APES Unit 4 Vocabulary

Albedo- Ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight

Asthenosphere-the upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere, in which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur

Biological Weathering- Plants break up rocks with roots

Chemical Weathering- Erosion from chemical reactions

Convergent Boundary-an actively deforming region where two (or more) tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere move toward one another and collide.

Coriolis Effect- The result of Earth’s rotation on weather patterns and ocean currents

Divergent Boundary-a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other

Earthquake-The sudden movement of Earth’s crust caused by a release of potential energy along a geologic fault and usually causing a vibration or trembling at Earth’s surface

El Nino- A reversal of wind and water currents in the South Pacific

Erosion- The physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem

Insolations- incoming solar radiation and is the Earth’s main source of energy and is dependent on season and latitude

La Nina- Colder counterpart of El Nino

Layers of the Atmosphere- Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere

Particle Size-The size of particles

Physical Weathering- The mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals

Permeability- The quality of material that allows something to pass through

Porosity- Percentage of void space in rock

Rain shadow- A region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side

Soil horizons- Layers of soil

Transform Boundary- An area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other

Tsunami- Large waves of water caused by underwater Earthquake

Volcano- a vent in the surface of Earth that emits ash, gases, or molten lava

Watershed- All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland