Absorption |
The penetration of one substance
into a second substance |
Abyssal hills |
Relatively small topographic
features of a dominantly flat, deep-ocean floor, commonly 50-250 m in height
and a few kilometers in width. They are most typical of the Pacific Ocean
floor at depths of 3000-6000 m. |
Abyssal plains |
A flat or very gently sloping
area of the ocean basin floor, reaching to depths of between 2,200 and 5,500
m. Abyssal plains lie between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-oceanic
ridge. |
Albedo |
The amount of light reflected
from an unpolished surface. |
Alchemists |
People who believed that they
could extract precious metals from seawater. |
Altocumulus |
A cloud formation of rounded,
fleecy, white or gray masses. |
Altostratus |
An extended cloud formation
of bluish or gray sheets or layers. |
Ammonia |
a pungent gas compounded of
nitrogen and hydrogen |
Anticyclonic
winds |
a large system of winds that
rotates around a center of high barometric pressure, moving clockwise in
the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern, and usually
produces cool, dry weather. |
Aqueducts |
A raised canal, usually supported
by arches, that carries water or other liquids from one place to another.
The first aqueducts were designed by the ancient Romans. |
Aquifers |
A geological formation or structure
that stores and/or transmits water, such as to wells and springs. |
Atmosphere |
The envelope of gases surrounding
the earth and held to it by the force of gravity. Consists of four layers:
the troposphere (about 5-10 miles above the earth), the stratosphere ( up
to about 30 miles), the mesosphere (up to about 60 miles), the thermosphere
(up to about 300 miles or more). |
Atmospheric
pressure |
the applying of constant force
upon a surface. |
Auroral ovals |
Refers to the areas in either
north or south pole where the solar winds interacts with the magnetic force
of the Earth, causing spectacular skies. |
Authigenic
deposits |
Forming in place |
Calcareous
sediments |
Composed of, containing,
or characteristic of calcium carbonate, calcium, or limestone; chalky. |
Canopy |
A forest's second
layer, or roof. Consists of a network of branches and leaves, forms a covering
that blocks some of the sunlight from lower plants |
Carbon dioxide |
a colorless gas
formed in the tissues during metabolism and carried in the blood to the
lungs, where it is exhaled. |
Carbon monoxide |
a colorless, odorless,
combustible, and very poisonous gas, produced by the incomplete combustion
of material containing carbon, such as gasoline, because of insufficient
air. |
Carbonate compensation
depth |
The depth in the
sea at which the rate of dissolution of solid calcium carbonate equals the
rate of supply. Surface ocean waters are usually saturated with calcium
carbonate, so calcareous materials are not dissolved. At mid-depths the
lower temperature and higher CO2 content of seawater cause slow dissolution
of calcareous material. Below about 4500 m waters are rich in dissolved
CO2 and able to dissolve calcium carbonate readily. Carbonate-rich sediments
are common in waters less than 3500 m depth, but are completely absent below
about 6000 m. |
Centripetal
force |
A force that tends
to pull a particle or body toward the axis around which it rotates. |
Channels |
A bed or stream
of a waterway. |
Chlorofluorocarbons |
A series of hydrocarbons
containing both chlorine and fluorine. These have been used as refrigerants,
blowing agents, cleaning fluids, solvents, and as fire extinguishing agents.
They have been shown to cause stratospheric ozone depletion and have been
banned for many uses. |
Cirrostratus |
A high-altitude,
thin, hazy cloud, usually covering the sky and often producing a halo effect. |
Cirrus |
A high-altitude
cloud composed of narrow bands or patches of thin, generally white, fleecy
parts |
Clay deposits |
Sediments that
are very fine grained; mud deposits. |
Climate |
The meteorological
conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically
prevail in a particular region. |
Coalescence |
To grow together;
fuse. |
Cold front |
The leading portion
of a cold atmospheric air mass moving against and eventually replacing a
warm air mass; cold air. |
Condensation |
The process by
which a gas or vapor changes to a liquid. |
Continental
margins |
Zone that consists
of the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise. It extends
from the shoreline to the deep-ocean floor at a depth of 2000 m. The zone
is underlain by continental crust. Continental margins have been divided
into active margins or passive margins depending on their coincidence, or
otherwise, with plate margins. |
Continental
shelf |
Gently seaward-sloping
surface that extends between the shoreline and the top of the continental
slope at about 150 m depth |
Convection |
The transfer of
heat or other atmospheric properties by massive motion within the atmosphere,
especially by such motion directed upward. |
Coriolis effect |
Physics an effect
whereby a body moving relative to a rotating frame of reference is accelerated
in a direction perpendicular both to its direction of motion and to the
axis of rotation of the frame. The effect helps to explain global wind patterns
(rotating clockwise in the northern hemisphere, anticlockwise in the southern)
and the trajectories of rockets over the Earth's surface. |
Corrosive |
capable of causing
or tending to cause corrosion; eat away usually caused by chemical reactions. |
Covalent bond |
A type of chemical
bond in which atoms are held together in a molecule by sharing one or more
pairs of electrons in their outer shells. |
Cumulonimbus |
An extremely dense,
vertically developed cumulus with a relatively hazy outline and a glaciated
top extending to great heights, usually producing heavy rains, thunderstorms,
or hailstorms. |
Cumulus |
A dense, white,
fluffy, flat-based cloud with a multiple rounded top and a well-defined
outline, usually formed by the ascent of thermally unstable air masses.
