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Chapters 10-12 Thompson & Turk
Study guide for chapters 10-12
72
Geology
Undergraduate 1
04/09/2007

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Cards

Term
Hydrolysis
Definition
When water reacts with a mineral to form a new mineral utilizing the water as part of its crystal structure
Term
1. "O" Horizon

2. "A" Horizon

3. "B" Horizon

4. "C" Horizon
Definition
1. Uppermost soil layer, consisting mostly of litter ad humus with a small portion of minerals

2. The second layer, composed of humus, sand, silt and clay

3. Also known as "subsoil", it is the transitional zone between topsoil and the weathered parent rock below

4. The lowest layer consisting partially of weathered rock that grades into unweathered rock
Term
Caliche
Definition
A hard cement formed when calcium carbonate, in the form of the mineral calcite, is deposited in soil
Term
Pedacol
Definition
A soil type common in arid or semi-arid regions where soluble ions accumulate in the B horizon, forming caliche and clay
Term
Pedalfer
Definition
Soil type common in a moist climate; subsoil becomes rich in clay (aluminum and silicon) and has the reddish color of iron oxide
Term
Bauxite
Definition
A highly aluminous laterite; the world's main type of aluminum ore
Term
Aspect
Definition
The orientation of the slope with rspect to the sun
Term
Creep
Definition
The slow, downhill flow of rock or soil under the influence of gravity
Term
Pressure-Release Fracturing
Definition
As overlying rock erodes away, pressure on underlying rock is decreased, causing the underlying rock to fracture as it expands
Term
Fall/Slide/Flow
Definition
1. Rapid, free-falling motion (ex: the face of a steep cliff)

