Untitled Quiz

Study Notes

Isostasy: The state of gravitational equilibrium between Earth's crust and mantle, where the crust floats on the denser mantle.
Archimedes Principle: States that the buoyant force on an object submerged in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
Density: The mass of a substance per unit volume.
The density of a floating mass determines its isostatic equilibrium position. A denser mass will sit lower in the mantle, while a less dense mass will sit higher.
A floating mass that gets larger will displace more fluid, causing it to sink lower in the mantle. Conversely, a floating mass that gets smaller will displace less fluid, causing it to rise higher in the mantle.

Most abundant elements in Earth's crust: Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum, Iron, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium
Most abundant minerals in Earth's crust: Feldspar, Quartz, Mica, Pyroxene, Amphibole, Olivine
Mineral formation: Minerals form through processes like crystallization from magma or lava, precipitation from water solutions, and solid-state transformation.
Mineral identification: Minerals can be identified by their physical characteristics such as color, hardness, streak, luster, cleavage, and crystal form.
Mineral identification tables: Use these tables to cross reference mineral characteristics to identify specific minerals.

Igneous rocks: Form from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
Sedimentary rocks: Form from the accumulation and cementation of sediments, such as sand, silt, and clay.
Metamorphic rocks: Form when existing rocks are transformed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
Igneous rock textures: Phaneritic (slow cooling, visible crystals), Aphanitic (rapid cooling, crystals not visible), Porphyritic (mixture of large and small crystals)
Igneous rock composition: Mafic (low silica, dark gray/black), Felsic (high silica, light gray/white)
Oceanic crust: Composed primarily of mafic rocks like basalt and gabbro.
Continental crust: Composed primarily of felsic rocks like granite and rhyolite.
Sedimentary rock formation: Deep ocean (mudstones and shales), Rivers (conglomerates and sandstones), Continental shelf (sandstones and limestones)
Sedimentary rock features: Grain size, sorting, roundness, sphericity, and bedding patterns can indicate the environment of deposition.

Longshore Transport: The movement of sand and sediment along the shoreline, driven by waves and currents.
Sediment drift: The net movement of sediment along a coastline, driven by prevailing winds and currents.
Sand layer patterns: Beach sand layer patterns are influenced by wave energy, sediment supply, and longshore transport.
Coastal Flora:
- Dunes: Vegetation adapted to sandy, windswept environments.
- Interdune meadow: Vegetation found in depressions between dunes.
- Maritime forest: Vegetation adapted to salty, coastal conditions.

Roundness: The degree to which a sediment particle has rounded edges.
Sphericity: The degree to which a sediment particle is spherical in shape.
Sorting: The uniformity of grain size in a sediment sample.
Sediment provenance: The origin of the sediment, which can be inferred from grain size, roundness, and sorting.
Beach slope: Grain size is correlated with beach slope, with finer sediment corresponding to gentler slopes.

Plate boundaries:
- Divergent boundaries: Plates move apart, creating new crust (Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys)
- Convergent boundaries: Plates collide, resulting in subduction (volcanoes, mountain ranges, earthquakes)
- Transform boundaries: Plates slide past each other horizontally (earthquakes)
Mountain types:
- Volcanic: Formed by the eruption of magma (Mt. Fuji, Mt. Vesuvius)
- Fold: Formed by compression of rock layers (Appalachian Mountains, Himalayas)
- Fault-block: Formed by movement along faults (Sierra Nevada Mountains)