Geology final- past quizzes

What problem is caused by pumping groundwater for irrigation in the Southern High Plain?

A low precipitation rate and a high evaporation rate allow little water to recharge the aquifer.

What is the difference between a reverse fault and a thrust fault?

A thrust fault has a fault angle of less than 45°, whereas the angle of a reverse fault is greater.

Which of the following scenarios best describes the creation of the lahars associated with the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980?

A volcanic flank collapsed in a landslide, which flowed into Spirit Lake.

What size sediment can be transported by glaciers?

All sediments sizes can be transported by glaciers.

Please select the picture of a slump.

B

Which desert location in the United States consists of alternating mountain ranges and flat-bottomed valleys as a result of fault block mountains?

Basin and Range Province

Which areas on this image will be dominated by deposition and which will be dominated by erosion?

Beaches will be dominated by deposition and the headland will be dominated by erosion.

When eccentricity, obliquity, and precession are all overlapping to have the most significant impact on the Earth's climate, what is happening to the climate?

Climate is cooling

________ refers to the changes in shape or position of a rock body in response to differential stress.

Deformation

What scientific development made accurate numerical dating possible?

Discovery of radioactivity

What is a fossil?

Evidence of past life that can include skeletal as well as trace material

Which of the following best describes the principle of faunal succession?

Fossil organisms succeed one another in a specific and identifiable order.

________ is a strong current formed by backwash concentrated into small channels and flows rapidly away from the beach.

Rip Current

What system of measurement is used to categorize the strength of a hurricane?

Saffir-Simpson Scale

________ are instruments that sense earthquake waves and transmit them to a recording device.

Seismographs

What are sunspots? Is there a solid connection between sunspot numbers and climate change on Earth?

Sunspots are huge magnetic storms that extend from the Sun's surface deep into the interior. Although an increase in sunspots correlates to an increase in solar output, there is no solid connection between sunspot numbers and climate change on Earth.

________ is the turbulent water created by breaking waves.

Surf

Which moraine marks the furthest extent of glacial ice?

Terminal moraine

Which of the following is a characteristic of glacial till?

The particles are often scratched and polished.

Describe the way in which wind transports sand. When winds are strong, how high above the surface can sand be carried?

Wind transports sand by saltation, a process where a particle of sand begins rolling and then hits another sand grain, launching one or both of them into the air; these and subsequent grains move along by bouncing along the surface. Saltating sand usually does not reach above 0.5 meter from the ground and very rarely reaches above 1 meter from the ground.

What was the most recent episode of glaciation in North America?

Wisconsin Episode Glaciation

What is an ephemeral stream?

an intermittent stream that carries water only in response to specific episodes of rainfall

From a climatological perspective, a region is a desert if ________.

yearly precipitation is less than evaporation

Why could a repeat of the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes be destructive to the Memphis, Tennessee, metropolitan area? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.

Memphis does not have adequate earthquake provisions in its building code. The buildings in Memphis are on top of unconsolidated floodplain deposits and thus are more susceptible to damage than buildings on top of solid bedrock.

What is the difference between numerical dates and relative dates?

Numerical dates specify an absolute age in number of years, whereas relative dates determine the order of events in relation to one another.

Assume that Layer C is a lava flow that has been radiometrically dated to 97 million years ago. What is the age of Layer Z?

Older than 97 million years old

T/F Sandstorms should be more accurately referred to as siltstorms because most sediment carried by wind for long distances is actually silt-sized.

True

In what climate(s) is solifluction prevalent?

Tundra and subarctic

Why is wind erosion relatively more important in dry regions than in humid areas? Select all that apply.

Vegetation in humid areas anchors the soil, which inhibits wind erosion. Moisture in humid areas binds particles together, which inhibits wind erosion.

How does water affect mass-wasting processes? Please select all that apply.

When only enough water is added to make the sediment on a slope slightly damp, the sediment sticks together and resists downward pull. Water fills the pores between sediment, destroying the sediment's overall cohesion. Water adds weight to the material on a slope.

What is the significance of an unconformity?

An unconformity represents an interval of time that is missing from the rock record.

What is meant by elastic rebound?

Elastic rebound refers to how the slippage along a fault (i.e., earthquake) allows the deformed rock to regain its original shape in a new location.

The central United States is covered with extensive deposits of loess. Where did this loess come from?

Rock flour from the braid plains of Pleistocene glacial streams and rivers

Under what circumstances will the front of a glacier advance, retreat, or remain stationary?

The terminus of a glacier advances if there is more accumulation than ablation, retreats if there is more ablation than accumulation, and remains stationary if accumulation is balanced with ablation.

What is the definition of a half-life?

