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36 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Focus |
The location at which rock broke or slipped to cause the earthquake |
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Epicenter |
The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus |
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Body Waves |
Waves that pass through the interior of the earth |
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P Waves |
Primary waves. These are compressional body waves (vibrational waves that move back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave itself moves) |
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S Waves |
Secondary waves. They are shear body waves (vibrational waves that move up and down perpendicular to the direction in which the wave itself moves) |
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Rayleigh Waves |
Surface waves that cause the ground to undulate up and down (circle around and around) |
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Love Waves |
Surface waves that cause the ground to shimmy back and forth |
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Mercalli Intensity |
A scale where seismologists represent intensity at a location by a Roman numeral |
I (not destructive) to XII (highly destructive) |
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Richter Magnitude |
A logarithmic scale for defining earthquake magnitude |
An increase of one unit of magnitude represents a tenfold increase in the maximum amplitude of the ground motion |
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Moment Magnitude |
Seismologists measure the amplitude of several different seismic waves, determine the dimensions of the slipped area on the fault and estimate the displacement that occurred |
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Normal Fault |
When the hanging wall slips down the slope of the fault |
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Reverse Fault |
When the hanging wall slips up the slope, which is steep (like, 60degrees) |
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Thrust Fault |
When the hanging wall slips up the slope. The angle of this fault is gentle (<30degrees) |
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Tsunami |
A wave produced by displacement of the seafloor |
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Liquefaction |
When shaking causes sand grains to settle together, which causes the pressure in the water filling the pores between grains to increase. The water pushes the grains apart so that they become surrounded by water and no longer rest against each other, making the sand turn into a slurry |
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Syncline |
Folds with a trough-like shape in which the limbs dip toward the hinge |
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Anticline |
Folds that have an arch-like shape in which the limbs dip away from the hinge |
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Stress |
The push, pull or shear that a material feels when subjected to a force |
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Strain |
The change in shape of an object in response to deformation |
Could be caused by stress |
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Isostatic Equilibrium |
The condition that exists when the buoyancy force pushing lithosphere up equals the gravitational force pulling lithosphere down |
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Kerogen |
The waxy molecules into which the organic material in shale transforms on reaching about 100 degrees C |
At high temps, it transforms into oil |
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Conventional Hydrocarbon Reserve |
Can be extracted simply by pumping from a reservoir rock |
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Unconventional Hydrocarbon Reserve |
An accumulation of hydrocarbons that are too viscous to flow, and/or that occur in impermeable rock, so that they cannot be pumped simply by drilling a well |
Tar sand, oil shale, shale oil/gas |
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Directional Drilling |
The process of controlling the trajectory of a drill bit to make sure that the drill hole goes exactly where desired |
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Coal Rank |
A measurement of the carbon content of coal |
Higher-rank coal forms at higher temperatures |
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Nuclear Fission |
A nuclear reaction during which the nucleus of a large atom splits to form two nuclei of smaller atoms; the process also release neutrons and energy |
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Enriched Uranium |
Since natural uranium is not suitable for nuclear power plants, they must use uranium that is concentrated by a factor of 2 or 3 |
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Geothermal gradient |
The rate of change in temperature with depth |
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Biofuel |
Gas or liquid fuel made from plant material (biomass) |
Alcohol, biodiesel or wood |
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Tidal Power |
Energy produced by the daily rise and fall of the tides |
Can be utilized by damming a bay or estuary |
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Photovoltaic Cell |
Produces electricity directly from solar radiation |
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Hydrothermal Ore Deposit |
An accumulation of ore minerals precipitated from hot-water solutions circulating through a magma or through the rocks surrounding an igneous intrusion |
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Massive Sulfide Deposit |
Form when sulfide ore minerals form concentrations in a magma chamber |
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BIF (Banded Iron Formation) |
Iron-rich sedimentary layers consisting of alternating gray beds of iron oxide and red beds of iron-rich chert |
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Strategic Minerals |
A mineral containing elements of importance to technology |
Particularly the military |
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Hydrofracturing |
A process by which drillers generate new fractures or open preexisting ones underground, by pumping a high-pressure fluid into a portion of the drill hole, in order to increase the permeability of surrounding hydrocarbon-bearing rocks |
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