Solutions for Chapter 24: Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

An instrument for measuring air pressure that consists of evacuated metal chambers very sensitive to variations in air pressure.

A description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region.

The coast’s seaward edge. The landward limit of the effect of the highest storm waves on the shore.

Structure in which relatively thin layers are inclined at an angle to the main bedding. Formed by currents of wind or water.

Flows of basaltic lava that issue from numerous cracks or fissures and commonly cover extensive areas to thicknesses of hundreds of meters.

The division of Earth history into blocks of time—eons, eras, periods, and epochs. The time scale was created using relative dating principles.

Any form of artificial structure built to protect a coast or to prevent the movement of sand along a beach. Examples include groins, jetties, breakwaters, and seawalls.

The hot, watery solution that escapes from a mass of magma during the later stages of crystallization. Such solutions may alter the surrounding country rock and are frequently the source of significant ore deposits.

An instrument designed to measure relative humidity.

A fracture in rock along which there has been no movement.

The layer of the atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere and characterized by decreasing temperatures with height.

The luminous phenomenon observed when a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up; popularly called a “shooting star.”

An extensive region on the ocean floor composed of thick accumulations of pillow basalts and other mafic rocks that in some cases exceed 30 kilometers in thickness.

A concentration of material above the solar surface that appears as a bright archlike structure.

The process whereby light bounces back from an object at the same angle at which it encounters a surface and with the same intensity.

The spinning of a body, such as Earth, about its axis.

The redirecting (in all directions) of light by small particles and gas molecules in the atmosphere. The result is diffused light.

A tabular igneous body that was intruded parallel to the layering of preexisting rock.

The process of thrusting oceanic lithosphere into the mantle along a convergent boundary.

A warning issued for areas of about 65,000 square kilometers (25,000 square miles), indicating that conditions are such that tornadoes may develop; it is intended to alert people to the possibility of tornadoes.