Foundations of Environmental Science
A measure that reflects the health of an ecosystem. Some examples are population, CO2 emissions, sea level change, etc.
What are environmental indicators?
Consists of an individual's anatomical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics.
What is a phenotype?
Physical or chemical breakdown of mineral rock so that minerals are RELEASED.
What is weathering?
The lowest layer of the atmosphere.
What is the troposphere?
What is overshoot?
The maximum harvest of individuals that will allow the population to not go extinct.
What is maximum product yield?
Process where water is pushed through a thin membrane at a high pressure.
A biomass fuel (the most common one) which is made by the process of fermentation.
What is ethanol?
The pollutant that was the cause of red spruce decline.
What is sulfate?
What is Pisaster (sea star)?
Soil horizon where chemical elements leak into making it rich in clay, iron, and aluminum.
What is the B-horizon?
The equation for risk.
What is (probability of exposure to the hazard) x (probability of harm once exposed)?
Year when our population will level off.
When is 2150?
Biome consisting of dry areas that receive their rain during winter, dense wood shrubs and trees, waxy leaves, and frequent fires.
Hint: We live in this type of biome, although it isn't named after our geographic location.
What is a Mediterranean Biome (or Chaparral)?
Two reasons why America's infant death rate is higher than other developed countries.
What is universal health care and sufficient maternity leave?
Two diseases likely to spread to greater areas due to global warming encouraging mosquito populations.
What are the West Nile Virus and malaria?
Banned the ivory trade in 1989.
What was the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)?
The equation to find the effect of deforestation on habitat loss.
Hint: Variables are SAZ, where S is the number of species before and after deforestation, A is the area of the area before and after deforestation, and Z is the rate the species vary
What is S1/S0=(A1/A0)z?
The excessive growth of algae due to oversupply of nutrients.
What is eutrophication?
What is anthracite?