External Geological Processes Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering external geological processes, agents, formations, and associated risks based on the lecture material for 4th Year ESO Biology and Geology.

Meteorización

Process by which surface rocks exposed to external agents undergo transformations in their original location, becoming weaker materials.

Gelifracción

A type of physical weathering that occurs as a consequence of the freezing and thawing of water accumulated in rock cracks.

Haloclastismo

Physical weathering caused by the crystallization of salts dissolved in water that penetrates the pores of rocks.

Termoclastismo

Physical weathering provoked by sudden changes in temperature, leading to constant expansions and contractions that facilitate rock fragmentation.

Meteorización química

Weathering caused by chemical reactions that modify the minerals of the original rock (mother rock), resulting in less resistant minerals.

Erosión

The wearing away of rocks due to the action of external agents, resulting in particles called sediments or detritus.

Erosionabilidad

The ease with which rocks can be eroded, depending on their lithology and level of weathering.

Erosividad

The capacity of a geological agent to erode materials.

Saltación

A mode of transport where particles move in small jumps after colliding with one another.

Cuenca sedimentaria

The specific area where the deposition of transported materials takes place.

Diagénesis

The set of processes, including compaction, dehydration, and cementation, through which deposited sediment is converted into compact rock.

Cuenca de recepción

The area of a torrent that collects rainwater, characterized by a steep slope where intense erosion occurs.

Cono de deyección

The fan-shaped area at the end of a torrent where transported sediments are deposited.

Meandros

Characteristic relief forms of the middle course of a river where water flows with moderate force.

Cárcavas

Furrows that can range from a few centimeters to more than $1\,m$ in depth, produced in impermeable, poorly consolidated soils without vegetation.

Chimeneas de hadas

Structures formed by differentiated erosion of materials where more resistant layers on top create hat-shaped formations.

Acuíferos

Freshwater deposits formed when water infiltrates permeable rocks and is retained by an impermeable rock layer.

Dolinas

Circular depressions in the ground caused by the dissolution of the subsoil in karst terrains.

Estalagmitas

Formations created by the precipitation of calcium carbonate that grow upward from the floor of caverns.

Till

Unsorted sediment of various sizes deposited by a glacier when the ice melts.

Morrenas

The specific deposits formed by the accumulation of till.

Loess

Extensive deposits of very fine particles, such as clay, that have been transported by wind over thousands of kilometers.

Estromatolitos

Rocky structures generated by the activity of cyanophycean algae.

Medidas predictivas

Actions carried out to attempt to forecast if a geological risk will occur, such as using meteorological predictions.

Medidas preventivas

Actions intended to avoid damage or minimize gravity, such as placing nets to retain terrain or prohibiting building in flood-prone areas.