Tectonic Keywords Flashcards

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1
Q

Ash falls

A

Small particles of rock and volcanic glass that land after a volcanic eruption has blasted them into the air

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2
Q

Asthenosphere

A

The part of the mantle, below the lithosphere, where the rock is semi molten

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3
Q

Benioff zone

A

The area where friction is created between colliding tectonic plates, resulting in intermediate and deep earthquakes

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4
Q

Body waves

A

The group name for primary and secondary seismic waves, because they travel through the earths body

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5
Q

Collision margin

A

Where two continental plates meet and the sediments between them are crumpled and forced up to form high fold mountains

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6
Q

Conservative plate margin

A

Where two plates slide past each other also known as a transform margin

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7
Q

Constructive margin

A

Where two plates move apart, also known as a divergent boundary

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8
Q

Continental crust

A

Older, thicker layer of crust, which makes up the earths landmasses. It is less dense than oceanic crust

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9
Q

Convection currents

A

Hot, liquid magma currents moving in the asthenosphere

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10
Q

Convergent boundary

A

Where two plates move towards each other and collide, also know as a destructive margin

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11
Q

Crustal fracturing

A

When energy released during an earthquake causes the earths crust to crack

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12
Q

Deep ocean trench

A

A deep ditch in the ocean, marking the place where an oceanic plate starts to sink beneath a continental plate

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13
Q

Destructive margin

A

Where two plates move towards each other and collide, also known as a convergent boundary

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14
Q

Divergent boundary

A

Where two plates move apart, also known as a constructive margin

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15
Q

Epicentre

A

The point on the earths surface directly above the focus

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16
Q

Focus

A

The point inside the earths crust from which the pressure is released when an earthquake occurs

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17
Q

Fold mountains

A

Chains of mountains, formed when two plates collide and the continental plate is folded and slowly pushed up

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18
Q

Gas eruptions

A

When volcanic gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide) that were dissolved in the magma are released into the atmosphere during an eruption

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19
Q

Hazard adaptation

A

Strategies designed to reduce the impacts of hazard events

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20
Q

Hazard mitigation

A

Strategies meant to avoid, delay or prevent hazard events

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21
Q

Hazard management cycle

A

a theoretical model of hazard management as a continuous 4-stage cycle involving mitigation, preparation, response and recovery

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22
Q

Hot spot

A

an area where radioactive decay within the Earth’s core is concentrated, generating very hot temperatures and heating the lower mantle. This creates localised thermal currents where magma plumes rise

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23
Q

hydrometeorological hazards

A

natural hazards caused by climate processes (including droughts, floods, hurricanes and storms)

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24
Q

Intra plate earthquakes

A

Earthquakes which occur far from the plate margins

25
Q

Island arcs

A

curved lines of islands, formed when underwater volcanoes grow and rise above sea level to form separate island volcanoes

26
Q

jökulhlaups

A

A heavy and sudden flood caused when the heat of a volcanic eruption melts the snow and ice in a glacier

27
Q

L waves (surface Love waves)

A

Seismic waves which travel on the surface and are the slowest waves but cause the most damage

28
Q

Lahars

A

Masses of rock, mud and water that travels quickly down the sides of a volcano

29
Q

Land use zoning

A

A process by which local government regulates how land in a community may be used

30
Q

Landslides

A

when blocks of rock moves very rapidly downhill, caused when the ground shaking during an earthquake places stress on the slopes

31
Q

Lava flows

A

streams of lava that have erupted from a volcano onto the Earth’s surface

32
Q

Liquefaction

A

when the violent shaking during an earthquake causes surface rocks to lose strength and become more liquid than solid

33
Q

Lithosphere

A

the solid layer, made from the crust and upper mantle, from which tectonic plates are formed

34
Q

Magma plume

A

a rising column of hot rock created by hot spots heating the lower mantle, creating localised thermal currents

35
Q

Mid ocean ridges

A

underwater mountain ranges, formed when hot magma is forced up from the asthenosphere and hardens, creating new oceanic crust

36
Q

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

A

takes observations from people who experienced the earthquake and rates them on a scale from I (hardly noticed) to XII (catastrophic)

37
Q

Moment magnitude scale

A

measures the total energy released by an earthquake at the moment it occurs

38
Q

Multiple hazard zone

A

an area that is at risk from multiple natural hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes

39
Q

Natural disaster

A

a major natural hazard that causes significant social, environmental and economic damage

40
Q

Natural hazard

A

a naturally occurring process or event that has the potential to affect people

41
Q

Non governmental organisation

A

a non-profit organisation created by private organisations or people with no participation or representation by any government

42
Q

Oceanic crust

A

a thin, dense layer of crust, which lines the ocean floors

43
Q

P waves (Primary or pressure waves)

A

the fastest seismic waves and the ones which reach the surface first. They are high-frequency and pushing like balls in a line. They travel through both the mantle and core

44
Q

palaeomagnetism

A

the study of past changes in the Earth’s magnetic field

45
Q

Pressure and release model

A

a tool used to work out how vulnerable a country is to hazards

46
Q

Pyroclastic flows

A

a mixture of dense hot rock, lava, ash and gases ejected from a volcano, which move very quickly across the Earth’s surface

47
Q

Rift valleys

A

steep-sided valleys, formed at divergent boundaries when the crust stretches and the land between parallel faults collapses

48
Q

S waves (Secondary or shear waves)

A

seismic waves which are slower than P waves and only travel through solids, with a sideways motion. They do more damage than P waves

49
Q

Sea floor spreading

A

when new oceanic crust – formed when hot magma is forced up from the asthenosphere and hardens – pushes the tectonic plates apart

50
Q

Slab pull

A

when newly formed oceanic crust sinks into the mantle, pulling the rest of the plate further down with it

51
Q

Subduction

A

when two plates move towards each other and one slides under the other into the mantle

52
Q

Subduction zone

A

the area in the mantle where a tectonic plate melts

53
Q

the Park model (hazard- response curve)

A

shows how a country or region might respond after a hazard event

54
Q

Transform fault

A

A fault created on a large scale when two plates slide past each other

55
Q

Transform margin

A

Where two plates slide past each other, also known as a conservative boundary

56
Q

Tsunami

A

A series of larger than normal waves which are usually caused by volcanic eruptions or underwater earthquakes

57
Q

Urbanisation

A

The increasing proportion of people living in towns and cities as opposed to the countryside

58
Q

Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)

A

A logarithmic scale between 0 and 8 which is used to describe and compare the size or magnitude of volcanic eruptions

59
Q

Water column

A

Water that is displaced above the sea floor when an earthquake has caused the sea floor to uplift. This water column will form tsunami waves