Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Exam 2 Chap 4-6
Weathering, Mass Movement, Soil, Glaciers, River, Groundwater
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Chemical weathering | decompostion; rock is broken apart at the molecular level; either by solution or spheroidal weathering; most effective in warm, humid climates |
| exfoliation | rock expands and fractures (halfdome) |
| fall | free-falling of rock down a vertical, or nearly-vertical, slope |
| flow | movement of rock/soil as a viscous fluid |
| frost action | water seeps into fractures and expands as it freezes, exerting pressure against the solid rock |
| mass movement | movement of rock/soil downslope due to gravity |
| physical weathering | disintegration; caused by external forces; either by frost action, salt crystal growth, root action, thermal expansion, unloading |
| root action | small roots work into the small fractures in rock; as plant grows, root acts as a wedge to break rock apart |
| salt crystal growth | salt dissolves in water re-crystallize after water seeps into fractures, breaking up the rock |
| sinkhole | surface depression caused by subsidence; often by chemical weathering |
| slide | movement of rock/soil as a single unit across an inclined surface (slip surface) |
| solution | rock dissolved in water; leading cause of chemical weathering |
| spheroidal weathering | chemical weathering processes occur along fractures in the bedrock; resulting in spherical rock formations |
| subsidence | sinking/ollapse of the land surface |
| thermal expansion | rock volume changes in response to dramatic teperature change, causing rock to break apart |
| unloading | buried rock structures are uncovered through weathering/ erosion and crustal uplift |
| consistence | cohesion of soil particles; porduct of texture and structure |
| eluviation | physical removal of minerals from the "E" horizon |
| friable | consistance rating; easily broken |
| humus | organic material |
| illuviation | accumilation of minerals within the "B" horizon |
| leaching | chemical removal of minerals from the "E" horizon |
| loam | medium texture; relatively even mix of sand, silt, and clay |
| porosity | the availability of pore spaces |
| soil | natural surface layer consisting of mineral/rock matter, organic matter, and capable of supporting life |
| soil horizon | distinctive layers within a soil; based on compostion and processes |
| structure | arrangement of soil particles |
| texture | size and organization of particles within a soil; percentage of silt, sand, and clay in a soil |
| ablation | removal of glacial ice, involves melting, sublimation, and calving |
| abrasion | scouring/polishing of the land surface by rocks that are moved along at the base of the glacier |
| arete | shear, knife-like ridge between two cirques |
| calving | where icebergs form (breaking off) |
| cirque | bowl-shaped basin near the summit of a mountain, resulting from plucking |
| drift | rock material deposited as a result of glaciation |
| drumlin | solitarty hill of reworked till, elongated in the direction of movemtn of the glacier |
| esker | narrow, winding ridge of sand and gravel, formed where meltwater stream once flowed along the base fo a glacier |
| glacial trough | valley that has been reshaped by glacial erosion; deep, steep-sided with a wide, flat floor "U-shaped" |
| hanging trough | Trough with mainly a waterfall falling into the glacial trough |
| horn | steep, rocky peak that has been eroded on several sides by glacirs (mountain peak) |
| lateral moraine | accumilation of till along the sides of a ridge |
| medial moraine | ridge of till in the middle of a ridge |
| plucking | pieces of rock are pulled loose at the base of the glacier |
| stratified drift | sorted rock material deposited by glacial meltwaters |
| surface transport | rock material carried on the surface of the glacier as a result of mass movement and erosion fromt he surrounding slopes |
| tarn | small lake occupying a cirque |
| till | unsorted rock material deposited directly by a glacier |
| alluvial terracce | clear evidence of rejuvenation |
| channelization | human modification fo the river channel |
| cut bank | formation of meandering; creates more erosion |
| evapotranspiration | all the water evaporation from the soil and vegitation |
| floodplain | relatively flat land along a stream |
| infiltration | water that penetrates the surface |
| intereption | water taht is held in a canopy of trees |
| maturity (Davis Cycle) | stream begins to widen its valley |
| meandering | stream flowing in a winding channel |
| old age (Davis Cycle) | Stream begins meandering across a floodplain |
| oxbow lake | cutoff of and meandering channel; example: Carter Lake, Iowa |
| point bar | formation of meandering; sand and gravel accumilationation |
| rejuvenation | caused by crustal uplift and lowering the stream's base level |
| runoff | excess water that moves across the surface |
| saltation | hoping or bouncing motion of rock particles along the bed of the stream |
| surface detention | water stored in puddles on the surface |
| traction | sliding or rolling motion of the largest bed load particles |
| v-shaped valley | narrow valley, caused by downcutting of a river |
| youth (Davis Cycle) | formation of a v-shaped valley |
| aquifer | permeable rock layer that redily transmits water (coarse grained rocks) |
| aquitard | impermeable layer that hinders/ prevents the movement of water (fine grained rocks) |
| artesian well | water under pressure rising from a confined and inclined aquifer |
| perched water table | localized saturated zone that is above the main water table |
| permeability | ability of a material to transmit water |
| porosity | percentage of rock/soil that cosists of pores |
| potentiometric surface | level to which water will rise from an artesian well |
| spring | natural flow of groundwater onto the surface |
| water table | top of the zone of saturation; roughly follows the hills and valleys on the landscape |
| zone of aeration | pore spaces filled with air |
| zone of saturation | pore spaces filled with water |
| well | hole bored into the zone of saturation, from whih water is extracted |
| drawdown | lowering of the water table caused by excessive groundwater extraction |
| cone of depression | circular depression in the water table centered on a well |
| saltwater intrusion | wells made unusable due to high salinity levels |
| cavern | large void in the bedrock caused by chemical weathering |
| stalactites | rock formations that project downward from the ceiling of a cavern |
| stalagmites | rock formations that grow upward from the floor of a cavern |
| karst topography | landscape that has been shaped by groundwater action |
Created by:
time2studyugh
Popular Earth Science sets