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This week’s EarthWord sounds like what the British might call an outhouse...

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Viscosity refers to a fluid’s resistance to flowing. Ever heard the phrase “slower than molasses?” Viscosity is what it’s referring to, since molasses has a fairly high viscosity and so doesn’t flow very quickly.

The unsaturated zone is the area below the surface of the ground but above the groundwater table. In other words, it’s the area that is comparatively drier than aquifers, with both water and air in the pore space between rock and soil.

The occurrence or frequency of earthquakes for which the origin is attributable to human activities.

The Tertiary is a system of rocks, above the Cretaceous and below the Quaternary, that defines the Tertiary Period of geologic time. T

Storm tides is the combination of storm surge, which is water that has been pushed by a storm, with the regularly occurring tides.

This one has a lot of variance within the scientific community, but at its core, a reservoir is a place where fluids collect and concentrate.

Its spelling looks similar to Quahog, and it is even distantly related—the Quagga Mussel is a bivalve mollusk just like the Quahog.  That’s where the similarities end, though. Quahogs are clams, native to the Americas and often used in chowder, whereas Quaggas are mussels native to Ukraine that accumulate toxins and have an offensive smell.

Prominence is a term in topography that refers to the elevation of a summit relative to its surrounding terrain. This is different from its overall elevation, which measures the height of the summit above sea level.

The naturally occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can be extracted. Usually minerals, especially metals, are mined first in ore form, then refined later.