Geo 351 GR#1

The Blanket of air that adheres to earth's surface

atmosphere

Outermost shell of the solid Earth

lithosphere

Contains all water that exists within the solid surface of earth and the atmosphere above

hydrosphere

Includes all forms of frozen water, including glaciers, floating ice, snow cover, and permafrost

cyrosphere

Zone of life, the home of all living things. This includes the Earth's vegetation and animals and the dead and decaying organic matter they produce.

Biosphere

Three regions of ocean basins

Margins of the continents

Abyssal zones

Midoceanic ridges

The very gently sloping, relatively shallow, submerged plain at the edge of the continent.

Continental shelf

Starting with a break in slope that is quite marked in some places and less steep in others

Continental slope

Gently down-sloping material carried downward from the shelf and slope above

continental rise

Large expanses of lower-relief ocean floor

Abyssal plains

High, submarine, volcanic, and structural mountain ranges.

Midoceanic ridges

180 degrees east and 180 degrees west

International Date Line

The angular distance, measured in degrees north or south, of a point along a parallel from the equator

Latitude

The angular distance, measured in degrees east or west, of a point along meridian from the prime meridian.

Longitude

Has a longitude of zero degrees

Prime Meridian

Latitude is 0 degrees

equator

The angle between two of the 360 straight lines radiating from the center of the earth is called a ________.

degree

Each degree is divided up into ________ and each ******* is further subdivided into ________.

60 minutes

60 seconds

east to west lines on a map

parallel

north to south lines on a map

meridian

Maps that depict surfaces (which can be generalizations of real surfaces or representations of conceptual surfaces like a map of yearly rainfall with ridges representing higher rainfall amounts)

Isoline Maps

How many GPS satellites are needed for global coverage?

24

A computer system that enables spatial data to be collected, recorded, stores, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user.

GIS

A reference value, with all elevations given above (or below) that reference value.

vertical datum

Each ________ connects places having the same value of a given phenomenon, and so it represents a line of constant "height" above the flat base of the surface.

isoline

Each ________ line represents a specific and constant elevation, and all ********s together provide a useful generalization of the surface being mapped.

contour

Most systems like GPS are placed in ________ orbit.

geosynchronous

A naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having a definite chemical composition, physical properties, and crystalline structure.

Mineral

Composed primarily of minerals, though they can also contain other minerals, such as coal or volcanic glass

Rock

Class of rocks that forms as a result of the cooling and solidification of magma

Igneous Rock

Class of rocks that are produced by deposition, compression, and cement action of rock and mineral fragments.

Sedimentary Rock

Class of rocks that are produced when existing rocks are modified by heat and/or pressure.

Metamorphic Rock

Rocks that form from magma that is poorer in silica

Mafic

Forms from low silica (mafic) magma that surfaces (extrusive) before cooling

basalt

Magma that reaches the Earth's surface

Lava

Rocks that form from magma that is rich in silica

Felsic

Forms as a felsic intrusive rock

Granite

Molton rock

Magma

Low viscosity means that something flows ________.

readily

High viscosity means that something flows ________.

slowly

The tendency of minerals to break in certain directions to form bright plane surfaces, revealing the zones of weakness in the crystalline structure is called ________.

cleavage/fracture

Most of the earth's crust is made of ________.

silica

Geologists divide minerals into two major groups: the ________ and the ________.

silicates

nonsilicates

The ________ minerals are of greatest interest in physical geography. All ******* contain a basic building block made up of ________ and ________.

carbonate

one carbon

three oxygens

If the molten rock cools underground, they are called ________ igneous rocks.

intrusive

If the molten rock cools above the surface, they are called ________ igneous rocks.

extrusive

Process of loose sediment transforming to rock

Lithification

Sedimentary rocks made from particles of other rocks

Clastic

Sedimentary rocks that form from chemical solutions or from organic deposition

Nonclastic

The coarsest grained sedimentary rock

Conglomerate

Sedimentary rock with sand sized grains

Sandstone

The finest grained clastic sedimentary rock type

Shale

Nonclastic edimentary rock that can form from the accumulation fo marine shell fragments on a beach or ocean floor.

Limestone

What can sandstone turn into?

