Geology Test

At convergent plate boundaries, the subducting oceanic plate grinds along the base of the overriding plate, generating large [C]

earthquakes

On average, more people die from which type of natural disaster than any other?

flash floods and flooding

Landslides associated with the 2010 Haiti earthquake were

found mostly on slopes steepened at their base by road construction.

Which of the following is the major driving force in all mass movements?

gravity

One of the geologists listed some potential precursors to a Yellowstone eruption. The precursors he listed are earthquake swarms, heating of the ground, increasing hydrothermal events, and _____.

ground uplift.

What keeps a stream flowing year-round, even though it may not rain for many months?

groundwater flow from the adjacent ground into the stream

Highly explosive magmas are controlled by which of the following?

high silica content and high water

What does the Mercalli Intensity Scale depend on?

how much damage occurred in an area

Most of Earth's active volcanoes are found _____.

in the Ring of Fire.

Sand boils and mud volcanoes form when _____.

intense shaking ejects overpressured mud and sand to the surface along narrow fractures.

Over the last 30 years, hurricanes have become more ______ due to _______.

intense, warmer ocean temperatures

A basalt magma typically erupts in what form?

lava flows

Select the 3 ENGINEERING flood-control methods.

levees channelization dams

Fissures in the harbor area following the 2010 Haiti earthquake were caused by _____.

liquefaction of unconsolidated sediments along the coastal area.

Oceanic lithosphere is created at [A] and consumed at [B].

mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones

The costs of catastrophic events continue to increase primarily because ____.

more people are moving into more hazardous areas

The epicenter of the 2010 Haiti earthquake was located _____.

on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake occurred ______.

on the same fault zone that destroyed Port Royal, Jamaica, in the 1600s.

The residential construction that sustained the least amount of damage during the Haiti earthquake was _____.

one-story shanties made of mud and twig walls, sheet metal roofs, and earthen floors.

Most natural disasters are which of the following?

rarely if ever cyclic because there are too many overlapping effects

Pyroclastic flows contain _____. (select the 3 that apply)

rock fragments ash hot gases

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred as a result of _____.

subduction of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma and Sunda plates.

What are two main causes of tsunami?

subduction-zone earthquakes and landslide into the ocean

Toba formed from magma generated during the subduction of _____.

the Indian-Australian plate under the Sunda plate.

Tambora is a part of _______.

the Indonesian island arc.

The background in the painting, The Scream, by Edvard Munch is evidence of what?

the high amount of sulfur dioxide put into the atmosphere by the eruption of Krakatau in 1883.

The eruption of Tambora in 1815 indirectly led to _____.

the migration of people from family farms in the Northeast to the Ohio Valley.

Which of the following would be a modern analogy to the Reelfoot Rift when it was active?

the triple junction centered around the Afar Triangle in northeast Africa.

In several places affected by the tsunami associated with the 2004 Indian ocean earthquake, the ocean retreated from the beaches just prior to the tsunami hitting the beach. This is a common phenomenon that is caused by _____.

the wave trough hitting land before of the crest of the wave.

Which of the following is NOT a common reason cited for building large dams on rivers?

to raise groundwater levels

Approximately 40,000 people died as a result of the 1883 eruption of Krakatau. What were the two volcanic hazards responsible for these deaths?

tsunamis and pyroclastic flows

What are the two most abundant gases in magmas?

water vapor and carbon dioxide

Yellowstone's most recent eruption was _______. There is evidence that Yellowstone has errupted _____ in the last 2.3 million years.

~600,000 years ago, 3 times

Economist estimate that it will take Japan about how long to recover from the Great Tohoku earthquake?

1 year

The length of fault rupture during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was _____.

1,500 km (900 miles)

Following the Younger Toba Tuff eruption, the hominin population may have decreased to as low as ______ individuals.

10,000

Global temperatures dropped by how much as a result of the 1815 eruption of Tambora?

10oC

Earthquakes along the San Andreas fault will eventually cause the city of Los Angeles to be adjacent to San Francisco. Assuming the current rate of motion along this fault, about how long will it take for the two cities to be juxtaposed?

