GEO 111
Yellowstone's most recent eruption was _______. There is evidence that Yellowstone has errupted _____ in the last 2.3 million years.
-600,000 years ago, 3 times
Select the 3 ENGINEERING flood-control methods.
1. Dams 2. Levees 3. Channelization
Select the 3 methods inspired by the 1993 Flood to prevent future damage and loss from flooding. Group of answer choices
1. Elevating homes above flood level 2. Returning agricultural land to natural wetlands 3. Leaving crop residue on the land to reduce soil erosion and run-off
Select all the things that can occur BEFORE a catastrophic landslide.
1. Extensional cracks near the top of a slope 2. Slumping of soils and sediments on a slope 3. Small landslides
Select all the factors that contributed to the destabilization of the slope and led to the 2014 landslide.
1. Higher than average precipitation 2. Undercutting of the slope by the Stillaguamish River 3. Slope composed of glacial sediments with high porosity
Select all the engineering systems or structures mentioned in the video that were put in place in New Orleans to deal with potential flooding.
1. Levees 2. Flood walls 3. Pumps 4. Drainage canals
In the days preceding Hurricane Katrina, many people decide to stay in New Orleans even though they were instructed to evacuate. Why did some people stay in the city? (select all the reasons given in the video)
1. They were elderly or sick 2. They did not have transportation 3. They had survived previous hurricanes without evacuating.
When Charles Keeling began monitoring CO2 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in 1960, he recorded CO2 levels at around 320 ppm. Calculate the rate of change in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels between 1960 and 2017?
1.5 ppm/yr
Increases in precipitation lead to increased landslide risk. On average, how many landslide-related deaths occur in Nepal during each monsoon season?
100
The October 1963 Vajont Dam landslide killed around 2,500 people. How long did it take for the mass movement to flow out of the reservoir, over the dam, and into the valley below?
12 minutes
Between 20,000 - 800,000 years ago, there were several ice ages (periods of global cooling interspersed with periods of warming). During these extended periods of cooling (we call these glaciations), ice advanced over the land and CO2 concentrations decreased. During warming periods (we call these interglacials) atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased. What was the average atmospheric CO2 concentration during the ice ages?
185 ppm
Approximately what year did CO2 levels start to noticeably increase from the pre-industrial levels? This part of the animation moves quickly so you will have to pause and rewind.
1850
After scientists installed seismographs, how many earthquakes per week did they record?
25
How long before a flood can someone purchase insurance from the National Flood Insurance program?
30 Days
An unusually wet summer was the primary cause of the 1993 Flood. The jet stream became locked over the midwest and ____ inches of rain fell over ____ months.
30, 6
Review the portion of the animation that spans the hundreds of thousands of years beforeindustrialization (between the year 1800 and 800,000 BCE). What is the largest amount of atmospheric CO2 during that time?
300 ppm
Over the last 800,000 years before industrialization (between the year 1800 and 800,000 BCE), when was the largest peak of CO2?
325,000 yrs ago
What was the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere on January, 2019?
411 ppm
According to the video, how many people died in the Oso Landslide?
43
How many states in the United States are affected by landslides?
50
During the 1993 flood, Quincey, Illinois experienced flooding at the ________ recurrence interval.
500 years
What is the elevation of the city of New Orleans?
7-10 feet BELOW sea level
What would the Volcanic Explosivitiy Index be if Yellowstone erupts?
8
The Japanese Islands formed from a volcanic island arch. At convergent ocean-ocean boundaries volcanoes form when the subducted plate is at what depth?
80-100 km
How many states were directly affected by the 1993 Flood?
9
Why did Mount St. Helens erupt in lateral blast on May 18, 1980?
A bulge formed on the flank of the mountain. An earthquake triggered a landslide that dislodged the bulge, triggering a lateral eruption.
Beach nourishment _______________.