|
Cyanobacteria |
A photosynthetic
bacterium, generally blue-green in color and in some species capable of
nitrogen fixation. |
Cyclones |
A violent tropical
storm, especially one originating in the southwestern Pacific Ocean or Indian
Ocean. |
Cyclonic winds |
Low pressure at
the center and high pressure on the outside, causes movement; counterclockwise
in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. |
Dendritic |
Generally, tree-like, branching. |
Dew |
Water droplets condensed from
the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces. |
Diarrhea |
Frequent passage of loose watery
stools, commonly the result of intestinal infection. Severe diarrhea in
children can lead to dehydration and death; |
Dissolution |
Dissolution is the taking into
solution of simple or complex ions, such as when calcite is dissolved by
water and carbonic acid. |
Divide |
A ridge of land that separates
two drainage areas or watersheds. |
Doldrums |
The ocean belt near the equator,
characterized by calms and light, variable winds, or the characteristic
weather of this region. |
Drainage basin |
Land area where precipitation
runs off into streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. |
Dredge |
A machine (commonly on a boat)
used to scoop up mud, gravel, or obstructions from the bottom of rivers,
docks, etc., so as to deepen them. |
Easterlies |
Coming or being from the east:
easterly winds. |
Ebb tide |
Falling tide: the phase of
the tide between high water and the succeeding low water. |
Eddies |
Motion of a fluid in directions
differing from, and at some points contrary to, the direction of the larger-scale
current. |
Ekman spiral
|
Theoretical model to explain
the currents that would result from a steady wind blowing over an ocean
of unlimited depth and extent. |
El Nino |
A warming of the ocean surface
off the western coast of South America that occurs every 4 to 12 years when
upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water does not occur. It causes die-offs
of plankton and fish and affects Pacific jet stream winds, altering storm
tracks and creating unusual weather patterns in various parts of the world. |
Electromagnetic
waves |
A wave that consists of an
electric field in conjunction with a magnetic field oscillating with the
same frequency; Of, Pertaining to, or produced by, magnetism which is developed
by the passage of an electric current. |
Emergent coastline
|
Coastline that is rising in
elevation in geologic time. |
ENSO |
El Niño Southern Oscillation |
Ephemeral |
lasting for only a short period. |
Erlenmeyer
flask |
a conical laboratory flask
with a broad, flat base and a short, narrow neck, used to mix liquids by
hand. |
Evaporation
|
To convert or change into a
vapor. |
Exosphere |
The outermost, least dense
portion of the atmosphere. |
Habitat |
The place in which an organism
lives defined by the food, space, microclimate, other organisms, and physical
and chemical conditions that it provides. |
Hail |
A precipitation from clouds
in pellets of ice and hard snow. |
High pressure |
An air mass of higher than
normal pressure; |
Homogeneous |
Of the same kind; consisting
of parts all of the same kind; uniform. |
Humidity |
Dampness, especially of the
air; wetness in the atmosphere |
Hurricanes |
A wind with a speed greater
than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, according to the Beaufort scale.
|
Hydrocarbons |
Any of various organic compounds
that contain only hydrogen and carbon, such as methane or ethylene. |
Hydrogen bond |
a weak electrostatic bond formed
by linking a hydrogen atom between two electronegative atoms |
Hydrologic
|
Representation of the flow
of water in various states through the terrestrial and atmospheric environments.
