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Deserts as Natural Systems - week 1 - A01 Flashcards | StudBud
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Deserts as Natural Systems - week 1 - A01
Deserts as Natural Systems - week 1 - A01
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Week 1 A01 test for year 12 students (L6)
Flashcards
25 cards
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Practice quiz
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Questions
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Answers
1
Why is insolation the most important input to a hot desert system?
Insolation drives the local winds
The sun shines for 12 hours a day in hot deserts
Rain is episodic and infrequent
Insolation is a constant input to all hot deserts
2
Geomorphology is the study of landforms, their processes, form and sediments at the surface of the Earth.
False
True
3
Which of the following is a GLOBAL cause of aridity?
Global Atmospheric Circulation
Rain Shadow Effect/Relief
Continentality
Cold Ocean Currents
4
In parts of the Atacama Desert, South America it hasn't rained for over 200 years!
False
True
5
Hot deserts cover over a fifth of the surface of the Earth
False
True
6
Aridisols are saline due to the upward movement of moisture through the tiny spaces between soil particles
True
False
7
What is the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)?
a belt of high pressure which circles the Earth generally near the equator
2 belts of high and low pressure circulating the Earth
a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth generally near the equator
cold air descending from the polar regions
8
What does it mean when a system is in a state of dynamic equilibrium?
Balance between the stores, flows, inputs and outputs
When the system is an open system
Balance between the components and transfers
Balance between the inputs and outputs
9
At the equator there's a NET gain in energy from solar radiation-INSOLATION-the sun is directly overhead
True
False
10
The water balance is the relationship between the annual precipitation received & the amount of water lost to PET
True
False
11
Desertification - decrease yields - intensify farming - deforestation/overgrazing - soil degraded
An example of negative feedback
An example of positive feedback
An example of a hot desert system
An example of a sediment cell
12
What percentage of the Earth's soil is an aridisol (desert soils)?
17% (Australia 44%, Africa 37%, Eurasia 15%)
38% (Australia 10%, Africa 39%, Eurasia 12%)
23% (Australia 38%, Africa 21%, Eurasia 13%)
13% (Eurasia 5%, Australia 32%, Africa 46%)
13
What are the two main categories that aridsols fall into?
aridisols and capillary soils
sierozems and capillary soils
sierozems and raw mineral soils
raw aridisols and capillary soils
14
Hot deserts are closed systems
False
True
15
Why do hot desert soils (ARIDISOLS) not have an O Horizon (organic horizon)?
Capillary action dominates
There is very little leaching
The vegetation is sparse
There is very little precipitation (little decomposition)
16
The two circulation cells are known as the Hadley and Ferrel cells
True
False
17
Hot deserts are dominated by LOW pressure
False
True
18
The rain shadow effect occurs on the leeward side of mountain ranges
False
True
19
What are the outputs from a hot desert system?
wind, water, sediment, energy
wind, water, sediment
wind and water
wind, water, sediment, erosion
20
What is the difference between sierozems and raw mineral soils?
sierozems have some organic material raw minerals soil doesn't
seirozems are grey in colour, raw minerals are reddish
seirozems are found in semi-arid raw minerals in arid
raw minerals are unproductive, sierozems are slightly fertile
21
Where are hot deserts located?
Parallel belts between 15 - 30o North and South of the equator
Parallel belts along the equator
Parallel belts along the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn
Parallel belts north and south of the equator
22
The most important input to the hot deserts system is INSOLATION (energy from the sun)
True
False
23
Aridisols are alkaline due to the high levels of calcium carbonate
False
True
24
What is the formula for the aridity index?
The ratio between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration
An area receiving less than 200 mm precipitation per year
An area receiving between 250 - 500 mm precipitation per year
The ratio between annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration
25
PET stands for......
Precipitation and Evapotranspiration
Potential Energy Transfer
Potential Evapotranspiration
Precipitation Evaporation Transpiration
