area and length together play a combined role in the amount of water, materials carried by the water, and time required to move it out of the watershed.
What is irrigation?
Irrigation methods: can drastically increase the growth rate or enable crops to grow in places that we wouldn’t normally see growth
Ex: California’s mass produce increase
Benefits: efficient use of water
Negatives: depletion of groundwater, drawn down aquifers, saltwater intrusion in freshwater wells, waterlogging and salinization