| A | B |
|---|
| Abrasion | the wearing away of bedrock |
| Absolute humidity is the actual | amount of water vapour in a given volume of air |
| Abyssal plain is the huge bottom | regions of the oceans |
| Accretion is the process of | growth through accumulation |
| Acid rain is a wet form of | acid deposition |
| Active layer is the layer of | material overlying permafrost |
| Adiabatic lapse rate is due to | compaction or expansion |
| Aftershock is the result of a | a lower-magnitude quake following a major earthquake |
| Aggradation | deposition of rock materials |
| Agroforestry is the planting | of trees in an area that has been deforested |
| Albedo is the amount of | radiation reflected |
| Alluvium is stream-deposited | sediments |
| Andesitic magma is highly | viscous |
| Antarctic bottom water is a | major deep ocean current |
| Anticline forms from rockbeds | that have been folded upwards |
| Anticyclone is an area of | high pressure |
| Aphelion is the point where | the earth is farthest from the Sun |
| Aquifer fresh water is stored | in layers of porous and permeable rock |
| Arete | a knife-edged ridge |
| Asteroid is a small body of | rock orbiting between Mars and Jupiter |
| Asthenosphere | plastic layer of the upper mantle |
| Attrition is the breakdown of | rock particles due to collsion |
| Autotrophic life forms are able | to produce their own food |
| Avalanche rapid flow of snow, | ice and rock materials |
| Azonal soil is by definition an | immature soil |
| Badlands occur in relatively | soft rocks in a semi-arid climate |
| Bahada are created by the fusion of | a series of alluvial fans |
| A barrier island is a long deposit | of sand paralleling a coastline |
| Basil slippage is the sliding of | a glacier over bedrock |
| Batholith is a massive intrusion | of magma |
| Bayhead beach | a deposit of sand formed through wave action |
| Baymouth sand bar forms a | narrow band linking two headlands |
| Bedrock plain was caused by | glaciation |
| Biomagification the increase | of toxicity as the chemicals find their way through the food chain |
| Boreal is a region of | coniferous forest |
| Braided streams are typical | of deserts and glacial meltwater |
| Bridal veil fall occurs where there is a | hanging valley |
| Buffering: adding a base to a lake | in order to reduce acidity |
| Caliche is a layer of calcium | carbonate formed near the surface |
| Cap Rock is an impermeable | that prevents oil or natural gas to pass |
| Tropical rainforests and the oceans | are carbon dioxide sinks |
| Chlorofluorocarbons stable gases | that contribute to the greenhouse effec |
| A Cirque is a bowl-shaped depression | cut into a mountain by a glacier |
| Clastic loose sediments | produced by weathering |
| Clay Plain is formed by the | deposition of clay in a glacial lake |
| Collision zone: where two tectonic plates | converge |
| Competence size and weight | of rock or soil particles that can be moved |
| A Composite Volcano is made up of | alternating layers of ash and lava |
| Continental Volcanic Arc | chain of volcanic mountains |
| Convection Current | a current that forms in liquids and gases |
| Corrosion is the dissolving | of soluble minerals by streams |
| Craton is the most | stable part of a continent |
| Cuesta: a ridge with one steep side | and one gently sloping side |
| Cyclone: an area of | low atmospheric pressure |
| Debris slides are caused by | earthquakes or undercutting |
| Depression: is an area of | low atmospheric pressure |
| Desert pavement | closely spaced pebbles due to wind action |
| Desert varnish occurs when | iron or manganese oxide are present |
| Differentiation caused by | separation according to density |
| Divergent plate boundaries | move apart |
| Doline formations occur in | limestone regions |
| Drumlins are caused by | glacial readvancement |
| Karst landscapes have | underground rivers |
| Dyke: an intrustion of magma cutting | across original rock beds |
| Eccentricity the change in the | orbit of the earth |
| El Nino event | disruption of upwelling of cold water |
