Copie de `Iowa State University - Glossary of geologic terms`

Ce glossaire n’est plus en ligne.
Le glossaire dans lequel se trouvait ce mot n’existe plus, ou le site Internet n’est (plus) pas en ligne. Vous voyez ci-dessous une copie de l’information. Il est possible que les informations ne soient plus à jour. Soyez critique en évaluant sa valeur.

Iowa State University - Glossary of geologic terms Catégorie: Géographie Date & Pays: 29/04/2015, Us. Mots: 835

vulnerable mineral
A mineral that does not easily resist decomposition.

Wadati-Benioff zone
An inclined plane, roughly coincident witha subduction zone, along which the foci of earthquakes cluster.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
A pilot plant near Carlsbad,New Mexico, for the storage of low level nuclear waste.

water gap
A gap in a ridge or mountain through whicha stream flows.

water power
Power generated through the agency of movingwater.

water table
The surface between the zone of saturationand the zone of aeration.

waterfall
The perpendicular or very steep descent of a stream.

wave base
A depth equal to one half the wave lengthof waves in deep water, below which stirring due to wind is negligible.

wave crest
The top of a wave.

wave height
The vertical distance between the crestand adjacent trough of a wave.

wave length
The distance between two successive wavecrests or troughs.

wave trough
The low spot between two successive waves.

weathering
The process by which Earth materials changewhen exposed to conditions at or near the Earth’s surface and differentfrom the ones under which they formed. compare decomposition , disintegration.

welded tuff
A pyroclastic rock in which glassy clastshave been fused by the combination of the heat retained by the clasts,the weight of overlying material, and hot gases.

well
An artificial intersection of the surface and the watertable.

Wilson Cycle
The opening and closing of ocean basinsthrough plate tectonics.

wilting point
The stage at which all water availableto plants has been used.

wind farm
An area in which a large number of windmillshave been erected to generate electrical power.

wind gap
An abandoned water gap.

wind power
Power generated by using the force of thewind.

wind shadow
An area of quiet air in lee of an obstacle.Zone of sand accumulation in lee of sand dune.

X-ray diffraction
The diffraction of a beam of X-raysby the three dimensional periodic array of atoms in a crystal structure. The identity and arrangement of atomic in the structure can be determinedby interpreting the angles at which X-rays are scattered by the structure and the intensities of scatteredbeams.

X-ray diffraction
The diffraction of a beam of X-raysby the three dimensional periodic array of atoms in a crystal structure. The identity and arrangement of atomic in the structure can be determinedby interpreting the angles at which X-rays are scattered by the structure and the intensities of scatteredbeams.

xenolith
see inclusion

yardang
Sharp, irregularly-crested ridges carved bywind and oriented parallel to wind.



yazoo-type river
A tributary stream unable to entera main stream because of natural levees along the main stream. It flowsin a backswamp area, parallel to the main stream until it finds an entryto the main stream.

yield point
The stress limit at which permanent deformationtakes place in a non-brittle material.

Yucca Mountain
Site Site in Nevada proposed for thestorage of high level nuclear waste.

zone of ablation
The area of wastage in a glacier.

zone of accumulation
1. The B horizon in a residualsoil. 2. The area in which ice accumulates in a glacier.

zone of aeration
Zone immediately below the groundsurface within which pore spaces are partially filled with water andpartially filled with air.

zone of flow
The zone in a glacier that flows by deforming along planesof weakness in the ice crystals.

zone of fracture
The near surface zone in a glacierthat behaves like a brittle substance.

zone of leaching
The upper horizons in a soil, throughwhich gravitational moisture travels, removing soluble decompositionproducts.

zone of saturation
The zone below the zone of aerationin which all pore spaces are filled with water.