Storage points (stages) involve groundwater and surface water, ice-caps,
oceans, and the atmosphere. |
Hydrologic
cycle |
The cyclic transfer of water
vapor from the Earth's surface via evaporation or transpiration into the
atmosphere, from the atmosphere via precipitation back to earth, and through
runoff into streams, rivers, and lakes, and ultimately into the oceans. |
Hydrophilic
|
Describing a molecule or part
of a molecule that has an affinity for water. |
Hydrophobic
|
An interaction between a hydrophobic
('water-hating') part of a molecule and an aqueous environment. |
Hydrosphere
|
The whole body of water that
exists on or close to the surface of the Earth. This includes the oceans,
seas, lakes, and the water in the atmosphere |
Magnetosphere
|
A region between five hundred
and several thousand miles above the earth's surface, in which charged particles
are trapped by the Earth's magnetic field. |
Manganese nodules
|
An irregular lump of rock containing
manganese, found on the deep ocean floor, particularly the north Pacific.
|
Mariners |
Seaman. |
Meander |
A sinuous curve in a river.
|
Mesosphere
|
The Earth's atmosphere between
the stratosphere and the thermosphere, or from twenty miles to fifty miles
above the earth's surface. |
Meteorology |
The science that deals with
the phenomena of the atmosphere, especially weather and weather conditions |
Methane |
A flammable hydrocarbon gas
that results from the decay of organic material as in marshes and coal mines,
and is the main constituent of natural gas. |
Mid-oceanic
ridge |
A long, linear, elevated, volcanic
structure often lying along the middle of the ocean floor. |
Monsoon |
A wind from the southwest or
south that brings heavy rainfall to southern Asia in the summer. |
Occluding |
To force (air) upward from
the Earth's surface, as when a cold front overtakes and undercuts a warm
front. |
Ocean |
Large expanse of sea including
the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans. |
Oceanography |
The study of the oceans. |
Opaline silica |
Silica dioxide with water inside
the molecule |
Oxygen |
A colorless, odorless gas,
and the most abundant element on Earth, occurring in the crust, in fresh
water and sea-water, and in the atmosphere, of which it forms 21 per cent
by volume. |
Oxygen minimum
level |
Organisms on the surface of
bodies of water use the oxygen for their metabolism. As you go down in the
water column there is a place where the dissolved oxygen in the water is
at its lowest concentration. |
Ozone |
A form of oxygen, and an atmospheric
trace gas, made by natural photochemical reactions associated with solar
ultraviolet radiation. |
Paradox |
A statement that contradicts
or seems to contradict itself, yet often expresses a truth, such as "Less
is more". |
Particulates |
Of, relating to, or formed
of minute separate particles. |
Percolates |
Filter through a substance |
Perennial |
A stream that would normally
be expected to flow throughout the year. |
Phlogiston
theory |
A theory of combustion introduced
by Johann Becher (1635-82) and refined by Georg Stahl in about 1700. It
assumes that all combustible substances contain phlogiston, which is liberated
when the substance is heated, leaving calx or ash. The theory was finally
overthrown in the late 18th century by Antoine Lavoisier, who correctly
explained combustion in terms of oxidation. |
Photochemical |
The scientific study of the
chemical action and effects of light. |
Photosynthesis |
The process in plants by which
sunlight, with the help of chlorophyll, is converted to chemical energy
that is used to synthesize inorganic compounds into organic ones, esp. sugars. |
Photosynthetic |
Process in which the energy
of sunlight is used by organisms, esp. green plants, to synthesize carbohydrates
from carbon dioxide and water. |
Plasma particles |
An electrically neutral, highly
ionized gas composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles. It is a
phase of matter distinct from solids, liquids, and normal gases. |
Pools |
Any small area of liquid that
has collected on a surface; puddle; pond. |
Porosity |
The state, quality, or condition
of being porous (highly absorbent or permeable). |
Pressurized
air |
Air molecules that is confined
to a small space, by either reduction in volume or through temperature difference. |
Proterozoic |
Formed in the later of two
divisions of the Precambrian era; from 600 million to 1.5 billion years
ago; bacteria and fungi; primitive multicellular organism |
Salinity |
Measure of the total quantity
of dissolved solids in sea water in parts per thousand by weight when all
the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the bromide and iodide to chloride,
and all the organic matter is completely oxidized. Ocean-water salinity
varies in the range 33-8 parts per thousand, with an average of 35 parts
per thousand. |
Sargasso sea |
An elliptical section of the
N Atlantic Ocean between latitudes 20°N and 35°N and longitudes 30°W and
70°W. Contained within a current system, it is still and warm. It takes
its name from the floating brown seaweed of the genus Sargassum (gulfweed),
found in it. |
Satellites |
A man-made spacecraft that
orbits the earth, moon, sun, or a planet. |
Sea |
Large body of salt water. |
Sediment cores |
Slices of the layers of the
Earth, usually taken with a hollow tube |
Sewage |
Waste matter from industrial
and domestic sources that is dissolved or suspended in water. |
Siliceous sediments |
Applied to a sediment which
comprises particles composed of silicate minerals and rock fragments, i.e.
