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132 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Crust
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outermost layer of the earth
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Continental crust
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the thin layer that averages 35-40 km in thickness
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Oceanic crust
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exists beneath the deep oceans and has an average composition of basalt, a common dark lava rock with an average thickness of 7 km
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Mantle
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beneath the crust of the earth and is the most voluminous layer
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Outer core
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molten under the lower mantle of the earth
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Inner core
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solid core of the earth
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Asthenosphere
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the mantle beneath the lithosphere is solid, but it is hotter than the rock above and can flow under pressure; functions as a soft, weak zone over which the lithosphere may move
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Isostasy
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different thickness of crust riding on the mantle
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Conduction
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some heat is transferred from hotter rock to cooler rock by direct contact
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Radioactive delay
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of naturally occurring uranium, potassium, and certain other elements produces heat, especially in the crust where these radioactive elements are concentrated
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Ocean currents
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move water across the oceans and from one depth to another; also redistribute heat through the movement of warm currents and cold currents
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Internal energy
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energy that comes from within the earth and includes heat produced by radioactive decay
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External energy
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energy that comes from the sun, thermal energy, and other electromagnetic energy waves
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Sedimentary rocks
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form in normal, low-temperature environments and are the most common rocks in our landscapes
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Igneous rocks
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rocks formed from magma that has cooled and solidified
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Metamorphic rocks
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rocks that have been changed because they are exposed to different temperatures, pressures, or deformation
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Hydrothermal rocks
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rocks that precipitate directly from hot water
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Lithificaiton
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once sediments are deposited they can be curried or compacted by weight of overlying sediment and these pieces of sediment can be cemented together by chemicals in the water; process turning into rock
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Solidification
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as magma cools it begins to crystallize and harden back into solid rock
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Rock cycle
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process in which a rock may be moved from one place to another or even converted into a new type of rock
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Shaded relief map
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map that emphasizes the shape of the land by simulating light and shadows on the hills and valleys
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Qualitative data
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simple descriptions conveyed with words or labels
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Quantitative data
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use numbers that represent measurements; collected with scientific instruments
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Density
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how much mass is present in a given volume
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Weight
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how much downward force it exerts under the pull of gravity
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Precambrian
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time before life developed shells and other hard body parts
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Paleozoic - 542 MA
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marks the first record of creatures with shells and other hard body parts
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Mesozoic - 251 MA
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coincides with the time when dinosaurs roamed the planet
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Cenozoic - 65 MA
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most recent chapter in earth's history
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Conduction
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heat transfer by direct transfer
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Radiant heat transfer
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heat radiating through the air which heats something nearby
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Convection
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type of heat transfer by flow of a liquid or by a solid but weak material
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Convection cell
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if the material flows in a circular path when being warmed in a liquid
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Varves
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alternating light and dark sediment layers that can be observed forming in modern lakes because of seasonal variations of sedimentation and biologic activity
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Epicenter
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point on earth's surface directly above where the earthquake occurs
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Hypocenter
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the place where the earthquake is generated
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Seismic waves
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when an earthquake occurs and mechanical energy is transmitted through rocks as vibrations
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Normal fault
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the rocks above the fault (hanging wall) move down with respect to rocks below the fault (the footwall)
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Reverse faults or thrust faults
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the hanging wall moves up with respect to the footwall
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Strike-slip faults
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two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other
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Vertical surface wave
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material moves up and down in an elliptical path
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Horizontal surface wave
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material vibrates horizontally and shuffles side to side; the motion of the material is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels
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Primary or p-wave
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compressed the rock in the same direction it propagates; can travel through solids and liquids and is the fastest
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Secondary or s-wave
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shears the rock side to side or up and down; movement is perpendicular to the direction of travels; cannot travel through liquids and is slower
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Seismic ray
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path that any part of the wave travels
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Moho
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boundary between the crust and mantle
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Seafloor spreading
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the oceanic crust was spreading apart along the mid-atlantic ridge and other mountain belts, which carries the continents apart
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Continental shelves
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continents that continue outward from the shoreline under shallow seawater for a distance, forming these submerged benches
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Oceanic fracture zones
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sharp steps in the seafloor which are right angles to the mid-ocean ridges
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Abyssal plains
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smooth regions of the ocean floor
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Tectonic activity
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earthquakes, volcanism, and other processes that deform the earth's crust and upper mantle
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Lithosphere
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earth's upper strong layer
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Tectonic plates
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the lithosphere is broken into a dozen or so fairly rigid blocks
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Divergent boundary
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two plates move apart relative to one another
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Convergent boundary
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two plates move toward one another
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Transform boundary
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two plates move horizontally past one another
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Rift
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a narrow trough that runs along the axis of mid-ocean ridges
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Continental rift
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when stretching of the crust causes large crustal blocks to drop down these faults
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Subduction
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one plate slides beneath another plate
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Accretionary prism
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in an oceanic-continental convergence the oceanic trench marks the plate boundary and receives sediment from the adjacent continent and forms this
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East Pacific rise
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new oceanic lithosphere forms along the mid-ocean ridge
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Slab pull
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the subducting oceanic lithosphere is denser than the surrounding asthenosphere so gravity pulls the plate downward into the asthenosphere
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Ridge push
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mid ocean ridge is higher than the ocean flow away from the ridge because the lithosphere near the ridge is thinning and hotter and gravity causes the plate to slide away from the topographically high ridge and push the plate outward
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Paleomagnetism
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rock record of part changes in earth's magnetic field
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Magnetite
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as the rocks cool, the orientation of the earth's magnetic field is recorded by this iron-rich mineral
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Hydrothermal vents
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where hot water from within the rock jets out into the cold seawater
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Trench rollback
