Exam #2 Earth Sci

Which of the numbered soil horizons is most likely to have remnants of weathered bedrock?

5

The primary source of nutrients for plants is in the ________ horizon.

A

What is a popular model for the formation of an atoll?

A volcanic island forms and subsides.

Which of the following is not a component of soil?

All are components of soil

Which of the following are tectonic settings in which regional mountain belts form?

All of the above

What is the mechanism that causes a coastline to become emerged?

All of these are correct

Which of the following processes produce sedimentary clasts?

All of these choices are correct

The highest death tolls from earthquakes are generally due to

All of these choices are correct.

What processes are responsible for destruction of life and loss of property in coastal areas?

All of these choices are correct.

Tsunami may be generated by

All of these may generate a tsunami.

Which of the following occurs when mountain belts are eroded?

All these occur when mountain belts are eroded.

How can we tell that the Himalaya has been uplifted?

All these tell us that the Himalaya has been uplifted.

At which site along this stream would a cutbank form?

C

Which of these areas is in the swash zone?

C

What is true of regional elevations across North America?

Elevations tend to be higher toward the west and decrease toward the east.

What happens to the erosive power of a stream as velocity increases?

Erosion increases.

Which state would most likely have the highest rate of chemical weathering?

Florida

What happens when a glacier encounters the sea or a lake?

Large blocks of ice collapse off the front of the glacier and become icebergs.

In what order will the seismic stations (#1 and #2) detect seismic waves generated by the earthquake shown in the image?

Station 1 will detect them first, followed by Station 2.

What typically happens to the size, shape, and sorting of clasts as they are transported from steep mountains toward more gentle settings?

The clasts become more rounded.

Using the rule of thumb for elevations and the information provided by the image, what may be said of the actual differences in elevation and crust thickness between Phoenix and Flagstaff (Elevation Phoenix: 300 m, Flagstaff: 2100 m)?

The differences are what we would predict. Rule of thumb: increase of 6 km crust thickness = increase in 1 km elevation.

What happens to the land surface when large ice sheets melt away?

The land flexes upward due to isostatic rebound.

What do the two stars near the center of this block represent?

The two stars represent all these.

What is the best explanation for the shape of these clasts?

They have been transported a significant distance.

What is the main reason why the oceans are salty?

Weathering of rocks releases chemical elements that make the oceans salty.

Why does weathering of granite bedrock produce rounded shapes?

Weathering removes corners and edges, as in spheroidal weathering.

Regarding sea surface temperature (SST), as one travels toward the poles SST:

decreases.

Which of the following is NOT a setting in which regional mountain belts form?

passive margin

Which of the following sediment sizes is likely to be transported mostly on the bottom of the stream bed?

pebbles and cobbles

Compared to a gentle slope, a steep slope will have a

slower rate of soil formation and less soil.

Which particles of sediment are most likely to be transported as suspended load?

small, low density particles

Which of the following situations would result in angular clasts?

steep slopes in a mountain

The type of fault shown in this figure is a

strike-slip fault.

Which of the following regions below would you predict to have the thickest continental crust?

the Colorado Rockies and adjacent Great Plains

What is the primary purpose of building a groin along a coastline?

to trap sand on its up-current side

The ocean current known as the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean is a:

warm current flowing north from the equator.

Which of the following does NOT influence whether sediment is picked up by a stream?

whether the stream flows north-south or east-west

What is the driving force for surface currents?

wind

Which of the numbered features on this figure is a continental shelf?

1

Which of these numbered features has the thinnest sediment?

1

Which of these numbered features is a barrier reef?

1

Which of these numbered features is on the continental shelf?

1

Which of the numbered soil horizons are most likely to represent an accumulation of organic debris?

1 and 2

Which of these regions is high because of a continental collision?

1, Andes of South America

On this map of southeastern Asia and adjacent areas, which site would have earthquakes along a continental collision?

1, in the Indian Ocean

On this map of southeastern Asia and adjacent areas, which site would have earthquakes along a mid-ocean ridge?

