Earth Science Exam 4

A geologist finds an old report on stream discharge and reads a value of "20", but the rest of the page is cut off. Which of the following could be the appropriate value and units for the discharge of a stream?

20 cubic meters per second

________________________ are formed when water exiting a canyon spreads out and drops sediment.

Alluvial fans

________________________ are remnants of mesas.

Chimneys

What is the main feature of atmospheric circulation at 20° to 30° north and south latitude?

Cool, dry air sinks, becoming drier as it heats up.

The process responsible for a projectile that is shot from the North Pole to the equator, deflecting to the west is called the ______________________.

Coriolis effect

(T/F) Submergent coasts experience relative sea-level fall.

FALSE

Which of the following statements is true of flowing water and glacial ice?

Flowing water will sort sediment based on clast size; glacial ice will not.

Today, continental glaciers are limited to Antarctica and ________.

Greenland

The largest drainage basin in the United States drains into the:

Gulf of Mexico

What is the purpose of the great height of the water tanks used in the water supply systems of many towns?

It raises the potentiometric surface of pipes and faucets connected to the water system.

(T/F) A flood can occur when long, continuous rains have saturated soil pores.

TRUE

(T/F) Competence decreases with velocity.

TRUE

(T/F) Floating ice is found mostly beneath the waterline.

TRUE

If you wander around Central Park in New York City, you will eventually encounter random, large boulders that are made of a type of rock not found in the area. How did these large boulders get to Central Park?

They were carried by glaciers and dropped as glacial erratics.

Valleys carved by glaciers tend to be shaped like the letter ________, whereas valleys carved by water tend to be shaped like the letter ________.

U; V

Which of the following types of glaciers is most likely to carve features such as horns, cirques, and aretes?

a mountain glacier

what does a contour line represent?

a point of equal elevation on a map

What is the term for the land area drained by all of the streams that empty into a tributary?

a watershed

Deserts represent ________ of the Earth's land surface.

about 25 percent

Sediments deposited directly by glaciers as they melt are characterized by ________.

an absence of sorting

What is a ventifact?

an exposed rock with facets carved by wind

For a well to function properly, it must be drilled below the water table and into a(n) _________.

aquifer

An impermeable layer of rock or sediment is a(n) ________

aquitard

Structures—like jetties, groins, and breakwaters—that are designed to prevent beach erosion __________.

are temporary solutions that decrease beach erosion in some places and increase it in others

The definition of a desert depends on a region's ________.

aridity

Major oceanic surface currents travel ________.

at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect

Ice flows ___________from the __________ part of continental glaciers.

away; thickest

The geographic variation in depth to the ocean floor is termed ________.

bathymetry

Why do deltas form?

because when streams reach base level, the sediment they carry settles out and is deposited

The Mississippi River has which shape of delta?

bird's foot

The majority of large cave and karst systems have resulted from ________ etching into ________.

carbonic acid; limestone

Surface currents flow __________ in the Northern Hemisphere and __________ in the Southern Hemisphere.

clockwise; counterclockwise

Coastal region deserts are most likely to occur along coastlines adjacent to ________ ocean currents.

cold

A desert may form along a coastline because a ________.

cold current cools and dries the air

What shape does the longitudinal profile of a typical stream follow? A longitudinal profile plots elevation of a streambed with distance, showing the streambed elevation from its highest point upstream to the lowest point at base level.

concave upward

If groundwater is extracted faster than it can be replaced, a ____________________ develops around the well.

cone of depression

During the last ice age, a ________ glacier covered much of the northern United States.

continental

What geologic feature is situated between the continental slope and the abyssal plain in an ocean?

continental rise

The movement of sand up the windward face of a dune and down the slip face causes

cross-bedding.

