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Exfoliation Joint
Exfoliation joints or sheet joints are surface-parallel fracture systems in rock, often leading to the erosion of concentric slabs. General characteristics * Commonly follow topography. * Divide the rock into sub-planar slabs. * Joint spacing increases with depth from a few centimeters near the surface to a few meters * Maximum depth of observed occurrence is around 100 meters. * Deeper joints have a larger radius of curvature, which tends to round the corners of the landscape as material is eroded * Fracture mode is tensile * Occur in many different lithologies and climate zones, not unique to glaciated landscapes. * Host rock is generally sparsely jointed, fairly isotropic, and has high compressive strength. * Can have concave and convex upwards curvatures. * Often associated with secondary compressive forms such as arching, buckling, and A-tents (buckled slabs) Formation Despite their common occurrence in many different landscapes, geologists have yet to reach an agr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half Dome Trek 15 (4245933444)
One half is the multiplicative inverse of 2. It is an irreducible fraction with a numerator of 1 and a denominator of 2. It often appears in mathematical equations, recipes and measurements. As a word One half is one of the few fractions which are commonly expressed in natural languages by suppletion rather than regular derivation. In English, for example, compare the compound "one half" with other regular formations like "one-sixth". A ''half'' can also be said to be one part of something divided into two equal parts. It is acceptable to write one half as a hyphenated word, ''one-half''. Mathematics One half is the rational number that lies midway between 0 and 1 on the number line. Multiplication by one half is equivalent to division by two, or "halving"; conversely, division by one half is equivalent to multiplication by two, or "doubling". A number raised to the power of one half is equal to its square root. The area of a triangle is one half its base and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stress (physics)
In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity that describes Force, forces present during Deformation (physics), deformation. For example, an object being pulled apart, such as a stretched elastic band, is subject to Tension (physics), ''tensile'' stress and may undergo Elongation (materials science), elongation. An object being pushed together, such as a crumpled sponge, is subject to Compression (physics), ''compressive'' stress and may undergo shortening. The greater the force and the smaller the cross-sectional area of the body on which it acts, the greater the stress. Stress has Dimension (physics), dimension of force per area, with SI Units, SI units of newtons per square meter (N/m2) or Pascal (unit), pascal (Pa). Stress expresses the internal forces that neighbouring particles of a continuous material exert on each other, while Strain (mechanics), ''strain'' is the measure of the relative deformation (mechanics), deformation of the material. For example, when a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exfoliating Granite
Exfoliating granite is a granite undergoing exfoliation, or onion skin weathering (desquamation). The external delaminated layers of granite are gradually produced by the cyclic variations of temperature at the surface of the rock in a process also called spalling. Frost and ice expansion in the joints during the winter accelerate the alteration process while the most unstable loose external layers are removed by gravity assisted by surface runoff of water. Geology Homogeneous granitic plutons are created in high-pressure environments and slowly solidify beneath the Earth's crust. Vertical compression of overburden releases through erosion, or removal of overlying rocks resulting in unloading. Other contributors of unloading are tectonic uplift, glacier retreat, and mass wasting. The pressure is relieved when the granite is exposed at the surface, allowing it to expand towards the atmosphere. On the surface, if the granite is not jointed, or if it has few joints, then th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an ''aquifer'' when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the ''water table''. Groundwater is Groundwater recharge, recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at spring (hydrosphere), springs and Seep (hydrology), seeps, and can form oasis, oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction water well, wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is ''hydrogeology'', also called groundwater hydrology. Typically, groundwater is thought o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hazard
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that harm being realized in a specific ''incident'', combined with the magnitude of potential harm, make up its risk. This term is often used synonymously in colloquial speech. Hazards can be classified in several ways which are not mutually exclusive. They can be classified by ''causing actor'' (for example, natural or anthropogenic), by ''physical nature'' (e.g. biological or chemical) or by ''type of damage'' (e.g., health hazard or environmental hazard). Examples of natural disasters with highly harmful impacts on a society are floods, droughts, earthquakes, tropical cyclones, lightning strikes, volcanic activity and wildfires. Technological and anthropogenic hazards include, for example, structural collapses, transport accidents, acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. The word ''dam'' can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Ancient dams were built in Mesopotamia and the Middle East for water control. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, dating to 3,000 BC. Egyptians also bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tectonic
Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes include those of mountain-building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents known as cratons, and the ways in which the relatively rigid plates that constitute the Earth's outer shell interact with each other. Principles of tectonics also provide a framework for understanding the earthquake and volcanic belts that directly affect much of the global population. Tectonic studies are important as guides for economic geologists searching for fossil fuels and ore deposits of metallic and nonmetallic resources. An understanding of tectonic principles can help geomorphologists to explain erosion patterns and other Earth-surface features. Main types of tectonic regime Extensional tectonics Extensional tectonic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yosemite 1 Bg 090504
Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers in four countiescentered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, groves of giant sequoia, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada. Its geology is characterized by granite and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and tilted to form its unique slopes, which increased the steepness of stream and river beds, forming deep, narrow canyons. Abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mineral Hydration
In inorganic chemistry, mineral hydration is a reaction which adds water to the crystal structure of a mineral, usually creating a new mineral, commonly called a ''hydrate''. In geological terms, the process of mineral hydration is known as ''retrograde alteration'' and is a process occurring in retrograde metamorphism. It commonly accompanies metasomatism and is often a feature of wall rock alteration around ore bodies. Hydration of minerals occurs generally in concert with hydrothermal circulation, which may be driven by tectonic or igneous activity. Processes There are two main ways in which minerals hydrate. One is conversion of an oxide to a double hydroxide, as with the hydration of calcium oxide—CaO—to calcium hydroxide—Ca(OH)2. The other is with the incorporation of water molecules directly into the crystalline structure of a new mineral, as with the hydration of feldspars to clay minerals, garnet to chlorite, or kyanite to muscovite. Mineral hydration is also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no movement), and so is distinct from erosion, which involves the transport of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity. Weathering processes are either physical or chemical. The former involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through such mechanical effects as heat, water, ice and wind. The latter covers reactions to water, atmospheric gases and biologically produced chemicals with rocks and soils. Water is the principal agent behind both kinds, though atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide and the activities of biological organisms are also important. Biological chemical weathering is also called biological weathering. The materials left after the rock breaks down combine with organic material to create so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
