Trophic Pyramid
What does GPP stand for? What does it mean?
Gross Primary Productivity
The total amount of energy captured by producers in a given area over a certain amount of time
What are Earth's convection cells called?
The Hadley Cell - near the equator
The Ferrell Cell - in mid-latitudes
The Polar Cell - near the poles
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Greenhouse gases trap the sun's heat in Earth's atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change
What is subduction driven by?
Density differences (when plates collide, the denser one subducts)
What does ozone in the troposphere cause?
Harmful secondary pollutant that irritates the lungs and worsens preexisting conditions like asthma, as well as reacting with VOCs to form photochemical smog.
What does NPP stand for? What does it mean?
Net Primary Productivity
The amount of energy left for consumers higher up the trophic pyramid
What is upwelling?
Cold, nutrient rich ocean water rises to the surface from the deep ocean because of wind and the Coriolis effect, which pushes and diverges warmer surface water.
What is Albedo?
The measure of a surface's reflectivity. Having high albedo means a surface reflects more light, while having low albedo means a surface absorbs more light.
How is subduction a part of the carbon cycle?
Surface carbon sinks into the mantle through subduction zones
Where are tropical rainforests? (Think latitude/longitude)
On the equator
NPP =
What is the formula?
GPP - Respiration
What is the Coriolis Effect? What causes it?
Caused by the Earth’s rotation because Earth rotates faster at the equator than at the poles. Objects moving around Earth’s atmosphere will deflect to the right in the Northern hemisphere, and they will deflect to the left in the Southern hemisphere.
What is a positive feedback loop?
A system's output intensifies the input. Ex: greenhouse gases absorb heat, causing global warming, which melts permafrost. This permafrost releases methane, which goes on to trap heat...etc.
What happens when an oceanic and continental plate collide at a convergent boundary?
The oceanic plate subducts underneath the continental plate because it is more dense.
Where are deserts? (Think latitude/longitude)
30 degrees away from the equator. (Because of the Hadley Cell, warm and moist air rises above the equator, rains on tropical rainforests, then drops as dry air 30 degrees latitude North and South)
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed
What is thermohaline circulation/the global conveyor belt?
Deep-ocean current system driven by differences in temperature and salinity, which affect water density. Surface water, which is warm and less dense, flows toward the poles. At the poles, they cool, become saltier and denser, and sink down to the deep ocean. This is the global conveyor belt. This transports nutrients, heat, and dissolved gases around the Earth.
What is ecological efficiency?
The percent of energy or biomass transferred to the next trophic level. (10% rule)
What causes tectonic plates to move?
Convection currents in the Earth's mantle
Where is the littoral zone of a lake/pond?
Close to the shore
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
The total entropy (disorder) of a system will always increase over time without external interference.
What are ocean gyres?
Ocean currents driven by wind belts and the Coriolis effect. These ocean currents are clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern hemisphere.
What is nitrogen fixation?
The process of converting inert atmospheric nitrogen gas (N₂) into ammonia (NH₃) and other nitrogen compounds, making it usable by living organisms
How do tectonic plates allow for stored carbon to turn into carbon dioxide?
When tectonic plates move, limestone (CaCO3) from the ocean floor can be subducted into the mantle where heat and pressure convert the limestone's stored carbon back into CO2 and calcium oxide.
Where are woodland, chaparral, and shrubland biomes with regards to latitude?
Mid-latitude in both hemispheres