AP®︎ Environmental Science: Unit 9 Flashcards

The broad region mostly 15–35 km above Earth whose ozone absorbs much UV-B and, together with oxygen, essentially all UV-C, protecting life and helping make life on land possible

Biologically damaging ultraviolet radiation partly absorbed by stratospheric ozone; ozone depletion allows more of it to reach Earth’s surface

A reduction in protective stratospheric ozone that allows more UV-B to reach the surface, increasing risks such as skin cancer and cataracts

Stable synthetic compounds containing carbon, chlorine, and fluorine that reach the stratosphere, where ultraviolet radiation releases ozone-destroying chlorine

Cl• reacts with O₃, is regenerated through later reactions, and repeatedly catalyzes the net conversion O₃ + O → 2O₂.

Severe seasonal thinning—not a literal absence—of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica, strongest during Southern Hemisphere spring

High-altitude clouds that form during the extremely cold Antarctic winter and provide surfaces for reactions that convert chlorine into ozone-destroying forms

International agreement adopted in 1987 to phase out the production and use of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances

HCFCs are transitional substitutes with lower but nonzero ozone-depletion potential, while chlorine-free HFCs have essentially zero ozone-depletion potential but may be powerful greenhouse gases

Transitional CFC substitutes that contain chlorine but break down more readily in the lower atmosphere, giving them lower but nonzero ozone-depletion potential

Natural process in which greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared radiation, slowing energy loss and keeping Earth’s surface about 33°C warmer and habitable

Additional warming caused when increased concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases further slow the loss of infrared energy to space

An atmospheric gas that absorbs and re-emits outgoing infrared radiation; the principal greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and CFCs

Greenhouse gas released naturally by respiration, decomposition, oceans, volcanoes, and fires and by fossil-fuel combustion, deforestation, biomass burning, and cement production; its GWP is 1

Greenhouse gas produced mainly by anaerobic decomposition, ruminants, manure, landfills, rice paddies, wetlands, and fossil-fuel leakage; its GWP exceeds CO₂’s but is below N₂O’s and CFCs’.

Greenhouse gas produced naturally by microbial nitrogen transformations and increased mainly by fertilizers, manure, agricultural soils, industry, and combustion; its GWP is below CFCs’ but above methane’s and CO₂’s

Natural greenhouse gas that cycles rapidly through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation; its short atmospheric residence time means it does not accumulate and is not a major direct driver of long-term climate change

The average length of time a greenhouse gas remains in the atmosphere before being removed or chemically transformed

A measure comparing a greenhouse gas’s heat-trapping effect with that of carbon dioxide over a specified period; CO₂ has a GWP of 1

Warming lowers seawater’s density so the same mass occupies more volume, raising sea level without adding water

An increase in ocean level caused principally by added water from melting land ice and the thermal expansion of warming seawater

Warming allows some vectors to survive at higher latitudes or elevations and remain active longer, potentially expanding disease exposure

People forced to leave their homes temporarily or permanently because climate-related hazards or environmental changes make the area unsafe or uninhabitable

A preserved physical or chemical feature that provides indirect evidence of past climate conditions

A cylinder of layered glacial ice whose trapped air bubbles reveal past greenhouse gas concentrations and whose chemistry can indicate past temperatures

Warming thaws permafrost, decomposition releases carbon dioxide and methane, and the added greenhouse gases cause further warming and thawing

Melting land ice adds water to the ocean and raises sea level; melting floating sea ice causes little direct sea-level rise but lowers albedo and removes habitat

Warming, sea-level rise, melting ice, acidification, and altered currents can destroy or shift marine habitats and disrupt their food webs

The sunlit upper layer of water in which enough light penetrates for photosynthesis

Uneven solar heating drives convection and global wind patterns that redistribute thermal energy from the equator toward the poles

A tropical circulation cell in which air rises near the equator, moves poleward aloft, descends in the subtropics, and returns equatorward at the surface

A relatively narrow band of fast-moving, high-altitude wind whose path is influenced by temperature and pressure differences between air masses

The connected system of surface and deep-ocean currents driven partly by temperature- and salinity-related density differences that redistributes heat worldwide

