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ENV-105 unit 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bomb: | Pyroclastic material >64 mm in diameter. Ejected as liquid and solidified in air. |
| Hot spot | A stationary plume of hot mantle material that tectonic plates move over, creating a chain of volcanoes. |
| Volcanic Dust | Clay sized pyroclastic material. |
| Lava | Molten rock on the Earth's surface. |
| Pyroclastic | Solid material ejected into the air during a volcanic eruption. |
| Viscosity | The resistance of a fluid to flow. |
| Volcanic Ash | Sand sized pyroclastic material |
| Lapilli | Pyroclastic material 2 to 64 mm in diameter. |
| Block | Pyroclastic material >64 mm in diameter. Pre-existing rock ejected during eruption. |
| Shield Volcano | Large, broad, gentle sloped volcano formed by repeated lava flows. |
| Composite Volcano | Large, steep sloped volcano formed by alternating layers of pyroclastics and lava flows. |
| Cinder Cone | A small, steep sloped volcano formed entirely of pyroclastic material. |
| Lava Dome | A thick plug of viscous lava piled around a volcanic vent. Grows by expansion from within. |
| Fissure Volcano | Long, narrow volcanic vent that forms in fracture on Earth's surface. Occur where magma dike intersects the surface. |
| Caldera | Large, basin shaped volcanic depression formed by partial collapse after a large eruption. |
| Ash Fall | During an explosive eruption, pyroclastic material is ejected into the air, distributed by wind, and falls out of the atmosphere. |
| Pyroclastic Flow | A mixture of hot gas and pyroclastics that flows at great speed down the flanks of a volcano during an eruption. |
| Lahar | A mixture of water and pyroclastics that flows down the volcano during or following an eruption. |
| Weathering | The break-down and decomposition of rock and mineral material at the Earth's surface. |
| Chemical Weathering | The decomposition of rock and mineral material through chemical reactions involving water. |
| Physical Weathering | The break-down of rock and mineral material through the application of force or pressure. |
| Biological Weathering | Plants and animals act as agents of physical and chemical weathering. |
| Primary Minerals | Minerals that are highly resistance to chemical weathering like quartz. |
| Secondary Minerals | New mineral formed during chemical weathering including oxides and clays. |
| Regolith | Loose rock and mineral fragments in place (in situ). |
| Sediment | Loose rock and mineral fragments that have been transported by surface processes. |
| Soil | A thin, complex mixture of mineral material, organic material, air, and water capable of growing plants. |
| Pore Space | The open space between soil particles, sediment, or rock grains/crystals. |
| Parent Material: | The regolith or sediment that soils develops in. |
| Porosity: | The ratio of the volume of pore space to the total volume of a soil, sediment, or rock. |
| Permeability | The ability of a soil, sediment, or rock to transmit a fluid. |
| Climate (soil) | The average temperature and precipitation conditions of an area. |
| Soil Fertility: | The ability of a soil to sustain plant life. |
| Topography: | The shape of the land. |
| Drainage: | The movement of water on the Earth's surface. |
| Humus: | Organic material that has decomposed to a stable form. |
| Munsell Color System: | Color system that defines cool in 3D; hue, value, and chroma. |
| Soil Texture: | The relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay in a soil. |
| Loam | A soil textural class where sand, silt, and clay have equal sway over the properties of a soil. |
| Soil Structure: | The bonding together of soil particles into aggregates of a specific shape creating a secondary texture. |
| Horizon | Layers with distinctive physical and chemical properties that develop with time in a soil. |
| Soil Profile: | A description of the characteristics and horizons of a soil from the surface downward (with depth). |
| Top Soil | The O and A horizons of a soil profile. |
| Subsoil | The E and B horizons of a soil profile. |
| Parent Material Horizons | The C and R horizons of a soil profile |
| Stream | The channelized flow of water on the Earth's surface regardless of size. |
| Head | The start of a stream. |
| Mouth: | The end of a stream. Where a stream enters another body of water |
| Tributary | A steam or glacier that feeds into another stream or glacier. |
| Trunk: | The main stream or glacier in a network. |
| Confluence | Place where rivers or glaciers merge together. |
| Stream Network: | The arrangement of streams on the landscape controlled by underlying rock type and structure. |
| Drainage Basin: | The area of land that contributes water to a specific stream or stream network. |
| Drainage Divide: | A topographic feature that separates the area of one stream or stream network from another. |
| Velocity: | Speed. Distance/time. |
| Discharge: | The volume of water flowing through a given stream cross-section per unit time. |
| Gage Height | The elevation of a stream surface above a known elevation. |
| Stage | The water level of a stream in relation to the channel. |
| Normal Stage | When stream flow is completely contained within a channel. Discharge < channel volume. |
| Bankfull Stage: | When the stream flow completely fills a channel without spilling out. Discharge = channel volume. |
| Flood Stage: | When the stream flow exceeds the channel and spills out into the surrounding low lands. Discharge > channel volume |
