Human Impacts on Earth Systems - Middle School and High School

If you're interested in environmental science, review these words associated with human impacts on Earth systems. Learn about Earth's four spheres — atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere — and the human activities that can affect them, including deforestation, industrialization, pollution, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acid rain
    precipitation with toxic gas emissions combined with water
  2. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  3. air pollution
    pollution of the atmosphere
  4. aquifer
    underground layer of rock or sand that yields groundwater
  5. atmosphere
    the mass of air surrounding the Earth
  6. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  7. biosphere
    the regions of the Earth where living organisms exist
  8. chlorofluorocarbon
    a fluorocarbon with chlorine
  9. civilization
    a society in an advanced state of social development
  10. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  11. consumption
    the act of using something up
  12. dam
    a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water
  13. deforestation
    the removal of trees
  14. desertification
    a gradual transformation into arid, uninhabitable land
  15. destabilize
    make unsturdy, insecure, or less able to function smoothly
  16. energy
    any source of usable power
  17. environment
    the area in which something exists or lives
  18. environmental
    concerned with the ecological effects of altering nature
  19. erosion
    the process of wearing or grinding something down
  20. eutrophication
    nutrient saturation of water leading to oxygen depletion
  21. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  22. extraction
    taking out something
  23. fossil fuel
    energy-producing substance derived from preserved organisms
  24. fresh water
    water that is not salty
  25. geosphere
    the solid part of the Earth
  26. greenhouse effect
    warming due to solar radiation trapped by the atmosphere
  27. greenhouse gas
    a substance in the air that warms a planet by trapping heat
  28. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  29. hydrosphere
    the watery layer of the earth's surface
  30. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
  31. industrialization
    the development of commercial enterprise
  32. industry
    the action of making of goods and services for sale
  33. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  34. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
  35. migration
    the movement of persons from one locality to another
  36. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  37. natural resource
    material in the environment that can be used by people
  38. renewable
    capable of being replaced
  39. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  40. ozone
    a colorless gas that is a screen for ultraviolet radiation
  41. particulate
    a small discrete mass of solid or liquid matter that remains individually dispersed in gas or liquid emissions (usually considered to be an atmospheric pollutant)
  42. pesticide
    a chemical used to kill destructive insects or animals
  43. pH
    a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
  44. pollutant
    waste matter that contaminates the water, air, or soil
  45. pollution
    contamination of the natural environment
  46. potable
    suitable for drinking
  47. reclamation
    the conversion of wasteland into land suitable for use
  48. reforestation
    the restoration (replanting) of a forest that had been reduced by fire or cutting
  49. reservoir
    lake used to store water for community use
  50. resource
    a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
  51. runoff
    the occurrence of surplus liquid exceeding capacity
  52. sea level
    level of the ocean's surface
  53. smog
    air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  54. stabilize
    keep from fluctuating or put into an equilibrium
  55. sustainability
    the capacity of being prolonged
  56. system
    a group of independent elements comprising a unified whole
  57. technology
    the practical application of science to commerce or industry
  58. turbidity
    the quality of being cloudy or muddy, as with sediment
  59. urbanization
    the social process whereby cities grow
  60. water pollution
    pollution of the water in rivers and lakes
  61. water table
    underground surface below which the ground is fully saturated with moisture
  62. wetland
    an ecosystem, like a bog or swamp, saturated with water
Created on Fri Feb 17 19:19:28 EST 2017 (updated Wed Apr 12 14:07:58 EDT 2017)

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