Key Geological Terms: Relief, Rocks, and Tectonic Processes
Geological and Geographical Definitions
- Appalachian Relief
- A type of folded structure rejuvenated by erosion that highlights hard materials and depresses soft layers (e.g., Montes de Toledo).
- Germanic Relief
- Relief where the hardness of materials led to fracturing or faulting. Characterized by horsts and grabens (rifts).
- Jurassic Relief
- A type of folded structure formed by anticlines and synclines.
- Saxon Relief (or Fold-Fault Relief)
- A mixed relief type involving both folding and fracturing.
- Igneous Rock
- Rocks
Geological Processes: Faults, Folds, Metamorphism, and More
Geological Processes: An Overview
Faults and Fractures
Faults: Fractures with displacement of blocks. Without displacement, they are called jointing.
Elements of a Fault:
- Fault Plane: Fracture separating displaced blocks.
- Hanging Wall: The block above the fault plane.
- Footwall: The block below the fault plane.
- Slickensides: Scratches caused by friction.
- Fault Throw: Vertical displacement between blocks.
Types of Faults:
- Normal Fault: Hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
- Reverse Fault: Hanging
Understanding Smog, Air Pollution, and Thermal Inversion
1. What is Smog? Smog is a portmanteau of “smoke” and “fog.” It describes air pollution in cities, resulting from specific weather conditions combined with pollutants.
2. What is Industrial Smog? Industrial smog was common in cities with heavy industry that burned large amounts of coal and heavy oil with high sulfur content. This created a mixture of sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid droplets, and solid particles, resulting in a heavy, polluted fog harmful to health and infrastructure.
3. What is Photochemical
Read MoreIrrigation Water Quality: Understanding Salinity, Evapotranspiration, and Efficiency
Irrigation Water Quality
Poor water quality affects the water-soil-plant relationship.
Salinity and Water Deficit
Salinity can cause water deficits. High salinity reduces water availability for plants. Salinity is related to the osmotic potential.
Sodium and Soil Sodicity
Free sodium (Na) creates a problem called soil sodicity. With sodicity, the soil structure is lost, and infiltration decreases. An example is the dust on roads, where there is almost no infiltration.
To absorb free sodium, use elements
Read MoreUnderstanding Sustainability: Indicators, Ecological Footprint, and Risk Assessment
Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Assessment
To uphold the principle of irreversibility, it’s crucial to assess the environmental damage caused by human activities and implement mitigation strategies.
The Role of Environmental Indicators
An environmental indicator is a variable or assessment tool that provides insights into the state or evolution of a specific environmental problem. It aids in the decision-making process to adopt the most appropriate solutions.
Objectives of Sustainability
- Ecological
Celestial Bodies: From Planets to Neutron Stars
The Pythagorean model placed a central fire, around which the Earth, Moon, Sun, and planets revolved.
Geocentric Model
Aristotle proposed a geocentric model where the Earth is the center of the universe, and stars revolve around it. Retrograde motion refers to the apparent clockwise rotation of a body when viewed from above the solar north pole. Epicycle models were geometric models designed to explain variations in the speed and direction (retrograde motion) of the Moon and planets.
Heliocentric Model
The
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