Term
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Definition
| Shaking motions and vibrations of the Earth caused by large releases of energy that accompany volcanoes, explosions, and movements of Earth's bedrock along fault lines |
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Term
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Definition
| compressional (primary) wave; travel through solid, liquid, or gas; 1st to arrive (6 km/s) |
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Term
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Definition
| shear (secondary) wave; travel through solid; about half as fast as P-waves |
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Term
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Definition
| The study of how the Sun's energy is trapped and transported across the Earth |
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Term
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Definition
| Earth absorbs energy from the Sun but doesn't emit much radiation. Earth heats up because it is absorbing more radiation than it is emitting. Hotter Earth now emits more radiation. Eventually, the Earth emits as much radiation as it absorbs. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Earth absorbs as much radiation as it is emitting. |
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Term
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Definition
| Minerals in a rock dissolve or undergo chemical alteration in the presence of water and/or air. |
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Term
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Definition
| rocks and minerals are mechanically fragmented without change in chemical composition. |
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Term
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Definition
| weathering order decreases with Si content. (last order = highest Si) |
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Term
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Definition
| the boundary between the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone |
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Term
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Definition
| unsaturated zone of a water table |
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Term
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Definition
| saturated zone of a water table |
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Term
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Definition
| Percent rock volume that is pores (spaces); defines the amount of water that a volume of rock can hold. Porosity increases with increased sorting. |
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Term
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Definition
| interconnectedness of pores; permeability decreases with decreasing grain size, porosity, and sorting. |
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Term
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Definition
| Low velocity, High viscosity, shallow channels |
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Term
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Definition
| High velocity, Low viscosity, deeper channels; high sedimentary load |
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Term
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Definition
| plot of elevation vs. distance along a stream. Profile typically becomes flatter as elevation decreases. The low end of the profile is controlled by the base level (ocean or lake) |
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Term
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Definition
| turbulence allows for the transport of material. Cannot transport very large material (low viscosity and density). Sand is locally derived (travels short distance). Dust can be transported long distances. Dry material. Typical materials: quartz, feldspar, clay, carbonates. Frosted appearance: abrasion and chemical dissolution in presence of dew. |
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Term
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Definition
| tides, wave refraction, longshore drift, waves, barrier islands, beach nourishment, storm surge, sea level & climate change, active vs. passive margins |
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Term
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Definition
| ice sheet; thick, slow moving sheet of ice; Greenland and Antarctica |
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Term
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Definition
| alpine glaciers; mass of ice in the mountains |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| glacier front remains in same position |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| snowfall and other precipitation turning to ice on the upper portion of a glacier |
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Term
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Definition
| melting of ice and iceberg calving at the bottom portion of a glacier |
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Term
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Definition
Oil: 40%
Natural Gas: 23%
Coal: 22%
Nuclear Electric Power: 8%
Renewable Energy: 7% |
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Term
| Requirements for Petroleum Formation |
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Definition
1. Organic rich source rock
2. Permeable reservoir rock
3. Impermeable cap rock
4. Structural or Stratigraphic trap
5. Trap before oil migration
6. Burial under appropriate conditions (oil window) |
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Term
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Definition
| Nuclear, Hydroelectric, Geothermal, wind, solar, plant |
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Term
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Definition
| the origin of an earthquake at some depth in the earth |
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Term
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Definition
| the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus |
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Term
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Definition
| elastic waves of vibration and shaking that originate at the focus of the earthquake and travel in all directions through, on, and below the surface of the Earth. |
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Term
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Definition
| an instrument that detects seismic waves |
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Term
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Definition
| the record of seismic waves that is produced by a seismograph |
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Term
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Definition
| seismic waves that travel through the Earth's interior. Made up of P-waves, S-waves and L-waves |
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Term
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Definition
| surface waves that arrive at seismographs last because they travel only along the Earth's surface |
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Term
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Definition
| faults that can move and generate earthquakes at the present time |
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Term
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Definition
| the way that the pen on a seismograph moves when the P-waves arrive. This can tell you about the relative motion of the fault zone. Compression or Dilation |
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Term
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Definition
| the pen of the seismograph moves up when P-waves arrive |
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Term
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Definition
| The pen of the seismograph moves down when the P-waves arrive |
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Term
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Definition
| two-dimensional model that represents a three-dimensional landscape |
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Term
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Definition
| lines that connect points of equal elevation above sea level on a topographic map |
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Term
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Definition
| Heavier lines with elevations printed on them used as points of reference when reading a topo. map |
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Term
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Definition
| the predetermined separation of elevation between each contour line |
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Term
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Definition
| measurement lines running East-West from the Equator (0) to the North Pole or South Pole (90) (degrees-minutes-seconds) but MEASURE north-south |
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Term
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Definition
| measurement lines running north-south starting at the prime meridian |
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Term
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Definition
| constellation of 28 satellites in 12 hour orbits about 12,000 miles above Earth; based on the Universal Transverse Mercator system |
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Term
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Definition
| Universal Transverse Mercator System; global military navigation grid and coordinate system; grid is rectangular and measured in decimal-based metric units. |
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Term
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Definition
| 60 north-south strips of longitude of a 6 degree width; location within a zone is defined by its easting and northing coordinate |
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Term
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Definition
| distance in meters within a zone measured from west to east |
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Term
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Definition
| distance in meters from the equator |
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Term
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Definition
| difference in elevation between two points. (Regional: difference between highest and lowest points on a map) |
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Term
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Definition
