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121 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is Convection? |
The circulation that results from hot, rising material and cool, sinking material
Convection makes the Earth dynamic |
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What is Mantle Convection? Why is it important? |
Hotter, less dense rocks rising and cooling as more dense rocks sinks. It is important because it powers plate tectonics |
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What are Seismic Waves? What is its importance? |
Elastic waves in the earth produced by an earthquake or other means.
Seismic waves indicate that the Earth has a layered structure |
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What is Earth's protective magnetic field? |
Field that protects Earth by deflecting high energy particles from the Sun
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What is heat comes from Earth's interior? |
Radioactivity- produced from radioactive decay Tidal Friction- generated by the tidal pull of the Moon and Earth Primordial Heat- ~20-30% is left over from the planet's formation |
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Compare Earth's Core to Seismic Waves |
Seismic waves indicate that the inner core is solid and the outer core is molten |
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What are the three seismic waves names? |
1) P- Waves 2) S- Waves 3) Surface Waves |
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What feature is marked with the circle in this image? |
Focus |
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Which Seismic waves will have the greatest amplitude on a seismogram? |
Surface Waves |
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What information is needed when determining the distance from the focus of an earthquake to the seismic receiving station? |
The time interval between the P and S waves |
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What is the definition of the focus? |
The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs |
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Where is the zone of greatest seismic activity on Earth? |
Circum-Pacific Belt |
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Which plate boundary along the Circum-Pacific belt is responsible for the majority of that belt's earthquakes? |
Convergent |
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Which seismic wave will be released first during an earthquake? |
P-waves |
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You are monitoring a seismograph in Seattle. One morning, your instrument records an earthquake approximately 2,000 km away. From that information, can you predict where the earthquake occurred? |
No, because you would need information from more than one seismograph to plot the epicenter. |
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What is the epicenter? |
The location on the Earth's surface directly above the point of slippage |
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What instruments sense earthquake waves and transmit them to a recording device? |
Seismometers and Seismographs |
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What are records of seismic waves? |
Seismograms |
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What is Petrology? |
the study or rocks and the processes that produce them includes description and classification of rocks, as well as interpretation of their origin |
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What is Petrography? |
Branch of petrology that deals with microscopic examination of thin sections 0.03-mm thick |
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What is Bowen's Reaction Series? |
explain why certain types of minerals tend to be found together while others are almost never associated with one another. |
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Explain Bowen's 1) discontinuous and 2) continuous reactions |
Discontinuous branch- describes the formation of the mafic minerals olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite mica Continuous branch- describes the evolution of the plagioclase feldspars as they evolve from being calcium-rich to more sodium-rich |
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Name 5 metamorphic rocks going from low to high grade |
Low Shale Slate Phyllite Schist Gneiss High grade |
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The partial melting of a mafic magma would produce what composition of igneous rocks? |
Intermediate |
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What creates the small holes found in vesicular texture? |
Volatiles |
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What is a volatile? |
Gases dissolved in magma |
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What is the geological definition of texture? |
Size and shape of mineral grains in the sample |
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What is the term used to describe increased temperature with depth in the Earth? |
Geothermal gradient |
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What role will water play in generating magma? |
Water will lower the melting temperature of the rock, allowing it to melt |
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What three components make up most magmas? |
Liquid portion, Solid portion, Gas portion |
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What was the rate of cooling and the environment of formation for an extrusive igneous rock? |
Fast because it erupted from a volcano |
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Which is the following statements best describes the relationship between pressure and melting point in the Earth's interior? |
Higher melting points are determined by higher pressure |
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What mineral class makes up most igneous rocks? |
Silicates |
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Which mineral on the Bowen's Reaction Series will be the first to melt if an igneous rock is heated? |
Quartz |
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Which of the following statements best describes the formation of secondary magmas? |
Iron-rich minerals will form in cooling magma, which leaves the remaining melt with a more andesitic composition |
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Which of the following textures would be the most common texture found in a volcanic lava flow? |
Aphanitic |
