Weathering, Erosion, and Resource Sustainability Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering weathering processes, river and coastal landforms, glacial and wind features, and sustainable resource management based on the lecture notes.

Weathering

A group of processes that breaks down soils, rocks and minerals into smaller pieces through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, the plant & animal life and the water of the world.

Physical weathering

The physical breakdown of rocks into smaller components without changing their chemical composition, caused by forces such as frost and temperature changes.

Chemical weathering

The breakdown of rocks into particles with a different mineral composition or make-up from the original rock through chemical changes.

Biological weathering

Weathering involving living things, including physical actions like plant roots growing and chemical actions like the excretion of acids.

Granular (small grain) Disintegration

Occurs when rocks break up into small grains or pieces to form sand or very small pieces of gravel.

Exfoliation

A process where rocks weather by peeling off sheets in thin layers rather than breaking up into small pieces of gravel.

Freeze-thaw action

Happens when water collects in rock cracks, freezes, and expands, putting pressure on the sides of the rock until it breaks.

Solution

A chemical weathering process whereby minerals or soluble chemicals in the rock dissolve directly in water.

Oxidation

Occurs when rock minerals react with dissolved oxygen to produce red or yellow oxides or hydroxides.

Hydration

A process whereby minerals in rocks absorb water and expand, causing the rocks to break up.

Hydrolysis

Occurs when there is a chemical reaction between the minerals in the rock and hydrogen in the rainwater.

Carbonation

Occurs when carbon dioxide dissolves in water to form a weak carbonic acid which weathers carbonate rocks like chalk and limestone.

Erosion

The process by which soil and rock are broken down by weathering and are moved from one area of the Earth's surface by natural processes like wind or water flow.

Deposition

Occurs when eroded material is deposited in a new location, forming features like sand dunes and beaches.

Mass wasting

The down-slope movement of rock and sediment mainly due to the force of gravity.

Youth Stage (River)

The beginning of a river characterized by fast flow, vertical erosion, waterfalls, steep slopes, and V-shaped valleys.

Vertical erosion

Downward erosion that deepens a river channel in the ground.

Mature Stage (River)

Characterized by lateral erosion resulting in a U-shaped valley, gentle slopes, meanders, and a narrow flood plain.

Lateral erosion

Side-to-side erosion that results in the widening of a river valley.

Old Age Stage (River)

Stage where relief is very flat, flow is very slow, and deposition is dominant, often leading to oxbow lakes.

Oxbow lake

A U-shaped lake formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water.

River's load

Weathered material such as sand, stones, and silt carried by a flowing river.

Tributaries

Smaller rivers that flow into larger rivers.

Gorges

Deep-sided valleys formed by downward river erosion, often linked to the backward erosion that causes a waterfall to retreat upstream.

Canyons

Deep-sided valleys usually formed when a river flows faster, increasing downward erosion due to higher water volume or land uplift.

Meanders

Large, winding bends occurring in a river formed by both erosion and deposition working simultaneously.

Slip-off slope / point bar

A gentle slope built up by deposition on the inside of a river bend where water flows more slowly.

Levees

Natural mounds that form on river banks when a river floods and deposits sand and silt.

Deltas

D-shaped areas formed where a river flows into a larger body of water, loses energy, and drops its sediment load.

Scree

Small rocks and loose stones that collect on a slope.

Undercut

Happens when a river wears away the bottom part of a riverbank or rock face more than the top due to hydraulic action or sediment scraping.

Open-cast (strip) mining

A mining method involving scraping away earth and rocks to access minerals near the surface, often leaving permanent scars on the landscape.

Abrasion

The scraping away or wearing away of rock by small stones or sand particles when they rub or are flung against the rock surface.

Corrasion

Occurs when rocks and pebbles flung by waves wear the coastal rocks away.

Attrition

Happens when broken rock particles are worn down against each other, becoming smaller and rounded.

Corrosion

A process whereby certain rocks and minerals, such as chalk and limestone, dissolve in water.

Spits

Ridges of sand that extend away from the shore or stretch across a bay, formed by wave deposition.

Barrier islands

Formed by deposition when the land along the shoreline is flat, acting as the first line of defense against storms.

Terminal moraine

Glacial debris deposited at the furthest advance of a glacier.

Recessional moraine

Glacial debris deposited when a glacier retreats.

Lateral moraine

A narrow belt of debris deposited along the sides of a glacier.

Medial moraine

Formed when two glaciers move together and their lateral moraines merge.

Till plain

A large and flat deposit of till formed when an ice sheet is detached from a glacier and melts.

Drumlins

Smooth, oval-shaped hills, roughly $50\,m$ high and $500\,m$ long, rising from till plains.

Deflation

A wind erosion process where loose sand particles are removed from the ground, producing a lowered surface level.

Mushroom rocks (pedestals)

Rock structures where the bottom is eroded more than the resistant upper part, resulting in a mushroom shape.

Hammadas

Bare bedrock areas that have been exposed by wind erosion.

Yardangs

Wind-formed landforms about $10\,m$ high and $100\,m$ long, with steep slopes facing the prevailing wind.

Barchans

Sand dunes that occur when there is a limited supply of sand and a constant wind direction.

Plucking

A glacial erosion process by which blocks or pieces of bedrock are pulled from the surface as the glacier moves.

Arêtes

Narrow knife-like ridges found in glaciated mountain areas.

Cirques

Bowl-shaped depressions or hollows found at the head of a glacial valley.

Eskers

Meandering ridges of sand and stones deposited by rivers flowing underneath a glacier.

Renewable resources

Resources that replace themselves through natural processes and will not run out if used wisely, such as water, soil, and solar energy.

Non-renewable resources

Resources that have a limited supply and will run out forever once used up, such as coal, oil, and gold.

Desertification

Processes caused by human activities and climatic changes that reduce the quality of land in dry areas, effectively turning it into desert.

Overfishing

Taking more fish from the oceans than nature can replace, threatening the global supply of fish.

Overgrazing

Occurs when too many animals eat more plants on a piece of land than the environment can naturally replace.

Siltation

The process where rainwater washes loose topsoil into dams, reducing their water-holding capacity.

Sustainable

The ability of a resource to be used at the same rate for a long time without threatening the future supply.

Unsustainable

A rate of resource use that cannot be maintained without the resource being lost or damaged.

Insulation

Material used in places like roofs to prevent heat from passing through, reducing the need for heaters.

Compost

Organic matter, such as food scraps and leaves, that has decayed and is added to soil to provide natural nutrients.

Quota

The maximum quantity of a fish species that is allowed to be caught sustainably within a set time.

Rotational Grazing

A system where animals are moved between different areas of a field to allow grazed grass time to recover and regrow.

Strip Grazing

Using mobile electric fences to restrict animals to a small strip of field to ensure they eat all grass species before moving to a new section.

Fodder

Harvested and stored food, such as dried hay or silage, used to feed livestock when grazing is limited.

Carbon footprint

The total amount of carbon dioxide emissions created by an individual or country through the use of fuels like petrol and coal.

Food security

A state in which a society has permanent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food based on availability, access, and use.

Factory farming

Farming that raises large numbers of livestock at high density in small spaces using specialized buildings and equipment.

Genetic modification (GM)

A scientific method that interferes with the growth and development of a plant or animal to create traits like insect resistance.

Appropriate technology

Simple, inexpensive technology that suits the needs of a particular context and assists people without replacing them.

Crop rotation

Growing different crops in succession in the same field to maintain soil fertility and break the reproductive cycles of pests.