River Processes and Landforms: A Comprehensive Guide
Rivers
Erosion
Corrosion: When sand and pebbles are dragged along the river bed, wearing it away.
Attrition: When rocks and stones wear each other away as they knock together, becoming smaller and more rounded.
Solution: Rocks such as limestone are dissolved in acidic water.
Hydraulic Action: Fast, flowing water forces into cracks, breaking up the bank over time.
Transportation
Solution: Where dissolved chemicals are carried along, invisible to the eye.
Suspension: When tiny particles are carried in the
Read MoreGlobal Warming and Soil Degradation: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect
What is Global Warming?
Global warming refers to the increase in Earth’s average temperature observed over the past 50 years, particularly since the 1980s. A key concern associated with global warming is the buildup of greenhouse gases.
The Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural process where certain gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), allow shortwave radiation from the sun to pass
Read MoreGlobal Warming and Soil Degradation: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect
What is Global Warming?
Global warming refers to the increase in Earth’s average temperature observed over the past 50 years, particularly since the 1980s. A key concern associated with global warming is the buildup of greenhouse gases.
The Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural process where certain gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), allow shortwave radiation from the sun to pass
Read MoreThe Impact of Dams and Reservoirs: Costs, Benefits, and Management Strategies
Result from Construction of Dams and Reservoirs
Increased Water Storage and Evaporation
Reservoirs, as artificial stores with larger surface areas than rivers, increase the amount of water stored on the surface. This leads to greater water loss through higher evaporation rates, resulting in more water vapor in the atmosphere. As this vapor rises, it cools and condenses into water droplets, potentially increasing precipitation.
Groundwater and Discharge
Seepage into groundwater increases base flow. Dams
Read MoreRocks and Minerals of the Spanish Landscape: A Geological Overview
ITEM 1: ROCKS AND MINERALS
1. Introduction
There are many naturally occurring inorganic substances of varying chemical composition and structure: minerals. These minerals are not usually found naturally in isolation. Minerals are usually formed in rocks. The simplest definition of a rock is: material that is composed of the Earth’s crust. One way to classify rocks, which is useful for its simplicity, is to address the processes that gave rise to them. So the source can be separated:
- Igneous: These
The Dynamic Earth: A Comprehensive Guide to Geologic Processes
Geologic Cycle
Endogenic Processes (Internal)
These processes involve plate tectonics and magma upwellings.
Exogenic Processes (External)
These processes involve wind, water, and erosion.
Igneous Rocks
Formed from the melting of magma (beneath the surface) or lava (magma that has extruded onto the surface). Examples include Granite and Basalt.
Intrusive Igneous Rocks
Cool below the surface. Examples include plutons (large bodies of intrusive igneous rock) and batholiths (very large plutons).