11,000,000 years

The October 1963 Vaiont Dam landslide killed around 2,500 people. How long did it take for the mass movement to flow out of the reservoir, over the dam, and into the valley below?

12 min

The source of the magma for the eruption of Toba during the Younger Toba Tuff event was most likely from _____.

2 shallow magma chambers

After scientists installed seismographs, how many earthquakes per week did they record?

25

From the time the siren went off and the tsunami hit the city of Sendai, how long did the residents of Sendai have to evacuate to higher ground before the tsunami hit?

3 minutes

How long before a flood can someone purchase insurance from the National Flood Insurance program?

30 days

An unusually wet summer was the primary cause of the 1993 Flood. The jet stream became locked over the midwest and ____ inches of rain fell over ____ months.

30, 6

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at a depth of _____ below the ocean floor.

50 km

The 1993 Flood had a recurrence interval of ______.

500 years

What is the elevation of the city of New Orleans?

7-10 feet below sea level

According to the documentary, a supervolcano erruption will occur somewhere on earth every _______ years.

700,000

What would the Volcanic Explosivity Index be if Yellowstone erupts?

8

How many states were directly affected by the 1993 Flood?

9

The wetlands surrounding New Orleans are rapidly disappearing. Why?

A and B

It was assumed that Yellowstone's heat source was an extinct volcano. What event made scientists realize that Yellowstone was still active and prompted them to take a closer look at the seismic activity of the national park?

A large earthquake in Yellowstone National Park in 1959.

What is the difference in a storm surge and a tsunami?

A storm surge is caused by a combination of high water resulting from a low pressure system at sea and strong onshore winds, whereas a tsunami is caused by an underwater disturbance, such as an earthquake, to the ocean floor.

Which of the following is not true concerning tsunamis on the open ocean?

A tsunami in the open ocean will look like a huge wall of water to a ship in its path.

Mass movements include _____.

All of the above

The force of the October 1963 mass movement was enough to _____.

All of the above are results of the 1963 Vaiont Dam landslide.

A tsunami may occur when _____.

All of the above have the potential to cause a tsunami.

Which agency manages the rivers, dams, and levees in the United States.?

Army Corp of Engineers

How many hominin species are believed to have lived through the Younger Toba Tuff eruption?

At least four, the Neanderthals, Homo sapiens, Homo floresiensis, and Homo erectus.

Why does Japan rely so heavily on nuclear energy?

Because Japan has few natural resources that it can use to generate electricity.

Why is 1816 known as 'the year without a summer?'

Because the northern hemisphere experienced snows in June, July, and August.

How were the 1925 Gros Ventre landslide and 1963 Vaiont Dam landslide similar?

Both landslides were caused by excessive water in the underlying rocks.

Which town's levee failure was credited with saving St Louis, Missouri from flooding.

Columbia, IL

What is the major difference in oceanic crust and continental crust?

Continental crust is slightly less dense than oceanic crust.

Earthquakes associated with normal faulting cause the extension of Earth's crust. This type of faulting is generally associated with which type of plate boundary?

Divergent

Which of the following did not occur during the Dec. 16, 1811, New Madrid earthquake?

Downed power lines caused numerous small fires along the Mississippi River.

The S-wave shadow zone occurs because _________.

Earth's outer core is liquid and shear waves cannot travel through liquids.

Select the 3 methods inspired by the 1993 Flood to prevent future damage and loss from flooding.

Elevating homes above flood level Returning agricultural land to natural wetlands Leaving crop residue on the land to reduce soil erosion and run-off

Continental drift is the theory currently accepted by the scientific community that describes the large-scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere.

False

Due to the force of the water that hit the dam, the dam itself sustained severe damage.

False

Earth's active volcanoes are found at convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and transform fault boundaries.

False

Large volcanic eruptions can emit sulfur dioxide and cause short-term global warming.

False

The Great Tohoku earthquake occurred without any warning.

False

The October 1963 Vaiont Dam landslide occurred without any warning.

False

The Reelfoot Rift formed when the supercontinent of Pangaea began to split apart around 700 million years ago.

