Glossary

Seismic waves that travel though side to side movements. They can travel through solid only. They are also called shear waves.

A dark sediment layer with a high proportion of organic matter that can be found at the bottom of lakes and oceans.

One unit of a myofibril made up of a set of overlapping thick and thin protein filaments.

A family of insects that generally feed directly on the sap produced by plants.

A microscope that uses a tiny tip and electric current to provide a 3D image of atoms on a surface.

To scientists, a theory provides a coherent explanation that holds true for a large number of facts and observations about the natural world. It has to be internally consistent, based upon evidence, tested against a wide range of phenomena and demonstrate problem solving.

Sea pens are a type of colonial marine animal that belong to the order Pennatulacea.

A scientist who studies the Earth with a special interest in rocks that have formed from compacting sediments.

The process of depositing sediment. Sedimentation rates can change by altering land use, e.g. deforestation tends to increase sedimentation, and exposed sediments can be carried along by wind and surface water and into rivers for eventual deposition in the sea.

In geology, it describes the solid fragments of inorganic or organic material that come from the weathering of rock and are carried and deposited by wind, water or ice.

The slow movement of a liquid or gas through small holes or cracks in a porous material.

The speed at which seismic waves travel.

People who study earthquakes.

The study of earthquakes.

A sudden episode of symptoms such as involuntary muscle movements, sensory disturbances and altered consciousness. A seizure is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

When a population of animals has sufficient numbers to maintain the population level without human intervention.

A substance that can be made to conduct or block electricity. Silicon is a semiconductor that forms the basis of computer chips and many electronics components.

The first lymph node that a tumour drains into through the lymphatic system.

The act of capturing and storing carbon dioxide so that it is no longer available for release into the atmosphere. In chemistry, sequestration also means forming a chelate or other stable compound with ions, atoms or molecules so they can no longer react with other elements (effectively capturing and storing them).

An organism that is permanently attached to a substrate or surface.

A stress state that will cause shearing when it exceeds a material's shear strength. The direction of the stress is parallel or tangential to the slip plane.

The material of the Earth’s continental crust. The name is dervied from silica and aluminia – the two main chemical constituents.

The chief rock-forming minerals, which contain silicon and oxygen.

A semimetal – symbol Si, atomic number 14.

A transition metal in Group 11 of the periodic table – symbol Ag, atomic number 47.

A 5 cm long fish that is especially common in the Ross Sea.

The material of the Earth’s oceanic crust. The name is derivied from silica and magnesia – the two main chemical constituents.

The muscles attached to bones by tendons. One of the three different kinds of muscle in the human body, it is also called striated or striped muscle. Skeletal muscles are attached to the skeleton and are used to cause skeletal movement and to maintain posture. Skeletal muscles respond to conscious control.

Slow, muscles that develop force slowly, maintain contractions longer and contract without needing oxygen.

The muscle tissue that makes up internal organs in the body. One of the three different kinds of muscle in the human body. A smooth muscle fibre has only one nucleus, and contracts more slowly and rhythmically than a skeletal fibre. Smooth muscle is found in the walls of the blood vessels, digestive system (e.g. the stomach and intestines) and other internal organs.

Snell’s Law of Refraction is expressed as n₁sinθ₁ = n₂sinθ₂ . The law states that, for waves passing from one medium to another, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence and the sine of the angle of refraction is constant.

A scientist who studies soil, looking at a variety of aspects from the chemistry and form of soil to environmental protection and resource planning.

A device that collects and converts solar energy into electricity or heat.

These indirectly generate electricity when the heat from solar thermal collectors is used to heat a fluid, which produces steam that is used to power generator. There are no solar power plants in New Zealand.

Radiant energy emitted by the Sun as a result of nuclear fusion reactions.

The Sun and objects in orbit around it, including the planets and their moons, asteroids and comets. The Sun is a star like many others in the galaxy.

The study of rigid matter or solids.

A method of detecting, locating, and determining the speed of objects through the use of reflected sound waves. A sound signal is produced, and the time it takes for the signal to reach an object and for its echo to return is used to calculate the object's distance.

The rock material of origin from which, in the case of oil formation, hydrocarbons like oil will form.

A reusable NASA spacecraft that carries astronauts, space station material and satellites into a low orbit around Earth.

The ability to sharply and clearly define the extent or shape of features within an image.

(Abbreviation sp. or spp.) A division used in the Linnean system of classification or taxonomy.

An item held in a collection that is preserved to allow study. The item is selected to represent a particular species and is generally a typical individual of that species.

An instrument that collects information about the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum coming from a light source.

The branch of science devoted to discovering the chemical composition of materials by looking at the light (and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation) they emit.

A type of neural tube defect (NTD) that occurs as a foetus develops its spinal cord. It is the incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube, where some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. Sometimes if the hole is too big, a portion of the spinal cord can stick out, causing a noticeable external bubble on the baby’s back. The term is from the Latin spina (spine) and bifida (split).

Shaped like a very elongated (stretched out) rugby ball.

A jointed organ on the abdomen of spiders, which they use to spin their webs. Most spiders have three pairs of spinnerets. The silk thread of the spider is made of several smaller threads spun together as they leave the spinnerets.

Small structures produced by many plants, fungi, algae and some protozoans for reproduction. The spores helps disperse the genetic information to allow the organisms to spread to new areas. Spores are similar to seeds but they do not contain any stored foods or sugar.

Flat cells, which look like fish scales, that make up most of the cells in the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) as well as the linings of the hollow organs of the body.

A self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity.

A type of chemical that is involved in sending chemical messages in the body.

A layer in the atmosphere between 10 to 40 kilometres above the Earth’s surface where the temperature gradually rises from approximately -55°C to 0°C. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere.

A type of muscle that looks striped and is under voluntary control.

Blocks of earth shift past each other in a horizontal movement.

To give the appearance of stopped or slowed motion by lighting something intermittently.

The two main water fronts in the Southern Ocean that make up most of the transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

In ecology, the surface or sediment where an organism lives and grows.

Marine habitats that are always submerged.

A product applied to the skin to protect it from the effects of the Sun's rays. Sunscreens act by absorbing or reflecting ultraviolet radiation.

The phenomenon of almost perfect conductivity shown by certain substances at temperatures approaching absolute zero.

The ability of certain substances to conduct electric current with almost no resistance at very low temperatures.

A rare celestial event involving the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy.

The total area of the surface of a 3-dimensional object.

A chemical wetting agent that reduces the surface tension between oil and water. Detergents and soaps are surfactants.

Organisms that live together for their mutual benefit.

A close association of two different species. The relationship could be commensalistic, mutualistic or parasitic.

A relationship between two species that benefits both species. For example, lichen results from a mutually beneficial partnership between fungi and algae.

A type of particle accelerator in which particles move at accelerating speed around a hollow ring – sometimes several kilometres in circumference. The ion beam or particle path is very precisely focused by the magnetic field of a continuous ring of electromagnets.