final exam
The classification of radioactive wastes as high-level or low-level is very accurate.
f
Canada's principal petroleum resources occur as
Tar sand.
The United States exports some of the oil that it produces.
t
Low-permeability sandstones and shales in the United States may contain significant natural gas reserves that could be extracted by artificial fracturing.
t
An active continental margin is one at which many major storms with high storm surges occur.
false
Dune rebuilding and sand replenishment are examples of Hard structural stabilization and construction of solid structures Soft structural stabilization.
false
The basic "building blocks" of the silicate minerals are tetrahedra of silicon and carbon.
false
What resulted in most of the damage during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake?
fire
When a stream bends or curves what begins to form
meanders
This gas is a more efficient greenhouse gas in comparison to carbon dioxide, but it has a far lesser presence in earth's atmosphere.
methane
A problem with substituting plastics for metals, to conserve the metals is that many plastics are made from our limited supply of oil.
t
The process of planting alternating bands of different crops to disrupt wind flow and slow wind erosion is
Strip cropping.
Producing new minerals by refining new ores and mining is more energy efficient than recycling.
f
Recharge basins are most often built in areas of abundant surface water, to keep lakes and ponds from overflowing.
f
Steel is in such demand that it is all readily recycled.
f
Mass wasting is possible anywhere in the world, either due to natural processes or human modification.
true
Existing treaties actually allocate more Colorado River water than its typical total annual stream flow.
t
Glass bottles or aluminum cans may be recycled into similar new bottles and cans; recycled plastic objects generally can't be remanufactured back into the same objects.
t
Horizontal flow of air is driven, in part, by air-temperature differences over land and water.
t
If demand could be held constant at 2002 levels, many world mineral reserves would still be depleted within decades.
t
A flood stage is reached when the stream stage supersedes the
bank height
What is the unit associated with stream discharge from the previous question?
cubic feet per sec
The Universe is ____ years old and our solar system (including Earth) is _____ years old.
4.5 4 1/2
Human beings, as the species Homo sapiens, have existed on earth for approximately
0.00012 (0.12 thousandths) of the earth's history.
The average global population growth rate as of 2005 was about
1.2 percent per year.
An atom that has 20 protons and 20 neutrons in its nucleus has this atomic number
20
How many seismograms (at different locations) are needed to determine the epicenter of an earthquake?
3
In a lifetime, an average American citizen will consume __________ pounds of mineral and fuel resources.
3.5 million
The age of the earth is estimated to be ____ billion years.
4.5
What is the time interval between the arrival of the first p-wave and the arrival of the first s-wave? numerical answer: unit:
6 minutes
What is the discharge of a stream if it is 3 meters wide, 4 meters deep, and has a water velocity of 6 meters/second?
72
Given that a region has an average annual air temperature of 13°C, what would the subsurface temperature be at a depth of 2 km? Assume the geothermal gradient is the same as the world average geothermal gradient, which is approximately 30°C per kilometer.
73°C
A drainage basin
All of the choices are correct.
The strength of a rock
All of the choices are correct.
The "precautionary principle" in international law
Allows for restriction of countries' activities before irrevocable harm has been documented.
What are some of the important qualities and requirements for a good nuclear waste storage facility?
Aridity and low geological activity are other requirements.
The catalytic converter, a required component for automobile exhaust emission control systems, converts carbon monoxide into
Carbon dioxide.
All of the following have been recognized as earthquake precursors except
Changes in frequency of seismic sea waves.
An El Nino event is likely to be associated with
Changes in paths and intensities of Pacific storms.
Proposed causes of past ice ages include all of the following except
Changes in the earth's magnetic field.
Which of the following statements is not true?
Except for those living near nuclear plants or uranium mines we are not normally exposed to radiation.
Expansive clays
Expand when wet, shrink when dried out.
Explain the difference between felsic and mafic igneous rocks.
Felsic igneous rocks are richer in feldspar and silicon. Mafic igneous rocks are richer in magnesium, iron, they are also softer and darker.
A possible consequence of eutrophication is
Fish kills, because of the lowered dissolved oxygen in the water.
Glaciers
Flow plastically down gradient, either down the slope of the land surface or in the direction of thicker ice to thinner ice.
Explain what fracking is and how it is used to get more oil/gas from wells.
Fracking is a drilling technology it is used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy or water from deep underground. Once fracturing operation is finished, the well is considered completed and can produce American oil or natural gas for years even decades.
The planets
Formed from the same cloud of gas and dust as the sun.
With increasing depth in the earth the temperature increases as well. This is called as the
Geothermal gradient.
Arête, horn, cirque, are features observed as a result of
Glacial erosion.
The Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat in the Caribbean
Is a good example of a stratovolcano.
What can escape and contaminate ground or surface waters if the soil below and above a landfill is permeable?
Leachates
An example of a chemical sedimentary rock is
Limestone
Explain why most ore deposits occur at current (or ancient) plate boundaries.
Majority of ore deposits are associated with fluids being circulated through an area by temperature differences (convection). The main source of heat for most of these deposits is magmatic intrusions, and most volcanic activity is found along existing or former plate boundaries.
All of the following are extensively recycled except
Manganese.
We estimate the earth to be 4.5 billion years old based on the age of which of the following?
Moon rocks and meteorites
Which of the following has existed unchanged from the time of the earth's formation to the present?
None of the choices are correct.
Quick clays are characteristically found in
Northern polar regions.
Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere when UV is absorbed by this
Oxygen (O2).
The zone of saturation is also commonly referred to as
Phreatic zone.
Wind Energy pros and cons
Pros: clean energy costs have decreased safe Cons: transport not constant, need storage large wind farms noisy
Geothermal Energy pros and cons
Pros: clean energy not much environmental impact once station is built, energy almost free low air pollution from plant can extend growing seasons around planet Cons: transport and storage difficult may run out of steam materials mined hazardous gases may come up from ground heavy upfront cost
Describe four ideas that our government could do to help solve our mineral resource problems.
Providing subsidies and tax redemption, improve the public transport, promoting research and development and lastly implementing stern and concrete laws.
What happens to the "waste" rock?
Put into large waste / tailings piles around the mine site. Typically (always, in modern mines) later used to backfill the pit / shafts after mining operations have ceased during reclamation phase. Sometimes sold as fill for construction.
Which of the following is a member of the sulfide mineral group?
Pyrite
Which of the following minerals is/are least susceptible to chemical weathering in a moist, temperate climate?
Quartz
atmospheric
Rainfall made acidic by atmospheric pollution, it causes environmental harm. It is caused by industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Smelting, oil refineries can be sources of sulphur dioxide as well as volcanos. burning coal
Slumps are characterized by
Somewhat coherent pieces of earth that rotate on a curved surface.
In an agricultural region,
Spring planting and application of fertilizers and herbicides can result in concentration spikes of these chemicals in rivers, due to spring rains.
What is the state rock of Arkansas? What is the state mineral of Arkansas? When were they designated as such? (you will have to do outside research using google, so make sure it is all in your own words! Do not copy/paste!)
State rock: Bauxite 1967 (because of the high quality of Bauxite in Arkansas) State mineral: Quartz crystal 1967
Explain how stream load is affected by stream discharge.
Steam load is how much "stuff" a stream can carry and discharge is how much water moves through the stream. The more water (discharge) a stream has, the more stuff (load) it can carry.
In a fault when the displacement is horizontal then the type of fault is called
Strike-slip fault.
A combination of winds that push the ocean currents and differences in oceans' water density that is driven by oceanic circulation, which is related to
Temperature and salinity.
