Earth and Space Science

Microorganisms

organisms so small a microscope is needed to see them

Example.

bacteria, fungus

Greenhouse Gases

gases which, when present in elevated quantities in Earth's atmosphere, trap solar radiation and cause the planet to warm

Example.

carbon dioxide

Tenacity

the mineral's ability to resist separation or breaking when subjected to stress

Example.

quartz is brittle and will be crushed to a powder when hammered

Greenhouse Effect

the trapping of the sun's heat in the atmosphere due to the increased presence of gases in the atmosphere; light is allowed to pass through, but heat is trapped, similar to the glass walls of a greenhouse

Northern Hemisphere

The half of the earth north of the equator

Ultraviolet Radiation

radiant energy which can heat up the planet and damage the cells of living organisms

Taste

Term definition.

the mineral's taste; only soluble minerals have a taste

Example.

halite has a salty taste

Aquifer

an underground body of water-saturated rock

Example.

Ogallala aquifer

Surface Current

a river-like flow of water of different temperature within Earth's oceans

Example.

Humboldt Current

Surface Water

water held on the surface of the earth

Example.

lake

Coriolis Effect

A curving of the flow of wind or water caused by Earth's rotation; to the right in the northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern hemisphere.

Nuclear Fission

a process in which the nuclei of an atom is split, releasing a massive amount of energy.

Ionosphere

a layer of ions and free electrons in the atmosphere; can reflect and direct radio waves

Water Table

the level below which the soil and rock remain saturated with water

Troposphere

the layer of gases closest to the earth where weather occurs

Plate Tectonics

the large-scale movements of portions of the earth's crust over long periods of time

Mechanical Weathering

the process of breaking down rocks by physical means

Example.

water freezes in a crack in the rock and breaks it apart

Meteoroids

small bodies of debris from space which move into Earth's atmosphere and can then turn into meteors

Acid Rain

rain with a lower pH than neutral

corrosive to many substances, including rocks

often caused by pollution

Example.

sulfur dioxide dissolves in the water droplets of clouds to make sulfuric acid

Hot Spot

a place far away from tectonic plate boundaries where upwelling magma creates a hole in Earth's crust and lava erupts onto the surface

Example.

Galapagos Islands

Continental Arctic Air Mass (cA)

A frigid, dry air mass that formed over arctic landmasses

Igneous Rock

rock formed when magma or lava cools; air pockets or crystals

Example.

basalt; granite

Convergent Boundary / Destructive Boundary

a boundary between tectonic plates where the two plates move toward one another; creates mountains and trenches

Example.

Cascade mountain range

Hardness

the mineral's resistance to scratching; measured on the Mohs scale, where talc, the softest mineral, has a score of 1 and diamond, the hardest, has a score of 10

Example.

diamond is hard, talc is soft

Hot Spring

a geological feature produced when water is heated by geothermal activity and pushed to Earth's surface

Example.

Banff Upper Hot Springs in Banff National Park

Continental Polar Air Mass (cP)

A cold, dry air mass that formed over polar landmasses

Southern Hemisphere

The half of the earth south of the equator

Plastic

a state in which a material is solid but can flow (generally slowly)

Divergent Boundary / Constructive Boundary

a boundary between tectonic plates where the two plates move away from one another; creates new crust

Example.

Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Iceland

Feedback Loop (In Systems)

the part of a system in which some (or all) of the system's output is used as input for future operations

Example.

body temperature regulation - the body temperature is achieved and then measured for future changes needed

Destructive Processes

processes that break down or destroy landforms

Example.

water running across a rock causes the rock to wear down

Sedimentary Rock

rock formed when sediments build up and cement together; visible layers

Example.

sandstone; siltstone; coal; shale

Mineral

a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with an orderly, network structure and definite chemical composition

Example.

diamond

Ocean Basin

depressions on the earth's surface due to the sinking of oceanic crust, forming oceans

Groundwater

water below the earth's surface held in the spaces between rock and soil particles

Example.

aquifer

Outer Core

the layer of the earth just beneath the mantle; composed of very hot, liquified rock

Odor

the smell of a mineral; some minerals give off an odor when moistened or heated

Example.

pyrite gives off a rotten egg odor when heated

Mesosphere

the coldest layer in the atmosphere; protects the earth from meteoroids

Tectonic Plates

plates or portions of Earth's crust and upper mantle, which glide across the asthenosphere

Example.