Changing temperature and precipitation alter soil moisture, decomposition, nutrient availability, erosion, and the soil’s ability to support plants

The disproportionately rapid warming of polar regions, especially the Arctic, relative to the global average

The fraction of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface; snow and ice have higher albedo than dark ocean or land

Warming melts reflective snow and ice, exposing darker surfaces that absorb more solar energy and cause additional warming and melting

Loss of sea ice and altered seasonal conditions reduce feeding, breeding, resting, and hunting habitat for species adapted to polar environments

Long-term increase in ocean temperature as rising atmospheric greenhouse gases retain heat and the ocean absorbs most of the excess energy

Marine heat waves and rising temperatures can push organisms beyond their tolerance ranges, reducing growth, reproduction, and survival or forcing range shifts

The whitening of heat-stressed coral after it loses its symbiotic algae or their pigments; bleached coral may recover or may die if stress persists

Photosynthetic algae that live in coral tissues and provide the coral with energy and color in exchange for habitat and nutrients

Ongoing decrease in ocean pH as absorbed excess atmospheric CO₂ forms carbonic acid and H⁺; H⁺ reduces carbonate availability, hindering calcium carbonate shell and skeleton formation

Dissolved CO₂ reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which dissociates into H⁺ and bicarbonate, and the H⁺ converts carbonate ions into additional bicarbonate

A weak acid formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in and reacts with water

The reduction of carbonate ions as added hydrogen ions convert carbonate into bicarbonate, leaving less carbonate available for calcification

The mineral compound used by corals, mollusks, and other calcifying organisms to build shells and skeletons

A species that occurs naturally in a region without human introduction

A species occurring outside its native range because of intentional or accidental human activity

A non-native species whose establishment or spread threatens native species and causes ecological harm

Successful invasive species often tolerate broad conditions, use many resources, reproduce and disperse rapidly, and escape the natural enemies that controlled them in their native range

A species that uses many resources or tolerates a broad range of conditions, making it generally more resilient to change

A species that matures early, reproduces rapidly, produces many offspring with little parental care, and readily colonizes disturbed habitats

The principle that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot occupy exactly the same niche indefinitely, so one is displaced or the niches diverge

Invasive species can be controlled through physical removal, chemical pesticides, or biological agents that reduce their abundance or impact

A species likely to become endangered if current conditions continue or, under the U.S. ESA, within the foreseeable future

A species facing a very high risk of extinction; under the U.S. ESA, one in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

Small populations, restricted ranges, specialized niches, low reproductive rates, habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and climate change increase extinction risk

A species with a narrow niche or specific food, habitat, or environmental requirements, making it vulnerable when those conditions disappear

An environmental factor that affects organisms’ behavior, survival, or reproductive success

Interaction that occurs when organisms’ demand for food, territory, mates, habitat, or another resource exceeds its availability

Illegal hunting of wildlife

U.S. law protecting listed threatened and endangered species by restricting taking, protecting critical habitat, and limiting harmful federal actions

International agreement that uses permits and trade restrictions to regulate cross-border commerce in wildlife and wildlife products

The major causes of biodiversity loss: habitat destruction, invasive species, population growth, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation

Removal or extensive conversion of a natural habitat so its native organisms can no longer use it

Harvesting or using organisms faster than their populations can replace themselves

Division of a large, continuous habitat into smaller, more isolated patches

Roads, agriculture, logging, mining, dams, settlements, and other land conversions divide continuous habitat into smaller isolated patches

Changes in environmental conditions and species interactions near a habitat boundary compared with the interior

Fragmentation especially harms wide-ranging and interior specialist species, while mobile generalists and edge-adapted species may be less affected or may benefit

Climate change eliminates or shifts suitable habitat through warming, altered precipitation, sea-level rise, melting ice, fires, and other environmental changes

Human management and breeding of organisms for desired traits, often narrowing genetic diversity when reproduction relies on a few lines

A terrestrial or aquatic region where development, harvesting, or other damaging activities are restricted

A strip or network of suitable habitat connecting isolated patches and permitting movement, recolonization, and gene flow

Use of land and biological resources in ways that reduce habitat damage while allowing populations and ecological processes to persist

Returning a degraded ecosystem toward its former structure, functions, and species composition