POL469H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Kyoto Protocol, Contract, Westerlies
Document Summary
Soil erosion (3 ways- plough, intensification of agriculture etc. How soils are formed (weathering- physical, chemical etc. ) Classification of soils by texture (sand, silt, clay differences between them; clay have a net negative charge effecting cec and clay has internal layers giving it a massive surface area) Soil structure and stability: discourage erosion biological material etc. Tropical soils ferralsols; red soils phosphorus less available (phosphorus fixation etc. ) Temperate soils vs. tropical soils (know the characteristics) At the equator has high inputs of energy so air rises giving a zone of low pressure; and through high pressure zones that move into the low pressure zones. Knowledge of forces (pressure gradient force + coriolis effect and friction) allows us to construct a basic model of how air moves. Sub-tropical high pressures zone is where the air is drying; where we find deserts. Where the air is rising is where there are tropical rainforests and tropical rain.