bio 207 chapter 11

Several times a year volcanoes erupt along the Aleutian Island chain in southern Alaska. What geologic feature is responsible for these hazardous events?

convergent plate boundary

Which of the following is true in Greenland?

Land is communally owned.

Strip mining, subsurface mining, and solution mining all take place in which "sphere" of the planet?

Lithosphere

When any type of rock is subjected to great heat or pressure, it may alter its form, becoming this type of rock.

Metamorphic

Acid drainage does not normally occur in areas before mines are built but tends to happen after the mine has been in operation for many years. What causes acid drainage?

Mining exposes unweathered rock surfaces that react with water and the atmosphere to generate acids.

Earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides can displace large volumes of water in the ocean and trigger which of the following natural disasters?

Tsunamis

If a significant amount of extrusive igneous rock is found in an area, one would expect to also find evidence of _________ in the area.

Volcanoes

Which of the following areas would experience the most devastation after an earthquake?

a marsh-like environment that was filled with landfill in order to build a city

Which of these leads to uncertainty in our ability to predict how long a mineral resource will last?

all of the above

The data in this figure indicate that ________.

at current rates of consumption, metals will become scarcer

Where do large-scale strike-slip faults, which cut through the entire lithosphere, occur?

at transform plate boundaries

Which of these materials is NOT currently mined from the ocean floor?

manganese nodules

What is the downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity?

mass wasting

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent boundary that bisects the entire Atlantic Ocean. What is produced at this and other mid-ocean ridges?

new oceanic crust

This mining technique is utilized to get at shallow, horizontal deposits of minerals close to the surface.

strip mining

What sort of far-reaching, even global, environmental impact can result from the eruption of especially large volcanoes?

the cooling of Earth's surface due to ash and emissions in the atmosphere, which block sunlight

How is coltan generally mined?

panning of the various rivers in the Congo

Each year 1.2 billion mobile phones are sold. What percentage of old mobile phones are currently recycled?

10%

Which of these is not a use for materials mined from Earth?

All of the choices come from mined materials.

Why is coltan such a valuable mined resource?

Coltan contains tantalite, which yields the element tantalum. Tantalum is required for microprocessors such as the ones in your cell phone.

Which of the following are responsible for the formation of the world's highest mountains, the Himalayas?

Convergent plate boundaries

Which of the following correctly represents the basic layers of Earth from the innermost to the outermost?

Core, mantle, and crust

During the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), how did the exploitation of coltan and the coltan miners harm both the environment and the people that lived there?

Erosion exacerbated the release of toxic metals such as mercury. The products of mining were seized from the miners. Endangered species were hunted for food.

Which of the following companies would most likely be interested in mining in Kujalleq?

Norilsk Nickel

This type of mining often results in highly contaminated areas (holes in the ground called quarries) when toxic sulfides from the ore react and produce sulfuric acid.

Open-pit mining

Tantalum is needed for mobile phones, and the Congo is a major supplier of this metal. Which of these is true of how mining for tantalum has occurred in the Congo?

Profits from tantalum mining have helped fuel a war that has killed more than 5 million people.

Both fossils and fossil fuels are found in __________ rock layers.

Sedimentary

One of the steps in processing some metals is smelting. What does smelting do for a metal?

Smelting allows us to alter the properties of a metal to suit particular needs

For each characteristic of mineral extraction, decide whether it applies to strip mining, subsurface mining, or both types of mining.

Strip mining: used to extract resources near the surface overburden is removed the mining site destroys large areas of wildlife habitat Subsurface mining: safety requires good ventilation systems used to extract resources deep underground one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States Both: used to extract coal generate acid drainage

Which of the following is currently true in Greenland?

The government is supportive of mining.

commonly mined energy resource, is not a mineral.

coal

inner core

composed mostly of solid metal

outer core

composed of molten metal

upper matel

contains the asthenosphere just below the crust

lower mantel

thick layer od dense rock surrounding the core

crust

thin rock layer at earths surface

You are the CEO of a startup interested in mining for uranium. Should you look into Greenland as a possible location to grow your business?

yes

How many open-pit uranium mines are currently in the Arctic?

zero

Which of the following can help humans mitigate the negative impact of floods?

zoning laws to reduce building in flood zones