Feldspars chemically weather through a reaction with water to become clay minerals. This chemical reaction is especially rapid
The more acidic the water.
In mid-western North America, the southern boundary of the north polar ice cap during past ice ages is marked by these two rivers
The Missouri and North Platte Rivers.
Groundwater discharge does not occur naturally
Through water wells.
Soils are formed by a series of processes commonly referred to as
Weathering
Explain how weathering and erosion are different.
Weathering = breaking down of rock/minerals, erosion = transport of those rocks/minerals
The compositions of the planets
Were controlled by the distance from the sun at which each formed, except for the largest planets.
Solar-powered distillation of water
Works even on very saline water, including seawater.
Consider the "Ring of Fire" and answer the following questions. a.) Where is it located? b.) What is it? c.) What causes it?
a) It is located in the pacific ocean. b) It is multiple volcanoes that could erupt all around the pacific ocean. c) Caused from the subduction of oceanic plates underneath the continental plates.
The natural sandblasting kind of erosion caused by wind-transported sediments is termed
abrasion
Achieving "zero pollutant discharge" in water, as stipulated by some laws is in practice difficult because
all
Common limitations of restrictive zoning laws designed to minimize risks from geologic hazards include
all
New methods in mineral exploration include
all
Uncertainty in projecting probable greenhouse-effect heating arises from uncertainty about
all
The disposal layer at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site is
bedded salt
Sedimentary rocks can be separated into two main categories. Name (1 pt each) and briefly describe (2 pts each) each category.
clastic sedimentary rocks: these rocks are formed from other rocks that have been broken down. chemical sedimentary rocks: these are formed from crystals that have been formed from precipitation.
Possible sources of methane from human activities include all of the following except
cornfields
Explain the process for the transition of metamorphic rock to sedimentary rock.
has to be compacted for a very long period of time.
Rather than freely spreading, if the lava piles up close to the vent resulting in a structure that is steep-sided and compact is called a
lava dome
The low-viscosity, fluid lava of hot-spot volcanoes is typically
mafic
The natural satellite of the earth is
moon
An animal that may need protection under the Endangered Species Act because of global warming
polar bear
Strategies designed to reduce damage to structures in floodplains include
raising buildings o the stilts to elevate floor levels
A limitation on the use of hydropower is that it is subject to reduction or interruption during periods of unusually prolonged drought.
t
Why are CFCs bad for Earth's ozone layer?
they release chlorine and catalyze ozone destruction
Ocean waves breaking on a beach are formed by this
wind
The presence of free oxygen in the atmosphere is attributed mainly to which of the following?
Development of blue-green algae
The presence of free oxygen in the atmosphere is attributed mainly to
Development of plant life, especially algae.
Which of the following is not a member of the silicate group of minerals?
Diamond
List and describe the negative effects of incinerating municipal trash.
Disadvantages can b expensive, pollutes environment and possibility of long-term problems.
Which of the following statements is not true?
A body of water is described as "dead" when it contains fatal concentrations of toxic chemicals
A subgroup of silicates that includes minerals used in ceramics, construction, and drilling for oil is the
Clay subgroup.
What are three [3 pts each] reasons why (hint: in powerpoint) coal mining is a risk to safety and the environment?
Coal mining is a risk because it is dangerous, expensive, it can collapse, miners can contract black lung or cancer from the coal dust, and explosions can occur from pockets of natural gas. Coal mining also releases carbon dioxide and also releases sulfur gases.
One principle in the Kyoto Protocol of the international environmental laws is the
Common but differentiated responsibility of the states.
Potentially unstable coastlines may be identified by
Comparison of recent and older maps or aerial photographs of the area, if available from sources such as county planning office, detailed maps compiled earlier indicating the appearance of the coastline.
Soil erosion from farmland can be reduced by all of the following methods except
Complete clearing of fields after harvest.
Organic matter can be beneficial by a process known as
Composting
Around an actively pumped well in an unconfined aquifer, a ____________ may develop in the water table.
Cone of depression
Describe two ways of preventing water pollution, including their drawbacks.
Conserve water by turning off the tap when it's not running, careful with what is torn in the sink and toilet, not throwing away litter into rivers.
Explain how a subduction zone forms and what occurs at such a plate boundary.
A subduction zone is formed when continental crust and oceanic crust collide.
A caldera is
A topographically low area that results from the collapse of a volcano after its magma chamber empties or removal of the top of a volcano during an explosive eruption.
Oil shale
Contains a waxy solid called kerogen.
What develops as a result of migration of the pollutant by groundwater that forms down-gradient with reference to the point source
Contaminant plume.
Which of the following renewable energy sources provides the greatest share of energy consumed in the U.S.?
Conventional hydropower
Example of the movement of the following plates: continent-ocean; continent-continent; ocean-ocean is best referred to as the
Convergent plate boundary.
The process of gasification
Converts coal to natural gas.
Volumetrically, the largest non-point source of pollution in the United States is
Cropland
Do you think we should drill ANWR? Explain why or why not (there is no 'correct' answer, just back up your opinion).
Currently drilling already harms our environment, carbon dioxide is released, if we continue drilling more carbon dioxide will be released and more harm will continue happening to our environment.
Residence time for water in Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California is 600 years which means that
A water molecule entering the lake will remain in the lake for 600 years.
If suddenly tomorrow, all the fossil fuels of the world ran out and we had to run solely on renewable energy, what would be the most practical renewable energy resources for: arkansas nigeria finland
A) Geothermal, hydropower, solar powers, solar thermal powers and wind powers. B) solar, wind and small hydropower potentials C) bio energy, hydropower, wind power and ground heat.
The size of the earth's human population directly affects the severity of many environmental problems. Explain this idea in the context of (a) resources and (b) pollution.
A) If population increases, the need for resources increases. That can become an issue for resources and having them run out. B) Carbon dioxide increases and harms our environment
a.) What does NIMBY stand for? b.) How does the NIMBY mindset affect public policy (laws, government, etc.)
A: not in my backyard B: It could affect public policy in that citizen wouldn't want a landfill next door to them, so they would raise a stink until government officials move somewhere else, and the cycle starts again and then there's no good place for new trash to go.
Determine the type of convergent boundary associated with each description. a.) Forms volcanic island arcs like Japan: b.) Forms continental volcanic arcs like the Andes or Cascade Mountains: c.) Forms the highest mountain ranges like the Himalayas:
A: oceanic-oceanic B: oceanic - continental C: continental-continental
The arguments for drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) include all of the following except
ANWR oil will increase U.S. dependence on imported oil.
Desertification is
Accelerated by intensive agricultural activity in arid and semiarid lands.
List and describe the benefits of incinerating municipal trash.
Advantages are decreases quantity of waste, production of heat and power, reduction of pollution, filters for trapping pollutants, saving on transportation of waste, better control for odor, elimination of harmful germs.
the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States comprises some of each of the following resources except
Aluminum ore.
Sea floor is formed at spreading ridges and destroyed
At divergent boundaries.
Which of the following is the most true?
At this time, soil is eroding in the U.S. about 10 times faster than it is forming.
Many Pacific Island nations consist of a collection of atolls. Some of these nations have appealed to the United Nations claiming that rising sea level is causing coastal flooding. Another explanation for coastal flooding on these islands other than rising sea level is
Atolls are former volcanoes that are slowly sinking (subsiding).
What is "BOD" and how is it related to the "oxygen curve"?