The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter

What is a tsunami?

a large ocean wave generated when a megathrust fault suddenly lifts a slab of seafloor

If the Earth had no atmosphere, what would the average temperature of the planet be?

below freezing

By _____, humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

burring fossil fuels, clearing forests, cultivating paddy fields

What is the slowest form of mass wasting?

creep

Which central part of a hurricane is characterized by a calm zone where precipitation and winds cease?

eye

Massive, rapid mass wasting typically occurs in _____.

geologically young mountains

________ is the downslope movement of rock, regolith, or soil under the direct influence of gravity.

mass wasting

Which environmental issue most commonly affects groundwater aquifers in coastal or island areas?

saltwater contamination

Which type of mass wasting forms a crescent-shaped scarp at the head of movement?

slump

Most dry lands exist between ________ degrees latitude on either side of the equator.

20 and 30

What percentage of Earth's liquid freshwater is in the form of groundwater?

96%

What is permeability?

Ability to transmit water

Which of the following is not a factor that will influence infiltration of groundwater?

Acidity of precipitation

How does air pressure change with an increase in altitude?

Air pressure decreases rapidly near Earth's surface and continues to decrease gradually at greater heights.

Liquefaction will ________.

Amplify the power of seismic waves

How much more energy does a magnitude 8.0 earthquake release than does a magnitude 7.0 earthquake?

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 releases 32 times more energy than an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0.

What is an index fossil?

An organism that was geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time

Which era are we currently in?

Cenozoic

Which of the following mass wasting disasters was triggered by an earthquake?

Chengdu, China, 2008

Which tectonic boundary is responsible for the most powerful and destructive earthquakes recorded?

Convergent

________ are mounds and ridges of sand that are deposited by the wind.

Dunes

The ________ was a period of drought in the 1930s in the United States that resulted in significant dust storms blowing fine sediment for hundreds of miles.

Dust Bowl

Why is radiometric dating a reliable method for determining numerical dates?

Each radioactive isotope used for dating has been decaying at a fixed rate since the formation of the minerals in which it occurs.

Why is the atmosphere heated chiefly by radiation from Earth's surface? Select all that apply.

Earth emits long-wave radiation, which is readily absorbed by the atmosphere. Even though the short wavelengths from the Sun indicate that it is hotter than Earth, which emits long-wavelengths, Earth's wavelengths are opaque to its atmosphere, and thus heat that was reemitted by Earth is retained within the atmosphere.

Which of the following researchers coined the term elastic rebound after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake?

H. F. Reid

Which of the following was the cause of the debris flow in Oso, Washington, in March 2014?

Heavy rains saturated the surface materials on the slope.

Where were ice sheets more extensive during the Ice Age: the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere? Why?

Ice sheets were more extensive in the Northern Hemisphere because ice sheets only form on land and the Northern Hemisphere has more land in high latitudes than the Southern Hemisphere.

Which of the following is not part of the Milankovitch Cycle?

Isostacy

What is the difference between faults and joints?

Joints form in place, whereas faults form because rock has moved.

________ is fine silt generated by glaciers that can be carried for long distances by the wind.

Loess

Which two gases make up the majority of the atmosphere?

Nitrogen and Oxygen

Are accurate, short-range earthquake predictions currently possible using modern seismic instruments?

No, there are currently no reliable methods available for making short-range earthquake predictions.

What geologic process is responsible for warming the water at nonvolcanic locations such as Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, and Warm Springs, Georgia?

Normal geothermal gradient as groundwater circulates at depth

Which of the following locations has a coastline famous for its depositional features such as barrier islands?

North Carolina

________ is the study and reconstruction of past climates through the use of proxy data.

Paleoclimatology

What is permafrost, and what can result from disturbing it?

Permafrost is permanently frozen ground. If the thermal balance of permafrost is disturbed, ice within the permafrost may melt, causing the ground to slide, slump, or subside.

What kind of lake was Lake Agassiz in this image?

Proglacial lake

What is the definition of relative dating?

Putting events in order from first to last

How will compressional force change a rock body?

Shorten and thicken the rock.

Which size(s) of sediment commonly make up most of wind's suspended load?

Silt

Based on the precipitation data available here, which region in Washington State would be the most likely location of a rainshadow desert?

Southeastern Washington

How will tensional force change a rock body?

Stretch and thin the rock.

What is the definition of the focus?

The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs

You are watching TV with a friend when there is a special bulletin about a city in California being devastated by an earthquake. The news anchor reports that the epicenter of the earthquake is 45 miles east of Los Angeles. How would you explain the definition of the epicenter to your geologically impaired friend?

The location on Earth's surface directly above the point of slippage

Which of the projected changes in the future's climate listed below relate to factors other than temperature? Select all that apply.

The rate of increase in atmospheric CO22, methane, and nitrous oxide will reach levels unprecedented in the past 10,000 years. Ocean acidification will increase as the atmosphere accumulates CO22. The dissolved oxygen content of the ocean will decrease by a few percent. Precipitation amounts will increase in high latitudes.

What is the angle of repose?

