Geophysics & Environmental Physics
7 terms
Sea Level Rise
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
mm/year (Rate of Rise)
The ongoing increase in global mean sea level caused by thermal expansion of warming ocean water and meltwater input from glaciers and ice sheets.
Δh_sea = Δh_thermosteric + Δh_eustatic (Thermal Expansion + Meltwater)
Seafloor Spreading
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
cm/year (Spreading Rate)
The tectonic process occurring at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is created by upwelling mantle magma and moves laterally away.
Spreading Rate v = d / t ~ 2–16 cm/year
Seismic Waves (P & S Waves)
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
km/s (Seismic Wave Velocities)
Elastic body waves that propagate through Earth's interior during an earthquake, classified as Primary (P) waves and Secondary (S) waves.
v_P = √((K + ⁴/₃ μ) / ρ), v_S = √(μ / ρ)
Seismology
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
m/s (Wave Speeds)
The scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of mechanical elastic waves through the Earth's interior and surface layers.
v_p = √((K + ⁴/₃ μ) / ρ), v_s = √(μ / ρ)
Solar Wind Interaction
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
Plasma Density & Velocity
The plasma physics interaction between the Sun's supersonic coronal plasma stream and Earth's geomagnetic field.
Bow Shock Formation (Supersonic Magnetosheath Plasma Flow)
Specific Humidity
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
g/kg (Grams of Water Vapor per kg of Air)
The mass ratio of water vapor contained within an air parcel relative to the total mass of the moist air parcel.
q = m_v / (m_v + m_d) ≈ 0.622 e / P
Stratosphere
Geophysics & Environmental Physics
km (Altitude ~12 to 50 km)
The second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, extending from the tropopause (~12 km) up to the stratopause (~50 km), containing the protective ozone layer.
dT / dz > 0 (Temperature Inversion via O₃ Absorption)