2. Movement of a coherent block of material along a fracture; faster than flow

3. When loose, unconsolidated soil or sediment moves as a fluid
Term
Hydrologic Cycle
Definition
Describes the constant circulation of water among the sea, land, biosphere and atmosphere
Term
Tributary
Definition
Small stream flowing into a larger watershed
Term
Channel Characteristics
Definition
Refer to the shape and roughness of a stream channel
Term
Bed Load
Definition
When stream energy is highest, and rushing water can roll boulders and cobbles along the bottom
Term
Downcutting
Definition
Downward erosion caused by moving water
Term
Base Level
Definition
The deepest level to which a stream can erode its bed
Term
Graded Stream
Definition
A stream which erodes rapidly in steep places and deposits sediments in low-gradient stretches where it flows more slowly; irregularities are smoothed over time; has a smooth concave profile
Term
Lateral Erosion
Definition
Erosion along the banks of a moving body of water
Term
Point Bar
Definition
When the stream erodes its outside bank, and sediment accumulates in the slower water on the inside of a meander; occasionally leads to the formation of an oxbow lake
Term
Braided Stream
Definition
Flows in many, shallow, interconnecting channels; form when more sediment is added to a stream than it can carry
Term
Alluvial Fan
Definition
A fan-shaped mound deposited when a steep mountain stream flows onto a flat plain
Term
Kettle Lake
Definition
Water-filled depresions created where glacial ice blocks melt
Term
Oligotrophic
Definition
Lakes with low productivity, sustaining relatively few living organisms; typically attractive for recreation
Term
Eutrophic
Definition
A lake with a high nutrient supply, resulting in high litter, and sediment levels; often leads to the creation of swamp lands
Term
Thermocline
Definition
The boundary between the warm and cold layers of a still body of water
Term
Turnover
Definition
pg. 263
Term
Artesian Well
Definition
pg. 267
Term
Karst Topography
Definition
pg. 268
Term
Stress
Definition
pg. 196
Term
Confining Stress
Definition
pg/ 196
Term
Confining Pressure
Definition
The same as confining stress
Term
Directed Stress
Definition
A stress that acts most strongly in one direction
Term
Compressive Stress
Definition
One of three types of directed stress; forces rocks together and shortens the distance parallel to the squeezing direction; common in convergent plate boundaries
Term
Extensional Stress (Tensional)
Definition
A form of directed stress; pulls rock apart; common at divergent plate boundaries
Term
Shear Stress
Definition
A form of directed stress; stress acting in parallel but opposite directions; one part of a rock mass slides past the other part
Term
Geologic Structure
Definition
Any feature produced by rock deformation
Term
Fold
Definition
A bend in rock
Term
Anticline
Definition
A fold arching upward
Term
Syncline
Definition
A fold arching downward
Term
Limb
Definition
The sides of a fold
Term
Slip
Definition
The distance that rocks on opposite sides of a fault have moved
Term
Normal Fault
Definition
Formed where extensional stress stretches the Earth's crust pulling it apart; the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall
Term
Graben
Definition
A wedge-shaped block of rock dropped downward between a pair of normal faults
Term
Horst
Definition
The blocks of rock between the down-dropped grabens that appear to have moved relatively upward
Term
Reverse Fault
Definition
When compressive forces fracture the rock; hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall
Term
Thrust Fault
Definition
A nearly horizontal reverse fault; low-angle reverse fault
Term
Strike-Slip Fault
Definition
Fault in which the fracture is vertical, and rocks move horizontally past each other
Term
Joint
Definition
A fracture in a rock where the rocks on either side of the fracture have not moved
Term
Orogeny
Definition
The process of mountain-building; includes folding and faulting, earthquakes, eruptions, etc.
Term
Island Arc
Definition
A volcanic mountain chain that forms where two plates carrying oceanic crust converge
Term
Subduction Complex
Definition
Rocks added to an island arc through a scraping process
Term
Underthrusting
Definition
When the subduction complex is forced upward because of additions to the newest slices at the bottom of the complex
Term
Forearc Basin
Definition
A sedimentary basin formed between the subduction complex and the island arc
Term
Andean Margin
Definition
Subduction formed at a continental margin; collision of continental and oceanic crust
Term
Pressure-Release Melting
Definition
Melting caused by decreaing pressure
Term
Partial Melting
Definition
When minerals in a rock with the lowest melting temperature melt first
Term
Pluton
Definition
A large mass of granite solidified within Earth's crust
Term
Batholith
Definition
A pluton exposed over more than 100 square kilometers of the Earth's surface; generally approx. 10 km thick
Term
Stock
Definition
Similar to a batholith, but exposed over less than 100 square kilometers
Term
Pahoehoe
Definition
Smooth, glassy-surfaced, wrinkled or "ropy" ridges of lava; formed when lava with low viscosity continues to flow as it cools
Term
Aa Lava
Definition
Lava with a jagged, rubbled, broken surface; formed when lava with a higher viscosity partially solidifies as it flows
Term
Columnar Joint
Definition
Five or six-sided columns formed when cracks develop in cooling lava, progressing through each thin layer; these joints are regularly spaced and interescting

See Fig. 8.20
Term
Flood Basalt
Definition
A fissure eruption that covers the landscape like a flood; such fissures expand for tens or hundreds of kilometers
Term
Fissure
Definition
Cracks in the land from which volcanic magma may flow
Term
Shield Volcano
Definition
A gently sloping mountain built by fluid basaltic magma; generally slope from 6-12 degrees (ex: Mauna Kea in Hawaii); gentle, rarely threatening eruptions
Term
Cinder Cone
Definition
A small volcano composed of pyroclastic fragments; moderately sloped; erodes quickly and easily because the pyroclastic fragments are not cemented together; explosive, pyroclastic eruptions
Term
Composite Cone (stratovolcano)
Definition
Forms over a long period of time from alternating lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions; known for repeated eruptions (ex: Mount St. Helens, Mt. Vesuvius); often violent eruptions
Term
Ash Flow
Definition
When the majority of the gas has escaped an eruption, and the airborne column of ash, rock an gas falls back to Earth's surface, spreading over land and rushing down stream valleys
Term
Ash-Flow Tuff
Definition
A chaotic mixture of volcanic ash and rock fragments left behind when an ash flow stops
Term
Caldera
Definition
A circular depression formed when the roof of a magma chamber collapses
Term
Laterite
Definition
Common in regions of high temperatures and high rainfall (ex: tropical rainforest); nearly all soluble cations are leached away; often colored rust-red by iron oxide
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