Page 206 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

GLOSSARY

ALGAE COMPOUND FAULT GUYOT
Plant-like organisms that use solar A substance made of two or more A fracture in Earth’s crust, where one A volcanic island that has eroded
energy to make food. elements. Water is a compound of slab of rock slides past another. and subsided beneath the waves,
hydrogen and oxygen. producing a flat-topped
ASTEROID FISSURE underwater feature.
A relatively small, irregular rocky object CONTINENT A deep, narrow gap, such as between
orbiting the Sun. A thick slab of relatively light rock rocks. HOTSPOT
that floats on the heavier rock of A zone of volcanic activity caused
ATMOSPHERE Earth’s mantle. FLASH FLOOD by a stationary plume of heat
The layers of gas that surround a A sudden flood caused by heavy beneath Earth’s crust.
planet, retained by gravity. CONTINENTAL SHELF rain, which may become a
The submerged fringe of a continent, powerful torrent. ICE AGE
BACTERIA forming the relatively shallow floor A cold period during Earth’s
Microscopic organisms with a simple of a coastal sea. FOSSIL geological history when ice sheets
single-celled form, and no distinct The remains or traces of a living and glaciers advance.
internal structures. CONVECTION CURRENTS thing that survive the normal
Circulating currents in gases, liquids, processes of decay, and may be ICEBERG
BASALT or even hot, mobile rock, driven by turned to stone. Part of a glacier or ice shelf that has
A dark, heavy igneous rock that forms temperature differences. broken off and floated out to sea.
oceanic crust, and erupts as molten FUMAROLE
lava from oceanic volcanoes. CORALS An eruption of steam, created from ICE SHEET
Marine animals that may have a hard groundwater heated by hot rock. A very large, deep covering of ice
BEDROCK base made of limestone. Many live over a continent.
The solid rock that lies beneath more in large groups or colonies that GALAXY
recent, softer sediments. build coral reefs. A circulating system of stars in space. ICE SHELF
Part of an ice sheet that extends out
BIOME CORE GEOTHERMAL from the land and floats on the sea.
One of the major wildlife habitats of the The innermost layer of Earth. Heat below ground, especially where
world—for example, rainforest is a biome. hot springs are created. IGNEOUS ROCK
CRUST A rock formed by the cooling of molten
BLACK SMOKER The cool, rocky outer shell of Earth. GEYSER magma or volcanic lava.
A hot spring containing dark minerals A jet of hot water and steam that
that erupts from the ocean floor. CRYSTAL erupts from volcanically heated rocks. LAGOON
A solid with an orderly internal atomic An area of shallow water that has been
CALDERA structure that sometimes shows GLACIATED VALLEY cut off from the sea.
A giant crater formed when a volcano geometric forms with flat faces. A valley enlarged and reshaped by
collapses into its emptied magma flowing glacier ice. LAVA
chamber after an eruption. CUMULONIMBUS Molten rock that erupts from a volcano.
A very deep cloud that rises through GLACIER
CANYON all cloud levels, and produces heavy A mass of ice made of compacted LAVA BOMB
A rocky valley with steep sides. rain, lightning, and hail. snow that flows slowly downhill. A blob of lava hurled through the air
during a volcanic eruption.
CAUSTIC CYCLONE GRANITE
Able to burn by chemical action. A weather system of clouds, rain, and One of the main igneous rocks found LIMESTONE
strong winds caused by air swirling into in continental crust. A sedimentary rock made of calcite that
CINDER CONE a region of warm, moist, rising air. can be dissolved by rainwater.
A small volcanic cone formed around GRAVITY
a volcanic vent, usually on the side ELEMENT The force that attracts one object MAGMA
of a larger volcano. A substance that is made up of just to another and prevents things Molten rock that lies within or beneath
one type of atom. from floating into space. Earth’s crust.
COMET
A space object made of ice and dust EROSION GROUNDWATER MAGMA CHAMBER
that travels from the outer solar system Wearing away, usually of rock, by Water that lies or flows beneath the A reservoir of magma within or below
and passes around the Sun. natural forces, such as flowing water. ground surface. a volcano.

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