BOD: Biochemical oxygen demand. It a measure of how much oxygen is needed to break down organic matter in a water body. When organic waste (like sewage) is dumped into a water body, the BOD is increased and the available oxygen content of the water is decreased, creating an 'oxygen sag curve' when you plot available oxygen against downstream distance from the source of the pollutant.
Which of the following statements is not true?
Certain problems, such as resource shortages, will become less severe when other planets or the moon are colonized in the next few decades.
Which of the following types of soil would be likely to drain most readily (be most permeable)?
Clay
A recent evidence regarding one of the health hazards for miners include
Breathing radon that is radioactive which may increase the incidence of cancer.
The production of new fuel is maximized by
Breeder reactor.
Addition of water to soil on slopes may
Destabilize the slope by reducing frictional resistance to sliding.
Studies of cores from polar ice sheets indicate a correlation between greenhouse-gas concentrations and temperatures but do not indicate cause-and-effect.
t
The U.S. Senate has not ratified the Kyoto Treaty because Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush declined to submit it to the Senate for formal ratification.
t
The United States imports some minerals of which it has ample supplies and production exceeding current demands.
t
The concentration factor of an ore is a measure of its enrichment in a metal of interest, relative to average crustal rock.
t
The limited resolution of global climate models makes it difficult to project small-scale, local climatic variations.
t
The link between plate tectonics and formation of mineral deposits has made the search for new ores more efficient.
t
The principal source of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels.
t
The provisions of the 1872 Mining Law may make it profitable for companies to develop mineral resources on federal lands rather than adjacent state lands, while the states must cope with the environmental impacts.
t
There are sulfide ores being deposited now at spreading ridges.
t
U.S. stockpiling of strategically important minerals may, in the near term, require the country to increase some mineral imports.
t
Use of reservoirs for hydropower generation may, in some measure, conflict with use of the same reservoirs for flood control.
t
Use of settling ponds below farm fields reduces sediment pollution of surface runoff water.
t
Water vapor is the most significant greenhouse gas in terms of average atmospheric concentration (2 to 3%), but its amount varies quickly over a matter of days, whereas the average level of carbon dioxide changes much more slowly.
t
What constitutes a beneficial use of water is defined differently in different regions.
t
A fossil-fuel source that may either be an immature petroleum deposit or a petroleum deposit that has lost its lighter hydrocarbons is
tar sand
Stress tending to pull objects apart is __________ stress.
tensile
Is there soil on the Moon? Why or why not?
It doesn't have soil because it doesn't have organic material.
Explain how a delta forms.
It is formed by deposition of sediment that is carried by the flow of a river.
Cows are startled ==> start to stampede
It is positive. The cows stampede and startle other cows that start to stampede and the cycle continues.
Why does Earth need an ozone layer?
It is vitally to life because it absorbs biologically harmful ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun.
Nuclear Energy pros and cons
Pros: radioactive particles from plants useful in technology and medicine high power output safe run anywhere Cons: radioactive waste from fission nuclear accidents
Which of the following is the fastest form of mass movement?
Rockfall
The concept of the rock cycle is that
Rocks are continually undergoing change, being transformed into new rocks.
The original source of energy contained in fossil fuels is
Solar energy.
What is 'residence time' in qualitative terms?
The amount of water in a reservoir divided by the rate of addition of water or the rate of loss from it. Length of time something remains in a system
Why is Earth's core made of metal?
The heavier elements sank to the center of the earth when it cooled after its formation.
The magnetic dip preserved in a rock indicates
The rock's magnetic latitude at the time that it - crystallized.
With increasing distance from an oceanic ridge
The rocks become older.
If a septic system is to be used for sewage disposal,
The soil should be unsaturated, containing sufficient air (oxygen) to permit aerobic breakdown of wastes.
The region of the U.S. that uses the most water for irrigation
The southwestern states including southern California (west of the Mississippi River and south of 40°N latitude).
The top of the zone of aeration is
The surface of the ground.
Explain how the Hawaiian Island Chain formed.
They were formed by hot spots which are isolated areas of volcanic activity.
Water vapor can be the __________ most abundant gas component of the Earth's atmosphere, with concentrations of up to __________.
Third; 3 percent
The greenhouse gas is classified as any gas that
Traps infrared rays and thereby promotes global warming.
Power generation using the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion method
Uses the temperature difference between shallow and deep ocean water to run turbines that generate electricity.
If we want people to conserve oil/gas, what is the one way we can ensure people pay attention and conserve these resources? Can the government control this? Explain.
Using the correct gears, staying within speed limits, keeping the weight down, keeping the engine tuned, parking in the shade, parking asap, filling the car to full and not waiting until it is empty, using the car less, car pool, public transportation. Yes the government could control this and set certain rules.
Is it possible for a rock to be porous but not permeable? Explain.
Yes it could be, water can stop moving downward. It is porous when there are tiny holes.
Biofuels (Biomass Energy) pros and cons
Your Answer: Pros: lost of waste material Cons: not clean requires energy to produce fuels very hazardous wastes
Explain how blue-green algae contributed to the evolution of the Earth and all other forms of life.
blue green algae breathed in CO2 and breathed out oxygen.
"Waste exchanges" are international agreements that allow each nation to specialize in certain types of waste disposal with a group of cooperating nations, so each can engage in the types of disposal for which its geology is most suitable.
f
A thermal inversion exists when a stable warm-air layer becomes established over a colder layer below.
f
After the dangers of DDT were recognized, use of toxic organic chemicals in agriculture was virtually eliminated in the United States.
f
All rain is naturally somewhat acidic; "acid rain" is simply more strongly acidic.
f
All soils, by definition, must show well-developed A, B and C horizons.
f
An environmental impact statement must be filed each time a federal agency proposes a construction project, issues a permit for resource development on federal lands and so forth.
f
As long as there is oxygen (O2) in earth's atmosphere, there will always be ozone in the upper atmosphere.
f
Because ice is so efficient an agent of erosion, alpine glaciers carve steep-sided, V-shaped valleys.
f
Because wind is such an inefficient agent of erosion, wind-deposited sediments are poorly sorted, like glacial sediments.
f
Because winds blow everywhere, while surface water is found in limited areas, worldwide wind erosion is comparable in scale and impact to erosion by water.
f
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is chiefly removed by solution into the oceans, from which it is precipitated in carbonate sediments.
f
Carbon monoxide concentrations in the upper atmosphere have been climbing for over a century due to increasing industrialization.
f
Carbon monoxide is principally a local air-pollution problem of areas with heavy traffic, not a global air-pollution problem.
f
Coal and oil are termed "nonrenewable" resources because the processes by which they formed are no longer taking place.
f
Conservation of water is not all that important as water can be a renewable resource.
f
Degradation of soil fertility has no effect on the farmland needed to feed the world by diminishing its availability.
f
Desert pavement is the barren, sandy dune surface common in deserts.
f
Emissions of CFCs worldwide have been sharply reduced and atmospheric concentrations have likewise dropped considerably from their peak levels.
f
Eutrophication caused by excess runoff of nitrate and phosphate fertilizer from farmland could be avoided by substitution of natural, organic fertilizers, like manures, for synthetic fertilizers.
f
Eutrophication does not occur naturally; it is the result of human activities altering the nutrient balance in water.
f
Gas hydrates are pools of water saturated with natural gas, found on the deep-sea floor and in polar regions.
f
Glaciers form only near the poles.
f
Groundwater withdrawal that exceeds recharge really has no impact on the water table.
f
If the nuclear-power option were pursued vigorously with current commercial reactor technology, all U.S. electricity needs could be supplied by nuclear power by the year 2010.
