Earth Science Vocabulary

Flashcards of key vocabulary from Earth Science lecture notes.

Biosphere

Includes all living organisms on Earth and the ecosystems they form; crucial for supporting life and cycling nutrients.

Hydrosphere

Encompasses all of Earth's water in various forms; essential for life, regulating temperature, and driving the water cycle.

Geosphere

Refers to the solid parts of Earth, including the crust, mantle, and core; provides the foundation for terrestrial ecosystems and supplies essential minerals.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding the Earth; protects life by absorbing radiation and reducing temperature extremes.

Evaporation

Water turns into vapor due to solar energy and rises into the atmosphere.

Transpiration

Plants release water vapor through stomata in their leaves.

Condensation

Water vapor cools and forms clouds.

Precipitation

Condensed water droplets fall back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Runoff

Precipitation flows over the land into rivers and oceans.

Infiltration

Precipitation seeps into the ground, replenishing groundwater.

Groundwater Flow

Underground water moves within aquifers.

Crust

The outermost layer of the geosphere, made up of light rock material and divided into oceanic and continental types.

Mantle

The largest and thickest layer of the Earth, composed of hot, dense rock that flows due to convection currents.

Core

The densest layer of the Earth, made up of heavy metals like iron and nickel, with a liquid outer core and a solid inner core.

Lithosphere

The solid outer section of the Earth, made up of the crust and the upper layer of the mantle.

Asthenosphere

A part of the upper mantle that flows like hot asphalt; lithospheric plates float and move around here.

Mohorovicic Discontinuity

The interface between the Earth's crust and mantle.

Gutenberg Discontinuity

Marks the boundary between the mantle and the outer core.

Troposphere

Lowest layer of the atmosphere, where weather occurs; temperature decreases with altitude.

Stratosphere

Layer of the atmosphere containing the ozone layer; temperature increases with altitude.

Mesosphere

Layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up; temperature decreases with altitude.

Thermosphere

Layer of the atmosphere with high temperatures due to solar radiation; contains the ionosphere.

Exosphere

Outermost layer of the atmosphere, gradually thinning into outer space.

Earthquake

Vibrations caused by earth movements at plate boundaries and fault lines.

Focus (Hypocenter)

The point within the Earth where faulting begins during an earthquake.

Epicenter

The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

Seismic Waves

Waves of energy caused by the sudden breaking of rock within the Earth.

P-waves (Primary waves)

Fastest-moving seismic body waves that can travel through solids and liquids.

S-waves (Secondary waves)

Seismic body waves that can only travel through solids and move slower than P-waves.

Love Waves

Fastest type of surface wave in an earthquake that moves from side to side.

Rayleigh Waves

Surface waves that move in a circular motion and cause significant devastation during an earthquake.

Tsunami

Long wavelength oceanic waves generated by the sudden displacement of seawater due to earthquakes.

Liquefaction

Occurs when waterlogged sediments are agitated by seismic shaking, causing the ground to lose strength.

Magnitude

Measure of the energy released at the source of an earthquake, often measured using the Richter scale.

Intensity

Measure of the effects of an earthquake at specific locations, including shaking and damage.

Pacific Ring of Fire

A horseshoe-shaped zone around the Pacific Ocean basin with high tectonic activity.

Volcano

An opening in Earth’s crust through which molten rock, rock fragments, and hot gases erupt.

Magma

Molten rock beneath the Earth’s surface, composed of molten rock, volatiles, and solid minerals.

Lava

Magma that has reached the Earth’s surface during a volcanic eruption.

Vent

The opening from which lava flows out of a volcano.

Crater

The funnel-shaped pit at the top of a volcano.

Summit

The top of the volcano.

Hawaiian Eruptions

Calmest type of volcanic events, often occurring at vents and fissures.

Strombolian Eruptions

Eruptions are driven by bursting gas bubbles within the magma.

Vulcanian Eruptions

Explosive eruptions caused by highly viscous magma that makes it difficult for gases to escape.

Pelean Eruptions

Dangerous eruptions involving a great amount of gas, dust, ash, and lava fragments.

Plinian Eruptions

Eruption velocity is controlled by the gas content of the eruption column.