| Recurrence Interval: | The average amount of time between discharge events of a given magnitude for a given location on a stream. |
| Sediment Load: | The mass of sediment being transported with the water in a stream. |
| Bedload: | Particles being transported by rolling, sliding, or bouncing along the bed of a stream. |
| Suspended Load: | Particles being transported in the water column of a stream. |
| Dissolved Load: | Ions derived from chemical weathering in solution being transported by a stream. |
| Turbidity | A measure of the clarity of water. |
| Specific Conductance | A measure of the ability of water or solution to conduct electricity at 25°C. |
| Competence: | The size of the largest particle a stream can carry. Controlled by velocity |
| Capacity | The total mass or volume of sediment a stream can carry. Controlled by discharge. |
| Thalweg | The path followed by the fastest velocity water in a stream. |
| Sinuousity | The ratio of stream length to valley length (straight line). |
| Channel: | The low area containing stream flow. |
| Straight Channel: | A channel with straight path across the landscape |
| Meandering Channel | A channel whose path winds back and forth across the landscape |
| Braided Channel: | A stream whose flow diverges into multiple channels that weave in and out of each other. |
| Point Bar: | The accumulation of sediment on the inside of a meander bend. |
| Cut Bank | A erosional scarp formed on the outside of a meander bend. |
| Natural Levee | A ridge of sediment deposited parallel to the stream channel during flood events. |
| Oxbow Lake: | An abandoned meander of a stream filled with water. |
| Meander Scar | An abandoned meander of a stream that is dry or contains a wetland. |
| Glacier | A mass of ice and snow that moves under its own weight. |
| Mass Balance | The ice and snow budget of a glacier. |
| Accumulation: | Any process that adds snow and ice to a glacier. |
| Ablation: | Any process that removes snow and ice from a glacier |
| Precipitation: | Solid or liquid water that falls from clouds through the atmosphere under the pull of gravity. |
| Avalanche | The movement of ice and snow down slope by gravity. |
| Ice Deposition | The phase change from gas to solid |
| Melting | The phase change from solid to liquid. |
| Calving | When blocks of ice break off the glacier into water creating ice burgs |
| Sublimation: | The phase change from solid to gas. |
| Accumulation Zone | Area of the glacier where mass balance is positive. |
| Ablation Zone | Area of the glacier where mass balance is negative |
| Equilibrium Line | Narrow area or line on the glacier where mass balance in zero. |
| Cirque: | A steep-sided depression formed at the head of a mountain valley. |
| Glacial Trough | A steep-sided, flat bottomed valley formed by glacial erosion. |
| Horn: | A pyramid shaped mountain peak created by the erosion of multiple cirques |
| Arete | A narrow ridge of rock formed between cirque or glacial troughs |
| Topographic Inversion | Common in glacial areas, the process by which topographically high areas become low areas and topographically low areas become high areas on the landscape |
| Moraine | A ridge of sediment deposited at the edge of glacier. |
| Drumlin | A stream-lined hill formed at the base of a glacier. |
| Esker | A sinuous ridge formed in a glacial melt water tunnel or channel. |
| Kame | An irregular to conical shaped hill formed through topographic inversion |
| Kettle | A closed depression formed by melting ice blocks. |
| Wavelength | The distance between two successive waves, crest-to-crest or trough-to-trough. |
| Wave Height | The vertical distance between wave crest and wave trough |
| Fetch | The length of open water over which the wind blows. |
| Oscillatory Motion | The circular path taken by a water molecule in a wave. |
| Wave Base | The depth below which water is does not move as part of the wave. |
| Wave Refraction | Bending of wave fronts as they begin interacting with the bottom. |
| Longshore Current | A weak current parallel to shore. |
| Longshore Drift | The movement of sediment parallel to shore. |
| Rip Current | A narrow current that moves water seaward away from the shore. |
| Undertow | The movement of water seaward along the bottom. |
| Tide | A local change in sea level due to the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon. |
| Beach | An accumulation of material along the shore by wave activity. |
| Off-shore | Area extending seaward from the low tide breaker zone, where the bottom is not affected by normal wave activity. |
| Nearshore: | Submerged area of the beach extending from the low tide breaker zone to the low tide water line |
| Foreshore: | Area of the beach extending between the low tide water line and the high tide water line. |
| Backshore | Area of the beach that extends between the high tide water line and the coast that only experiences wave activity during storms. |
| Coast: | The landward limit of wave activity |
| Berm: | A raised area on a beach that slopes landward. |
| Beachface: | Surface that slopes seaward from the highest extent of normal wave activity |
| Longshore Bar: | Accumulation of sediment parallel to shore in the nearshore environment. |
| Shore Parallel Structure: | A category of erosion control features that work by reflecting wave energy. |
| Shore Perpendicular Structure | A category of erosion control features that work by disrupting the longshore current and drift. |
| Beach Nourishment | Artificially adding sediment to a beach to create a positive balance. |
Created by:
clairemaggard
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