f
Increased levels of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere will definitely result in increased crop yields.
f
It is difficult to determine the effect of CO2 on climate because the atmospheric concentration of methane, another "greenhouse gas" is so much greater.
f
Karst topography develops in dry climates with very little surface or subsurface water.
f
Most major iron ore deposits are hydrothermal deposits formed early in the earth's history.
f
Nuclear power accounts for a higher proportion of electricity generation in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
f
Once an oil spill occurs, it persists, virtually unchanged, for months.
f
One advantage of current commercial nuclear reactors is that, although they are expensive to build, they can be used indefinitely, as long as sufficient fuel is available.
f
One of the controls of air pollution involve conversion of dangerous compounds prior to effulent realease to less harmful ones or by pollutants being entrapped at the source.
f
The Exxon Valdez oil spill provided a demonstration of the efficiency of "skimmer" ships, which successfully collected most of the spilled oil.
f
The Federal Flood Disaster Protection Act stipulates that, when a structure in a floodplain is damaged, by whatever cause, it cannot be rebuilt but must instead be relocated outside the floodplain.
f
The National Environmental Policy Act concerns the actions of all agencies.
f
The appeal of the Yucca Mountain disposal site is that it is in an area where no earthquakes have occurred for approximately 10,000 years.
f
The principal objection to nuclear fission power is that projected risks of deaths associated with normal operation of fission-powered plants are far higher than for any of the fossil fuels.
f
The steeper sloping side (leeward side) of the dune is called stoss and the gentler sloping side (windward side) of the dune is called slip face.
f
The tendency to form clumps or peds is undesirable in a soil to be used for agriculture.
f
The term "greenhouse effect" refers to an increase in atmospheric temperatures resulting from an increasing blanket of clouds around the earth.
f
The typical soil of a tropical rain forest also is excellent for farming because it supports such lush plant growth.
f
To promote national security, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is increased as necessary to maintain a one-year supply of oil.
f
Use of the continental shelf as the extent of a nation's territorial waters provides each country bordering the sea with a uniform share of coastal waters.
f
Where groundwater withdrawal has caused surface subsidence, if groundwater use is curtailed, recharge will, in time result in rebound of the land surface.
f
Worldwide, the amount of arable land per capita is increasing as a consequence of expanded irrigation and improved farming methods.
f
Worldwide, there seems to be a negative correlation between cost of gasoline and fuel consumption.
f
A diversion channel is used to shorten a stream and increase its gradient.
false
Aftershocks, generally, never result in any major destruction.
false
An oxygen sag curve describes how oxygen in a body of water is consumed by organisms, such as fish.
false
Concern about environmental pollution is such that comprehensive health hazard information has now been determined for most synthetic drugs and agricultural and industrial chemicals.
false
Construction on barrier islands is highly desirable because it stabilizes these islands.
false
Floods only occur where human activities tamper with natural stream systems.
false
Geologic processes can be described in a series of distinct and independent cycles of air, water and rock.
false
It is impossible to estimate the age of the universe.
false
It is impossible to know the internal composition or structure of the earth because geologists cannot sample the interior.
false
It is not possible to estimate rates of plate movement because new rocks are constantly being created from old.
false
Landslides never take lives because they move slowly.
false
Maximum stage is used to describe the magnitude of the flood and when the maximum stage is reached the stream is said to trough.
false
Metamorphic rocks are formed at extremely high temperatures, above those required to form plutonic rocks.
false
Mount St. Helens and the related Cascade Range volcanoes represent the only volcanically active areas in the United States.
false
Population growth rates are very non-uniform worldwide, with the fastest rates of increase in the technologically advanced countries.
false
Saltation is a process by which streams dissolve soluble minerals and become saltier.
false
The United States is the world leader in earthquake preparedness and public education about earthquake hazards.
false
The amount of property damage and loss of life caused by a hurricane can be estimated directly from the intensity (category) of the storm.
false
The damage from ash fall in the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines in 1991 would have been worse, but fortunately, monsoon rains washed the ash off houses and hillsides.
false
The largest and most violent Cascade volcano eruption was that of Mt. St. Helens in 1980.
false
The physical properties of a rock are determined only by grain shapes and sizes and are independent of the kinds of minerals making up the rock.
false
The scientific method cannot be applied to the study of the earth, because we cannot experiment on the earth.
false
Tsunami travel times across a large body of water, such as the Pacific Ocean, are typically of the order of several days.
false
Volcanoes that build domes are more likely to erupt explosively than are shield volcanoes.
false
Where ocean meets a steep rocky cliff, erosion is most rapid far below the water line, where the pressure of deep water is great.
false
What regions of the world currently have the fastest rates of population growth? The slowest?
fastes: africa Slowest: U.S. and Europe
Eruption of magma from a long crack in the lithosphere is a
fissure eruption
The gases produced as a byproduct of anaerobic decomposition include
hydrogen sulfide and methane
Hot spots
result in extrusion of volcanic rocks. Can exist under both oceans and continents, but remain stationary as the plate above moves.
Where rotational movement of soil is accompanied by downslope movement the feature that is observed is a
slump
Which of the following is the slowest form of mass movement?
soil creep
The Azores Islands
Are remnants of rare rift zone volcanoes.
If you have a mine with 2.2% grade copper ore, how many pounds of copper would be in a 523 pound ore rock? Hint: check the powerpoint, slide #4!
11.5
Name four types of volcanic hazards and briefly explain why they are dangerous to humans. Please use bullets or numbering.
1) Landslides and collapses can lead to tsunami. Crushing and destroying homes. 2) Gases that are released such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and etc are very toxic and can lead to death. 3) climate changes, it can change the weather of a city. Dropping the temperature drastically for years. 4) Atmospheric chemistry, dust and gases getting into the atmosphere and taking years to get rid off. Damaging our environment.
Name four types of earthquake hazards and briefly explain why they are dangerous to humans. Please use bullets or numbering.
1) Tsunamis which happen from the shaking of earthquakes. 2) Landslides and rockfalls due to also the shaking of earthquakes. 3) Aftershocks, after earthquakes many times there are aftershocks. 4) Liquefaction, water seeping in and causing the ground to be sand-like.
List the layers of the Earth from top to bottom (outside to center) based on composition. List them NUMERICALLY
1: Crust- silicates 2: Mantle- magnesium 3: Outer core- nickel iron 4: Inner core- iron
Name four possible volcanic hazards and briefly explain why they are hazardous to the human population.
1: Gases can be released- carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, various sulfur gases and hydrochloric acid are all poisonous and cause death. 2: Landslides and collapse- this can cause tsunami 3: Climate changes- It can change the weather of a city, making it more cold throughout many years. 4: Atmospheric chemistry- dust and gases can get into the atmosphere and take years to clean and get out.
What are two things you can do on the personal level to mitigate CO2 emissions? Explain! (hint: look at the powerpoint towards the end)
1: Plant a garden 2: line dry clothes
You enter a dark room and turn on a wall switch, but the light does not come on. Suggest three hypotheses that might explain this observation. Then, explain what experiment you could do to test your hypotheses. (Note: Please number each pair of hypothesis/experiments!) Your Answer:
1: The light bulb was burned out. With this, I would remove the light bulb and switch it with a brand new one. 2: The light switch is having electrical problems. Get a some tools and try to switch the light switch and make sure every wire is connected and no tears. 3: Power was shut off. Check the other rooms and see if the lights are working.
How were the Great Lakes formed? What evidence do we have for how the Great Lakes formed
1: They were formed by the ice sheets retreating and resulting in basins then filled with water. 2: materials deposited around the melting sheet of snow
Describe the four pieces of evidence supporting the Theory of Plate Tectonics (and please number them!).
