BYU Earthscience from PDF

Light Energy

Energy from the sun that is converted into heat energy by Earth materials.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by a unit change in temperature.

Specific Heat Capacity

The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by a unit change in temperature.

Oceans

Vast bodies of water that absorb and store heat energy, influencing Earth's climate and weather patterns.

Coastal Regions

Areas near the shoreline that experience moderated climates due to the influence of oceans on temperature regulation.

Climate

The typical weather conditions in a region over a long period of time, influenced by factors like sunlight, water bodies, and land composition.

Earth Materials

Substances like water, soil, air, and sand that interact with light energy and heat in different ways based on their specific heat capacities.

Heat Absorption

The process by which substances like water and soil take in heat energy from sunlight, affecting their temperature and the surrounding environment.

Energy Radiated From the Earth

The process of absorbed solar energy leaving the Earth system as heat radiating into space to maintain a balance between energy received from the sun and energy radiated back into space.

Greenhouse Effect

The phenomenon where certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat, leading to an increase in temperature on Earth's surface.

Carbon Dioxide

A gas in the Earth's atmosphere that is used by plants for photosynthesis and is released into the air through burning fuel, contributing to global warming.

Global Warming

The increase in Earth's temperatures due to the higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which trap heat like a greenhouse.

Water Cycle

The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth, driven by energy from the sun.

Greenhouse Gas

Gases like carbon dioxide that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Hydrosphere

The total amount of water on Earth, including water in oceans, rivers, lakes, ice caps, and groundwater.

Ice Caps

Large masses of ice found at the Earth's poles.

Atmospheric Water

The small amount of water present in the Earth's atmosphere.

Biosphere

The regions of the Earth where living organisms exist.

Water Cycle

The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.

Gravitational Potential Energy

The energy an object possesses due to its position in a gravitational field.

Latent Heat

The heat energy absorbed or released during a change in state of a substance, such as water vapor condensing into liquid water.

Surface Tension

The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force.

Hydrogen Bonds

Bonds formed between water molecules that allow water to stick to surfaces and create surface tension.

Surface Tension

The "stick-togetherness" of water molecules on the surface, allowing insects to stand on water.

Dissolving

The process where water molecules attract and break ions and molecules free from their structures, enabling water to dissolve most common earth materials.

Capillary Attraction

The ability of water to move into small spaces and pores due to its stickiness and attraction to other substances.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat energy required to warm a substance by one degree Celsius; water has a high specific heat value.

Ice Crystal Structure

Water is the only substance that expands when it freezes, forming a regular, six-sided crystalline ring with an open center, causing ice to float on water.

Pollution

Contamination of water due to the dissolution of common substances, posing a threat to water quality and ecosystems.

Bacteria

Microorganisms that can multiply in water contaminated with organic matter, including human waste, leading to the spread of diseases when consumed by people downstream.

Toxic Chemicals

Non-biodegradable substances introduced into water sources through manufacturing processes, such as weed killers, paints, fuels, and pesticides, which can bio-magnify in the food chain and pose health risks to organisms.

Water Budget

A method used to determine the amount of water received, lost through evaporation and transpiration, and used by living organisms in a specific area, similar to a financial budget.

Surface Water

Water available at the earth's surface that can be used directly to supply human needs, often stored in man-made reservoirs and transported to areas where it is needed.

Aqueducts

Structures built by various cultures like the Romans, Mayans, and Chinese to store and move water, aiding in water distribution.

Groundwater Storage

Water stored underground, replenished over long periods, and often used as a source of drinking water in regions like the desert Southwest of the U.S.

Water Use Plans

Plans developed by cities and states to anticipate future water needs, conserve existing resources, tap into new sources, and have contingency measures like water rationing during extreme drought.

Utah

A state in the United States that receives less annual average precipitation compared to other states, with much of its water supply coming from mountains capturing moisture.

Water Conservation

The implementation of measures and programs to reduce water usage and meet future water needs, including setting goals to reduce per capita demand on public water supplies.

Water Transfers

The process of transferring water from one area to another to meet increasing demands, often involving efficient management strategies to maximize water use.

Water Development

Involves projects like man-made reservoirs and weather modification techniques to enhance water supply, with a focus on sound engineering, economic, and environmental principles.

Water Quality

Refers to the condition of water in terms of its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, with a need to consider environmental factors and implement policies to address sensitive subjects.

Waves

Ripples formed on the ocean surface due to wind, which grow larger as the wind blows longer and faster, reaching maximum height when crest speed matches wind speed.

Fetch

The distance over the sea that the wind has blown, influencing wave size with longer fetch resulting in bigger waves.

Wave Train

A series of waves created by sustained winds in the open sea, organizing into ocean swells that can travel thousands of miles.

Breakers

Waves that change behavior in shallow water near the shore, causing the wave crest to overtake the bottom, resulting in crashing waves.

Tsunami

Large ocean waves caused by underwater volcanic eruptions, landslides, or seafloor earthquakes, with much more power than windblown waves.

Ocean Swells

Arrays of rolling, rounded waves formed from wave trains, traveling across the sea and encountering other swells to create complex patterns.

Ocean Currents

Vast rivers of seawater circulating along the ocean surface, impacting climate, moving organisms, and distributing heat across the Earth.

Gyres

Giant circular current patterns in oceans, clockwise in northern oceans and counterclockwise in southern seas, caused by prevailing winds and the sun's energy.