1, in the Indian Ocean

Which of these regions is high because of subduction of an oceanic plate?

1/A, Andes of South America

Which of the numbered features on this figure is a continental slope?

2

Which of these numbered features is a fringing reef?

2

Which of these numbered features is an accretionary prism?

2

Which of these regions is high because of mantle upwelling near a continental rift?

2, East Africa

Which dashed line in this figure would be the wave base?

3

Which of these numbered features is an atoll?

3

Which of these numbered features is a fold and thrust belt?

4

Which of these numbered features is a foreland basin?

4

Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) are warmest:

at the subtropics because descending air promotes clear skies.

What is a primary reason an increase in glaciers on land would cause sea level to fall?

Glaciers tie up large volumes of water that would otherwise be in the sea.

What is the primary reason global sea level has risen over the past 20,000 years?

Ice-age ice sheets and glaciers melted.

What is a gyre?

a circular ocean surface current

What is a submergent coast?

a coast that has been inundated by the sea

What is an emergent coast?

a coast where the sea has retreated from the land

Which of the following is a condition favoring deposition of sediment?

a decrease in gradient of the stream

The amount of solar heating retained by Earth can increase from

a decrease in snow and ice cover on Earth's surface.

Feature A, formed where the Nile River encounters the Mediterranean Sea, is:

a delta

What carved this U-shaped valley?

a glacier

Which of the following is not an agent of transport?

alluvial fan

What is the main cause of uplift during a continental collision?

an almost doubling of the thickness of continental crust

What is in the pore spaces in soils?

both water and air

What type of stream is shown in this figure?

braided stream

Sand and other sediment

can move laterally along the coast if waves approach the beach at an angle.

Landslides and volcanic eruptions can cause a tsunami by

causing a large mass of rock to catastrophically displace the water.

The arid conditions of the Namibian desert along the western coast of southern Africa are strongly influenced by the:

cold Benguela current just offshore.

All of the following impact sea surface temperature (SST) except:

currents moving cold water away from poles on the western sides of oceans.

What is the main type of weathering illustrated by this weathered limestone?

dissolution

All other factors being equal, a slope facing away from the Sun will tend to have

faster soil formation than the slope in direct sunlight, primarily because chemical weathering processes will be accelerated.

This type of structure is a(n)

fault

What is the most important geologic agent in eroding, transporting, and depositing sediment?

flowing water

This image shows a coastline that

has undergone a rise in relative sea level

What type of stress could form the fault in this figure?

horizontal tension

What is the most apparent means of erosion on this landscape?

ice

Water's salinity can be increased by:

ice freezing.

Which of the following is properly called a flood?

if water spreads out over the floodplain

The addition of salts to water ________ its density.

increases

Which of the following is the most common cause of river and stream flooding?

intense precipitation

Uplifting caused by the removal of weight on top of the crust, as when an ice sheet melts away or when erosion strips material off the top of a thick crustal root of a mountain, is called

isostatic rebound.

How is sand moving (overall) in the diagram of the beach?

laterally to the right

A cross section of the ocean from its surface to the seafloor shows:

less dense, warmer water overlying denser, colder water.

What is a common rock that can be dissolved by water and weak acids?

limestone

Which soil component is the largest in terms of volume?

mineral

The type of fault shown in this figure is a

normal fault.

Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are typically warmest:

on the western sides of oceans.

The most direct and fundamental relationship between overgrazing and soil erosion is that

overgrazing leads to the loss of vegetation.

Which of the following processes is NOT physical weathering?

oxidation

The Himalaya are

the highest mountain range in the world and contain Earth's highest peak.

The salinity of the water can be decreased by:

the melting of sea ice.

The size of clasts that a stream can carry is primarily controlled by:

the velocity and turbulence of the current.

Which of the following processes is NOT chemical weathering?

thermal expansion

Aftershocks are very dangerous because

they collapse structures damaged by the main quake.