Balearic PAU Geology & Env Sci flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Mohs hardness scale

Relative scale from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond) ranking mineral scratch resistance; used with streak, cleavage and luster to identify unknown minerals in hand specimen.

Bowen's reaction series

Sequence of crystallization from mafic minerals (olivine, pyroxene) at high temperature to felsic minerals (quartz, feldspar) at lower temperature, explaining igneous rock compositions.

Karst aquifer

Groundwater reservoir in soluble carbonate rocks where flow occurs mainly through enlarged fractures, conduits and caves, giving rapid response to rainfall and high pollution vulnerability.

Darcy's law

Groundwater discharge equals hydraulic conductivity times cross-sectional area times hydraulic gradient (Q = K·A·Δh/L); the basic equation for quantifying aquifer flow.

Risk equation

Disaster risk equals hazard multiplied by exposure and vulnerability; reducing any factor, for example through land-use planning, lowers overall risk.

Flash flood

Rapid rise of water in a catchment within hours of intense rainfall, typical of steep Mediterranean torrents with short response times and urbanized floodplains.

Greenhouse effect

Atmospheric gases absorb outgoing infrared radiation and re-emit it toward the surface, raising mean global temperature from about -18°C to about 15°C.

Radiative forcing

Change in Earth's energy balance in watts per square metre caused by a factor such as CO2, aerosols or solar variation; positive values warm, negative values cool.

Milankovitch cycles

Periodic changes in Earth's orbital eccentricity, axial tilt and precession that alter solar insolation and pace glacial-interglacial cycles over tens of thousands of years.

DANA

Isolated upper-level low pressure system over the western Mediterranean that triggers intense convective rainfall and flash floods, especially in autumn.

Posidonia oceanica

Endemic Mediterranean seagrass forming extensive underwater meadows that stabilize sediment, support biodiversity and indicate good water quality; protected habitat.

Serra de Tramuntana

Mountain range in northwest Mallorca built of thrust sheets of Mesozoic carbonates, declared a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape for its terraced agriculture and water systems.

Marés

Miocene calcarenite sandstone quarried in the Balearics, widely used in traditional buildings because it is soft, porous and easily cut.

EIA

Environmental Impact Assessment: structured process of screening, scoping, baseline study, impact prediction, mitigation design, monitoring and public consultation before project approval.

Natura 2000

European Union network of protected sites designated under the Habitats and Birds Directives, including Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas.

Soil profile

Vertical sequence of horizons O, A, B, C and R developed by climate, organisms, relief, parent material and time acting on the surface material.

Erosion

Removal and transport of weathered rock or soil by water, wind, ice or gravity; accelerated by loss of vegetation, steep slopes and poor land management.

Plate tectonics

Theory that the lithosphere is divided into rigid plates moving over the asthenosphere, with earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain belts concentrated at their boundaries.

Subduction zone

Convergent boundary where an oceanic plate descends beneath another plate, generating earthquakes, arc volcanism, blueschist-eclogite metamorphism and accretionary wedges.

Metamorphic facies

Set of mineral assemblages formed under a defined pressure-temperature range, such as greenschist, amphibolite, blueschist and eclogite, used to reconstruct tectonic conditions.

Unconformity

Surface representing a gap in the geological record; angular unconformity, disconformity and nonconformity are distinguished by the relationship of the rocks above and below.

Index fossil

Fossil species with wide geographic distribution and short stratigraphic range, used to correlate rock layers and assign relative ages.

Betic-Rifian system

Alpine mountain belt of southern Spain and northern Morocco whose emergent promontories form the Balearic Islands after compression followed by Neogene extension.

Cabrera Archipelago

National Park south of Mallorca protecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including cliffs, Posidonia meadows and seabird colonies.

Hydrological cycle

Continuous movement of water through evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff and groundwater flow between oceans, atmosphere and land.

Eutrophication

Excess nutrients, mainly nitrates and phosphates, stimulate algal growth, deplete oxygen and degrade water quality in lakes, rivers and coastal waters.

Albedo

Fraction of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface; ice and snow have high albedo, oceans and forests low albedo, creating the ice-albedo feedback.

Ocean acidification

Uptake of atmospheric CO2 by seawater lowers pH and carbonate availability, harming calcifying organisms such as corals, molluscs and Posidonia.

Landslide

Downslope movement of rock or soil under gravity, triggered by rainfall, earthquakes or excavation and controlled by slope angle, lithology and water content.

Seismic intensity

Scale describing the observed effects of an earthquake at a location, such as damage and human perception, in contrast to magnitude, which measures energy released.

Circular economy

Economic model that keeps materials in use through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling, reducing waste and resource consumption compared with a linear model.

Carrying capacity

Maximum population or level of activity an environment can support without irreversible degradation, relevant to tourism pressure on Balearic water, land and waste systems.