EarthSci Flashcards
Low-velocity zone of the mantle
Asthenosphere
Increase in s wave velocity between crust and mantle
Mohorovicic discontinuity
Inner core thickness
1,250 km
Outer core thickness
2,200 km
Mantle thickness
2,900 km
Density of oceanic crust
3 g/cm³
Density of continental crust
2.7 g/cm³
Fastest seismic wave
P waves
Foliated metamorphic rock originates from basalt
Serpentine
Foliated metamorphic rock originates from shale
Slate
Foliated metamorphic rock originates from conglomerate
Gneiss
Non-foliated metamorphic rock originates from sandstone
Quartzite
Non-foliated metamorphic rock originates from limestone
Marble
Physical and chemical changes in sediments
Diagenesis
Fragments of rock
Clasts
Pebbles/gravel cemented by a matrix of mud/sand
Conglomerate
Compaction and cementation of sediments
Lithification
Mainly composed of quartz
Sandstone
Made from dead organisms with calcium carbonate
Limestone
American mineralogist that classified minerals based on chemical properties
James Dwight Dana
Hydrocarbon-metal bond
Chelates
Examples of Sulphates
Anhydrite, Gypsum, Barite, Celestine
Examples of Silicates
Quartz, Feldspar, Pyroxene, Mica, Garnet, Olivine, Amphibole
Examples of Halides
Fluorites, Halites, Sylvites
Examples of carbonates
Aragonite, Calcite, Dolomite
Examples of Oxides
Hematite, Cuprite, Corundum, Chromite, Rulite
Example of Sulphides
Realgar, Cinnabar, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite, Argentite, Stibite, Galena
Contains important metals
Sulphides
Contains natural salts
Halides
Forms from high evaporation rate/slow evap. rate of salt water
Sulphates
Largest and most abundant group
Silicates
Found in marine environments
Carbonates
Rate of temp. change w/ respect to depth in Earth’s interior
Geothermal gradient
Partial melting of magma from higher geothermal gradient due to convection
Decompression melting
Ways to generate magma
Decompression melting, Transfer of Heat, Flux melting
Water/CO2 lowering melting temp. of rock, producing magma
Flux melting
Low degree of partial melting produces
Siliceous magma
High degree of partial melting produces
Less sileceous magma
Rising and storage of magma which alters its chemical composition
Magmatic differentiation
Factors that affect metamorphism
Temperature
Pressure
Fluid-phase
Time
Chemical reaction between a solid mineral and dissolved ions
Metasomatism
States that any geological features or intrusions are the youngest in rock layers
Principle of cross-cutting relationships
Gap or break in rock sequence/geologic record due to erosion
Unconformity
Break in rock sequence that are tilted/folded
Angular unconformity
States that sedimentary rock layers are deposited from oldest at the bottom to youngest at the top
Principle of superposition
States that sediments accumulate in horizontal strata
Principle of original horizontality
States that evolving organisms later disappear and recently appear
Principle of faunal succession
States that rocks incorporating other rocks like gravel indicate the gravel are fragments of older rocks
Principle of inclusion
States that the surrounding rock around intrusions are older than the intrusion
Principle of chilled/baked margins
Widely-distributed organism remains that existed for only a specific amount of time
Index fossils