Quartzite

What can limestone turn into?

Marble

What can shale turn into?

Slate

What can granite turn into?

Gneiss

A sedimentary structure with beds inclined at an angle to the overall laying of the rock.

Cross-bedding

The layering, or ________, of sedimentary rocks can provide important to the conditions that changed ass a succession of rock beds was being deposited.

stratification

A succession of rock beds is referred to as ________.

strata

Rocks can be compressed or stretched as metamorphosis takes place, often aligning mineral grains into a pattern of parallel bands called ________.

foliation

Earth's first rocks were ________ rocks.

igneous

What are the four major layers of the earth?

Inner Core

Outer Core

Mantle

Crust

The paths of ________ reveal the existence of a layer deep within Earth that S waves cannot travel through.

seismic waves

Iron and nickel exist here in a solid state because the pressure is so high.

Inner Core

Primarily composed of liquid iron and nickel because the pressure is lower.

Outer Core

Seismic data shows that the ________ is in a solid state. Geologists believe this layer is composed of iron, magnesium, and silicon compounds.

lower mantle

The ________ is less dense overall than the layer below it. We know this because P and S waves travel more slowly in the ****** than in the lower. The ******* has two distinct layers. The lower zone is mostly solid but is quite plastic while the upmost part beneath the crust is strong enough to remain rigid under stress.

upper mantle

The ________ is the relatively strong and brittle outer sphere of the Earth that also includes the crust.

lithosphere

The ________ is the part of the upper mantle below the lithosphere, where the hot rock is plastic and flows readily under stress.

Asthenosphere

Oceanic crust is denser and thinner than continental crust and is made of ________ rocks.

mafic

The process of new igneous rock being pushed away horizontally by still-newer rock forcing its way up from below all along the mid oceanic ridge.

seafloor spreading

A ________ plate boundary is where two plates are pulled apart from each other.

divergent

A rift valley is associated with ________ plate boundaries.

divergent

A ________ plate boundary is where two plates are sliding past each other.

transform

What are the main ways plates are moved?

Convection

Ridge Push

Slab Pull

A condition of equilibrium between floating landmasses and the denser rock beneath them.

Isostasy

An ________ volcano is one that has erupted in recorded history.

active

A ________ volcano has no erupted in recent geologic time, but an eruption is still considered possible.

dormant

An ________ volcano has no clear sign of magma below.

extinct

________ is a fluid's resistance to flowing

viscosity

Lava ________ in silica is fairly fluid when it erupts.

low

Lava that is ________ in silica tends to be more viscous, so they slow more slowly.

rich

Volcanoes with silica ________ magma tend to be more explosive because asses are trapped in the viscous magma.

rich

A ________ is a basin that is formed when a magma reservoir is emptied rapidly in a eruption, ceasing to support the volcano, which causes the ground surface to collapse over a large area.

caldera

________ volcanos consist almost entirely of pyroclastic and are produced by magma with intermediate to low silica content.

Cinder Cone

Enormous amounts of basaltic lava

flood basalt

A ________ is a location where hot rock persistently flows upward from the lower mantle, triggering frequent volcanic activity.

hot spot

Most of the volcanoes formed over subduction zones are ________ volcanoes.

composite

________ volcanoes have a steep slope and neither the heavier pyroclastic nor the rather viscous lava travel far from the center.

Composite

Composite volcanoes are usually formed by magma with ________ silica content.

intermediate

A ________ is a mudflow that forms when a major eruption melts the snow and ice, which forms a flood of ash, mud, and water.

lahar

A ________ is a fluid mass of cooling bits of magma suspended in hot gasses that races downwards at speeds exceeding 100kph.

pyroclastic flow

________ volcanoes are built up mainly from lava flows produced by fluid basaltic, low-silica magmas.

Shield

An ________ is the sudden release of energy that has been slowly built up during phases when the fault is locked and there is increasing rock deformation.

earthquake

The ________ is the point directly above the focus on Earth's surface.

epicenter

The ________ is the point of origin for the earthquake.

focus

________ is the severity of the shaking at a particular location.

Intensity

________ is the energy released as the fault ruptures.

Magnitude

Does magnitude change with distance?

no