1: continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle 2: fossil evidence 3: geological features such as mountain 4: ancient climates were different than what they are now
Determine the principle zone of volcanism hawaii mount st. helens east african rift yellowstone mount fujiyama rio grande rift
1: hotspot volcanism 2: convergent boundaries 3:divergent boundaries 4: hotspot volcanism 5: convergent boundaries 6:divergent boundaries
Use your answers from the previous question and the travel-time graph above to determine the distance from the seismic station to the earthquake.
5 (with margin: 2,000)
Use your answers from the previous question and the travel-time graph above to determine the distance from the seismic station to the earthquake. part 2
5 (with margin: 4,500)
Artesian conditions require
A confined aquifer.
In current U.S. commercial nuclear reactors,
A controlled chain reaction is sustained.
Which of the following best describes the movement of a glacier?
A glacier typically moves slowly, on the order of a few tens of meters per year, although faster movement, called surging, can occur in alpine glaciers
All of the following have been proposed as means of disposing of liquid high-level radioactive wastes except
A high-temperature incineration to destroy the radioisotopes.
Moving the Cape Hatteras lighthouse from its shore location inland is an example of
A non-structural strategy.
A hydrograph is:
A plot of stream stage or discharge versus time
An increase in sedimentation along a stream can be caused by
A recent forest fire.
Acid rain effects include all of the following except
A reduction in the rate of chemical weathering observed in igneous rocks.
What is a seismic gap and why is it cause for concern?
A seismic gap is a locked fault; if that fault unlocks and releases that pent up energy, it could be catastrophic.
Most of the water consumed in the United States is consumed by
Agricultural Activities.
Along a coast, a body of water receiving input of both fresh and salt water is
An estuary.
Imagine you are the director of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and there is a hurricane headed toward New Orleans. List some things you would do to minimize the loss of life and property due to the storm.
Announce a hurricane is headed their way, let them know they should grab their belongings and evacuate as soon as possible.
Conflict diamonds
Are those mined in countries as a principal source of revenue for weapons for use by rebels in opposition to sitting governments
What is a non-point source? Give an example.
Any source of water pollution that does not meet the legal definition of "point source." Example: excess fertilizers. A non-point source is diffuse - you can't specify exactly where it originates from.
Explain the difference in aphanitic and phaneritic igneous textures.
Aphanitic texture: These are formed from the upper crust, they are usually small, a very fine-grained texture. Phaneritic texture: These form from magma
Best management practices
Are measures implemented to minimize soil erosion.
The size of leaching field a septic system requires is determined
Based on both volume of wastewater anticipated and permeability of the soil.
At present, along most of the eastern coast of the United States,
Beaches are being extended seaward.
Use of microorganisms to break down toxic organic compounds in ground water is called
Bioremediation.
Radium in groundwater
Can be removed by water softeners.
The gas that is produced when oxygen is less and as a result of the incomplete combustions materials bearing carbon is
Carbon monoxide.
What is "carbon sequestration," and what is one geological and one biological approach to carbon sequestration?
Carbon sequestration means taking carbon that would be released into the atmosphere and securing it somewhere else instead. Geological: makes use of geological materials and reservoirs for this, and might include pumping carbon dioxide underground to be stored in a depleted petroleum reservoir or reacting CO2 with minerals to form stable carbonate minerals. Biological: approaches involve enhancing carbon sinks, such as reforestation or by fertilizing shallow ocean water to promote growth of algae.
Rising sea level due to global warming will
Decrease the acreage of coastal wetlands due to saltwater intrusion.
Describe two ways of reducing existing water pollution, including their drawbacks.
Describe two ways of reducing existing water pollution, including their drawbacks.
Name the 3 types of plate boundaries (1 pt each) and briefly explain the plate motion at each type (2 pts each).
Divergent Boundaries: is when lithospheric plates move apart. Convergent Boundaries: this is where the plates move together. Transform Boundaries: plates are broken into two parts and move opposite ways.
Describe 3 things you personally could or should do to reduce the amount of waste your home sends to the landfill (put out at the curb for waste pickup).
Donating clothes, eating healthier, saving leftovers for next day, recycling,
Factors contributing to the Vaiont Reservoir landslide included all of the following except
Earthquakes
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
Established the environmental impact statement process.
The Doctrine of Prior Appropriation
Establishes a hierarchy of water rights among users based on the date of first water use by each.
The Chernobyl reactor accident caused all of the following except
Extensive nuclear fusion reactions inside the reactor.
All crystalline materials show well-developed crystal faces; few naturally occurring mineral samples are crystalline.
False
Isotopes are atomic nuclei that are radioactive.
False
Lead, which occurs naturally in petroleum, can be removed from gasoline, but it is expensive to do this.
False
The move to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, begun in response to fuel shortages is continuing unabated and as a result, the concentrations of all atmospheric pollutants are declining.
False
Explain why Galveston Island (south of Houston) is probably not a great place to build a house.
Galveston Island is a barrier island off the coast of Texas. Barrier islands are unstable since the sand is always moving toward the coast (toward Texas). Also, barrier islands are low in elevation making them particularly vulnerable to storms such as hurricanes, and Galveston Island is in the path of many hurricanes.
Of the following rocks, one that is metamorphic
Garnet schist.
In a petroleum trap,
Gas and oil may both be found, contained by impermeable rocks above.
Explain the process for the transition of igneous rock to metamorphic rock.
Igneous rocks turn into metamorphic with heat and pressure.
About 90% of the gold ever mined throughout human history is still in circulation; however, only about 55% of all the silver ever mined is still in circulation. Why do you think there is such a difference? Explain.
Gold is more valuable than silver today and in the past, so gold is more likely to be passed down (in the case of jewelry), recycled, kept as currency or coins, and just generally taken care of instead of being lost or discarded.
Which of the following earthquakes was successfully predicted shortly before it occurred (based on anomalous animal behavior)?
Haisheng, China (1975)
The reason clay minerals (and other phyllosilicate) often form the slip plane for a landslide is that they
Have platy structures, allowing them to stack up and then slip past each other, like a deck of cards and also have high porosity.
Along an irregular coastline, areas most intensely under attack by waves are
Headlands projecting out into the sea.
Water use for irrigation in the region of the Aral Sea has resulted in
Health problems from blowing toxic dust.
At a convergent plate boundary,
High mountains may be built during continent-continent collision.
A "polar-wander" curve shows
How continents have moved or drifted, relative to the magnetic poles.
How is this the result of water pollution?
Human activities put these heavy metals in the water to begin with. 85% of mercury pollution comes from burning coal, which contains mercury. Other sources are ore processing and various manufacturing industries.
Which of the following aspects of human interaction with earth is not true?
Humans have the ability to alter plate tectonics.
What is a point source? Give one example.
Identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged. Examples: discharges from wastewater treatment plants.
Abandoned quarries
If possible, provide alternative uses post mining. The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., Canada, a beautiful collection of flower gardens, for example, was once a rock quarry.
How does residence time affect pollutants and how we evaluate them?
If there is large residence time on pollutants, that means a pollutant will stay there a long time.
Rocks that crystallize from magma are
Igneous
Explain a.) the transition from igneous rock to sedimentary rock and b.) the transition from sedimentary rock to metamorphic rock.
Igneous rock transform to sedimentary rocks by weathering and erosion. Sedimentary transform to metamorphic by heat and pressure.