The steepest angle at which a material remains at rest

Which of the following is an example of brittle deformation?

Throwing a hammer through a glass windowpane

Why do deserts lack thick deposits of soil?

Warm temperatures and low soil moisture contents allow some mechanical weathering.

Why is the shoreline described as being an interface?

because the shoreline is a dynamic boundary among air, land, and sea

Which of the following materials has the highest porosity?

clay

What kind of unconformity is visible in this figure? The unconformity in the question is indicated by the Arrow B.

disconformity

Which tectonic boundary would have many normal faults associated with it?

divergent

The Black Hills of South Dakota are a good example of which type of geologic structure?

dome

What are the broad categories of hurricane damage, and within these categories, which one is responsible for the greatest number of hurricane-related deaths? Please select all that apply.

inland flooding, storm surges, which are responsible for the greatest number of hurricane-related deaths, wind damage

How has sea level changed over the last few thousand years?

it has risen about 10 cm per century

What kind of unconformity is visible in this figure? The unconformity in question is indicated by the Arrow A.

nonconformity

What materials are best dated with carbon-14?

organic materials

What has been causing the CO22 level of the atmosphere to increase over the past 200 years? Select all that apply.

plant decomposition deforestation the combustion of fossil fuels

Which direction was the ice flowing (Hint: It is bedrock.)

right to left

What is the fastest form of mass wasting?

rock avalanche

**pulling opposite ways on top** What kind of stress is deforming this block?

shear

The ________ is the line that marks the contact between land and sea.

shoreline

Some of the most destructive earthquakes, such as the Haitian earthquake of 2010, occur along ________ faults.

strike-slip

Which type(s) of seismic waves tend(s) to cause the greatest destruction to buildings?

surface waves

If you happen to be caught in a rip current, what is the best way to get to safety?

swim parallel to the shore

**pulling out** What kind of stress is deforming this block?

tension

The climate system includes interactions among which spheres?

the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere

What are estuaries associated with? Please select all that apply.

the northeast coast of the United States submergent coasts river mouths

(T/F) Slow forms of mass wasting such as creep and solifluction are considered slow because they are restricted to gentle slopes and cannot achieve a high velocity.

true

(t/f) The only continental ice sheets left on Earth today are in Greenland and Antarctica.

true

When going from a 5 to a 6 on the Richter Scale, what is the increase in amplitude of seismic waves?

10 times

What percentage of the Earth's land surface is currently covered by glacial ice?

10%

How does isostatic rebound affect a glacial landscape after the glacier is removed?

A depressed crust rises after glacial retreat.

What is a fault?

A fracture in a rock along which motion has occurred

What is a pluvial lake?

A lake that fills in an arid/semiarid region due to increased precipitation in a cooler, wetter climate

Which of the following is an example of a numerical date?

A meteorite impacted the Earth sixty-five million years ago.

How will the water table respond when there is a drought?

Water table will fall.

How will the water table respond if it is a wet spring?

Water table will rise.

What coastal erosion feature is visible in this image?

Wave-cut platform

When will a deepwater wave change to a shallow water wave as it approaches shore?

Wavelength = 2 times water depth

Distinguish between weather and climate.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place; climate is a description of aggregate weather over time.

Which of the following regions is famous for its artesian wells?

Western South Dakota

How is loess related to glaciers?

When glaciers retreat, their meltwater contains loess, which can be picked up by winds and distributed elsewhere.

What is an earthquake, and how do earthquakes generally occur?

a sudden shaking of the ground that is caused by the rapid movement of one block of rock past another block of rock at a fault

____ is a trigger for mass wasting. CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

adding water to sediments, a wildfire, oversteepening of a slope

Which plate boundary along the Circum-Pacific Belt is responsible for the majority of that belt's earthquakes?

convergent

Which of the following materials is most readily dissolved by water?

calcite

**pushing in** What kind of stress is deforming this block?

compression

A ___ is an example of a groundwater recharge area.

grassy field

Aside from CO22, which trace gases are contributing to global temperature change? Select all that apply.

methane. cfcs, nitrous oxide

What is a possible consequence of global warming? CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

oceans will become more acidic, shoreline erosion will increase

A rainshadow desert forms ______.

on the leeward side of a mountain

Most of the ozone layer is concentrated in the ____.

stratosphere

Mountain ranges such as the Appalachians and the Himalayas are examples of mountains that formed as a result of ________ faulting.

thrust

Which household function has the highest daily water consumption?

toilets

Which type of fault was responsible for the devastation associated with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco?

transform

(t/f)Glaciers form in areas where more snow falls in the winter than is lost in the summer.

true

T/F A large wave generated by an earthquake off the coast of Chile can travel across the Pacific Ocean to reach the shores of Alaska.

true

Which of the following has the highest permeability?

unlithified sand

What geologic process is responsible for the geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park?

volcanic activity