A coastal engineering method that replenishes the sand to provide a recreation beach and helps protect coastal properties from erosion by widening the beach
It was assumed that Yellowstones heat source was an extinct volcano. What even made scientists realize that Yellowstone was still active and prompted them to take a closer look at the seismic activity of the natural park?
A large earthquake in Yellowstone park in 1959
What is Anak Krakatau?
A small volcano that has formed over the site of the original Krakatau.
Like all hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Katrina began as _____.
A storm off the west coast of Africa.
The boundary between the Gonave microplane and the Caribbean plate is...
A strike slip fault
VEI stands for...
A volcanoes explosively index
A tsunami may occur when...
A. An earthquake occurs on or near the ocean floor B. A volcano erupts under water C. An underwater landslide occurs D. All of the above have the potential to cause a tsunami
The island of Hispaniola is located on which of the following plates?
A. Gonave plate B. North American plate C. Caribbean plate D. All of the above (CORRECT ANSWER)
Which of the following would NOT be a part of the ring of fire?
A. Hawaii B. The Japanese Island Arc C. The Indonesian islands (Incorrect) D. The Cascade Mountains
The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes occurred...
A. In the New Madrid Seismic Zone B. In a region known as the Reelfoot Rift C. In an ancient rift that formed over 700 million years ago D. All of the above (CORRECT ANSWER)
The New Madrid Seismic Zone does NOT include which of the following?
A. Iowa (CORRECT ANSWER) B. Arkansas C. Missouri D. Tennessee
In the spring of 2003 some unusual events occurred in Yellowstone that caused some to worry that Yellowstone might erupt. Select 3 events that occurred in 2003...
A. The ground heated up and cracks opened up (CORRECT) B. A pack of bison died from poisonous gas (CORRECT) C. Large earthquakes occurred in the park D. Steamboat Geyser, a geyser that can be dormant for up to 50 years, began erupting (CORRECT)
Eruptions dominated by basalt compositions are found where?
Along divergent boundaries at mid-oceanic ridges
Moment magnitude depends on what main factor?
Amount of movement on the fault, strength of the faulted rocks, and total surface area of the fault plane
Which type of seismic waves can travel through the mantle of the Earth and be recorded by seismographs?
Both P and S waves
How do we know about the internal structure of the earth?
By using the behavior of seismic waves as they travel through the earth
An insurance company decides on the cost of a natural hazard by?
Calculating the cost of the probable loss times the probability of the event
Greenhouse gases include all of the following. Which gas is thought to have the greatest effect on global warming or increasing global temperatures?
Carbon Dioxide
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase every year but there are large annual fluctuations in the northern mid-latitudes (red dot/line) but not in the southern high latitudes (blue dot/line). What causes this oscillation?
Carbon dioxide level change with the seasons primarily due to photosynthesis.
What contains the largest reservoir of carbon?
Carbonate rock
Which town's levee failure was credited with saving St Louis, Missouri from flooding.
Columbia, IL
What was the major difference between oceanic and continental crust?
Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust
The gradual process of subsidence can result from all of the following activities except
Digging open-pit mines to mine for coal
Due to the force of the water that hit the Vajont Dam, the dam itself sustained severe damage.
False
Earthquakes occur in association with convergent and transform fault boundaries, but not divergent boundaries.
False
The Hawaiian islands are a volcanic arc atop an oceanic subduction zone
False
The October 1963 Vajont Dam landslide occurred without any warning.
False
The terms tsunami and tidal wave mean the same thing and are interchangeable when discussing a seismic sea wave
False
On average, more people die from which type of natural disaster than any other?
Flash floods and flooding
What aspect of tropical cyclones tends to cause the greatest death and destruction
Flooding from rain, waves, and storm surge
Where in North America are sinkholes most prevalent and why?
Florida, because it is almost all limestone and has abundant groundwater
Landslides associated with the 2010 Haiti earthquake were...
Found mostly on slopes steepened at their base by road construction
What was unique about the 2014 Oso Landslide?