List the 3 main rock types and briefly explain how they form
Igneous: crystalized from molten material in high temperatures. From lava cooling down. Sedimentary: formed at low temperature and deposits. Metamorphic: formed from rocks that already had a shape and metaphor into another shape. Like a caterpillar
Describe the principal sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Include plants, ocean and soil. Plants grab carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to use in photosynthesis, then some transferred to soil. forests
Volcanic ash
Is composed of microscopic shards of volcanic glass.
Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the risk of a major earthquake on the peninsular segment of the San Andreas fault
Is estimated to have increased; that segment remains locked.
The San Andreas fault near San Francisco
Is locked and therefore accumulating stress.
The time difference between the first arrival of P waves and the first arrival of S waves at a particular seismograph recorder
Is used to determine how far away the seismograph recorder is from the focus of the earthquake. Is used along with the maximum amplitude of S waves to determine earthquake magnitude.
What effects does ozone have in the atmosphere, the environment, and human health? How is ozone at the ground level different from ozone in the ozone layer?
It can cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and congestion. It can also worsen bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. Bad ozone or ground level pollutant is harmful to breathe and it damages crops and the environment. Ozone in the ozone layer "good" extends from 6-30 miles and protects life on earth from the sun's harmful UV rays.
When sand replenishment of a beach is undertaken,
It may be important to duplicate the mineralogy and grain size of the original sand.
Explain how NO2, nitrogen dioxide, causes smog.
It transforms in the air to form gaseous nitric acid and toxic organic nitrates. In atmospheric reactions that produce ground-level ozone. NO2 is broken up into NO and O, and that free O combines with O2 to produce O3 smog.
The New Madrid, Missouri fault zone is a high-risk area on the U.S. seismic-risk map because
It was the site of the largest earthquakes ever reported in the contiguous United States.
Gold is not now being extracted from seawater. What is the primary reason for it not being extracted?
It would be too costly and difficult to separate the small amount of gold from the very large amounts of halite and other minerals.
Where does sediment pollution of water mostly originate from? Why is it such a concern?
It wouldn't necessarily decrease the cost of drinking water, that doesn't make sense. It comes from agriculture. It decreases the quality of water sources by making the water turbid.
A landslide warning system, developed in California, utilizes all of the following except
Laboratory studies of response of slopes to earthquakes.
The Arctic ice cap is more vulnerable to melting due to warming than is the Antarctic ice cap because
Liquid seawater is beneath the Arctic ice cap, so warmer water can cause melting from below the ice in addition to melting on the surface due to atmospheric warming.
According to plate-tectonic theory, plates of rigid, elastic __________ move over a weak plastic layer below.
Lithosphere
In the United States, desertification
May affect broad areas of the Sun Belt and plains states.
The sludge that is a by-product of municipal sewage treatment
May be used as fertilizer, provided that it contains sufficiently low concentrations of toxic chemicals.
Active periods in a volcano's history
May occur at intervals of hundreds or thousands of years, with quiet periods in between.
Explain in detail what causes Death Valley (SE California, SW Nevada) to be so dry. You can use bullets to answer this question.
Most of the moisture has been turned into rain or snow There are 4 major mountains creating a more drier rainshadow When the clouds reach the mountain's side they don't have moisture anymore
Of the following volcanic landforms, one that is a stratovolcano
Mt. Hood, Oregon.
Which of the following is a silicate mineral?
Muscovite
Beach replenishment projects that add sand to eroding beaches
Must match the grain size of the sand, because finer sand will be carried away quickly by the ocean currents and coarser sand could result in a steeper beach face.
Describe the principal sources for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Natural sources include decomposition, ocean release and respiration. Human sources come from activities like cement production, deforestation as well as the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.
Room cools down ==> thermostat clicks air conditioner off
Negative, the loop is ended when it reaches the temperature where the air condition clicks off.
The United States now has an Earthquake Prediction Panel. Since its establishment,
No great earthquakes have been predicted; its effectiveness is not well tested.
Is it possible for a rock to be permeable and not porous? Explain.
No, the pores that are created are later and do not form permeability.
The sun generates its tremendous energy output by
Nuclear fusion.
Rock falls
Occur on any steep-faced cliff, including under waterfalls.
Explain how our atmosphere and oceans formed.
Oceans were formed from the water evaporating from the rocks of the Earth. The atmosphere was formed from gases that came from volcanoes.
Which of the following statements is not true of dunes?
Once formed, they grow larger and larger but remain stationary
Explain the difference between p-waves and s-waves (be sure to explain the type of motion and relative).
P-waves travel faster than s-waves. P-waves can also travel through any material while S waves only travel through solids.
What are the two types/categories of air pollutants? Give an example of each.
Particulates (soot) and gases (CO)
Warmer temperatures ==> less now and ice ==> less sunlight reflected
Positive, less sunlight reflected means more is being absorbed by the ground/oceans, so it promotes the melting of the ice and the loop continues.
What is the primary source of nitrogen dioxide, NO2 pollution?
Primary source gets in the air from the burning of fuel. It forms from emissions from vehicles and off-road equipment.
Solar Energy pros and cons
Pros: clean energy sunlight is free operational costs low silent low air pollution safe Cons: not available everywhere transport and storage difficult solar panel materials mined DC power --> AC power
Explain how both regolith and soil are similar.
Regolith is in soil, but soil is not in regolith. Soil has organic material in it.
The set of processes by which ground water is replenished is termed
Recharge.
Oceanic lithosphere
Records magnetic "stripes" of normally and reversely magnetized rocks.
Fluid might be injected along a locked section of fault to
Reduce resistance to shear along the fault, allowing creep to occur.
Terracing of farmland
Reduces surface-water runoff velocity and thus the efficiency of soil erosion and transport.
Explain how regolith and soil are different.
Regolith does not contain organic material, while soil does.
Which of the following was not a consequence of the early heating of the earth?
Release of abundant, free oxygen into the atmosphere
What is the most important process for the loosening and braking up of consolidated rock in high, mountainous regions?
Repetitive freezing of water and thawing of ice in cracks
A phreatic volcanic eruption
Results from groundwater that becomes steam upon magmatic heating.
Hazards regarding floods can be greatly reduced where open lands are available by using
Retention ponds.
For most solids, sufficiently increased stress results in
Rupture
Which of the following would probably have the highest porosity?
Sandstone
Divergent plate boundaries around the world are indicated by
Seafloor spreading.
Evaporite deposits are examples of
Sedimentary mineral deposits.
Which of the following techniques for cleaning up an oil spill has been most successful?
Seeding the oil with microorganisms or adding limiting nutrients to stimulate natural microorganisms that degrade the oil
List 5 things the U.S. government (local, state, or federal) could or should do to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills from people's homes (put out at the curb for waste pickup).
Setting aside garbage cans for items that can be recycled, ensuring people donate items instead of throwing them away,
The seismic-risk map of the United States is based on
Severity of past earthquakes and anticipated ground motion in future ones.
The most common minerals in the crust are
Silicates
The Cascade Range volcanoes
Sit above a subduction zone.
Seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest is associated with
Subduction
Which of the following are minerals that comprise a native element
Sulfur
What are tar sands? What are two problems with refining the oil from tar sands?
Tar sands are a sedimentary rock containing a thick, tar-like petroleum. Refining of tar sands increase hazardous air pollution, it also produces carbon-intensive byproduct.
Which of the following statements about the environmental impact statement process is not true?
The EIS must be prepared by independent professionals not affiliated with the federal agency proposing the action
The coarse material that gathers at the foot of the slope which results in rockfalls is called
The coarse material that gathers at the foot of the slope which results in rockfalls is called
What was the "Dust Bowl"? Explain what caused it.