Coriolis Effect

The deflection of moving objects caused by the rotation of the Earth, leading to a right deflection in the Northern Hemisphere and a left deflection in the Southern Hemisphere.

Gyres

Large systems of rotating ocean currents, with clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise circulation in the Southern Hemisphere.

El Niño

A climate pattern characterized by the warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, leading to significant weather disruptions worldwide.

Labrador Current

A cold ocean current flowing southward along the west side of Greenland, carrying icebergs from the Arctic into shipping lanes.

Salinity

The concentration of salt in ocean water, typically measured in grams of salt per liter of water, affecting the physical properties of oceans and the organisms living in them.

Desalination

The process of extracting freshwater from saline water, such as seawater, to meet the needs of populations facing freshwater shortages.

Reverse Osmosis

A method used in desalination where water is forced through special membranes under high pressure to remove salt and other chemicals, allowing freshwater to be obtained from saline water.

Saline Water

Water that contains significant amounts of dissolved salts, with concentrations ranging from less than 1,000 ppm for freshwater to 35,000 ppm for highly saline water.

Freshwater

Water with low concentrations of dissolved salts, typically less than 1,000 ppm, suitable for drinking and other purposes.

Distillation

A water treatment technology used in desalination where seawater is heated, steam is captured and condensed to obtain freshwater, effectively removing contaminants.

Tides

The regular, alternating rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.

High Tide

The highest point sea level reaches during a tidal cycle.

Low Tide

The lowest point sea level reaches during a tidal cycle.

Tidal Range

The difference in height between high tide and low tide.

Spring Tides

The very highest and lowest tides that occur when the sun and moon align.

Neap Tides

Tides with a smaller range that occur when the sun and moon are at right angles.

Intertidal Zone

The habitat between high and low tides that is underwater twice a day and exposed to air twice a day.

Tidal Bulges

Enormous bulges of seawater created by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun, leading to the formation of tides.

Abyssal Zone

The deepest part of the ocean, characterized by extreme pressure, darkness, and near-freezing temperatures.

Tidal Power Plants

Facilities that aim to generate electrical power using the energy from tides.

Pressure

Force exerted on an object per unit area, often measured in pounds per square inch.

Submarine

Watercraft capable of operating underwater, designed to withstand high water pressure.

Abyssal animals

Creatures living in the deep sea, adapted to survive extreme water pressure.

Photophores

Light-producing organs found in deep-sea fish, used for various purposes like attracting prey and confusing predators.

Photosynthesis

Process by which plants convert sunlight energy into food molecules, crucial for sustaining life on Earth.

Chemosynthesis

Process where bacteria use energy from inorganic chemical reactions to produce food, supporting life in environments devoid of sunlight.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that explains the movement of the Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Alfred Wegener

A scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift, suggesting that continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea and have since drifted to their current positions.

Continental Drift

The hypothesis that suggests continents were once connected and have moved over geological time to their present locations.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, where the tectonic plates are located.

Asthenosphere

The semi-fluid layer of the Earth's mantle beneath the lithosphere on which the tectonic plates move.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that the Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, causing geological activities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the formation of mountains.

Alfred Wegener

A German meteorologist and geophysicist who proposed the theory of continental drift in the early 20th century, suggesting that the continents were once joined together and have since drifted apart.

Continental Drift

The hypothesis that the Earth's continents were once connected as a single landmass called Pangaea and have since moved to their current positions.

Seafloor Spreading

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed through the upwelling of magma at mid-ocean ridges, causing the ocean floor to spread apart.

Lithospheric Plates

Large and small sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move around on the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath them, leading to various geological phenomena.

Plate Tectonics

A scientific theory that explains the movement of Earth's lithosphere, including the formation of continents, mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

Seafloor Sediment

Layers of mud and gravel found on the ocean floor, whose thickness is used as evidence to support the theory of plate tectonics.

Earthquakes

Sudden shaking of the ground caused by the movement of tectonic plates, with patterns that align with plate boundaries as predicted by plate tectonics.

Volcanoes

Openings in the Earth's crust that allow molten rock and gas to escape, often forming at plate boundaries due to the movement of tectonic plates.

Magnetism

The property of certain materials to attract or repel each other, used in plate tectonics to explain the symmetrical magnetic patterns on the ocean floor.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, causing geological phenomena like earthquakes, volcanoes, and the formation of mountains.

Alfred Wegener

A German meteorologist and geophysicist who proposed the theory of continental drift in the early 20th century, which laid the foundation for the modern theory of plate tectonics.

Convergent Boundaries

Locations where tectonic plates collide or move towards each other, leading to the formation of mountain ranges, deep sea trenches, and volcanic arcs.

Divergent Boundaries

Areas where tectonic plates move away from each other, resulting in the formation of mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, and new crust.

Transform Boundaries

Boundaries where tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally, causing earthquakes along fault lines like the San Andreas Fault in California.

Transform Fault Boundaries

Boundaries where two tectonic plates slide past each other, creating transform faults. An example is the San Andreas Fault in Southern California.

Subduction

The process where one tectonic plate moves beneath another plate, leading to the destruction of old crust and volcanic activity.

Convergent Boundaries

Locations where tectonic plates collide, leading to the formation of major mountain ranges like the Himalayas and Andes.

Divergent Boundaries

Areas where tectonic plates move away from each other, allowing molten rock to well up and create new crust, as seen in mid-ocean ridges.