A4 



ISOBARS Lines of equal barometric pressure on a weather map. 



ISOHALINES Lines of equal salinity on a chart of saltwater bodies. 



KARST A limestone terrain of very irregular topography due to extensive 

 solution of the limestone rock. 



KATABATIC WIND Any wind blowing down an incline. If the wind is 

 cold, it is known as a foehn; if it is cold, it may be a fall or gravity wind. 



LACUSTRIP«JE Pertaining to a lake. 



LAGOON A shallow body of water behind a coastal barrier island, barrier 

 spit, or baymouth barrier. Also applied to the water bodies inland of coral 

 reefs and atolls. 



LAPSE RATE The adiabatic rate of change of a meteorological element 

 (such as temperature) associated with a change in height. 



LITHIFIED Refers to rocky or hardened sediments. 



LITHOLOGIC Pertaining to the character of rock. 



LITHOLOGY The general characteristics of a rock or sediment. 



LITHOSPHERE The solid portion of the earth, usually referring to the crust 

 and upper part of the mantle (about 100 km in thickness total). 



LONGSHORE CURRENT A current flowing alongshore, primarily inshore 

 of the outer breaker line. 



LONGSHORE DRIFT Sediment moving alongshore on the foreshore and 

 adjacent breaker zone due to waves and wave-generated currents. 



MARGINAL SEAS A partly enclosed sea bordering a continental landmass. 



MASS WASTING The movement of soil and sediments downslope due to 

 gravity. 



MORAINE Accumulation of glacial till left by melting of glaciers. Material 

 is deposited directly by the ice. 



MORPHODYNAMIC A concept introduced by Wright, Short, and 

 coworkers which represents the integration of seemingly disparate 

 hydrodynamic and morphologic factors into a coherent morphologic model 

 with distinct states or stages. 



MORPHOLOGY In geology, the visual shape of landscape features, either 

 singly or as a group in a given area. 



Appendix A Glossary of Geologic Terms 



