Geology 101: Understanding the Earth's Structure and Processes, Quizzes of Environmental Science

Download Geology 101: Understanding the Earth's Structure and Processes and more Quizzes Environmental Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 CORE DEFINITION 1 Interior of earth's sphere, is composed of a dense, intensely hot mass of metal-mostly iron-thousands of kilometers in diameter. Solid in the center but fluid in the outer core, this immense mass generates the magnetic field that envelops the earth. TERM 2 MANTLE DEFINITION 2 Surrounding the mlton outer core is a hot pliable layer of rock called the mantle; less dnse than the core because it contains a high concentration of lighter elements, such as oxygen, silicon, and magnesium. TERM 3 CRUST DEFINITION 3 The outermost layer of the earth is the cool, lightweight brittle rock. The crust below oceans is relatively thin, dense and young (less than 200 million) because of constant recycling. Crust under continents is relatively thick, light and as old as 3.8 billion years, with new material being added continually. TERM 4 TECTONIC PLATES DEFINITION 4 The huge convection currents in the mantle are thought to break the overlying crust into mosaic of huge blocks/plates that slide slowly across the earth. TERM 5 MAGMA DEFINITION 5 Or molten rock is forced up through the cracks and forms new oceanic crust that piles up underwater in mid-ocean ridges. TERM 6 MID-OCEAN RIDGES DEFINITION 6 The largest mountain range in the world that winds around the earth for 46,000 mi. TERM 7 SUBDUCTED DEFINITION 7 When an oceanic plate collides with a continental landmass, the continental plate rides up over the seafloor while the oceanic late is pushed down into the mantle, where it melts and rises back to the surface as magma. TERM 8 MINERAL DEFINITION 8 A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid formed through geological processes that has a specific internal crystal structure/chemical composition. TERM 9 ROCK DEFINITION 9 A solid cohesive aggregate of one or more minerals. Individual mineral crystals/grains are mixed together and held firmly i a solid mass. TERM 10 ROCK CYCLE DEFINITION 10 Rocks are part of a relentless cycle of formation and destruction; they are crushed, folded, melted, and recrystalized by dynamic processes related to those taht shape the large-scale features of the earth's shape the large-scale features of the earth's crust. The cycle of creation, destruction and metamorphosis of the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. TERM 21 VOLCANOES DEFINITION 21 A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface. Undersea magma vents are the sources of most of earth's crust; over hundreds of millions of years, gaseous emissions from these sources formed the earths earlies oceans/land. TERM 22 FLOODS DEFINITION 22 A surge height of water above the norm. As rivers carve and shape the landscape they build broad floodplais, level expanses taht are periodically inundated. Rivers like the Mississippi can have huge floodplains. TERM 23 FLOODPLAINS DEFINITION 23 A flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional or periodic flooding. It includes the floodway, which consists of the stream channel and adjacent areas that carry flood flows, and the flood fringe, which are areas covered by the flood, but which do not experience a strong current. TERM 24 LANDSLIDES DEFINITION 24 A wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments; sudden collapses of hillsides. TERM 25 SOIL CREEP DEFINITION 25 Is a type of mass wasting where waterlogged sediment moves slowly downslope, over impermeable material. TERM 26 BARRIER ISLANDS DEFINITION 26 A coastal landform and a type of barrier system, a relatively narrow strip of sand that parallel the mainland coast. Behind these islands lies shallow bays or brackish lagoons fringed by marshes or swamps.