Phreatic Eruptions

Steam-blast eruptions that occur when cold ground water comes into contact with hot rock or magma.

Calderas

Depression-shaped features formed by the collapse of a volcano after a massive eruption.

Shield Volcanoes

Broad, gently sloping volcanoes with non-explosive eruptions.

Stratovolcanoes (Composite)

Steep, conical volcanoes that alternate between explosive and quieter lava flows.

Cinder Cone Volcanoes

Steep, conical hills made of volcanic debris from short-lived, explosive eruptions.

Convergent Boundary

A type of plate boundary where two plates meet and push against each other.

Subduction

The process where the denser plate sinks beneath another at a convergent boundary.

Oceanic-Oceanic Convergent Boundaries

One oceanic plate subducts under another, forming volcanic islands, mountains, and trenches.

Oceanic-Continental Convergent Boundaries

The denser oceanic plate is subducted, forming an orogenic belt and associated mountain range.

Continental-Continental Convergent Boundaries

A subduction zone is destroyed, mountains are produced, and two continents are sutured together.

Divergent Boundary

Regions where a plate moves away from each other.

Transform Boundary

Places where plates slide sideways past each other.

Hadean Eon

The Earth forms from the solar nebula.

Archean Eon

The earliest known life forms, simple single-celled organisms (prokaryotes), appear.

Proterozoic Eon

Cyanobacteria produce oxygen through photosynthesis, leading to the Great Oxidation Event.

Phanerozoic Eon

Rapid diversification of life forms, including many major groups of animals.

Paleozoic Era

The Cambrian Explosion, a major diversification of life, occurs.

Mesozoic Era

Dinosaurs and mammals first appear.

Cenozoic Era

Mammals diversify and become the dominant land animals.

Pangaea

A supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

Igneous Rocks

Formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (magma or lava).

Sedimentary Rocks

Formed from the accumulation and compaction of sediments or by the precipitation of minerals from water.

Metamorphic Rocks

Formed from the alteration of existing rock types through heat, pressure, and/or chemically active fluids.

Weather

Describes the short-term atmospheric conditions in a specific place at a specific time.

Climate

Refers to the long-term average of weather patterns in a particular region over a significant period.

Prevailing Winds

Are the movement of air from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas and are a critical component of weather and climate systems.

Monsoons

Seasonal wind patterns that cause dramatic changes in precipitation.

Amihan

The Northeast monsoon, Amihan brings cool northeast winds.

Habagat

The Southwest monsoon, Habagat, brings hot and humid weather, frequent heavy rainfall.

Tropical Depression

A cyclonic weather system with winds up to 38 mph (62 km/h).

Tropical Storm

A cyclonic weather system with winds ranging from 39 to 73 mph (63 to 118 km/h).

Hurricane

A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour) or greater.

Typhoon

A tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

A belt of low pressure that encircles the Earth near the equator where the trade winds converge.

Solar Eclipse

Occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or part of the Sun's light.

Lunar Eclipse

Occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon.

Meteor

The streak of light produced when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.

Meteoroid

A small rocky or metallic body traveling through space.

Meteorite

A meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands on the Earth's surface.

Comet

An icy body that releases gas or dust.

Asteroid

A small rocky body that orbits the Sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Stellar Nebula

A vast cloud of gas and dust in space where star formation begins.

Protostar

The early stage of a star’s life where a dense core forms.

Main Sequence Star

The longest stage in a star’s life cycle, where the star is stable.

Red Giant / Supergiant

The phase where the star expands and cools, becoming much larger and redder.

White Dwarf

The remaining core is hot and dense, eventually cooling and fading over time.

Neutron Star

An extremely dense remnant made mostly of neutrons.

Black Hole

A region of space with gravitational pull so strong that not even light can escape.

Photosphere

The visible surface of the Sun, where most of the Sun’s light is emitted.

Aphelion

The point in a planet’s orbit where it is the farthest from the Sun.

Perihelion

The point in a planet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun.

Big Crunch

A hypothesis where the universe will one day stop expanding and begin to contract.

Greenhouse Effect

A natural process that warms the Earth's surface.