A(n) ________ in global sea level is ultimately the result of a ________ event.

decrease; global cooling

The porosity and permeability of subsurface materials controls groundwater __________ and __________.

depth; flow

The Width x Depth x Velocity of a stream describes which of the below?

discharge

the breakdown and removal of rock and sediment are best described by which of the following?

erosion

When the sea level rises, an ocean may flood a former river valley, producing a nearshore body of water of mixed and variable salinity termed a(n) ________.

estuary

Which of the following characteristics is typically true of a hot desert?

far from oceans

When the sea level rises, causing the ocean to fill a glacially carved valley, a ________ results.

fjord

The flat-lying area surrounding a river channel is termed the ________.

floodplain

A periodic explosive eruption of steam and water from within the ground up through the surface is termed a(n) ________.

geyser

Stratified sorted sand and gravel are deposited by ________.

glacial outwash streams

What term best describes unsorted, unstratified sediment dropped by glacial ice?

glacial till

The liquid freshwater that occurs within sediments and rock below the Earth's surface is called

groundwater.

The major surface currents on the Earth that display a circle-like path and follow the ocean basin margins are known as __________.

gyres

Stalactites __________; stalagmites _____________.

hang down; point up

An aquifer has ________ porosity and ________ permeability.

high; high

Where does a cone of depression occur?

in groundwater at a pumped well

why do other planets' surface landscapes differ from earth's?

lack of active plate tectonics

Pumping vast quantities of water locally ________.

lowers the local water table, forming a cone-shaped depression

The elevation of the water table ________.

may rise during rainy periods and sink during droughts

Cirques and horns are features associated with ________.

mountain glaciation

Which landscape feature is most likely to form a drainage divide?

mountain ridge

Repeated flooding outside a stream channel and across an entire floodplain can result in a pair of low ridges on either side of a stream termed

natural levees.

The Gobi in Mongolia is a desert primarily because it is located ________.

near the center of a large continent

The Atacama Desert in Chile is a desert primarily because it is located ________.

next to a cold ocean current

During ice ages, sea level changes cause the rise and fall of oceans. Where is the water in ice stored that makes this change?

on land

Desert climates associated with a rain shadow are found ________.

on the leeward side of mountain ranges

A meander that is cut off to become completely isolated from the main channel but which retains water is called a(n) ________.

oxbow lake

In which tectonic settings are broad, shallow continental shelves most likely to be found?

passive margins with no plate boundary

Glacial deposits consist primarily of __________.

poorly sorted material

Channels form along pre-existing fractures, and streams join one another at right angles, creating a?

rectangular drainage network

A "bird's foot" delta such as the Mississippi River delta forms when the ________.

river current exceeds the oceanic current

In coastal communities, high rates of fresh groundwater withdrawal can raise the boundary between fresh and underlying saltwater aquifers and contaminate water supplies with salt. This process is called

saline intrusion.

Ultimately, the base level of a stream valley cannot be lower than ________.

sea level

The collapse of the land surface into an underground cavern results in a feature called a

sinkhole

Recent tectonic uplift or a drop in base level can result in downcutting into a landscape that had previously been eroded close to base level, in a process called

stream rejuvenation.

Finer sediment carried in the air by windstorms is called ______________.

suspended load

Cape Cod and Long Island are large examples of what type of features left behind on landscapes after retreat of glaciers?

terminal moraines

Porosity is best described by which of the following?

the amount of open space in a rock or sediment

Which of the following is MOST likely to result in stream rejuvenation?

the base level of a stream drops

What is a point bar?

the inside curve of a stream's meander where sediment is deposited

Beaches are constantly moving in the direction of ________.

the longshore current

What is the term for the sharp decrease in temperature in the ocean with depth from the surface common in tropical and subtropical oceans?

thermocline

Sediments deposited directly by glaciers as they melt are ________.

till

Approximately how much of our global freshwater resources are supplied by groundwater?

two-thirds

A radial drainage network is likely to indicate a current or former _______ in the landscape.

volcano

The Aral Sea is an example of desertification caused by humans due to which of the below?

water use change

Wind-carved elaborate mounds and ridges are termed ________.

yardangs