The dust bowl was a windblown that covered much of the country. It was like fog but with dirt, heavy and thick. "Black blizzards."
Explain how water aids in soil creep (you may want to draw a diagram on paper or on the computer and insert it here).
The expansion of soils due to water saturation or water freezing pushes particles upward. Since the area is sloped, when the water is removed or melted, the particle falls back down but now it is "downslope" of its original position.
What does the term "fuel economy" mean IN YOUR OWN WORDS? Do not copy/paste, do not use terminology that's not used in this course (in other words, explain it like you're explaining it to your 100 year old great grandmother) and cite any information used!
The fuel economy of a vehicle is the mileage a vehicle gets per gallon of fuel.
Evidence that the universe originated in a "big bang" includes
The observation that stars are all moving apart.
The usefulness of many environmental impact statements is limited because
The preparers, often affiliated with the agency proposing the action, may not be completely objective.
Oil shale and tar sand share each of the following environmental problems except
The production of quantities of ash when the fuel is burned.
What factors can influence stream discharge?
The velocity, width, depth all are factors.
Describe 4 ways oil/gas can be trapped.
There is anticline traps, fault traps, salt domes and stratigraphic traps. Anticline are formed by folding of a rock. Fault traps are formed when reservoir rock is splitting among a fault line. Salt domes formed as a result of below ground salt. And for stratigraphic traps are formed as a result of the deposition in sedimentary rocks.
Where does thermal pollution of water mostly originate from? Why is it such a concern?
Thermal pollution comes from power plants. It is a concern because fish and other aquatic life are very sensitive to both temperature and therefore pH changes.
Explain how waves work (you may draw a diagram on paper or on the computer and insert it here using the "embed image" feature in the editor; in order to do this, you will need to upload an image to your Canvas files).
They are created by energy passing through the water, making it move forward and backward.
Explain why hydrocarbons (coal, oil, gas) are considered non-renewable resources.
They are formed over vast time scales by natural processes, and to create them in a laboratory or industrial setting requires far more energy to produce than they release when consumed, negating the point.
Explain the process for the transition of sedimentary rock to igneous rock.
They are heated, melted back to magma, after cooling it hardens leading to igneous rock.
Explain why "traps" are so important to oil/gas resources.
Traps all prevent the upward migration of oil and natural gas up through the reservoir rock.
Why are predatory fish, such as tuna, a potentially hazardous food source for humans?
Through the process of biomagnification. Very small amounts of heavy metals (like mercury) get concentrated to levels 100,000 to 1,000,000 times higher in predatory fish than in the water they live in. Algae concentrate the metals from the water, and small fish eat the algae, concentrating the metals further, and bigger fish eat them, and so on. The accumulation gets exponentially worse the higher up the food chain you go.
The Kyoto Protocol was a commitment by industrial nations
To reduce greenhouse-gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane to about 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Oxygen, silicon and aluminum are the three most abundant chemical elements within earth's crust. Why, then is aluminum recycled?
To reduce the consumption of electrical energy relative to that which is needed to extract aluminum from ore
The San Andreas fault is a good example of a
Transform plate boundary.
The single largest source of atmospheric pollutants is
Transportation
A Benioff zone is a region of deeper earthquake foci where geometry reflects a subducting slab of lithosphere.
True
Although convection in the asthenosphere is widely accepted as the cause of plate movements, it may be that the weight of down-going lithosphere in subduction zones pulls the trailing plate behind it.
True
An aphanitic igneous rock is one that has erupted from a volcano and is very fine-grained.
True
Faults near coastlines are three times more likely to move, thus causing an earthquake, during high tide than during low tide.
True
Human ancestral remains appear quite late in the geologic record, within only the last 3 to 4 million years.
True
Part of western California is attached to the Pacific Plate, while most of North America belongs to a separate plate.
True
Plate boundaries were originally located by a French graduate student who plotted the location of all earthquakes and volcanic eruptions world-wide on a map.
True
Prediction of earthquakes on the San Andreas fault is complicated by the number of other faults in the vicinity, over which displacement may be distributed.
True
The Northridge and Landers earthquakes may be part of a pattern of increasing seismicity prior to failure along the segment of the San Andreas opposite Los Angeles.
True
The best records of ancient life are those for the last 600 million years, when organisms with hard parts became widespread.
True
The carrying capacity for humans is not known.
True
The moment magnitude scale may be a better indicator of earthquake severity especially for large earthquakes and those occurring outside of California, where the Richter scale was developed.
True
The seriousness of many environmental problems is a direct result of the large number of humans interacting with the environment.
True
The starting composition of the solar nebula can be inferred from studies of stars.
True
Unusual animal behavior precedes some, but not all, earthquakes.
True
Properly, groundwater is
Water in the saturated zone.
Particulate air pollutants
Typically have short residence times in the atmosphere.
Spoil banks and tailings piles
Typically weather very rapidly.
Imagine you are hiking through a beautiful valley in Colorado and a friend asks you if the valley was formed by a river or by glaciers. What features could you look for to determine which form of water shaped the valley?
U-shaped are formed by river valleys and V-shaped from rivers.
The thinning of the ozone layer over the Antarctic always occurs at the end of the Antarctic winter because
UV from the sun is necessary to the creation of ozone from oxygen and the Antarctic receives no UV from the sun during its winter.
Which of the following types of solar radiation is most penetrating into skin or leaves and thus potentially the most hazardous to health?
UVC (shortest-wavelength UV)
Uncontaminated rain water has a pH of 5.6 (slightly acidic) because
Upon condensation, water chemically reacts with carbon dioxide forming a weak carbonic acid.
During a storm,
Wave height increases because of strong winds.
The Pacific Ring of Fire is
Volcanic activity related to subduction zones and spreading zones rimming the Pacific Ocean basin.
In contrast to the mafic volcanism at rift zones, subduction zone lavas are lower in iron content but significantly higher in these
Water and silica.
Discuss where the toilet water (and human waste within) from your house goes when you flush. (Your answer will depend on where you live. Determine if you have a septic tank or not, and if not, look up where it goes.)
We have a septic tank and it just goes into the sewer.
Generation of electricity using photovoltaic cells
Would involve commitment of considerable land and material for large-scale use.
On the inside bank of a meander, where water flow slowly, __________ may be deposited.
a point bar
Which is/are true?
all
Causes of shifts in relative elevation of land and sea along a coast include
all choices
The Dust Bowl era was caused by
all choices
A stream generates its own floodplain by
all choices are correct
A depositional feature formed when a fast-flowing stream joins a slower one or a mountain stream flows out into a plain is
an alluvial fan
Breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen is this type of decay.
anaerobic
Energy from tides cannot be harnessed because it is too
dispersed
How many pounds of "waste" would be in that same rock?
ecks
What is eutrophication? Why is eutrophication bad for a water ecosystem?
eutrophication is when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients. This can be bad because it can cause algal blooms in marine habitats. This can result in the death of many fish and other aquatic organisms.
If a "100-year-flood" occurs in 2015, can there be a flood of the same magnitude in 2016? Explain why or why not.
floods don't care how long ago the last flood was any more than a coin cares about the results of the last coin toss. A 100-year-flood simply has a 1% statistical chance of happening in any given year, meaning over the long term (thousands of years), a flood of that size will happen roughly every 100 years, but nothing is stopping them from happening 2 years apart like in the example question, nor 2 weeks apart nor 2000 years apart for that matter. Also, we do not have long term (greater than 100 years) data available for most streams in the United States, so really it's a good guess at best.
