Desertification a process by which land becomes increasingly dry until almost no vegetation grows on it, making it unproductive.

Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus meaning of fire, from ignis meaning fire) is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. This magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Over 700 types of igneous rocks have been described, most of them having formed beneath the surface of Earth's crust. These have diverse properties, depending on their composition and how they were formed.

igneous rock, any of various crystalline or glassy rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of molten earth material. Igneous rocks comprise one of the three principal classes of rocks, the others being metamorphic and sedimentary. Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of magma, which is a hot (600 to 1,300 C, or 1,100 to 2,400 F) molten or partially molten rock material. The Earth is composed predominantly of a large mass of igneous rock with a very thin veneer of weathered material namely, sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock is a type of rock that is formed by sedimentation of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles (detritus) to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution. Particles that form a sedimentary rock by accumulating are called sediment. Before being deposited, sediment was formed by weathering and erosion in a source area, and then transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, mass movement or glaciers which are called agents of denudation. The sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth's crust is extensive, but the total contribution of sedimentary rocks is estimated to be only 8% of the total volume of the crust.[1] Sedimentary rocks are only a thin veneer over a crust consisting mainly of igneous and metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rocks are deposited in layers as strata, forming a structure called bedding. The study of sedimentary rocks and rock strata provides information about the subsurface that is useful for civil engineering, for example in the construction of roads, houses, tunnels, canals or other constructions. Sedimentary rocks are also important sources of natural resources like coal, fossil fuels, drinking water or ores. The study of the sequence of sedimentary rock strata is the main source for scientific knowledge about the Earth's history, including palaeogeography, paleoclimatology and the history of life.

Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure (temperatures greater than 150 to 200 C and pressures of 1500 bars[1]) causing profound physical and/or chemical change. The protolith may be sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust and are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage (metamorphic facies). They may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earth's surface, subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it. They can form from tectonic processes such as continental collisions, which cause horizontal pressure, friction and distortion. They are also formed when rock is heated up by the intrusion of hot molten rock called magma from the Earth's interior. The study of metamorphic rocks (now exposed at the Earth's surface following erosion and uplift) provides information about the temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earth's crust. Some examples of metamorphic rocks are gneiss, slate, marble, schist, and quartzite. Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. However, it was not until the development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, that a sufficient geological explanation of that movement was found. Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin tectonicus, from the Greek: "pertaining to building")[1] is a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory builds on the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century (one of the most famous advocates was Alfred Wegener), and was accepted by the majority of the geoscientific community when the concepts of seafloor spreading were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The lithosphere is broken up into what are called tectonic plates. In the case of the Earth, there are currently seven or eight major (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates. The lithospheric plates ride on the asthenosphere. These plates move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent, or collisional boundaries; divergent boundaries, also called spreading centers; and conservative transform boundaries. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries. The lateral relative movement of the plates varies, though it is typically 0100 mm annually.[2] The tectonic plates are composed of two types of lithosphere: thicker continental and thin oceanic. The upper part is called the crust, again of two types (continental and oceanic). This means that a plate can be of one type, or of both types. One of the main points the theory proposes is that the amount of surface of the (continental and oceanic) plates that disappears in the mantle along the convergent boundaries by subduction is more or less in equilibrium with the new (oceanic) crust that is formed along the divergent margins by seafloor spreading. This is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle. In this way, the total surface of the globe remains the same. This is in contrast with earlier theories advocated before the Plate Tectonics paradigm, as it is sometimes called, became the main scientific model, theories that proposed gradual shrinking (contraction) or gradual expansion of the globe, and that still exist in science as alternative models.[3]

Regarding the driving mechanism of the plates, various models co-exist: tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has a higher strength and lower density than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection. Their movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of seafloor away from the spreading ridge (due to variations in topography and density of the crust that result in differences in gravitational forces) and drag, downward suction, at the subduction zones. A different explanation lies in different forces generated by the rotation of the globe and tidal forces of the Sun and the Moon. The relative importance of each of these factors is unclear, and is still subject to debate (see also below). Basically, three types of plate boundaries exist,[10] with a fourth, mixed type, characterized by the way the plates move relative to each other. They are associated with different types of surface phenomena. The different types of plate boundaries are:[11][12] 1. Transform boundaries (Conservative) occur where plates slide or, perhaps more accurately, grind past each other along transform faults. The relative motion of the two plates is either sinistral (left side toward the observer) or dextral (right side toward the observer). The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform boundary exhibiting dextral motion. 2. Divergent boundaries (Constructive) occur where two plates slide apart from each other. Mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and active zones of rifting (such as Africa's Great Rift Valley) are both examples of divergent boundaries. 3. Convergent boundaries (Destructive) (or active margins) occur where two plates slide towards each other commonly forming either a subduction zone (if one plate moves underneath the other) or a continental collision (if the two plates contain continental crust). Deep marine trenches are typically associated with subduction zones, and the basins that develop along the active boundary are often called "foreland basins". The subducting slab contains many hydrous minerals, which release their water on heating; this water then causes the mantle to melt, producing volcanism. Examples of this are the Andes mountain range in South America and the Japanese island arc. 4. Plate boundary zones occur where the effects of the interactions are unclear and the boundaries, usually occurring along a broad belt, are not well defined, and may show various types of movements in different episodes.

