Air-Ground Ecosystems: Arid, Polar, Forest, and Steppe Habitats
Air-Ground Environments: Land and Air Interactions
Air-ground environments are classified according to the similarity of physical conditions:
- Arid
- Polar Zones
- Forested Areas
Arid Environments
- A region with low rainfall
- High temperature during the day, dropping at night
- Small amount of soil water
- Animals that live there are adapted to this climate
- Animals seek shelter from the sun in underground burrows
- Reptiles and insects have waterproof outer shells, which allow them to maintain water
- Mammals are nocturnal,
Natural Resources: Types, Uses, and Sustainability
Natural Resources: Renewable and Nonrenewable
Natural resources are the total quantities of materials available on Earth that can have an economic value. These can be classified into renewable and nonrenewable.
Types of Natural Resources
- Nonrenewable resources: Their formation has required a long and complex process. Once exhausted, they disappear because they are consumed at a faster rate than their production.
- Renewable resources: These can be replaced at the same rate they are consumed. However,
Understanding and Mitigating Risks: Natural and Human-Induced Hazards
1. Concept of Risk: Classification of Risks
Risk refers to any condition, process, or event that could cause injury, disease, economic loss, or environmental damage. This excludes wars and natural disasters, which are reaching greater magnitudes, especially hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Broadly speaking, we can classify risks into three groups:
a) Technological and Cultural Risks
These occur as a result of human error (e.g., oil spills) or dangerous lifestyles (e.g., assaults, drugs, alcoholism)
Read MoreClimate and Landscapes: Earth’s Atmospheric Dynamics
Climate Notes: Catalonia and Earth’s Atmospheric Dynamics
Catalonia, located in the southwest of the Eurasian plate, falls within the temperate zone of the Earth’s atmospheric dynamics. According to the theory of continental drift, or plate tectonics, there are seven major plates:
- North American Plate
- South American Plate
- African Plate
- Eurasian Plate
- Indo-Australian Plate
- Antarctic Plate
- Pacific Plate
In addition, there are mid-ocean ridges, which are the boundaries between different plates:
- Mid-Atlantic
Key Concepts in Geology and Landforms
**Contour Lines**
Contour lines are lines on a map connecting all points having equal status and height or elevation. Contour maps are usually printed in sienna color for the field and blue for glaciers, deep seas, and lakes.
**Delta**
A delta is the triangular area formed at the mouth of a river by sediment deposited as the stream disappears. It is composed of arms or “pipes” of the river that separate the islands that have been deposited by sediments carried by the river to reach the sea, ocean,
Read MoreIberian Peninsula: Relief and Morphostructural Units
The Major Units of Peninsular Relief
The relief of the Iberian Peninsula can be grouped into the following morphostructural units:
The Plateau
The fundamental unit of the relief of the Iberian Peninsula arose during the Hercynian orogeny in the Primary Era. It was part of the Hesperian Massif, ravaged by erosion and became a socket. In the Tertiary Period, it was deformed and partially destroyed due to the Alpine orogeny. Thus, within the plateau, we can distinguish the old Paleozoic socket, the interior
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