How Natural Forces Shape Earth’s Landscapes
Weathering and Erosion
Weathering is the process that breaks down rocks and minerals into smaller pieces due to atmospheric agents. Two key factors in this process are:
- Temperature: High temperatures facilitate chemical reactions that disintegrate rocks.
- Humidity: Humidity facilitates chemical reactions and produces weathering.
Types of Weathering
- Chemical Weathering: The decomposition of rocks through chemical reactions, altering their mineral composition. Rainwater, being slightly acidic, reacts with
Spain’s Environmental Challenges: Hazards, Pollution, and Conservation
Environmental Challenges in Spain
Spain faces a combination of natural and human-induced environmental problems. Natural processes pose significant risks, including geological hazards. Human activities contribute to diverse issues, such as desertification, erosion, environmental pollution, and waste generation, all linked to the current model of human development.
Geohazards and Morphological Risks
These hazards arise from tectonic activity:
- Earthquakes: The southern peninsula lies in a contact zone
Landscapes, Environmental Impact, and Natural Resources
Topic 9: The Landscape
The landscape is an environment we have around us in which our members are elements. It is something which depends on the value of a criterion being. The relief is an aspect of the landscape.
Forms of Relief:
- Mountains
- Plains
Factors Influencing the Landscape:
- Weather
- Human presence (natural or humanized)
- Density, type of vegetation, and wildlife (desert, meadow, forest)
- Extent of ground (small or large)
- Perspective of the viewer (we see a line of peaks or a cut of ground)
- Subjective
Lamarck’s Theory: Evolution Through Acquired Traits
Lamarck’s Theory of Evolution
Lamarck formulated the first comprehensive theory of evolution. He proposed that the vast diversity of organisms, then believed to be static creations of God, had evolved from simpler forms. He posited that organisms themselves drove this evolution through their ability to adapt to their environment. Changes in the environment generated new needs, leading to modifications that were then inherited by subsequent generations.
His theory was supported by the existence of
Read MoreEarth’s Internal Processes and Mountain Formation
Earth’s Internal Processes
Internal processes are those directly or indirectly caused by the Earth’s internal heat:
- Metamorphism
- Magmatism
- Isostasy (epirogenic movements)
- Orogenesis (orogenic movements)
Magmatism and Plate Tectonics
Rock melting can be produced by the following processes:
- A raise in the rock temperature
- A drop in the confining pressure
- The presence of fluids (water)
According to plate tectonics, three igneous environments exist:
- Continental rifts, mid-ocean ridges: Mantle rocks melt by a drop
Understanding Sound: Properties, Production, and Human Perception
Sound: Creation and Characteristics
Sound is produced by the vibration of bodies. In some cases, these vibrations are observable with the naked eye.
What is Sound?
When a body vibrates, it causes buoyant air particles to collide, compressing them and increasing their pressure. Shortly after, the opposite effect occurs: the air particles separate, reducing the pressure and causing rarefaction.
The vibrations of the membrane are transmitted to the air in the form of compressions and rarefactions of its
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