Clay is a naturally occurring aluminium silicate composed primarily of fine-grained minerals. Clay deposits are mostly composed of clay minerals, a subtype of phyllosilicate minerals, which impart plasticity and harden when fired or dried; they also may contain variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure by polar attraction. Organic materials which do not impart plasticity may also be a part of clay deposits. Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemical weathering of rocks, usually silicate-bearing, by low concentrations of carbonic acid and other diluted solvents. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the weathering rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some clay minerals are formed by hydrothermal activity. Clay deposits may be formed in place as residual deposits in soil, but thick deposits usually are

formed as the result of a secondary sedimentary deposition process after they have been eroded and transported from their original location of formation. Clay deposits are typically associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes and marine deposits. Primary clays, also known as kaolins, are located at the site of formation. Secondary clay deposits have been moved by erosion and water from their primary location.

Sanitary landfills are sites where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe. It is considered when it has completely degraded biologically, chemically and physically. In high-income countries, the level of isolation achieved may be high. However, such an expensive high level of isolation may not be technically necessary to protect public health. Four basic conditions should be met before a site can be regarded as a sanitary landfill (see following.) The ways of doing this should be adapted to local conditions. The immediate goal is to meet, to the best extent possible, the four stated basic sanitary landfill conditions, with a longer term goal to meet them eventually in full. A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface. Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging.

What is Ground Water?

First and foremost it's water. It's water that is out of sight and below land surface. Because ground water is unseen it is commonly misunderstood. Many people envision ground water as flowing in underground rivers. Only in rare cases, places where caverns exist, does ground water move in that fashion. Normally, ground water moves slowly through small openings in or between sand grains of subsurface materials. Materials that provide storage for ground water are called aquifers. Ground water moves through fractured rock, sand or limestone aquifers much like soda does through a cup of crushed ice. The drinking straw is analogous to a well. Ground water always moves away from high pressure toward low pressure - downgradient. Gradients exist naturally because ground water enters the water cycle at higher elevations and eventually flows towards the ocean. Natural gradients can be altered by withdrawing ground water from an aquifer using wells.

We see the source of ground water as it rains. A small portion of the rain doesn't evaporate or feed the plants and trees (transpiration), but infiltrates into the soil and deeper geologic formations (water budget). It's that water, moving at modest fractions of a foot per day, that discharges to surface water bodies and is withdrawn by wells throughout North Carolina. Usually there is plenty of ground water to go around. Wells are widely separated and withdrawals from one well don't influence neighboring ones.

It is common in the coastal plain to withdraw ground water from confined aquifers. Clay-rich sediments above and below the aquifer restrict vertical water flow. Water levels in wells tapping a confined aquifer rise to a level equivalent to the water pressure in the aquifer (potentiometric surface).

Sometimes this level is above land surface and the well is called a flowing well. The water is pressured by the elevation of the recharge area for that aquifer. The recharge area, or the region where water enters the aquifer, is at a higher elevation than the land surface elevation at the flowing well.

The confining layers also allow ground water to move greater distances in response to pumping wells. Ground water in the coastal plain can be pumped at high rates for city and county supplies. Of course, this means that pumping wells more easily interfere with one another (creating a larger cone of depression). In the area surrounding Kinston, North Carolina flowing wells were common in the 1920s. Between then and now, water levels in wells have fallen more than 150 feet in response to the aggregate pumping from public water systems, agriculture and industry. This situation concerns State officials who fear that aquifers could be damaged if withdrawal growth rates are left unchecked and water levels drop below the top of the aquifer. Also, water level drawdowns put pressure on communities with increasing populations to find alternate sources of water. That means use of surface water or a shallower aquifer which is more easily recharged. Another concern for this region of the State comes from the potential for salt water intrusion either laterally from the ocean or upwards from deeper salty aquifers. Salt water intrusion can occur if an aquifer is stressed by pumping too close to the fresh water-salt water interface. Once salt water has invaded a portion of an aquifer more costly treatment is required to use the ground water for potable supply. Although the source is unseen, about 27% of North Carolina water use is from ground water. In

the coastal plain, that percentage is much higher, about 90%. It is important for everyone to understand the source of ground water and how it moves through the subsurface because it is a critical part of our daily lives.

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill (occasionally ghyll), kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or runnel. Streams are important as conduits in the water cycle, instruments in groundwater recharge, and corridors for fish and wildlife migration. The biological habitat in the immediate vicinity of a stream is called a riparian zone. Given the status of the ongoing Holocene extinction, streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and thus in conserving biodiversity. The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surface hydrology and is a core element of environmental geography.[1]