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Which process is thought to generate the most felsic magmas? |
Heat from basaltic magma partially melted overlying crust |
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Which two minerals define a felsic composition? |
Quartz and Potassium feldspar |
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What describes how an entire suite of silicate minerals that can form a single basaltic magma as it cools and crystallizes? |
Bowens Reaction series |
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What describes the formation of one or more secondary magmas from a single parent magma? |
Magmatic Differentiation |
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What is a felsic igneous rock with a meringue-like vesicular texture created by small shards of volcanic glass? |
Pumice |
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What facies is associated with a high pressure, low temperature environment? |
Blueschist |
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How is the chemical composition of most metamorphic rocks going to compare to that of the parent rock? |
Chemical composition will be nearly the same |
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If clay minerals were buried at a depth where subsurface temperatures exceed 200*C, which mineral are they likely to become? |
Muscovite |
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Physical rotation or platy minerals will contribute most to the development of what grade metamorphism? |
Low |
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What is foliation? |
Roughly parallel layers of mineral crystals |
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What is the definition of a parent rock? |
The rock that was altered by metamorphism |
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What kind of force will create foliation in metamorphic rocks? |
Compression |
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Which low-grade metamorphic rock will display the rock cleavage and contain very tiny grains of mica? |
Slate |
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Which of the following is the parent rock for quartzite? |
sandstone |
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Which of the following is NOT an environment of metamorphism? |
Metamorphism as the result of slow cooling of magma |
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Which of the following is NOT an example of foliation? |
Recrystallization of elongated minerals parallel to the direction of greatest stress |
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List metamorphic rocks in order from lowest metamorphic grade to highest? |
Slate Phylite Schist Gneiss |
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Which of the following rocks represents the highest grade of metamorphism? |
Gneiss |
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Which style of metamorphism will be generated by a mantle plume? |
Contact |
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Which tectonic boundary is associated with regional metamorphism? |
convergent |
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What materials are good indicators of the metamorphic environment in which they formed and can be used to distinguish between various zones of metamorphism? |
index minerals |
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What widespread metamorphism is typically associated with mountain building? |
Regional metamorphism |
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What process changes form or mineral content as a result of environmental changes such as heat and pressure? |
Metamorphism |
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What metamorphism tends to occur in regions where massive amounts of sedimentary or volcanic materials accumulated in a subsiding basin? |
Burial |
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What is Weathering? |
the physical breakdown and chemical alteration of rock at or near Earth's surface
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What are the two types of weathering? Explain |
Chemical - chemical transformation of rock into new compounds Mechanical - Physical forces breaking rocks into smaller pieces |
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What is Lithification? |
Unconsolidated sediments are transformed into sedimentary rocks |
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What is Compaction? |
Buried sediments that are weighed down by overlying materials that are compressed in deeper sediments |
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What is Cementation? |
crystallization of minerals among the individual sediment grains |
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How do you turn sediments into sedimentary rock?
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Diagenesis |
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What is Diagensis? |
Chemical, physical, and biological changes that take place after sentiments are deposited and buried |
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Name types of mechanical weathering |
frost wedging salt crystal growth sheeting/unloading biological activity |
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What is the most important agent of Chemical Weathering ? |
Water |
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Name types of Chemical Weathering |
Dissolution oxidation Hydrolysis Spheroidal Weathering |
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What is weathering influenced by? |
Rock type (composition) and climate |
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What is Differential Weathering? |
Uneven weathering of rock due to variations in local climate |
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What are the two major groups of sedimentary rocks? |
Detrital: Clastic texture, composed of discrete fragments cemented together Chemical/Organic: Nonclastic or crystalline texture, where minerals form patterns of interlocked crystals |
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What is the difference between Clastic and Non-Clastic texture? |
Clastic texture - Formed from the breakdown of other rocks (could be sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic) due to weathering and erosion. Non-clastic texture - mostly composed of chemical precipitate out of solution |
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What rocks form from precipitated material that was once in solution?