A kind of mass movement in which materials move in a disorganized, chaotic fashion is a
flow
Metamorphic rocks can either be _______ , like slate and schist, or they can be _______ , like quartzite and marble.
foliate non foliated
Nitrate in groundwater can be increased by infiltration of runoff from all of the following except
glacial melt
Significant sources for dust and other particulates in the atmosphere include all of the following except
glacial melt
Which of the following is an igneous rock?
granite
An igneous rock from which larger, gem-quality diamonds may be mined is
kimberlite
Coyotes eat rabbits ==> rabbit population declines
negative feedback loop because the coyotes can eventually eat the whole rabbit population, so it stops the loop.
The nuclear process responsible for generating nuclear energy is called _____________, or splitting apart uranium 235 atoms by neutron collisions
nuclear fission
Below ground, water moves through soils and rocks by a process known as
percolation
The thickness and __________ of soil are key factors in determining site suitability for a septic system.
permeability
A locked section of fault is often identified by
seismic gap
Earthquake waves are recorded using an instrument called
seismograph
In terms of volume, the largest liquid-waste disposal problem is
sewage
A volcano built of many thin flows of fluid lava is a
shield volcano
A secondary hazard of landslides is flooding that occurs when slides dam stream valleys.
t
Abundant water promotes chemical weathering because most of the relevant reactions involve water.
t
Because there is still disagreement about the best methods to use, no high-level radioactive wastes have been consigned to permanent disposal sites, anywhere in the world.
t
Chemical decontamination is principally used for small toxic-waste spills in surface waters.
t
Chemical surveys by aircraft can help identify sites of particularly high probability of toxic-element contamination, such as areas affected by acid mine drainage.
t
Chlorination of some drinking water, if carelessly done, can lead to production of small quantities of toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons.
t
Coal strip mines can be difficult to revegetate because of the acidity resulting from weathering of sulfur in spoils.
t
Concerns about greenhouse-effect heating relate not only to possible changes in temperature, but also to possible changes in precipitation patterns.
t
Consequences of sediment pollution include more rapid infilling of reservoirs and clogging of stream channels.
t
Even where specific laws prohibiting groundwater pollution do not exist, a polluter might be prosecuted if contaminated ground water in turn pollutes surface water.
t
Global warming may increase the number of heat related deaths during summer.
t
Higher organic matter content in the soil imparts a blackish coloration to the soil.
t
If ground water is contaminated with petroleum products, pumping from a level close to the water table may selectively extract much of the pollution.
t
If urbanization occurs over the limited recharge area of a confined aquifer, water availability may be reduced.
t
In the U.S., more water flows through hydropower-generation facilities than the total surface-water runoff of the nation.
t
In the United States, we use many times greater amounts of rock resources, like sand and gravel, than we do of metals like iron and copper.
t
In the case of traditional geothermal power generating plants, individual geothermal fields can typically be used for only a few decades before the rocks become too chilled for efficient power generation.
t
Irrigation in dry climates may dissolve and thus mobilize, toxic elements in the soil.
t
Liquid wastes can be incinerated in specially designed equipment, with most toxic organic compounds destroyed in the process.
t
Localized areas of high landslide risk may occur within regions of overall low risk.
t
Loess derived from glacial rock flour is rich in soluble plant nutrients.
t
Moraine is a landform that is made up by the deposition of till.
t
Natural oil seeps are a source of pollution and occur when no impermeable rocks trap migrating oil.
t
Naturally occurring concentrations of some toxic elements, such as arsenic, may exceed both recommended "safe" levels and wastewater standards for industry.
t
Oil shale is not necessarily shale and does not contain oil.
t
One concern with respect to expanding "Superfund" through a tax on disposers of toxic wastes is that such a practice might encourage more illicit waste dumping.
t
Over the course of a year, the length of an alpine glacier fluctuates seasonally, increasing in winter, melting back in summer.
t
Passive solar technology features are usually more economical to design and build initially into new structures than incorporating them into homes that already exist.
t
Passive-solar heating systems are so named because they do not involve mechanical devices.
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Placement of impermeable materials below a landfill may, in wet climates, lead to excess accumulation of leachate and eventual overflow from the site.
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Signs of global warming are more evident in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere.
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Sites of past rock falls or slides are sometimes obvious because they remain unagitated.
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Soil and water conservation can be brought about by techniques such as terracing and contour plowing that would slow down the surface runoff.
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Sometimes, the maximum pollutant levels permitted in wastewater by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards have been lower than naturally occurring concentrations of the same elements in local waters.
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A landslide warning system recently tested in California could identify the areas at risk, but could not predict the time of probable sliding.
true
A major concern about possible future eruptions of Mount Rainier is the potential for mudflow damage to nearby cities.
true
About 200 million years ago, most of the continents were together, forming a "super continent" called Pangaea.
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An island arc comprising of volcanic islands forms as a result of ocean-ocean convergence.
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Anions are negatively charged and cations are positively charged.
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Because upstream floods affect localized areas, they are more likely to be brief than are downstream floods.
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Constructing levees may increase the amount of property at risk from future flooding by encouraging floodplain development.
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Deep in the crust, at elevated temperatures, rocks may behave plastically and undergo folding or flow.
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Different isotopes of one element are chemically indistinguishable.
true
Explosive volcanoes can be so unpredictable that even volcanologists monitoring and studying them can be killed by unexpected eruptions.
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Extraction of oil can lead to coastal flooding.
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Flash floods may be especially likely where runoff water is confined to a narrow valley.
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In 1989, as in 1906, earthquake damage in San Francisco was most severe in areas underlain by fill, as in the Marina district.
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Increased thermal activity (fumaroles, hot springs) in a volcanic area may signal the presence of hot magma at shallow depths in the crust.
true
Infiltration of water below an artificial reservoir can induce earthquakes.
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People can be killed by poisonous gases emitted by a volcano even before they realize that they are in danger.
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Satellite data now allow direct measurement of the rates of plate movement, even though it is slow.
true
The Aswan High Dam in Egypt has resulted in diminished crop production in the Nile River floodplain downstream because annual flooding no longer brings new and fertile soil.
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The ideal setting for constructing buildings in close proximity to an island or beach is at an elevation of approximate 5 meters or more higher than the normal high tide.
true
The physical properties of a mineral are often closely related to its internal atomic arrangement or crystal structure.
true
The rate of global sea-level rise may be accelerated through greenhouse-effect heating.
true
The so-called Ring of Fire rimming the Pacific Ocean is really a ring of subduction zones.
true
The term "flood-frequency curve", though in common use, may be misleading in that it implies that floods of certain sizes recur at regular intervals.
true
Tides are mainly caused by the difference in pull of the moon's gravity on the oceans.
true
Transform faults that offset segments of a spreading ridge are formed because rates of spreading are not constant along any one rift zone so shearing develops when one segment grows faster than another.
true
When sea level rises, the rate at which the shoreline retreats landward depends partly on the slope of the beach.
true
Yellowstone National Park is underlain by an ancient volcanic caldera and current thermal activity and uplift there may signal future eruption potential.
true
a flash food is a variety of upstream flood
true
You live in Jonesboro, hundreds of miles from the nearest glacier and hundreds of miles from the sea. Should you care if they melt? List the reasons why you should or why you should not.
we live in jonesboro and that is hundreds of miles from me and is not really affecting me. However, it affects other people and if it causes disaster it could harm many animals and other people
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
weathering = breaking down, erosion = movement
