Earth Science Vocabulary

Astronomy

apparent magnitude - brightness of a star as it appears from the earth

circumpolar - describing any star that is always visible in the night sky and, from the Northern Hemisphere, can be seen circling Polaris

constellation - pattern of stars

doppler effect - the apparent shift in the wavelength of energy

elliptical galaxy - contains a very bright center that contains little dust and gas

giant - very large, cool, bright star

irregular galaxy - has no identifiable shape and an uneven distribution of stars within it

nebula - dark cloud of gas and dust in space; first stage in the development of a star

neutron star - collapsed core of a supernova consisting of a small, extremely dense ball of neutrons

nova - white dwarf star that explodes as it cools, temporarily becoming thousands of times brighter

parallax - method of determining the distance from the earth to a star based on the shift in the apparent position of the star when veiwed from different angles

protostar - center of a shrinking spinning nebula; second stage in the development of a star

quasar - starlike object that gives off radio waves and X rays

red shift - apparent lengthening of the light waves emitted by a star moving away from the earth

revolution - movement of a planet around the sun

rotation - spinning of a planet on its axis

spectroscope - instrument that splits white light into a band of colors

spiral galaxy - contains a nucleus of bright stars and flattened arms that swirl around the nucleus

star - body of gases that gives off a tremendous amount of radiant energy in the form of light and heat

white dwarf - small, hot, dim star

Meteorology

adiabatic- describing a change in temperature resulting from the expansion or compression of air

air mass - large body of air with uniform temperature and moisture content

barometer -instrument that measures atmospheric pressure

cirrus- feathery cloud composed of ice crystals that has the highest altitude of any cloud in the sky

climate - general weather conditions over many years

condensation -process by which water vapor changes to liquid water

convection - transfer of heat through the movement of a fluid material

cumulus -thick, billowy cloud

deposition - process in which water vapor changes directly into ice without becoming a liquid

dew point- temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated

front- boundary between air masses of different densities

humidity - amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

latent heat - energy stroed in molecules

latitude -angular distance north or south of the equator

longitude -angular distance east or west of the prime meridian

ozone - form of atmospheric oxygen that has three atoms per molecule

precipitation - process by which water falls from clouds to the earth as rain, snow, sleet, and hail

stratus - cloud with sheetlike or layered form that is the lowest cloud in the sky

sublimation - process in which a solid turns directly into vapor

weather - general condition of the atmopshere at a particular time and place.

Geology

aa - jagged chunks of lava formed by rapid cooling on the surface of a lava flow

aftershock - tremor that follows and is smaller than a major earthquake

asthenosphere - zone of mantle beneath the lithosphere that consists of slowly flowing solid rock

compression - stress that squeezes crustal rocks together

convergent - border formed by the direct collision of two lithospheric plates

divergent - boundary formed by two lithospheric plates that are moving apart

epicenter - point on the earth's surface directly above athe focus of an earthquake

erosion - Process by which the products of weathering are transported

fault - break in rock along which rocks on either side of the break move

fissure - crack in a rock surface through which lava flows

hardness - measure of the ability of a mineral to resist scratching

igneous - rock formed from cooled and hardened magma

intensity - amount of damage caused by an earthquake

lithosphere - thin outer shell of the earth consisting of the crust and the ridged upper mantle

luster - light reflected from the surface of a mineral

metamorphic - rock formed from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure, or chemical processes

mineral - natural inorganic, crystalline solid found in the earth's crust

pahoehoe - solidified mafic lava with a wrinkled surface

sedimentary - rock formed from hardened deposits of sediment

subduction zone - region where on lighospheric plate moves under another

Oceanography

aquaculture - farming of the ocean

benthos - organisms that live on the ocean floor

coriolis effect - deflection of wind and ocean currents caused by the earth's rotation

crest - highest point of a wave

current - steady movement in one direction, such as that of water in the ocean

desalination - process of removing salt from ocean water

drift - weak, slow moving ocean current

fetch - distance that wind can blow across open water

gyre - huge circle of moving ocean water formed as a result of the wind belts and the Coriolis effect

nekton - forms of ocean life that swim, such as fish, dolphins, and squid

ooze - soft organic sediment on the ocean floor

plankton - free-floating, microscopic ocean plants and animals

salinity - number of grams of dissolved salt in 1 kg of ocean water

seamount - isolated volcanic mountain on the ocean floor

sonar - method of mapping the ocean floor using reflected sound waves

submersible - underwater research vessel

thermocline - zone of rapid temperature change that begins just below th esurface of the ocean

trench - deep valley in the ocean floor

trough -lowest point between two wave crests

upwelling - process in which surface water moves farther out into the ocean and deep water moves upward to replace the surface water