False

The rim of the caldera from an ancient eruption of Krakatau (pre-1883) is marked by the islands of Verlaten, Lang, Rakata, and Anak Krakatau.

False

The terms 'tsunami' and 'tidal wave' mean the same thing and are interchangeable when discussing a seismic sea wave.

False

Select all the engineering systems or structures mentioned in the video that were put in place in New Orleans to deal with potential flooding.

Flood walls Drainage canals Pumps Levees

Which of the following volcanoes formed over a hot spot?

Hawaii

Which hominin species was best suited for the volcanic winter that followed the eruption of the Younger Toba Tuff event?

Homo neanderthalensis

Which of these will cause a rock to melt? (Select 3 answers)

Increase in temperture with pressure remaining the same Decrease in pressure with temperature remaining the same High water content

The Reelfoot Rift formed _______.

Intense shaking along the river caused water to bounce from one side of the river to the other. This formed waves that flowed upriver, making it appear that the river was flowing backwards.

Why does the intensity map for the Dec. 16, 1811, earthquake not show any intensities on the west side of the map?

Intensities are not shown on the west side of the map because the population of European settlers in that part of the U.S. was sparse.

The New Madrid Seismic Zone does not include which of the following states?

Iowa

After the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over New Orleans, why did the flood waters continue to rise in the low-lying areas of the city?

Levee along two canals failed and water from Lake Ponchartrain drained into the city center.

[D] crust is denser and thinner than [E] crust.

Oceanic and continental

The first waves to arrive at a seismographic station are the _______.

P waves

How does pahoehoe lava differ from aa lava?

Pahoehoe is ropy-looking, and aa is clinkery.

The originator of the theory of continental drift called the single landmass _______.

Pangaea

Which town's levee withstood the flood?

Prairie du Rocher, IL

In the spring of 2003, some unusual events occurred in Yellowstone that caused some to worry that Yellowstone might erupt. Select the 3 events that occurred in 2003.

Steamboat Geyser, a geyser that can be dormant for up to 50 years, began erupting. A pack of bison died from poisonous gas. The ground heated up and cracks opened up.

Besides wind, what is the biggest hazard from hurricanes?

Storm surge

Which of the following volcanic areas is not located over mantle plumes or hotspots?

Tambora

The Midcontinent Rift which underlies part of Iowa is evidence of what past geologic event?

The Midcontinent Rift is evidence that the central part of the North American continent was once the site of a divergent boundary that failed.

Which of the following is true with respect to the underlying geology in the Vaiont River valley?

The Vaoint River valley is underlain by rocks that dip (tilt) into the valley.

Transform plate boundary

The edges of the plates slide past each other

Which of the following is true regarding the tectonics in the Caribbean?

The island of Hispaniola is located on three different tectonic plates that are separated by two different strike-slip faults.

Which of the following statements is NOT true with respect to Earth's behavioral layers?

The lithosphere contains the crust and the upper part of the plastic asthenosphere.

Why is Yellowstone's supervolcano so explosive?

The magma beneath Yellowstone is full of gas and very viscous because it is silica-rich.

Which of the following is not true regarding the magnitude measurements of an earthquake?

The magnitude of an earthquake is based on the amount of damage an earthquake caused.

Which of the following was the major reason why most scientists did not believe in the concept of continental drift?

The originator of the concept of continental drift did not adequately explain how the continents could move through ocean basins.

Convergent plate boundary

The plates are colliding with each other, and oceanic plates subduct under continental plates.

Divergent plate boundary

The plates are moving away from each other at mid-ocean ridges.

What was the origin of the pumice rafts associated with the 1883 eruption of Krakatau?

The pumice rafts formed when hot ash from pyroclastic flows encountered cold seawater.

What caused the secondary eruptions associated with Tambora?

The secondary eruptions were caused by hot ash and gases from pyroclastic flows hitting cold seawater.

What caused the Industrial Canal & Intercoastal Waterway levees to fail?

The storm surge sent a huge wave of water up the Intercoastal Waterway, over-topping the canal walls and scouring away the earthen levees.

