Shared Flashcard Set

Details

flash cards ch 13-14
plate tectonics
27
Environmental Studies
11th Grade
01/15/2009

Additional Environmental Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

asthenosphere

[image]

Definition

 

 

 

The top layer of the upper mantle is called the asthenosphere.

Term

body waves

[image]

Definition

 

 

Body wave (seismology), a type of seismic waves

Term

craton

[image]

Definition

 

 

A craton (Greek kratos / κρἀτος (neut.) "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental crust

Term

convection currents

[image]

Definition
The convection currents of the red liquid will be seen to rise and also fall, then eventually settle, illustrating the process as heat
Term

deep-focus earthquake

[image]

Definition
A deep-focus earthquake is an earthquake that occurs at depths between 300 and 700 km beneath the Earth's surface.
Term

earthquake

[image]

Definition
An earthquake (also known as a tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Term

epicenter

[image]

Definition
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake
Term

fault

[image]

Definition
 Fault (geology), planar rock fractures which show evidence of relative movement;
Term

focus

[image]

Definition
A deep-focus earthquake is an earthquake
Term

hot spots

[image]

Definition
More than a hundred hotspots beneath the Earth's crust have been active during the past 10 million years
Term

lithosphere

[image]

Definition
In the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle which is joined to the crust across the mantle.
Term

mantle convection

[image]

Definition
Mantle convection is the slow creeping motion of Earth's rocky mantle in response to perpetual gravitationally unstable variations in its density.
Term

Pangaea

[image]

Definition
Fossil evidence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart.
Term

primary waves

[image]

Definition
P-waves can be produced by earthquakes and recorded by seismometers.
Term

ridge push

[image]

Definition
Ridge-push is a proposed mechanism for plate motion in plate tectonics. Because mid-ocean ridges lie at a higher elevation than the rest of the ocean floor,
Term

secondary waves

[image]
Definition
A type of seismic wave, the S-wave, secondary wave, or shear wave (sometimes called an elastic S-wave) is one of the two main types
Term

seismic waves

[image]

Definition
Seismic waves are waves that travel through the Earth or other elastic body, for example as the result of an earthquake
Term

shallow-focus earthquake

[image]

Definition
An earthquake whose focus is located within 70 kilometers of the earth's.
Term

slab pull

[image]

Definition
Slab Pull. As a crustal plate moves further from an oceanic ridge, it cools and becomes increasingly dense.
Term

surface waves

[image]

Definition
 Ground Waves The ground wave is actually composed of two separate component waves. These are known as the SURFACE WAVE
Term

terrane

[image]

Definition
A terrane is not necessarily an independent microplate in origin, since it may not contain the full thickness of the lithosphere.
Term

thin-skinned thrusting

[image]

Definition
However, at shallower levels, its displacement was accommodated by thin-skinned folding and thrusting in the Interandean Zone.
Term

volcanic belt

[image]

Definition
 A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields.
Term

volcanic island arc

[image]

Definition
There are two types of volcanic arcs: oceanic arcs (commonly called island arcs, a type of archipelago) and continental arcs.
Term

volcano

[image]

Definition
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!