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Earth's Structure
Earth's Internal Structure
picture | Definition | work cited |
---|---|---|
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. | |
magnetic field | a region around a magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts. | www.google.com |
hydrosphere | all the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds. | www.google.com |
magnetosphere | the region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field. | www.google.com |
atmosphere | the gases surrounding the earth or another planet | |
dynamo effect | is a geophysical theory that explains the origin of the Earth's main magnetic field in terms of a self-exciting (or self-sustaining) dynamo. | www.google.com |
continental drift hypothesis | that refers to the fact that continents are not stationary, but move across the Earth's surface. Continental drift is one feature of the modern theory of plate tectonics. | www.google.com |
subduction zone | boundaries mark the collision between two of the planet's tectonic plates. | www.google.com |
lamproites | are ultrapotassic mantle-derived volcanic and subvolcanic rocks. | www.google.com |
transform plate boundaries | is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal, in either a sinistral (left lateral) or dextral (right lateral) direction. | www.google.com |
divergent plate boundaries | A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving away from each other and new crust is forming from magma that rises to the Earth's surface between the two plates. | www.google.com |
convergent plate boundaries | is an actively deforming region where two (or more) tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere move toward one another and collide. | www.google.com |
conduction | heat transferred through objects coming in contact with each other | |
convection | heat is transferred through convection currents warm air rises while cold air sinks due to a heavier density and gravity so the air is circulating | |
radiation | heat transferred through electromagnetic waves | |
plasma | an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons in proportions resulting in more or less no overall electric charge, | www.google.com |
geomagnetic reversals | is a change in a planet's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are interchanged, while geographic north and geographic south remain the same. | www.google.com |
Coriolis Effect | an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force ) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northe | www.google.com |
ophiolite | an igneous rock consisting largely of serpentine, believed to have been formed from the submarine eruption of oceanic crustal and upper mantle material. | www.google.com |
Global Warming | a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. | www.google.com |
plate tectonics | a theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust and many associated phenomena as resulting from the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle. | www.google.com |
Doppler Effect | an increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other. sudden change in pitch | www.google.com |
Greenhouse Effect | the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface. | www.google.com |
mantle | the part of the earth's interior between the crust and the core, consist of hot, dense silicate rocks (mainly peridotite). | |
seismographs | records waves from earthquakes | |
seismic waves | an elastic wave in the earth produced by an earthquake or other big events | |
seafloor spreading | the formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side. | www.google.com |
xenolith | a piece of rock within an igneous rock that is not derived from the original magma but has been introduced from elsewhere, especially the surrounding country rock. | www.google.com |
lithosphere | the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle. |