Chapter 8: Earth Systems and Resources

Convergent boundaries

Where two tectonic plates are colliding together

Divergent boundaries

Where two tectonic plates are moving apart

Transform boundaries

Where two tectonic plates moving in opposite directions are sliding by one another

Hot spot volcanism

A volcano created by the magma from the mantle rises through the lithosphere. If the lithosphere is moving over a stationary hot spot, you can get a line of volcanic islands.

Island arcs

A chain of volcanic islands found on subduction zones. There are usually earthquakes associated with these.

Erosion

Soil moving from one area to another caused by wind or water

Soil horizons

Layers of soil that include O, A, B, C, and bedrock. The top layer is the “O,” or organic layer, where freshly dead leaves and other organic matter is found. Lots of decomposition is happening here. The second horizon, “A,” or surface layer, is often called topsoil and is rich in organic matter. The “B” layer, or subsoil, often has a lot of clay from above layers. The “C” horizon is mostly weathered rock from the bedrock below.

Porosity

Having small spaces between the particles. The finer the particle size, the more porosity. This might seem backward but clay has tiny holes and very fine particle sizes so clay has the highest porosity.

Permeability

The ability of a material to allow liquid to flow through it. Sand has a high permeability, since water flows easily through it.

Soil texture triangle

A way to determine the type of soil based on the percentage of clay, silt, and sand

The layers of the atmosphere

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The temperature changes with each layer.

Coriolis effect

Because the Earth is spinning on its axis, winds and water veer to the right, and storms like hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Watershed

A watershed is a land area that directs precipitation to a particular creek, stream, or river and eventually to the ocean

Rain shadow effect

Where it rains on the side of the mountain with the ocean and is very dry on the other side of the mountain

El Niño and La Niña

Are opposite phases of what is known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The ENSO are the fluctuations in temperature in the ocean and atmosphere in the east-central Equatorial Pacific.