Pacific Plate

Atmosphere

the gases surrounding the surface of the earth

Luster

the ability of the mineral's surface to reflect light; can be metallic, submetallic, or nonmetallic

Example.

galena has a metallic luster

Specific Gravity

the ratio of the density of the mineral to the density of water

Example.

sapphire has a specific gravity of about 4, meaning it is 4 times heavier than an equal amount of water

Transform Boundary

a boundary between tectonic plates where the two plates slide past one another; the earth around the boundary is crumpled

Example.

San Andreas fault

Maritime Tropical Air Mass (mT)

A warm, moist air mass that formed over tropical oceans

Air Pressure / Atmospheric Pressure

the force exerted on an area due to the weight of the air in the atmosphere above

Cleavage

the pattern along which the mineral breaks

Example.

halite has cleavage in three directions

Chemical Weathering

the process of breaking down rocks by chemical means

Example.

acid rain

Air Masses

Regions of warm or cold, wet or dry air that tend to move as a unit across Earth's surface, carrying their temperature and humidity compositions with them

Erosion

the slow wearing away of the surface of the land by wind or water

Example.

wind erosion, water runoff

Constructive Processes

processes that add new landforms to the surface of the earth

Example.

hot spots causing volcanoes

Geyser

a hot spring of water that intermittently jets water and steam into the air; caused by magma heating the groundwater

Example.

Old Faithful

Asthenosphere

part of the upper mantle, just below the lithosphere, solid rock in a plastic state

Crystalline Structure

the degree to which the mineral is arranged in a crystal lattice structure; the more crystalline the mineral is, the harder that lattice is to see with the naked eye

Example.

Sodium chloride crystals typically have a cubic shape, while graphite has a layered sheet-like structure.

Exosphere

a layer in the atmosphere which provides a boundary between the thermosphere and outer space

Metamorphic Rock

form when rock is subjected to great heat and pressure; banding or stripes

Example.

marble

Magma

underground molten rock, present before and during a volcanic eruption

Mantle

the layer of the earth just beneath the crust; composed of very hot rock

Weathering

a destructive process by which rock is gradually worn away and broken into smaller sediments and/or soil

Example.

water gradually breaking down and smoothing rock

Crust

the outermost and coolest layer of the earth

Maritime Polar Air Mass (mP)

A cold, moist air mass that formed over polar oceans

Organic Material

dead plant and animal material in the soil

Example.

decomposing blades of grass

Oceanic Crust

crust found under oceans; made of mostly silicon, oxygen, and magnesium

Stratosphere

the layer above the troposphere; contains jet streams and the ozone layer

Soil

the upper layer of the earth's surface; formed from the weathering of rocks

Example.

clay

Streak

the color of the mineral in powder form; obtained by dragging a piece of the mineral across a piece of unglazed porcelain

Example.

amethyst has a streak color of white

Thermosphere

a very thin layer of atmosphere which has high temperatures; contains the ionosphere and exosphere

Rock

an accumulation of one or more minerals

Example.

sedimentary rock

Nutrients

substances in food and beverages that nourish the living things. They support growth, produce energy, and maintain the organism.

Example.

carbohydrates, fats, fiber, minerals, vitamins, or water

Convection Currents

the movement of fluid which transfers heat from one place to another

Example.

air in a hot air balloon - hot air travels upward and cools, then the denser, cooler air sinks, resulting in the circular motion of the air

Inner Core

the extremely hot innermost layer of the earth; composed of mostly solid iron and nickel

Continental Crust

crust found under continents; made of mostly silicon, oxygen, and aluminum

Jet Streams

strong eastward winds in the stratosphere which blow horizontally around the earth

Lithosphere

the rigid, outermost layer of the earth composed of the crust and the uppermost mantle

Global Warming / Climate Change

an overall increase in average global temperatures due to the greenhouse effect (the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere trapping more heat)

Color

the color of the mineral

Example.

purple amethyst

Ozone Layer

a layer of ozone in the stratosphere that blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the earth's surface

Magnetism

the response of a mineral when exposed to magnetic materials; a physical property

Example.

magnetite displays strong attraction to magnetic fields

Continental Tropical (cT)

Term definition.

A warm, dry air mass that formed over tropical landmasses

Fossil Fuels

a natural non-renewable fuel source. derived from underground, fossilized (petrified) remains of living organisms.

Example.

natural gas, petroleum, coal

Diaphaneity

the transparency of the mineral or ability of light to pass through it

Example.

witherite is translucent, allowing some light through