Glossary of Climate and Geology Terms, Quizzes of Geography

Download Glossary of Climate and Geology Terms and more Quizzes Geography in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 climate DEFINITION 1 Annual cycle of prevailing weather conditions at a given place, based on statistics taken over an extended period. TERM 2 semiarid climates DEFINITION 2 Enough precipitation to support sparse grasses and shrubs. TERM 3 arid climates DEFINITION 3 Extremely dry and can support little or no vegetation. TERM 4 wet-dry climate DEFINITION 4 Very wet season and very dry season. TERM 5 climograph DEFINITION 5 A graph on which two or more climate variables are plotted for each month of the year. TERM 6 climatology DEFINITION 6 Science of analyzing climate as it varies over time and around the world. TERM 7 highland climates DEFINITION 7 Occupies mountains and high plateaus at any latitude. TERM 8 wet equatorial climate DEFINITION 8 Moist climate of the equatorial zone, with abundant precipitation and uniformly warm temperatures throughout the year. TERM 9 monsoon and trade wind coastal climate DEFINITION 9 Moist climate of low latitudes that shows a strong rainfall peak in the high Sun season and a short period of reduced rainfall in the low Sun season. TERM 10 wet dry tropical climate DEFINITION 10 Climate of the tropical zone characterized by a very wet season alternating with a very dry season. TERM 21 ice sheet climate DEFINITION 21 Severely cold climate in Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. TERM 22 global climate models DEFINITION 22 Complex computer programs that recreate the physical, chemical, and biological conditions in Earth's atmosphere, ice, land, and oceans. TERM 23 geomorphology DEFINITION 23 Study of the shape of Earth's features and how they change. TERM 24 uniformatarianism DEFINITION 24 Same geologic processes we observe today have operated since the beginning of Earth's history. TERM 25 geologic timescale DEFINITION 25 Time frame of geologic events that divides the 4.5 billion years of Earth's history into eons, eras, and periods. TERM 26 radiometric dating DEFINITION 26 Determines ages of different rocks. TERM 27 endogenic processes DEFINITION 27 Internal Earth processes that create landforms, such as tectonics and volcanism. TERM 28 exogenic processes DEFINITION 28 External processes such as weathering by wind and water that work on Earth's surface. TERM 29 landforms DEFINITION 29 Specific shapes of the Earth's surface. TERM 30 initial landforms DEFINITION 30 Newly created by volcanic and tectonic activity. TERM 31 sequential landforms DEFINITION 31 Produced by external Earth's processes in the total activity of denudation. TERM 32 core DEFINITION 32 Spherical central mass of Earth, composed of iron, outer liquid zone and inner solid zone. TERM 33 mantle DEFINITION 33 Rock layer of Earth beneath the crust and surrounding the core, composed of mafic igneous rock containing silicate minerals. TERM 34 crust DEFINITION 34 Outermost solid layer of Earth, composed largely of silicate materials. TERM 35 lithosphere DEFINITION 35 Includes crust and cooler, upper part of mantle. TERM 46 strata DEFINITION 46 Sediments deposited by wind and water in layers. TERM 47 metamorphic rock DEFINITION 47 Rock altered in physical or chemical composition by heat, pressure, or other endogenic processes taking place at a substantial depth below the surface. TERM 48 Pangea DEFINITION 48 Hypothetical parent continent, enduring until the end of the Mesozoic era, consisting of continental shields of Laurasia and Gondwana joined into a single unit. TERM 49 plate tectonics DEFINITION 49 Theory of tectonic activity, dealing with lithospheric plates and their mentions. TERM 50 spreading boundary DEFINITION 50 Where two lithospheric plates move apart. TERM 51 convergent boundary DEFINITION 51 Where two lithospheric plates come together. TERM 52 transform boundary DEFINITION 52 Where two lithospheric plates slide past each other. TERM 53 midoceanic ridge DEFINITION 53 Central belt of submarine mountains where two plates separate. TERM 54 subduction DEFINITION 54 Descent of the edge of a lithospheric plate under an adjoining plate and into the asthenosphere. TERM 55 oceanic trenches DEFINITION 55 Descending plate pulls material into the asthenosphere, such as Marina trench, the deepest location on Earth (6.85 miles). TERM 56 folds DEFINITION 56 Corrugations of strata caused by crustal compression. TERM 57 orogeny DEFINITION 57 Folding of crust where two continental plates meet contributes to a mountain-building process. TERM 58 anticlines DEFINITION 58 Arch in folds of Earth's crust. TERM 59 synclines DEFINITION 59 U-shaped base of folds in Earth's crust. TERM 60 overthrust faults DEFINITION 60 Slices of rock on fault surfaces with gentle inclination angles. TERM 71 magnitude DEFINITION 71 Amount of energy released by an earthquake, measured by the amplitude of seismic waves produced. TERM 72 magma DEFINITION 72 Underground molten mineral matter. TERM 73 lava DEFINITION 73 Magma that reaches the surface, where it cools and hardens into a volcano. TERM 74 volcano DEFINITION 74 Conical or dome-shaped structure built by accumulation of lava flows and volcanic ash. TERM 75 hotspot DEFINITION 75 Center of volcanic activity thought to be located over a rising mantle plume. TERM 76 pyroclastic material DEFINITION 76 Tephra, or ejected particles of different sizes, that fall around the crater to create a cone shape. TERM 77 stratovolcano DEFINITION 77 Volcano constructed of multiple layers of lava and volcanic ash. TERM 78 shield volcano DEFINITION 78 Low, often large, dome-like accumulation of basalt lava flows emerging from long, radical fissures on flanks. TERM 79 caldera DEFINITION 79 Great central depression after a volcanic eruption TERM 80 flood basalts DEFINITION 80 Large-scale outpourings of basalt lava to produce thick accumulations of basalt over large areas.