mudstones, sandstones, and conglomerates. |
Smog |
A haze caused by the effect
of sunlight on foggy air that has been polluted by vehicle exhaust gases
and industrial smoke. |
Solar radiation |
All the radiation that comes
from the Sun. |
Sonar |
A technique, similar in principle
to radar, for finding the distance and direction of a remote object in water
by transmitting sound waves and detecting reflections from it. |
Specific heat |
The quantity of heat needed
to raise a unit mass of substance by 1°C. It is measured in joules per kelvin
per kilogram. |
Spring |
A natural fountain that comes
from the rocks just below the surface of the Earth; a source of a body or
reservoir of water. |
Storm surge |
When a storm (i.e. hurricane)
causes water to "pile" up and move as a wall of water. |
Stratocumulus. |
A low-lying cloud formation
occurring in extensive horizontal layers with rounded summits |
Stratopause |
The level that marks the maximum
height of the stratosphere, at around 50 km. |
Stratosphere |
The layer of the Earth's atmosphere
that lies above the troposphere and extends to about 50 km above the earth's
surface. The temperature within the stratosphere remains fairly constant
but can rise in the upper regions of this layer due to absorption of ultraviolet
radiation by ozone. |
Streambed |
The channel through which a
natural stream of water runs or used to run. |
Stromatolites |
A widely distributed sedimentary
structure consisting of laminated carbonate or silicate rocks, produced
over geologic time by the trapping, binding, or precipitating of sediment
by groups of microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria. |
Sublimation |
a change directly from the
solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid |
Submarine canyon |
Deep, steep-sided valley cut
into the continental shelf or slope, whose axis slopes seaward at up to
80 m/km. |
Submarines |
A vessel, especially a warship,
capable of operating under water and usually equipped with torpedoes, missiles,
and a periscope. |
Submergent
coastlines |
When land loses height, where
the ocean can drown the land. Most of the eastern United States has submergent
coastlines. |
Suffocates |
To die from lack of oxygen;
to be smothered, stifled, suppressed, or deprived of cool fresh air. |
Sulfur oxides |
Inorganic oxides of sulfur. |
Surface tension |
The attraction of molecules
to each other on a liquid's surface. Thus, a barrier is created between
the air and the liquid. |
Terrigenous
deposits |
The description of a sediment
which has been deposited, or formed, on land. |
Thalweg |
Line joining the lowest points
of successive cross-sections, either along a river channel or, more generally,
along the valley that it occupies. |
Thermometer |
An instrument for measuring
temperature, especially one having a graduated glass tube with a bulb containing
a liquid, typically mercury or colored alcohol, that expands and rises in
the tube as the temperature increases. |
Thermosphere |
The extreme outer edge of the
earth's atmosphere, within which temperature increases steadily with altitude. |
Thunderstorms |
A transient, sometimes violent
storm of thunder and lightning, often accompanied by rain and sometimes
hail. |
Tides |
The regular rising and falling
of seawater resulting from the gravitational attraction between the Earth,
Sun, and Moon. |
Topography |
detailed description, representation
on a map, etc., of the features of a town, district, etc. |
Tornadoes |
A rotating column of air ranging
in width from a few yards to more than a mile and whirling at destructively
high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of
a cumulonimbus cloud. |
Torrential
rains |
Lots of rain with high winds |
Trade winds |
Any of a consistent system
of prevailing winds occupying most of the tropics, constituting the major
component of the general circulation of the atmosphere, and blowing northeasterly
in the Northern Hemisphere and southeasterly in the Southern Hemisphere. |
Trenches |
A deep narrow depression in
the ocean floor, often thousands of meters deep. Trenches usually form near
the edge of a continent where the tectonic plate carrying the ocean is being
subducted beneath the continental plate. |
Tributaries |
River or stream flowing into
a larger river or lake. |
Troposphere |
The lower layer of the atmosphere,
extending to 16 km above ground level at the equator, 11 km at 50° N and
S, and 9 km at the poles. Most clouds and precipitation, and, indeed, weather
events, occur within this layer. |
Typhoons |
A tropical cyclone occurring
in the western Pacific or Indian oceans. |
Warm front |
A front along which an advancing
mass of warm air rises over a mass of cold air |
Water mass |
A mass of water that has similar
physical characteristics, i.e. temperature, salinity |
Watershed |
The land area that drains water
to a particular stream, river, or lake. It is a land feature that can be
identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations between two areas
on a map, often a ridge. Large watersheds, like the Mississippi River basin
contain thousands of smaller watersheds. |
Weather |
The state of the air or atmosphere
with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness
or cloudiness, or any other meteorological phenomena. |
Westerly |
Coming or being from the west:
westerly winds. |
Wind |
The horizontal movement of
air over the Earth's surface and one of the basic elements of weather. Thermal
differences throughout the world produce variations in air pressure and
air will flow generally from high-pressure to low-pressure areas. |