Geology 1121 CH. `15+ interlude C & E Quiz

What is the rock cycle driven by?

plate tectonics and climate system

What is paleontology?

the study of fossils

What is a fossil?

remanent or trace of an organism that has been preserved in rock or sediment

What is the process of fossilization?

organism dies and is buried in sediment quickly in a calm environment with little oxygen

What type of organism is fossilization biased towards?

hard-bodied organisms

What are frozen body fossils?

animals preserved in ice like mammoths

What are dried body fossils?

fossils that are completely dried out like mummies

What are body fossils?

fossils preserved in amber or tar

What are preserved or replaced fossils?

durable minerals remain while unstable minerals are replaced like bones, teeth, and shells

What is a mold fossil?

sediment compacts around an organism and the organism is later destroyed leaving behind its shape

What is a cast fossil?

sediment fills a mold, preserving organisms shape

What is a carbonized impression fossil?

flattened mold of soft organisms

What is a permineralized fossil?

minerals from groundwater precipitate in porous material of the organism

What is a trace fossil?

footprints, burrows, and coprolites

What is the continental shelf?

fairly shallow, low sloping offshore area that receives sediments from shoreline

What is a continental slope?

area that descends steeply into the ocean

What is a submarine canyon?

relatively narrow and deep valley carved into continental shelf

What is a continental rise?

gently sloping area of muddy and sandy sediment

What is an abyssal plain?

flat area at bottom of ocean

How do tides occur and how often?

gravitational pull by moon and sun, 2x a day

What is a spring tide?

the highest high tide that occurs when the sun, moon, and earth are aligned

What is a neap tide?

the smallest high tide that occurs when the sun, moon, and earth make a right angle

What is a flood tide?

incoming tide

What is an ebb tide?

outgoing tide

What is tidal range?

the elevation difference between high and low tide

What does swell mean?

long, symmetrical waves that come from offshore storms

What does fetch mean?

the distance over which the wind blows

What is a breaker?

water than breaks on the coastline when the circular flow of energy is interrupted

What is swash?

an upward surge of water on the beach

What is backwash?

the downward pull of water on the beach

What is longshore drift?

sediment transporter than moves along the beach in a zigzag motion

What is longshore current?

shallow, offshore current that flows parallel to shore

What is wave refraction?

waves bend towards the shore as they approach shore, causes coastlines to straighten

What is a rip current?

a strong current hat flows straight away from shore that is caused by two longshore currents colliding

What is a current?

a well defined stream of ocean water

What is the Coriolis Effect?

currents in the northern hemisphere veer right while those in the southern hemisphere veer left

What are gyres?

a large circular flowing pattern of oceans surface currents

What is a downwelling zone?

surface water sinks to ocean basins to make deep currents

What is an upwelling zone?

deep ocean water rises to the surface

What is thermohaline circulation?

the rising and sinking of ocean water driven by temp and density

What is sea level rise?

the rise of ocean water

What causes sea level rise?

the melting of ice from continents like the artic

What happens in beach erosion?

the beach becomes narrower when sediment removal exceeds accumulation

What is a hurricane?

greatest storm on earth pushed by prevailing winds that form in tropical areas where there is high humidity and warm water

What is a storm surge?

a dome of seawater that rises above level of surrounding ocean