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What are common volcanic hazards?
How do we mitigate volcanic hazards?
Lava flows, ash fall, pyroclastic flows, lahars, volcanic gases
Monitoring, hazard maps, limiting development, evacuation plans
What is frost wedging?
Water enters cracks in rock, freezes, expands, and breaks the rock apart.
What is dissolution in chemical weathering?
Minerals in rock dissolve in water, especially slightly acidic water.
What is a soil horizon?
A distinct layer of soil.
Why do we study sedimentary structures?
They tell us about past environments and water movement.
How do we predict volcanic eruptions?
Monitoring earthquakes, ground deformation, gas emissions, temperature changes
What is salt wedging?
Salt crystals grow in cracks in rock and push the rock apart.
What is hydrolysis?
A chemical reaction between minerals and water that forms new minerals and weakens the rock.
What is a soil profile?
The vertical arrangement of soil horizons.
What are ripple marks?
Wave-like patterns formed by moving water or wind.
What is weathering?
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface.
What is root wedging?
Plant roots grow into cracks in rock and expand, breaking the rock apart
What is oxidation?
Oxygen reacts with minerals (especially iron) to form oxides, which weaken the rock.
Why is soil erosion a concern?
It removes fertile soil and damages ecosystems.
What are mud cracks?
Cracks formed when wet mud dries and shrinks.
What are the two categories of weathering?
Physical (mechanical) and chemical.
What is thermal expansion?
Rocks expand when heated and contract when cooled, causing them to crack over time.
What is hydration?
Minerals absorb water and expand, which can weaken and break the rock.
What are the steps to form clastic sedimentary rocks?
Weathering → Erosion → Deposition → Compaction → Cementation
What is a metamorphic rock?
Rock changed by heat, pressure, or fluids without melting.
What is jointing in physical weathering?
Cracks that form in rock, making it easier for weathering processes to break the rock apart.
What is animal attack (burrowing)?
Animals dig or burrow into the ground, breaking rock apart and exposing it to weathering.
What is soil?
A mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, air, and water that supports plant life.
What is sorting?
The similarity of grain sizes in sediment.
What is a protolith?
The original rock before metamorphism.