Extreme Environments

Extreme Environment

relatively inaccessible areas that tend to be viewed as inhospitable to human habitation, though they do provide opportunities for settlement and economic activity

The Angle of Incidence

the angle at which light strikes the surface of the Earth

Ferrel Cell’s Wind Circulation

Driven by temperature differences, cool polar air masses, and warm subtropical air masses converge, pushing each other upwards along their meeting line around 60 and 70 degrees north and south.

Adiabatic Cooling

the cooling of an air parcel as it rises adiabatically in the atmosphere

Lapse Rate

the rate at which temperature drops

Slope Aspect

the direction that a slope faces

Solifluction

seasonal freeze-thaw action upon waterlogging topsoils which induces downslope movement

Ice Heaves

sheets of ice that push against each other or the shoreline. They form when ice sheets expand due to rapid temperature fluctuations. Thermal expansion of the ice occurs when a rapid increase follows a period of very cold weather in temperature

Ablation

all methods by which the glacier can lose mass. In this zone, there is a net loss in mass when outputs are greater than inputs

Desertification

the process by which deserts expand into semi-arid areas or become more intense

Cirque

an oval-shaped depression in the side with a steep back wall and a rock lip

Arete

narrow, knifed-edged ridge

Pyramidal Peak

pointed peak with radiating aretes

Glacial Trough

steep-sided u-shaped valley

Hanging Valley

tributary glacier left high above the main valley

Truncated Sur

steep cliff-like valley sides

Rock Steps

stepped long profile in a glacial trough

Ribbon Lake

long narrow lack in glacial trough

Cirque Lake

small, deep, circular lake

Roche Moutonnée

ice-smoothed rocks with steeper side facing down-valley

Striations

rocks scaled with parallel scratches

Freeze-Thaw

the process by which the freezing of water puts pressure on rocks (especially jointed rocks). Only occurs when the temperature fluctuates above and below freezing points are there are cycle of strain and release

Frost Heave

the expansion of fine-grained soils such as silts and clays to form small domes. Results from the direct formation of ice.

Solifluction

Common when surface sediments are poorly drained and saturated with water. Occurs when tyres are above zero and free liquid water is available in the action later

Frost Creep

type of solifluction that occurs because of frost heaving and thawing

Rockfalls

when fragments of rock break away from a cliff face from freeze-thaw weathering

Permafrost

permanently frozen subsurface

Thermokarst

irregular, hummocky terrain with marshy or lake-filled hollows created by the disruption of permafrost's thermal equilibrium

Pingos

dome-shaped isolated killed with interrupted flat tundra plains. Form as a result of movement and freezing of water under pressure

Open-system pingos

forms when the source of water is a distance elevate the source

Closed-system pingos

forms when the supply of water is local and permafrost expands

Salt crystallization

a form of weathering that causes the decomposition of rock by the solution of salt, causing chemical and physical changes in the rock

Disintegration

a form of weathering where the grains of rock become loose and fall out, leaving a pitted surface

Exogenous rivers

rivers that have their source in wetter environments and then flow through a desert

Endorheic Rivers

rivers that drain into an inland lake or sea

Ephemeral rivers

Rivers that flow seasonally or after a storm and tend to have high discharges and sediment levels

Deflation

Progressive removal of fine material by the wind leaving behind larger materials

Dunes

develops when sans Grania, moved by saltation and surface creep, are deposited

Yardangs

extensive ridges of rock. They are separated by troughs, and have an alignment similar to the prevailing winds.

Zeugens

tabular masses of resistant rock separated by trenches where the wind cuts vertically through the cap into the underlying soft rock

Rock petals

formed by exposed isolated rocks in the series when a more resistant layer of sedimentary rocks sits above a softer layer

Oases

fertile spots in the desert where water is found. Formed where natural depressions are deep enough to cut into water table

Wadis

dry river channels that are generally steep-sided and flat-bottomed. May have formed during flash floods or during wetter pluvial periods in the Ice Age when the runoff collected from sheet flood becomes concentrated into deep ravines

Measea

Plateau-like featured with steep-sides

Buttles

a smaller version of mesas, representing the final stage of erosion before the resistance rock is finally eroded

Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. They should fulfill needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, but are restricted by limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet these present and future needs.

Solar Power

A completely renewable resource that has non-direct pollution during electricity generation and requires little maintenance.

Desalination

The removal of salts and minerals from seawater and soil.

Aquaponics

an integrated form of farming that enables farms to increase yield by growing plants and farming fish in the same closed freshwater system