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as the dense oceanic plate is subducted into the asthenosphere, it sinks downward and tends to bend or roll back away from the island arc; the trench, which is the surface expression of the bend in the down going plate, follows the rollback of the slab
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Continental shelf
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gently sloping surface that surrounds nearly all continents
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Continental slope
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extending the continental shelf where the deep ocean truly begins
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Continental rise
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where sediment transported off the continental slope accumulates, forming a broad gentile slope
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Turbidity currents
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as sediments collapse during slope failure, they can break up and incorporate seawater between the grains which forms a mixture that is more dense than normal seawater and they flow down slope as fast moving slurries, called this
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Pangaea
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200 million years ago, the continents were joined together in this supercontinent
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Mantle upwellings
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areas of the lithospheric mantle can be replaced by upwellings of less dense asthenosphere
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Isostatic rebound
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as material is eroded from the top of a mountain, there is less weight holding down the thick crustal root and the buoyant crust can uplift
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Underthrust
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when a continental plate is shoved beneath another plate during a collision
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Back-arc basin
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with enough extension, the arc can rift apart, forming a new ocean basin behind the arc called this
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Failed rift
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when the third arm of the rift becomes less active and fails to break up the continent into more pieces; usually becomes the site of major rivers
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Tethys Sea
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wedge shaped ocean that separated Asia from land masses farther to the south
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Seismic waves
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mechanical energy transmitted through rocks as vibrations
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Hypocenter
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the place where the earthquake is generated
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Epicenter
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the point on earth's surface directly above where the earthquake occurs
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Elastic behavior
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when rocks return to their original shape after being strained
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Stick-slip behavior
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rock strains elastically before the earthquake, ruptures during the earthquake, and mostly returns to its original shape afterwards
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Fault scarp
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as the edge of the rupture migrates outward, it eventually reaches the earth's surface casing a break called this
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Minerals
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are solid, natural, inorganic, with ordered internal structure, and specific chemical composition
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Inorganic
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grows without any influence from plants or animals
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Ordered
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the atoms are arranged in a regular framework
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Clasts
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distinct pieces of rock, ranging from pebbles to sand grains
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Clastic rock
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a rock consisting of pieces derived from other rocks
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Crystalline rock
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a rock composed of crystals
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Crystal form
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a mineral that grows unobstructed by its surrounding can have a distinctive geometric form
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Cleavage
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some minerals break in specific ways because of their internal structure
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Luster
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the way that light bounces off a mineral
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Streak
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if a mineral is rubbed against an unglazed porcelain plate, it may leave a trail of broken and pulverized material called this
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Effervescence
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if a drop of HCl is placed on a mineral, a reaction may cause this vigorous bubbling
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Independent tetrahedra
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are bound to other elements but not bound to other tetrahedra; do not break along clearly defined planes
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Single chains
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tetrahedra link into these by sharing two oxygen atoms; chains are strongly bonded and difficult to break and cleavage runs parallel to the chains
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Double chains
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tetrahedra form these by partly sharing three oxygen atoms
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Sheet silicates
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tetrahedra share three oxygen atoms to form continuous sheets
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Framework silicates
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tetrahedra in these share all four oxygen atoms, forming complex lattices
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Quartz
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common material that is generally transparent to nearly white, but can be pink, brown or purple; hard and does not cleave, it breaks along fractures that have smoothly curving surfaces
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Conchoidal
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smoothing curving surfaces
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Pottassium feldspar
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generally pink to cream colored and display two directions of cleavage and wavy light colored lines
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Striations
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straight lines that some crystal faces display
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Muscovite
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sheet-silicate mineral which have one direction of cleavage and breaks into flakes and sheets; typically is transparent and silvery gray
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Amphibole
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refers to a group related to silicate minerals
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Pyroxene
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refers to a group of silicate minerals that share similar cystalline structure
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Olivine
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the most common mineral in the upper mantle and has a distinctive olive-green color
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Halite
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mineral that forms cubic crystals
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Covalent bond
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strongest strength bond that shares electrons between atoms
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Ionic bond
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moderate bond that transfers electrons from one atoms to another resulting in attraction between opposite charges
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Metallic bond
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low strength is which widespread sharing of electrons occurs among many atoms
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Intermolecular force
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has the lowest strength in which attraction is due to polarity of molecules, which are bonded combinations of atoms
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Electronegativity
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the measure of the ability to attract electrons
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Texture
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refers to the sizes, shapes, and arrangement of different components in rocks
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Pegmatite
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igneous rocks that contain large crystals
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Medium-grained rocks
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rocks that have crystals that are easily visible to the unaided eye
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Porphyritic
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igneous rocks that have larger crystals in a finer grained matrix
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Vesicles
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small holes in most volcanic rocks; forms when gases dissolved in magma accumulate as bubbles
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Welded
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when hot volcanic ash and pumice become compacted by overlying materials
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Volcanic breccia
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volcanic rocks that contain angular fragments in a finer matrix
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Extrusive rock
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any igneous rock that forms on the surface is called this because it forms from magma extruded onto the surface
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Intrusion
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a body of molten rock in the subsurface is called this because of the way the magma invades the surrounding rocks
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Pillow basalts
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the upper part of the oceanic crust consists of basaltic lava flows and when these lavas erupted into water, they form a series of overlapping mounds called this
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Metamorphism
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when existing minerals convert into new ones
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Viscosity
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measure of a material's resistance to flow
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Viscous magma
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magma that strongly resists flowing
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Magma chamber
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underground body of molten rock
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Pluton
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solidified magma chamber
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Dike
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sheet like intrusion that cuts across layers or is steep
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Sill
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an intrusion that is parallel to layers or is subhorizontal
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Laccolith
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blister shaped magma body that is formed when ascending magma encounters gently inclined layers and begins squeezing parallel to them as a sill and then the magma then begins inflating
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