Flashcards › Earth Science Final Exam Review

abbyssal plain a smooth mainly flat region of the deep ocean floor asthenosphere soft layer of mantle on which lithosphere floats; between upper and lower mantle crust made up of continental and oceanic crust; thinnest and outermost layer Coriolis effect effect of Earth's rotation on direction of winds and currents conduction transfer of heat between particles by direct contact of particles convection transfer of heat by movement of a fluid (gas and liquid) continental shelf gently sloping shallow area of ocean floor that extends outward from edge of continent contour line line on a topographic map that connects points of equal elevation equator half way between North and South Poles, imaginary line that circles the Earth fault is a break in the crust where slabs of crust slip past each other geologist scientist who studies the earth hurricane tropical storm with winds of 119 km per hour and higher (about 74 miles per hour); begins over warm water as a tropical disturbance; measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale inner core is a dense ball of solid metal latitude distance in degrees North or South of the equator; run East to West lithosphere made up of crust and upper mantle; makes up the plates longitude distance in degrees E or West of the Prime Meridian; run North to South mantle made up of upper mantle, lower mantle, asthenosphere; thickest layer mid-ocean ridge the longest chain of mountains in the world mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition neap tide time when there is the least difference between high and low tide (sun, moon, earth lined up at right angle) outer core is a layer of molten metal that surrounds the inner core plate tectonics is the geological theory that states that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion radiation transfer of energy through empty space seismic wave vibration that travels through Earth carrying energy from earthquakes seismograph records the ground movement caused by seismic waves as they move through the Earth spring tide when sun, moon, and earth are aligned; greatest range between high and low tide deep-sea trench/deep-ocean trench forms where the oceanic crust bends downward isotherms lines on a map that connect areas with the same temperature isobars lines on a map that connect areas with the same barometric pressure key legend; list of all the symbols on a map scale relates distance on a map to distance on Earth's surface tornado rapidly swirling, funnel-shaped cloud that touches down from cumulonimbus clouds; wind speeds may reach 480 km/hour (over 298 miles per hour); most likely to occur when thunderstorms are likely, when warm and cold air masses meet; most often occur in the US than any other country;Tornado Alley (TX, OK, KS, NE); measured using the Fujita scale troposphere rain, snow, storms, and most clouds occur in the troposphere (0-12km) Oceanography, Meteorology, Rocks and Minerals, Topographic Maps, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Geology, Soil, Geologic Time