Which of the following is not true with respect to the strongest aftershock during the 1811-1812 earthquakes?

The strongest aftershock caused the formation of the bluffs along the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In the days preceding Hurrican Katrina, why did many people decide to stay in New Orleans? (select all that are true)

They had survived previous hurricanes without evacuating. Many did not have transportation They were elderly or sick

Why would a home built on the floodplain behind a levee be safe from flooding?

This statement is not true.

The most recent supervolcano to erupt was _________ and it occurred ________ years ago. This volcano may have nearly ended human life on earth.

Toba; 74,000

A tsunami ripped the Dutch ship Berouw from its moorings and deposited it o.5 miles upstream from the ocean. A subsequent wave picked it up again and carried it another mile upstream.

True

During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, parts of the western edge of the Burma plate rose above sea level while parts of the eastern edge of the Burma plate subsided below sea level.

True

GM plants in Buffalo, NY, and Shreveport, LA, were shut down because plants in Japan that manufacture car parts and electronics were shut down following the earthquake and tsunami.

True

It is possible that Yellowstone will experience a supervolcano eruption but there will likely be some warning.

True

One of the areas greatly affected by the tsunami associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was Somalia which is located over 5,000 km from the epicenter of this earthquake.

True

One of the strongest lines of evidence for plate tectonics today is the recognition that Earth has reversed its polarity over time and the reversals are reflected in newly formed rocks equidistant from oceanic spreading centers.

True

Over 1,800 earthquakes occurred during the 4 1/2 month period of the 1811-1812 seismic episode.

True

Paintings by J.M.W. Turner and other landscape artists of the early 1800s yield clues to climatic conditions of that time.

True

Sand blows (sand boils) have been used to determine past seismic events in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

True

The signal that magma is moving upward and an eruption may be imminent would be the constant rumbling vibrations known as harmonic tremors.

True

Today, the by-pass tunnel transports water to the river valley downstream of the dam by channeling water around the slide material and the dam.

True

Volcanoes with high silica magmas generally have more explosive eruptions than those with lower silica magmas.

True

When the Dec. 16, 1811 New Madrid earthquake occurred in Missouri, church bells in New York rang in response to shaking from this earthquake.

True

How do volcanoes form at convergent boundaries?

Volcanoes at convergent boundaries form when water in the subducted plate is squeezed out and travels into the overlying plate, where it causes minerals to melt. This melt may then rise to the surface where it will form a volcano.

Which of the following is not true with respect to water's role in mass movements?

Water in the pore spaces is the major cause of mass movements during an earthquake.

Why did the 17th Street and London Street canals fail?

Water soaked into the underlying peat layer and weakened the soft sediments beneath the levee wall.

Based upon the Modified Mercalli Shake Map, the highest intensity estimated for the New Madrid December 16, 1811 earthquake was _____.

XI

What is Yellowstone?

Yellowstone is a caldera that overlies an active magma chamber.

What is the source of Yellowstone's volcanism?

Yellowstone sits on a hotspot.

Today, Toba is _____.

a lake filled caldera on the island of Sumatra.

What is Anak Krakatau?

a small volcano that has formed over the site of the original Krakatau.

Like all hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Katrina began as _____.

a storm off the west coast of Africa.

VEI stands for ______.

a volcano's explosivity index.

Seismic waves are used to determine that the interior of the Earth is divided into layers of rock with different properties. Seismic waves will [a] or slow down depending on the [b] of the material they're traveling through. When seismic waves reach the boundary between two layers, some waves will also [c] (bounce) off that boundary and some will [d] (bend) at the boundary.

accelerate, density, reflect, refract

The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes occurred _______.

all of the above

The Dec. 16, 1811 earthquake ________.

all of the above

Eruptions dominated by basalt compositions are found where?

along divergent boundaries at mid-oceanic ridges

If a 100-year flood occurred in 2003, when could we expect the next 100-year flood?

anytime

The [F] is the weak layer in the mantle that the lithospheric plates ride on.

asthenosphere

The layer of the Earth that deforms and flows, behaving like a plastic, is called the _____.

asthenosphere