| Any hot object gives off | electromagnetic energy |
| Environmental lapse rate | 6.4 deg. C. /1000 m |
| Eolian erosion is caused by | wind |
| Ephemeral streams | flow rarely |
| March 21 and September 21 | Equinoxes |
| Erg | massive sand dunes |
| Escarpment: marks the end | of the plateau |
| Esker: caused by a | meltwater stream |
| Evapotranspiration: loss of | water to the atmosphere |
| Exfoliation | peeling of rock layers |
| Extrusive rock cools | quickly |
| Fiord - a glacially eroded | U-shaped valley flooded by the sea |
| Firn: granular snow or compacted | ice crystals being transformed into glacial ice |
| Foliated: banded structure caused | by the lining up of different minerals |
| Free Oxygen: Oxygen in the atmosphere | that has not combined |
| Gaia Hypothesis emphasizes | interrelationaships between biological and physical worlds |
| Gas giants: | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune |
| Gibbrt: Australian term for | desert pavement |
| Graben: also called | Rift Valley |
| Graded stream: one that has | its channel |
| Ground moraine: laid down | beneath a glacier |
| Heat Island: increased temperatures | found in the centre of urban areas |
| Heterotrophic life forms are | unable to manufacture their own food |
| Horst: a steep sided mountain | formed where the crust has been squeezed upward |
| Hydrolosis is a form of | chemical weathering |
| Hythergraph: | scatter graph |
| Intermittent stream: flows | only during the wet season |
| Intertropical Convergence Zone | NE & SE trade winds meet |
| Isobar | joins two points of equal atmospheric pressure |
| Isostasy | state of balance maintained by the Earth's crust |
| Kame: conical hill where a glacial | meltwater stream entered a lake |
| Kettle: a lake formed when | a block of glacial ice melts |
| Lacolith: caused by an | intrusion that forces apart local rock beds |
| Lateral erosion caused by | undercutting of river banks |
| Lithification: turning sediment | into sedimentary rock |
| Loam is composed of | sand, silt and clay |
| Mass wasting: | caused by the pull of gravity |
| Mesosphere: largely solid layer | between the core and asthenosphere |
| Mid-Ocean Ridge: lies between | two diverging plates |
| Moraine: a deposit of till | transported by a glacier |
| Neap Tides occur when the Sun | and the Moon are at right angles to one another |
| Nebula: a cloud of dust particles | and gas found in outer space |
| North Atlantic Deep Water Current: | flows south from its source in the Arctic |
| Obsidian: an extrusive igneous | rock that cools suddenly |
| Outwash plain | laid down by glacial melting |
| Oxbow Lake: a crescent-shaped | lake on a meandering stream |
| Primary Wave: fastest moving | compressional earthquake wave |
| Periglacial landscape | forms over permafrost |
| Playa: a dry lake bed made up | of alluvium |
| Polar front: boundary zone | between cold dry air and warmer more humid air |
| Reg: Arabic for | desert pavement |
| Reservoir Rock: porous rock | that holds natural gas or oil |
| Rock glaciers are caused | by frost shattering and gravity |
| Rossby Wave | a meandering in the jet stream |
| sclerophyll leaves are found on | oak, olive and pine trees. |
| Shield volcanoes are composed of | low viscosity lava |
| Sial: lighter density | granitic rocks |
| Soil Creep: caused by | saturation and gravity |
| Solifluction: commonly occurs | on soil overlying permafrost |
| Stalactites & Stalagmites | form in limestone caverns |
| Striation marks reveal the | glaciers path |
| Pangea: | the last supercontinent |
| Syncline: rock beds that have | been bent down to form a valley |
| Taiga: Russian term for | boreal forest |
| Talus slopes form when | frost shattering is present |
| Tarn: a lake occupying the | bottom of a cirque |
| Thermal expansion occurs | in desert areas |
| Thermocline is a | boundary zone in the ocean |
| Transpiration: the loss of | water vapour through the leaves |
| Tundra is known for having | no trees |
| Uvala | form in limestone regions |
| Viscosity | resistance to flow |
| Wadi: short-lived | desert rivers |
| XEROPHYTES | DESERT PLANTS |
