Earth Science

Stream drainage patterns

-Dendritic:(looks like a tree, flat land , plains & plateaus Trellis/parallel- ridges Radial- hills & mts Annular-circular pattern- ring like streams follow a circular path along the belt of weak rock.

glaciers

A large mass of moving ice & snow

tributary

A smaller stream that flows into a larger stream.

Braided stream

A stream that is divided into an interlocking system of channels. Ex; Thousand Islands

What are some examples of physical weathering?

Abrasion, organic activity, frost wedging and exfoliation.

What is an agent of erosion and examples?

An agent of erosion is a material or a force that moves sediments from one place to another place. Examples: running water, wind, glaciers, and waves.

Chemical weathering

Any process that causes rocks to breakdown by chemical action and results in a change in the mineral/chemical composition.

stages of a river

Are based on river shapes & how it erodes , not its age.

What are examples of chemical weathering?

Carbonation, hydration, oxidation, plant acids and man-made acids.

What type of weathering is dominant in warm climates?

Chemical weathering

Subsoil or Horizon B

Consists of clays and dissolved minerals that have been washed down from above. Contains less humus.

Partially weathered bedrock or Horizon C

Consists of weathered rock fragments, usually from the parent rock below.

Humus

Decayed plant and animal material found in soil. Soil that contains 20-30% humus is considered a rich soil for plant growth.

water cycle steps( Be sure to look over your diagram in your notes)

Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run off, transpiration, infiltration

man made acids

Gases produced by humans can dissolve in the water droplets of a cloud to produce acid rain. These acids include; sulfuric acid and nitric acid.

What does resistant mean?

Harder rock doesn't break down as fast

Soil

Is a combination of weathered rock and organic matter.

Gravity

Is the underlying force behind all erosion, it may act alone or with a transporting agent.

If you have the same substance and break it up what will happen to the surface area?

It will increase the surface area.

As precipitation increases what will happen to the amount or rate of chemical weathering?

It will increase.

In the layers of rock what would be the least weathered away?

It would be the layer that is the biggest and sticks out the most.

In the layers of rock what layer would be the most weathered?

It would be the layer that is the smallest or the one that sticks out the least.

kettle lake

Lake formed when a block of glacial ice melts

Saltation

Larger particles rolling and bouncing along the bottom.

Carbonation

Occurs when carbon dioxide in the atomosphere dissolves in the droplets of water that make up the clouds. This forms a weak carbonic acid. Carbonic acid reacts with certain rocks and minerals that include: calcite,limestone,marble and chalk. Ex.( acid rain seeps into limestone bedrock and dissolves the limestone rock) A cavern forms and other features may include: sinkholes, columns, stalactites, stalagmites.

Oxidation

Occurs when oxygen in the atmosphere combines with certain minerals in the rock. Ex: When oxygen combines with iron minerals, iron oxide (rust) forms. The chemical change of the mineral weakens the rock and the rock crumbles. Ex: Statue of Liberty - green because of oxidation

Hydration

Occurs when water dissolves certain minerals in a rock. For example: granite is very stable in cool dry climates, but in moist climates, rainfall dissolves much of the mineral feldspar. The feldspar becomes clay, which is too weak to keep the rock from breaking apart. The mineral quartz remains behind as sand.

What is physical weathering?

Physical weathering is any process that causes a rock to crack or break into pieces without changing it chemically.

Plant acids

Plants produce weak acids that can dissolve certain minerals in a rock, weakening the rock.

If the bedrock matches the rock fragments of the C horizon, the soil is most likely what type of soil?

Residual

What are the factors that affect the deposition of sediment?

Size- as the size of sediment increases the rate(speed)of deposition increases. Density-as the density of sediment increases the rate(speed of deposition increases. Shape-As the shape becomes more spherical the rate(speed)of deposisiton of the sediment increases.

Transported soil

Soil that has been moved away from its parent material by gravity, water, wind, glaciers, or human activity.

residual soil

Soil which is the result of weathering and decomposistion of rocks that has not been transported from its original place. This soil has the same content as the underlying bedrock.

alluvial fan

Stream deposition on land

drainage basin/watershed

The area of land drained by a river system- the main river and all of its tributaries.

Meanders

The bends in a stream's channel

On a topographic map, how can you tell which way the river flows?

The contour line bend or point to the source

Exfoliation

The cycle of heating and cooling causes the surface of the rock to break off in slabs or layers. When rocks are heated by the sun the rock begins to expand and then when the temperatures fall, the rock cools and contracts , causing the exfoliation process.

what is mass wasting and types?

The downhill movement of sediments by gravity. Types - landslides and mudslides

bedrock

The layer of rock beneath the soil. Frequently the parent rock of the soil above. Bedrock is impermeable-doesn't allow any liquid through.

Channel

The path that a stream follows. When a stream flows through its channel , its speed will change due to the curvature of the channel.

What is weathering?

The physical and chemcial breakdown of rock into smaller pieces called sediment.

Deposition

The process by which sediment is dropped or settles.

