erosion Flashcards
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited.
weathering
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms.
water cycle
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a biogeochemical cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on,
evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase.
condensation
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle.
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds.
surface runoff
Surface runoff is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean.
watershed
an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
continental divide
A continental divide is a naturally occurring boundary or ridge separating a continent ’s river systems. Each river system feeds into a distinct ocean basin, bay, or sea. Continental divides are broad, continent-wide example of drainage divides, sometimes just called divides.
deposition
Deposition is the process in which weathered and knocked rock pieces, sediments, particles and soil are carried by process of erosion to a new place and deposited there. This process transports previously eroded sediments, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment.
delta
A delta is a body of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river or stream where it enters an ocean or lake.
floodplain
an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding.
water table
the level below which the ground is saturated with water.
sewage treatment plants
In the wastewater treatment plant, the activated sludge is one of the most employed biological treatment technology,56 which comprises multiple unit operations such as sedimentation (primary and secondary settlers), biological decomposition (including aerobic, anoxic, or anaerobic tanks or similar equipment) and followed by disinfection processes such as chlorination, UV irradiation, or ozonation.
septic tank
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater flows for basic sewage treatment.
sea stacks
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology.
sea arches
Sea Arch is a natural opening in the shape of a cliff, it is developed when the waves collide with the rock. Arches are formed when the waves attack the weak portion of the rock.
sea caves
Sea Caves. Centuries of wave action, freezing, and thawing have sculpted shorelines throughout Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Some of the Great Lakes’ most spectacular scenery occurs where these forces interact with sandstone of the Devils Island Formation to create extensive sea caves.
wave-cut terraces
a shallow-water shelf inclining gently away from the base of an eroded sea cliff
headlands
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory.
beach
In basic terms, beach erosion is defined as a net loss of beach sediments over a particular vertical (2D) section of the beach profile and timescale of interest.
glacier
Glaciers are effective agents of erosion, especially in situations where the ice is not frozen to its base and can therefore slide over the bedrock or other sediment.
glacial drift
he movement of ice in the form of glaciers has transformed our mountainous land surfaces with its tremendous power of erosion. U-shaped valleys, hanging valleys, cirques, horns, and aretes are features sculpted by ice. The eroded material is later deposited as large glacial erratics, in moraines, stratified drift, outwash plains, and drumlins.
till
Till or glacial till is unsorted glacial sediment. Till is derived from the erosion and entrainment of material by the moving ice of a glacier. It is deposited some distance down-ice to form terminal, lateral, medial and ground moraines.
stratified drift
Well‐sorted layers of sand and gravel that have been deposited by glacial meltwater. From: stratified drift in A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation » Subjects: Science and technology — Environmental Science