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Chemical sedimentary rocks
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What is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock? |
limestone |
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Compaction will be the most significant lithifcation process for which of the following rocks? |
Shale |
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The primary basis for classifying detrital rocks is _____ whereas the primary basis for classifying chemical rocks is _________
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particle size, mineral composition
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What is diagenesis? |
The textural, composition, and other changes that occur to sediments after deposition |
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Which environment would be likely to produce a black shale?
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swamp
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Which minerals are the main constituents in most sedimentary rocks?
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Quartz and Clay Minerals
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Which of the following best describes interbedded gypsum and halite?
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Evaporite sedimentary rocks
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Which of the following best describes the apperance and composition of a conglomerate? |
Rounded fragments; poor sorted |
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Which of the following makes up the sediment that forms an organic sedimentary rock?
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Shells and plant fibers
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Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the best degree of sorting?
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Wind
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Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the coarsest sorting ( poorest sorting)?
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Glaciers
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Which of the following represents the single most common and characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks? |
Strata
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Which of the following trace materials produces bright-red colors in some cherts?
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Iron oxide
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Which rock is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock? |
Limestone |
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Which rock type can contain fossils?
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Sedimentary Rocks |
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What are fragments of pre-existing materials that have been broken down through the processes of weathering ?
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Sediments |
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What describes the range in particle sizes in a detrital sedimentary rock?
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Sorting
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What is a biochemical sedimentary rock that often forms in carbonate reefs?
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Limestone |
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What is the process where sediments are converted into a sedimentary rock? |
Diagenesis
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What is the processes such as evaporation and chemical activity can precipitate chemical sediments?
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Inorganic |
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What are the stages of coal formation? |
1) Accumulation of plant remains 2) Formation of Peat 3)Formation of lignite and bituminous coal 4) Formation of anthracite coal |
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What is Abrasion? |
erosional force of waves caused by grinding of water with rock fragments |
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What is Permafrost? |
Permanently frozen ground |
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What is Solifluction? |
Downslope movement of waterlogged soils |
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What is Wave Refraction? |
bending of a wave ( arrive nearly parallel to the shore)
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What is sediment movement on a beach in a zigzag pattern? |
Beach Drift |
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What are longshore currents? |
2. Wind is not confined to channels and can spread sediment over large areas |
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How is the transportation of sediment by wind different to running water ( 2 ways)? |
1. Wind is less capable of picking up and transporting coarse materials2. Wind is not confined to channels and can spread sediment over large areas |
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What is carried by wind close to the surface? |
bedload |
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What is the movement of sand across the surface? |
saltation ( by bumping and skipping) |
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What is carried high into the atmosphere? |
suspended load |
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What is the most active parts in the carbon cycle?
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CO2 |
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What is the difference between runoff and infiltration (5) ?
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Intensity and duration of rainfall The amount of water already in the soil The type of soil Slope of the land Nature of the vegetative cover |
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What two activities do river systems do?
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Sediment transportation Sediment Deposition |
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How are sediment transported? |
Sediments are transported in trunk streams |
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What type of weathering is more prominent than in humid regions? |
Mechanical weathering |
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What are Ephemeral streams? |
Streams that only carry water in response to specific periods of rainfall |
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What is the Hydraulic radius? |
R = A / P |
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What does Chézy empirical equation and Manning empirical equation work to find? |
the stream flow velocity |
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How do all streams transport sediment? |
Dissolved load (in solution) Suspended load (in suspension) Bed load (rolling along the bottom) |
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What is porosity? |
The percentage of pore (open) spaces in a rock or sediment |
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What is Darcy’s law?
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It measures the volume of water that flows through an aquifer, using the hydraulic gradient, conductivity, and cross-sectional area |
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What is Hydraulic gradient? |
The water table slope |
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What is Hydraulic conductivity? |
The permeability of the aquifer and viscosity of the liquid to determine how fast water will flow through a medium |
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What is Drawdown? |
Water that is withdrawn from the well, the surrounding water table is lowered |
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What is cone of depression? |
The cone-shaped depression in the water table that forms around a well |
