Good afternoon to all readers of the Bioblogosphere! To your attention tasks from topic 16 « Methods of soil research and protection».
Task formulation 16-1. Why is the geosphere layer, located below the asthenosphere, named after the Russian prince Boris Borisovich Golitsin?
Prince Boris Borisovich Golitsyn (1862-1916) - representative of the Golitsin clan, Russian physicist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Royal Society of London. One of the founders of seismology, geophysicist, inventor of the first electromagnetic seismograph (1906).
Answer: Below the asthenosphere is a layer in which the density of matter increases, which increases the speed of propagation of seismic waves. The layer is named after the Russian scientist B. B. Golitsyn, who first pointed out its existence. It consists of superdense varieties of silica and silicates.
Task formulation 16- 2. Why does almost 49% of the Earth’s crust consist of oxygen?
Answer: 80% of the earth's crust consists of oxygen, silicon and aluminum. Oxygen is abundant in the atmosphere (21%), it is also very active chemically and forms a variety of compounds with various chemical elements.
Task formulation 16- 3. Introduction of what factor to agricultural practice was called «the greatest acquisition of science» by K. A. Timiryazev?
Answer: K. A. Timiryazev called the introduction of mineral fertilizers into agricultural practice “the greatest acquisition of science”.
Task formulation 16- 4. What types of energy ensure the large cycle of matter?
Answer: within the upper shells of the Earth there is a continuous gradual replacement of some rocks by others is a large cycle of matter. Geophysical processes (magma eruption, volcanic activity and the uplift of large blocks of the earth's crust) are carried out due to the heat released during the decay of potassium, uranium and thorium isotopes in the Earth's interior. Processes on the Earth's surface: erosion, weathering and transport of precipitation is due to the energy of the Sun, in the form of kinetic energy of wind and water flows, thermal energy.
Task formulation 16- 5. What do you know about V.V. Dokuchaev's innovations of the soil doctrine in comparison with Y. Liebig’s mineral theory of plant nutrition?
Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev (1846-1903) is Russian geologist and soil scientist
Answer: The drawback of the theory of J. Liebig: the soil was considered a simple reservoir of plant nutrients. V.V. Dokuchaev proposed to consider the soil as a dynamic rather than inert environment, discovered the basic laws of the geographical distribution of soils.
Task formulation 16- 6. What does organic soil texture consist of? What is its purpose?
Answer: t he organic composition is formed from compounds contained in plant and animal residues: proteins, carbohydrates, org. acids, fats, lignin, tannins, etc., account for 10-15% of the total mass of soil organic matter. When decomposing organic substances nitrogen contained in them goes into the forms available to plants. Organic substances determine the absorption capacity of soils, affect the structure of the upper horizons of the soil and its physical properties.
Task formulation 16- 7. What are the four factors of soil formation? How do they interact with each other?
Answer: gumification is the transformation of organic residues during biochemical reactions with difficult access of O2 to dark-colored high-molecular substances: humic and similar acids. Mineralization is the transition of vital elements from organic compounds to inorganic: nitrogen to ammonium ions (NH4 +), phosphorus to orthophosphate ions (Н2 РО3+), sulfur to sulfate ions (SO4 2+). Carbon is released during respiration and enters the atmosphere in the form of CO2 .
Task formulation 16- 8. Why was the soil once called a bioinert substance? Can it be said that soil is also a biogenic substance? Explain your answer.
Answer: dead organic material is used as food together by detritophages and reducers (fungi and bacteria) that complete the decomposition process. Not completely decomposed organic residues are litter, and the final decomposition product, in which it is impossible to distinguish the original material, is humus.
Task formulation 16- 9. It is known that Koch's bacillus quickly dies in soil, so burying dead from tuberculosis is harmless. Explain the cause for this phenomenon.
Answer: An American of Vinnitsa-Odessa origin Zelman Waxman tried ten thousand different strains. In 1940, a substance called actinomycin was isolated from Actinomyces griseus actinomycetes. In 1942, a new substance was found - streptotricin. The classical mechanism of antibiotic action is associated with the 30S subunit of the mycobacterium ribosome, it does not allow it to synthesize protein, because of this the bacterium dies.
Task formulation 16- 10. Carrara marble is mined in the Apuan Alps in Carrara. It is considered one of the most valuable types of marble. Marble is a metamorphic rock which consists only of calcite CaCO3 . Why is Carrara marble considered to be one of the most types of marble? What is it famous for?
Answer: Since the reign of Julius Caesar, Carrara white marble has been used to build public buildings and patrician houses. Among the objects from Carrara marble that have been preserved since then are the Pantheon and the column of Trajan. Many Italian architects and sculptors worked with Carrara marble, in particular Nicolo and Giovanni Pisano. Michelangelo personally chose blocks for his works, his “David” is carved from Carrara marble. The facade of Siena Cathedral and the Marble Arch in London, the bowl of the fountain in Pushkino's estate are made of it.
