Practice Exam Review: Subsidence, Hurricanes, Weather & Climate

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering soil properties, subsidence mechanisms, karst topography, hurricane classification and development, and climate change proxies as discussed in the Chapters 8, 10, and 12 lecture materials.

Subsidence

Ground failure characterized by nearly vertical deformation or the downward sinking of earth materials.

Soil profile

A collection of distinct layers parallel to the surface, created from vertical and horizontal movements.

Soil horizons

The individual layers within a soil profile, distinguishable by color, texture, and composition.

Weathering

The physical and chemical breakdown of rocks that is the main process producing soil.

Clay

Soil particles with a diameter less than $0.004\,mm$.

Silt

Soil particles with a diameter between $0.004\,mm$ and $0.074\,mm$.

Sand

Soil particles with a diameter between $0.074\,mm$ and $2.0\,mm$.

Saturated soil

A condition where all the pore spaces in a block of soil are completely filled with water.

Karst

A landscape characterized by dissolution of bedrock (such as limestone, dolostone, marble, gypsum, and halite) by groundwater.

Sinkholes

Crater-like depressions caused by roof collapse or dissolution; classified as solutional sinkholes or collapse sinkholes.

Frost heaving

The upward movement of soil particles and the land surface caused by the volume increase of water when it frozen.

Thermokarst

Extensive uneven soil created by the melting of permafrost.

Expansive Soils

Soils (common in clay and shale) that expand during wet periods and shrink during dry periods, often producing a wavy landscape and structural damage.

Coriolis Effect

A deflection or apparent change in the motion of wind caused by the Earth's rotation from west to east; it creates counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere.

Cyclone

An area or center of low pressure with rotating winds.

Tropical Cyclones

Cyclones forming over warm tropical or subtropical ocean water ($5^{\circ}$–$20^{\circ}$ latitude) with warm central cores and no associated fronts.

Extratropical Cyclones

Cyclones forming over land or water in temperate regions ($30^{\circ}$–$70^{\circ}$ latitude) associated with fronts and cool central cores.

Saffir-Simpson Scale

A scale developed in the 1970s that classifies hurricanes based on wind speed and damage potential.

Tropical Storm

A stage of cyclone development where sustained winds increase to at least $63\,km/h$ ($39\,mi/h$) and the storm is assigned a name.

Hurricane

A tropical cyclone classified when winds reach $119\,km/h$ ($74\,mph$).

Eyewall

The innermost band of clouds in a hurricane containing the greatest winds and rainfall.

Eye

An area of calm at the center of a hurricane where surface winds converge but never reach the center.

Climate

Characteristic atmospheric conditions over a long period of time, typically years or decades.

Weather

Atmospheric conditions over a short period of time, such as days or weeks.

Permanent gases

Atmospheric gases whose proportions stay constant, including Nitrogen ($N_2$), Oxygen ($O_2$), and Argon ($Ar$).

Variable gases

Gases whose proportions vary with time and space, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ozone.

Aerosols

Microscopic liquid or solid particles (such as dust or fossil fuels) that vary with time and space.

Cryosphere

The part of the hydrosphere where water stays frozen year-round, including permafrost, sea ice, ice caps, and glaciers.

Dendroclimatology

The study of climate data provided by tree rings, such as width, density, and isotopic composition.

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which greenhouse gases (water vapor, $CO_2$, $CH_4$, and CFCs) absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, trapping heat and warming the Earth's surface.