Earth Scie Flashcards by Laura Lopez

Intensity

Modified Mercalli’s Scale

Effects and Damages

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Magnitude

Richter Scale

total energy released at its focus

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Continental Plate

less Dense

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Oceanic Plate

Denser

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Focus

Origin of earthquake

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Epicenter

above the focus

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shape of the Earth

Oblate spheroid (flattened at the poled, bulging at the sides)

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Diastrophism

Any movement of the Earth’s Crust

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Layers of the Earth

Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner core

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Crust

Variety of igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary rocks

occupies less than 1% of Earth’s volume.

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The upper part of the mantle is composed mostly of

peridotite, a rock denser than rocks common in the overlying crust.

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Mohorovicic discontinuity

The boundary between the crust and mantle

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Mantle

makes up a whopping 84% of Earth’s total volume.

silicates of iron and magnesium, sulphides and oxides of silicon and magnesium.

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Molten material that surrounds the core

Mantle

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Lithosphere

Solid outerpart of the Earth
included brittle upper mantle and the crust
most rigid (elastic but not viscous)
Coolest of the Earth’s layer

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Asthenosphere

Much hotter and fluid than lithosphere
malleable
subduction zones

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Outer Core

magma like liquid layer that surrounds the Inner Core and creates Earth’s magnetic field.
iron and some nickel

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Inner Core

believed to be just as hot as the sun’s surface.
made up of an iron-nickel (metal) alloy.
Solid because of high pressures
siderophiles (gold, cobalt, platinum)

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Continental Drift Theory

Alfred Wagner

Pangaea

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Theory of Sea-floor spreading

occurs at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust if formed through volcanic activity
support continental drift

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Plate Tectonic Theory

Lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates

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three types of plate boundaries

Divergent
Convergent
Transform

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Mountain Ranges

formed by collision of two continental plates

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Trenches

deepest part of the ocean formed by collision of continental and oceanic plate

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mid-oceanic ridge

chain of mountains in the middle of the ocean | formed by spreading of the ocean floor

Faults

crack on Earth's Crust when plates slip past each other

Volcanoes

collision of continental and Oceanic plate | molten rock, gases, pyroplastic debris erupt through the crust

magma

molten rocks beneath the crust

lava

molten rocks at the surface of the crust

Pyroplastic materials

mixtures of hot, dry rock fragment and hot gases

Mudflow

mixture of mud and water

Parts of a volcano

``` Crater Vent Side Vent Lava flow Pipe magma chamber ```

Type of Volcanoes

``` Cinder Cone Shield Volcano Lava Domes Stratovolcanoes Supervolcanoes Submarine volcanoes Subglacials volcanoes ```

Most common type lava cools rapidly fairly small, steep slope and builds over short periods of time

Cinder Cone

formed by low-viscous lava | wide bases, gentle slopes, flatter summit

Shield Volcano

formed by highly-viscous magma steep-sided can form at the summit of another volcano

Lava Domes

formed by alternate layers of lava and cinders | larger than cinder cones and erupt with great violence

Stratovolcanoes

huge volcanoes with large caldera | most dangerous type

Supervolcanoes

volcano formed on the ocean floor

submarine volcanoes

volcanoes formed underneath icecaps

subglacials volcanoes

Classification of Rocks

Igneous Sedimentary Metamorphic

formed from molten material that has cooled and solidified

Igneous

Igneous Rocks

Granite, Basalt, Obsidian, Pumice

formed by the accumulations of mud, sand, and gravel deposited and cemented or from materials that precipitated from solutions in water

Sedimentary

Sedimentary Rocks

Sandstone, Limestone, Shale

may have originated as igneous or sedimentary but have changed in texture or mineral composition or both through great heat and pressure

Metamorphic

Metamorphic Rocks

Gneiss, Slate, Marble

Moh's Scale of Hardness of Materials

``` Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Aptite Feldspar (orthoclase) Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond ```

Refers to the natural processes that break the rocks intro small pieces

Weatherig

Types of Weathing

Mechanical | Chemical

processes that break the rocks to pieces without changing chemical composition

Mechanical Weathering

``` burrowing animals rapid changes in temperature beating force of water roots of trees rocks force of freezing water ```

brought about by chemical reaction between the minerals in the rocks and carbon dioxide, oxygen, or water

Chemical Weathering

``` Carbonation Oxidation Hydration Solution Acid secreted by roots ```

the transferring of soil and rock from one place to another

Erosion

What is the greatest agent of bother weathering and erosion?

Water

Water Cycle

``` Evaporation condensation Precipitation Collection Again ```

envelope of air surrounding the Earth | mixture of gases around the planet

Atmosphere

Layers of the Atmosphere

``` Exosphere Thermosphere Mesosphere Stratosphere Troposphere ```

Troposphere

weather | temp decreases as altitude increases

Stratosphere

ozone layer | temp increases

Mesosphere

coldest layer

Thermosphere

Hottest layer | contains ions from too much radiation from th sun

Exosphere

above this is outer space

the scientific study of the atmosphere | study of weather and climate

Metereolgy

the condition of the atmosphere in a short period of time

Weather

average weather in a particular region over a long period of time

Climate

the hotness and coldness of the air

Air Temperature (hot air contains more moisture)

force exerted by air particles per unit area

Air Pressure

movement of air due to differences in air temperature and air pressure

Wind Speed and direction

amount of water vapor in the air

Humidity

Type of Clouds

``` Cumulus Stratus Stratocumulus Altocumulus Nimbostratus Altostratus Cirrocumulus Cirrostratus Cirrus Cumulonimbus ```

cloud tops are usually always flattened in the shape of an anvil or plume. Their bottoms are often hazy and dark. they rise into towers with bulging upper portions that look like cauliflower.

Cumulonimbus

typically occur in fair weather. thin, white, wispy strands of clouds that streaks across the sky. made up of tiny ice crystals

Cirrus

transparent, whitish clouds that veil or cover nearly the entire sky. ok for a "halo" (a ring or circle of light) around the sun or moon.

Cirrostratus

small, white patches of clouds often arranged in rows that live at high altitudes and are made of ice crystals. often look like grains.

Cirrocumulus

gray or bluish-gray sheets of cloud that partially or totally cover the sky at mid-levels. you can typically still see the sun as a dimly lit disk behind them, but not enough light shines through to cast shadows on the ground.

Altostratus

cover the sky in a dark gray layer. They can extend from the low and middle layers of the atmosphere and are thick enough to blot out the sun.

Nimbostratus

most common clouds of the middle atmosphere | white or gray patches that dot the sky in large rounded masses or are aligned in parallel bands.

Altocumulus

low, puffy, grayish or whitish clouds that occur in patches with blue sky visible in-between

Stratocumulus

flat, featureless, uniform layer of grayish cloud. It resembles fog that hugs the horizon (instead of the ground).

Stratus

heir tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their bottoms are flat and relatively dark.

Cumulus

Sea Breeze (check youtube)

Daytime

Land Breeze (check youtube)

Night Time

the temperature in which water vaport starts to condense

Dew Point