| steepness of slope; typically determined by dividing relief between two points by the distance between them including curves of streams |
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Term
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Definition
| typically calculated as the change in the elevation between two points divided by the straight line distance between them |
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Term
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Definition
| difference in degrees of compass north and true north on a topographic map |
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Term
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Definition
| permanent marker placed by the US Geological Survey or Bureau of Land Management |
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Term
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Definition
| flow continuously throughout the year and are represented by blue lines on topographic maps |
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Term
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Definition
| flow only at certain times of year, such as rainy seasons or during snow melt; they are represented by dotted line segments on a topographic map |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs when a stream overflows its banks |
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Term
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Definition
| sediment transported and deposited by streams |
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Term
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Definition
| drainage network including upland tributaries and main stream |
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Term
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Definition
| stream drainage systems form characteristic patterns of drainage depending on relief and geology |
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Term
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Definition
| entire area of land drained by one steam |
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Term
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Definition
| relatively flat areas on either side of a river prone to flooding |
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Term
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Definition
| form at the outer edge of meanders and experience erosion |
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Term
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Definition
| form at the inner edge of meanders and experience deposition |
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Term
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Definition
| forms as the result of a meander being cut off from the main stream channel |
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Term
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Definition
| remnants of older floodplains |
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Term
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Definition
| in an undisturbed sequence of strata, younger strata overlie older strata |
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Term
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Definition
| Sediments are initially deposited in horizontal strata |
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Term
| Cross Cutting Relationships |
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Definition
| faults and igneous intrusions must be younger than the rocks they cut |
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Term
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Definition
| there is a regular, definite progression of fossil forms in going from lower (older) to higher (younger) strata |
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Term
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Definition
| Eons divided into Eras divided into Periods |
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Term
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Definition
| when standing on one side of the fault, the other side appears to move to the left; sinistral |
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Term
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Definition
| when standing on one side of the fault, the other side appears to move to the right; dextral |
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Term
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Definition
| fault that does not break the Earth's surface, therefore, left- and right- lateral motion can be difficult to determine |
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Term
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Definition
| Chile 9.5 -> Alaska 9.2 -> Sumatra 9.1 -> Kamchatka 9.0 |
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Term
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Definition
| Faulting, Mudslides (mass transport flow), Flooding, Fires, Tsunamis |
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Term
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Definition
| locations of cultural and natural features |
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Term
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Definition
| reference elevation (vary from year to year) |
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Term
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Definition
assumes latitude and longitude to be perpendicular; greatly distorted at poles (standard 2-D map)
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Term
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Definition
maintains correct relative sizes of areas
(map with rounded Edges) |
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Term
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Definition
| adopted by US Geological Survey |
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Term
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Definition
| Pulling apart, Normal fault, rift |
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Term
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Definition
| pressing together, fold, reverse fault, thrust fault |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Uplift: Dome
Subsidence: basin |
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Term
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Definition
| TOP of a hill, concave down, older rocks occupy the core, limbs dip away from center |
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Term
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Definition
| BOTTOM of a valley, concave up, younger rocks occupy the core, limbs dip toward center |
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Term
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Definition
| Fracture with no appreciable displacement |
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Term
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Definition
| fracture with appreciable displacement |
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Term
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Definition
| surface of erosion between nonparallel strata |
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Term
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Definition
| surface of erosion between parallel strata |
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Term
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Definition
| surface of erosion between sedimentary strata above, and igneous of metamorphic rock below |
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Term
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Definition
| Pattern seen as water flows out from and down a mountain or volcano |
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Term
| Rectangular Stream Pattern |
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Definition
| seen when certain sediments erode more easily than surrounding sediments creating a jointed, rectangular pattern |
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Term
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Definition
| seen when valleys form in easily eroded rock and ridges form by erosion resistant rock |
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Term
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Definition
| waves bounce off areas with higher density, like a mirror; S-waves cannot travel through the outer core (liquid) so they reflect off |
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Term
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Definition
| the direction of a wave is changed upon entering a substance of different density, like light through water; P-waves travel through the core but are refreacted |
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Term
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Definition
| composition boundary between the crust and mantle |
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Term
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Definition
| melt boundary between the lithosphere and asthenosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| Earth is gradually cooling over time |
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Term
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Definition
| transfer of heat from hot regions to cold regions through contact; lithosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| transfer of heat through movement (rotation) of liquid median; mantle |
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Term
| Temperature (Geothermal) Gradient |
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Definition
| how temperature increases with depth; drives plate tectonics |
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Term
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Definition
cold: more dense, wave move fast
hot: less dense, waves move slow |
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Term
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Definition
| generates earth's magnetic field, creates geodynamos |
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Term
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Definition
| an engine that produces electricity by rotating a coil of wire in a magnetic field. moving water is used to spin magnets |
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Term
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Definition
| magnetism is remembered long after the magnetic field had disappeared |
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Term
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Definition
| thought to be caused by a geodynamo in the earth's core and protects us from ionized particles from space. |