Erosion

The process by which weathered sediments are carried/transported. Moving sediments

The amount of erosion caused by wind depends on :

The size of the sediments being carried, the speed at which the wind is blowing and the time that the wind continues to blow.

Topsoil or Horizon A

The top layer of soil that contains more humus than the layers below.

discharge

The volume (amount)of water in a stream.

Dissolved minerals

These cause the hardness in the groundwater(and surface water)

What is frost wedging?(Also known as ice wedging, frost action or hydrofracturing)

This occurs when water seeps into the cracks in a rock. When water freezes it expands. The cycle of freezing and melting causes the rocks to break apart. This same process happens to our roads and produces potholes in the road.

Abrasion

This process occurs when sediments carried by streams and wind blown sand causes particles to collide into each other and the surrounding rock.

What are the 4 layers of soil in order from top to bottom?

Topsoil or Horizon A Subsoil or Horizon B Partially weathered bedrock or Horizon C Bedrock

Organic Activity

Trees and shrubs can grow through cracks in the rocks. Their roots wedge into crevices. Even moss and lichen wedge their hairlike roots between the grains that make up the rock.

Moraine

Unsorted rock material carried and deposited by a glacier.

What type of characteristics do rivers have?

Valley- v-shaped sorted sediment round shape large, med. and small features- oxbow lake, meanders, levee, delta, tributaries, and flood plains

Types of Glaciers

Valley/Alpine-glaciers form in mt. valleys at high elevations. Ex: Alps, Rockies, Himalayas, and Andes. Continental- glaciers form over vast areas of land. Ex; Greenland and Antarctica

When does deposition occur?

When the velocity(speed), of running water or the wind decreases, and /or when the discharge(volume of water) decreases.

What are the 4 stages of a river?

Youthful- erodes the bed rapidly, v- shaped valleys, steep sides, waterfall & rapids are common, small water volume, no tributaries, poor drainage. Mature- u-shaped, well established tributaries, drain a larger watershed, larger water volume, tends not to deepen channel, erodes valley walls mostly, gradient is less steep, the stream meanders , the oxbow lake forms. Old- u- shaped, gradient & velocity increase, starts to deposit sediment, broad shallow plain formed, almost flat valley, oxbow lakes , deltas Rejuvenated- gradient becomes steeper formation of step like terraces, deep canyons, can be caused by earthquakes or by plate tectonics. All 3 characteristics.

kame

a cone-shaped hill made of sediment carried to the edge of a glacier by meltwater.

Delta

a deposit at the mouth of a stream where it enters a large body of water.

Esker

a ridge like hill of deposits resulting form a stream flowing in a tunnel under the glacier, sorted sediment ( in the Thousand Islands)

Drumlin

an oval-shaped hill of glacial moraine

What is the major factor that affects the rate of weathering?

climate

At the inside of the curve, stream velocity decreases, what does this cause?

deposition

When a stream enters a body of water its speed will decrease causing what?

deposition of sediments

At the outside of the curve, the stream velocity increases, what does this cause?

erosion

till

glacial sediment

Factors that affect stream velocity

gradient(slope)-As gradient increases stream velocity increases. volume- As stream volume increases stream velocity increases.

What is the major force of erosion?

gravity

A delta is an example of what type of deposition of sediments in water?

horizontal deposition and results in sorted sediment

As a rock breaks into smaller pieces, the surface area increases, which causes the rate of weathering to what?

increase

As precipitation increases, the amount or rate of weathering by frost action will what?

increase

Erratic

large boulder deposited by the ice (glacier)

Name and describe the 4 types of moraine

lateral moraine- unsorted rock on the glacier along the valley walls.( side) medial moraine- unsorted rock on the glacier resulting from the merging of two smaller valley glaciers.( middle) Ground moraine-unsorted rock trapped at the bottom of the glacier.Glacial material deposited as glacier retreats. Terminal/End moraine- unsorted rock trapped at the leading edge or end of the glacier. It marks the farthest position reached by the glacier. (Ex: Long Island) Recessional moraine- Glaciers move backwards,they are not the furthest one.

outwash plain

layers of sediment deposited by the meltwaters of glacial ice

Solution

minerals dissolved in water

What type of weathering is dominant in cold climates?

physical weathering

When rain falls onto the surface of the earth what can happen to the water?

runoff- flow over the land and back into the ocean, infiltrate- sink into the ground evaporate- stored- in ponds, accumulated snow

Suspension

small particles carried within the water

Differential weathering

the process by which softer, less weather resistant rocks wear away and leave harder, more weather resistant rocks behind.

If the bedrock does not match the rock fragments of the C horizon the soil is most likely what type of soil?

transported

What type of characteristics do glaciers have?

valley- u shaped unsorted sediment mixed sizes features- kettle lakes. moraines, drumlins, erratics, kames, outwash plain

Stream factors that cause erosion

velocity- As velocity increases erosion increases volume-As volume increases erosion increases.

What is another way deposition can occur?

vertically, which results in vertical sorting.

colloids

very small solid particles(sediment)that are too small to be seen with an ordinary microscope, and too light to settle in water. Even in calm water, they remain suspended within the water.

What type of climate is chemical weathering most rapid in?

warm and moist