Environmental Science l2 & 3

Erosion

Removal of soil by water, ice, wind, or gravity

Geosphere

made of all the rock at and below the Earth’s surface

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of the Earth

Biosphere

The earth and all of its organisms and environments

Hydrosphere

All of the water on Earth

Atmosphere

Layer of gases surrounding Earth

Crust

The thin layer of Earth that forms its outer skin on the land and in the ocean

Mantle

The layer of a very hot rock beneath the crust

Core

The center of the Earth

Tectonic plates

The massive pieces of rock that make up lithosphere

Landforms

A natural feature or shape on the Earth’s surface

Deposition

The moving from one place to another place

Evaporation

The process by which a liquid turns into a gas or vapor below its boiling point

Transpiration

The release of water vapor by plants through their leaves

Precipitation

Water returns from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface

Condensation

The change from a gas turning into a liquid

Aquifers

Layer of rock and soil that holds groundwater

Groundwater

Fresh water found underground