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Term
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Definition
| Average weather and its variability in a particular location; temperature, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed |
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Term
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Definition
Water Vapor
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide |
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Term
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Definition
| All liquid water on Earth's surface. Including oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater |
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Term
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Definition
Warm sea surface temperature in the
eastern equatorial pacific |
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Term
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Definition
| Snow and ice are so white that they reflect much of the Sun's energy back into space |
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Term
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Definition
| all organisms living near Earth's surface |
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Term
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Definition
a change in one component is enhanced by the change it induces in other components
increase in CO2 -> higher surface temp -> respiration of plant and animal remains increase -> CO2 increases |
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Term
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Definition
a change in one component is reduced by the change it induces in other components
increase in CO2 -> more plants -> decrease in CO2 |
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Term
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Definition
Eccentricity of Earth's orbit around the sun, Tilt of Earth's axis toward the sun, Precession: wobble of earth's axis
All lead to climate variability |
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Term
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Definition
| breakdown and fragmentation of rocks |
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Term
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Definition
| removal of weathered material from its source |
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Term
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Definition
collapse of hillsides. particles dropped will pile up in some angle (angle of repose)
classified by material, velocity of movement, and nature of movement (flow or slide) |
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Term
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Definition
soil:
supports food supply
valuable resource
build things on soil
aluminum ores found in soil
closely linked to climate |
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Term
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Definition
| models the movement of water from one reservoir to another (means and amount) |
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Term
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Definition
| amount of water vapor in the air (warmer air can hold more water vapor). when warm air cools it supersaturates and condenses to clouds |
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Term
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Definition
| addition of water that causes the water table to rise |
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Term
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Definition
| any permeable, saturated layer that can transport water |
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Term
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Definition
| an impermeable layer that prohibits flow of water |
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Term
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Definition
| fine grained sediment transported in suspension due to turbulence |
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Term
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Definition
| coarser grained sediments transported on the bottom of the stream bed by rolling and sliding |
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Term
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Definition
| sediment transported by intermittent jumps - a transitional state between load and suspended load |
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Term
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Definition
| ability to carry material of a given size |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| area between the tops of the slopes on both sides of a river |
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Term
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Definition
| trough through which the water runs |
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Term
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Definition
| ridge that separates two basins; runoff flows down either side of the divide (rocky mountains) |
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Term
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Definition
| volume of water that passes through a given point in a given time through a channel of a certain width and depth |
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Term
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Definition
| balance between erosion of the streambed and sedimentation in the channel and floodplain |
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Term
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Definition
| average time period between floods on a certain river |
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Term
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Definition
air as a fluid; turbulent air flow is effective in suspending fine-grained sediments.
Deserts are strongly influenced by wind |
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Term
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Definition
| wind patterns effecting the climate in areas around the world |
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Term
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Definition
| side of a formation (dune) that the wind hits first and is eroded away |
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Term
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Definition
| part of a formation (dune) that wind hits last and sediment is deposited on |
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Term
| Dry washes, wadis, arroyos |
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Definition
| dry stream channels prone to flash flooding |
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Term
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Definition
| wind blown dust (10% of earth's surface covered in loess) |
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Term
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Definition
| extended drought, overgrazing, overplowing, and poor crop rotation in 1935 |
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Term
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Definition
| ocean level variations caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon (lunar) and sun (solar). |
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Term
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Definition
| alignment of sun and moon |
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Term
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Definition
| sun and moon on opposite sides of earth |
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Term
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Definition
| affected mainly by the volume of the ice caps and temperature; global |
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Term
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Definition
| affected by coastal emergences or subsidence; local; tectonic influences |
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Term
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Definition
| tectonically active; subduction zone, volcanism |
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Term
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Definition
| tectonically inactive; far from plate boundary |
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Term
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Definition
| Ice is frozen to bedrock resulting in high erosion |
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Term
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Definition
| water at the glacier's base allows the ice to skate along resulting in low erosion |
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Term
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Definition
| ridge of sediment carried/deposited by a glacier |
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Term
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Definition
poorly sorted, nonbedded sediment transported by glaciers
Tillite is lithified till |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| an entire amount of material |
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Term
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Definition
| deposit already discovered and can be mined economically and legally |
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Term
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Definition
| resources replaced by natural processes at a rate comparable or faster than the rate they are consumed |
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Term
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Definition
| resources that will be exhausted by our consumption before the Earth can replenish them |
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Term
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Definition
| ore concentrated by hot aqueous liquid |
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Term
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Definition
| concentration by igneous processes |
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Term
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Definition
| concentration of high density material by flowing water |
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Term
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Definition
| precipitation from seawater or lake water |
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Term
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Definition
| concentration by weathering |
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