Words
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Generally helpful
Prefix
Paleo- old
Meso- middle
Neo- new
Ceno- new (used for more recent periods)
Protero- earlier or former
Pre- before
Eo- dawn
Pleistos- most
Phanero- visible
Holo- ‘whole, entire’
Palaeo- ancient (used of brain)
Suffix
- -cene new or recent (orming adjectives designating epochs and strata of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, and nouns denoting such epochs)
- -zoic life
- -gene used to indicate the type, method, or place of formation
A
B
- basalt
-
A common igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of a terrestrial planet or a moon. Characterized by its fine-grained texture, basalt primarily consists of pyroxene and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar, with smaller amounts of olivine and amphibole. About 45-50% Silica (SiO2)
- biosphere
-
The global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interactions with the elements of the lithosphere (Earth’s crust and upper mantle), hydrosphere (all water bodies), and atmosphere (the layer of gases surrounding Earth).
C
- colluvial
- refers to materials, typically soil and rock fragments, that have been transported and deposited by gravity on the lower slopes of a hill or mountain. This process often results in a mixture of sediments at the base of a slope, commonly known as colluvium. Colluvial deposits are typically unsorted, meaning they contain a mix of particle sizes, and they can accumulate due to various processes such as landslides, rockfalls, or the gradual movement of soil and debris downslope.
D
E
- ecliptic
-
plane of earth’s rotation about the sun; so called because eclipses can happen only when the moon is on or very near this plane. From eclipse.
- equinox
-
one of the two periods in the year when the days and nights are equal in length all over the earth because the rotation axis is normal to the radius from the sun; (equi+nox equal night).
F
- fluvial
-
Of or pertaining to a river or rivers; found or living in a river. French fluvial. Remember as rivers flow.
G
H
- halogen
-
- An element or substance which forms a salt by direct union with a metal. The halogens are chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine, and the compound cyanogen. In modern use, any of the elements of group 7 of the periodic table, viz. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine.
- heterotrophic
-
Organisms that cannot synthesize their own food and must rely on other sources of organic carbon for nutrition. Heterotrophs obtain energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms, organic matter, or their by-products. This group includes animals, fungi, many bacteria, and some plants (such as parasitic or saprophytic plants).
I
- ionizing [radiation]
-
radiation with enough energy to remove tightly bound electrons from atoms, thus creating ions.
J
K
L
- lithification
-
the process of turning into stone
M
- mineral
-
(n) A naturally occurring substance of neither animal nor vegetable origin; an inorganic substance. (Not now in technical use.)
A solid, naturally occurring, usually inorganic substance with a definite chemical composition and characteristic physical structure and properties (such as crystalline form).
N
- nomothetic
- refers to an approach or perspective that seeks to establish general laws, principles, or theories that apply broadly across multiple cases or instances. This term is often used in the context of scientific research, particularly in the social sciences, where nomothetic approaches aim to identify commonalities and general patterns that can explain phenomena across different groups or situations. The opposite approach is “idiographic,” which focuses on understanding the unique aspects of individual cases.
O
- obliquity
-
inclination of an oblique (slanted direction, not horizontal or vertical) angle to a straight line; for earth, angle from perpendicular to ecliptic plane to axis of rotation. From oblique.
P
- paleontology
-
the scientific study of life that existed in the past, primarily through the examination of fossils.
- palimpsest
- A palimpsest is a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original text has been scraped or washed off so that it can be reused for another text. Historically, this practice was common due to the scarcity and expense of writing materials such as parchment and vellum. The term can also refer to an object, place, or area that reveals its history through layers of alteration or renovation, with traces of earlier phases still visible.
- pluvial
-
Of or relating to rain; characterized by much rain, rainy. Caused or formed by rain. Latin pluviālis. Remember as rain drops plop
- principal
-
(n) a person who holds a high position or plays a major role, like the head of a school.
(adj) Describes something as first in order of importance; main.
- principle
-
(n) a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief, behavior, or reasoning.
Not used as an adjective.
Q
R
- rock
-
(n) he solid mineral material forming much of the substance of the earth (or any similar planetary body), whether exposed on the surface or overlain by soil, sand, mud, etc.
A particular kind of such material. Rocks are distinguished by their composition and their physical properties, and consist of aggregates of minerals (very commonly silicates or calcium carbonate) and occasionally also organic matter (as in, for example, lignite and oil shale). They vary in hardness, and include soft materials such as clays. Rocks form the substance of the earth’s crust and mantle, down to the upper surface of the metallic core. Those occurring at the earth’s surface are broadly divided into three classes according to their process of formation: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.
S
T
- tillite
-
a type of sedimentary rock formed from the lithification of till, which is an unsorted glacial deposit.
U
- unconsolidated deposit
-
sediments that have been laid down by natural processes but have not undergone lithification. These deposits are loosely packed and retain much of their original porosity and permeability.