Task formulation 16- 11. Why are porcelain insulators placed on power lines? Why is porcelain considered to be the most beautiful coating for church domes?
Answer: For example, the domes on the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed are metal, painted with enamel paint, which must be constantly updated. And porcelain is an eternal material. The glazes that cover the porcelain do not fade, and in the sun they take on a bright appearance, because the reflective surface of porcelain is significantly higher than that of painted metal. Porcelain tolerates weather overloads well - from + t to -.
Task formulation 16- 12. Vyatka forced labor camp (Vyatka FCL, VyatLag) is one of the largest forced labor camps in the Gulag system, which existed from 1938 to the 1990s in the Verkhnekamsk district of Kirov region. The camp contained 15-20 thousand prisoners. What labor duties did these camp prisoners carry out?
Answer: The prisoners were mainly engaged in logging. The camp was distinguished by difficult living conditions - a marshland with high humidity (80%). Camp center p. Lesnoy. In 1931, the construction of the Yar-Phosphoritnaya railway line was completed, the first barracks of prisoners appeared in the Kai district, like cheap labor in construction. Near the station Phosphoritnaya grows the village of Rudnichny, specializing in the extraction of ore with phosphorites.
Task formulation 16- 13. Diatomite (kieselguhr) is a sedimentary rock, which consists of diatom residues. It is usually loose or slightly cemented, color can be light gray or yellowish. The particle size is 10-200 microns. Dry kieselguhr contains 80-90% of silica. It has a low density due to its high porosity. Where can it be used with these properties?
Answer: i t has a low density due to its high porosity. It is used as a filter or grinding element in metal polishing and toothpaste, insect repellent, natural absorbent, matting agent for coatings. It is used as a heat insulator, a reinforcing element in plastics and rubber, a stabilizing component of dynamite.
Task formulation 16- 14. One of the most interesting features of the mysterious mainland Antarctica is aseismicity. No seismic station has ever recorded a single epicenter of earthquakes over the Antarctica ice sheet. Why is it considered very strange?
Answer: Volcanism is observed in the marginal parts of the mainland. The active volcano Erebus is world-famous, on the slopes of which geysers beat right out of the snow and ice. There are many volcanoes in Antarctica: some of them, especially island ones, have erupted in the last 200 years. Many of the eruptions occurred without witnesses and were recorded when volcanic activity came to an end, and sometimes retroactively, as this region is sparsely populated.
Task formulation 16- 15. Construction of the first metro stations which were opened in 1935 - Komsomolskaya, Krasnye Vorota and Lubyanka – involved freezing. The oldest way to freeze is «pickling». This method came from Siberia. How is the freezing method carried out? What is it used for?
Answer: The place of work is fenced off from the total weight of the aquifer by a permafrost wall. Frozen soil a meter or two thick at a temperature of -12°C withstands any pressure from rocks and perfectly resists the penetration of groundwater. Cold is lowered underground using refrigeration machines. After about a month of operation of the refrigeration machine, the soil around individual freezing columns freezes into a monolithic mass, which protects the production site from the penetration of groundwater and wall shedding.
Task formulation 16- 16. Movement for «green funeral» gained popularity in Britain in the 90s, and moved to North America in the early 2000s. During eco-burial, the corpse is not embalmed and is buried into the ground in a light biodegradable container without concrete slabs and monuments. Why are these burial sites considered more environmentally friendly than traditional ones?
Answer: In a typical cemetery, for every half-hectare of the territory there are 4,500 liters of formaldehyde and 2,000 tons of concrete. Green burials are also cheaper. A plot of land costs the same, but relatives save by using fabric instead of expensive wooden coffins, refusing embalming and gravestones.
Task formulation 16- 17. Evaporites are water evaporation products resulting from its gradual condensation by solar radiation in closed and semi-closed water bodies. They are liquid (sedimentation brines) and solid (minerals, sediments). What types of rocks do evaporates belong to and why?
Answer: Evaporites include sediments and brines of modern sea bays and lagoons. Precipitation in them is represented by a set of minerals from sparingly soluble (chemogenic calcite, hydromagnesite, gypsum) to readily soluble (halite, astrakhanite, mirabilite, glauberite, epsomite, carnallite). Ponds are characterized by a change in the salinity of water in space, which leads to the selective precipitation of salts as their salinity increases by solar evaporation in a sequence that complies with the laws of physical chemistry. There are various points of view (potassium salts) on the origin of most of the halogen deposits that make up potash basins and deposits.
Thank you for attention! That's all for today! Bye Bye! Have a good day! Take eco-knowledge from me, but give me a like :-)))