Download Catastrophic Event

Chemical Weathering
the weathering
of a rock surface
through
chemical
processes such
as oxidation,
solution, and
hydrolysis
Different effects of chemical
weathering according to rock type:
limestone in foreground; granite in
left background, Vermont.
Contaminant
• A substance that is either present
in an environment where it does
not belong or is present at levels
that might cause harmful
• a low triangular
area of alluvial
deposits where
a river divides
before entering
a larger body of
water
Deposition
• the natural
process of
laying
down a
deposit of
something
Drought
• A long period of
abnormally low
rainfall,
especially one
that adversely
affects growing
or living
conditions.
Dune
•a hill of
sand built
by aeolian
processes
Earthquake
• shaking and
vibration at the
surface of the
earth resulting
from underground
movement along a
fault plane of from
volcanic activity
Ecology
• is the scientific
study of the
relation of living
organisms to
each other
Ecological Succession
• a process of ecological change in
which a series of natural communities
are established and then replaced
over time
Erosion
• the process of
weathering and
transport of
solids (sediment,
soil, rock and
other particles)
in the natural
environment
Fertilizer
• substances that
supply plant
nutrients or
amend soil
fertility
Flood
• an overflow of
an expanse
of water that
submerges
land
Groundwater
• water located
beneath the
ground surface
in soil pore
spaces and in
the fractures of
rock
formations
Mechanical Weathering
• when rocks
are broken
down without
any change in
the chemical
nature of the
rocks
Runoff
• the movement
of landwater to
the oceans,
chiefly in the
form of rivers,
lakes, and
streams.
Primary Succession
• the gradual growth of
organisms in an area that was
previously bare
Secondary Succession
• the series of community changes which
take place on a previously colonized, but
disturbed or damaged habitat
Surface Water
• water
collecting on
the ground or
in a stream,
river, lake,
wetland, or
ocean
Tornado
• a violent,
dangerous,
rotating column
of air that is in
contact with both
the surface of the
earth and a
cumulonimbus
cloud
Tsunami
• caused by the
displacement of a
large volume of a
body of water,
usually an ocean,
but can occur in
large lakes
Volcano
• an opening, or
rupture, in a
planet's surface or
crust, which allows
hot magma, ash
and gases to
escape from below
the surface
Watershed
• the area of land
where all of the
water that is
under it or drains
off of it goes into
the same place
Weathering
• the breaking
down of Earth's
rocks, soils and
minerals
through direct
contact with the
planet's
atmosphere
Wildfire
• any uncontrolled
fire in
combustible
vegetation that
occurs in the
countryside or a
wilderness area
Catastrophic Event
• a sudden
and
widespread
disaster