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Earth & Space
Earth's Internal Structure Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| lithosphere | the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| magnetosphere | the region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field |
| atmosphere | the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet |
| dynamo effect | a geophysical theory that explains the origin of the Earth's main magnetic field in terms of a self-exciting (or self-sustaining) dynamo |
| continental drift hypothesis | alfred wegener was the scientist who proposed the continental drift theory. his hypothesis proposed that the continents had once been joined, and over time had drifted apart |
| subduction zone | a region of the Earth's crust where tectonic plates meet |
| lamproites | a porphyritic ultrapotassic igneous rock dominated by phlogopite, richterite, olivine, diopside, leucite, sanidine |
| transform plate boundaries | places where plates slide sideways past each other |
| divergent plate boundaries | occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges. divergent boundaries also form volcanic islands which occur when the plates move apart to produce gaps which molten lava rises to fill |
| 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 |
| conduction | the process by which heat or electricity is directly transmitted through a substance when there is a difference of temperature or of electrical potential between adjoining regions, without movement of the material |
| convection | the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat |
| radiation | a stream of particles or electromagnetic waves that is emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay. |
| plasma | an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons in proportions resulting in more or less no overall electric charge, typically at low pressures (as in the upper atmosphere) or at very high temperatures |
| geomagnetic reversals | 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 |
| coriolis effect | an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation |
| ophiolite | an igneous rock consisting largely of serpentine, believed to have been formed from the submarine eruption of oceanic crustal and upper mantle material |
| global warming | a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth's climate |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| greenhouse effect | the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere |
| mantle | the part of the earth between the core and the the crust. it is about 1,800 miles thick and makes up nearly 80 percent of the Earth's total volume. the mantle is made up of magma and rock. |
| seismograph | an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration |
| seismic waves | an elastic wave in the earth produced by an earthquake or other means |
| sea-floor spreading | a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge |
| 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 |
Created by:
k.jackson
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