Given the height of the slope, the slide debris traveled 5 times farther than it should have.
What is the primary cause of landslides?
Gravity exceeds strength of the slope
One of the geologists listed some potential precursors to a Yellowstone eruption. The precursors he listed are earthquake swarms, heating of the ground, increasing hydrothermal events, and _____.
Ground uplift
Highly explosive magmas are controlled by which of the following?
High silica content and high water
What does Mercalli Intensity Scale depend on?
How much damage the shaking caused
According to the intensity map of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the greatest intensity experienced during this earthquake was...
IX
Which proxy records are used in the NOAA CarbonTracker reconstruction of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations before modern direct measurements and monitoring stations?
Ice cores
If you are at the beach and feel a large earthquake, what should you do, and when should you do it?
Immediately run up slope as far as possible
As a tsunami approaches land, the height of a tsunami wave...
Increases primarily because the water depth and velocity decreases
We can see the correlation between the start of industrialization (increasing manufacturing) and the increasing CO2 levels. What activity related to industrialization would add increasingly large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere? Group of answer choices
Increasing use of fossil fuels
Sand boils and mud volcanoes form when?
Intense shaking ejects overpressured mud and sand to the surface along narrow fractures
Over the last 30 years, hurricanes have become more ______ due to _______.
Intense, warmer ocean temperatures
Why does the intensity map for the Dec. 16 1811 earthquake not show any intensities on the west side of the map?
Intensities are not shown on the west side of the map because the population of European settlers in that part of the U.S. was sparse
How do impermeable surfaces (ie: concrete) from urbanization affect runoff and flooding?
It increases runoff and decreases the time between the precipitation event and the water reaching the stream.
All the engineering approaches below are put in place to prevent a river from flooding except...
Jetties
All the engineering structures below are used to alter or slow coastal wave erosion except...
Levee
After the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over New Orleans, why did the flood waters continue to rise in the low-lying areas of the city?
Levee along two canals failed and water from Lake Ponchartrain drained into the city center.
When pore spaces in sediment becomes saturated with water, the sediment loses strength and cohesion. This phenomenon is called __________.
Liquifaction
Rapid global warming may result in all the changes listed below except...
Migration of people to coastal areas
The cost of catastrophic events continue to increase primarily because?
More people are moving into areas at high risk for natural disasters
Unlike regular ocean waves, tsunami waves are different because they...
Move much faster
Which of the following is true?
Much of the initial problems associated with the nuclear reactors was due to flooding of the generators, brought on by the tsunami
What do the red and blue dots represent on the graph and small map?
NOAA observatory stations
The massive loss of life in the 2010 Haiti earthquake was primarily due to...
Poor construction and lack of attention to building design in residential homes
Which town's levee withstood the flood?
Prairie du Rocher, IL
An unstable marine sediment with a disorganized structure that can flow like water if disturbed is called _________.
Quick clay
Greenhouse gases include all of the following except ____.
Radon
Most natural disasters are which of the following?
Rarely if ever cyclic because there are too many overlapping effects
Streams receive water from 2 primary sources:
Runoff and groundwater
Other than limestone, what types of rocks are soluble in water and can form cavities that collapse?
Salt and gypsum
Why are seacliffs so prone to erosion?
Seacliffs are exposed to wave action, and they are also steep slopes, which can make them susceptible to landslides
When you watch the segment for 1979-2011, you'll see the CO2 levels fluctuate (most dramatically at monitoring stations in the northern mid and low latitudes - around the equator) during each year. Why is this?
Seasonal changes in vegetation photosynthesis
Which of the following does NOT affect the amount of runoff from a precipitation event?
Shape of the stream
Besides wind, what is the biggest hazard from hurricanes?
Storm surge
The Great Tohoku earthquake occurred as a result of...
Subduction of the Pacific plate under the North American plate
Which type of earthquake waves do most damage?
Surface waves
The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes were different from most California earthquakes because?
The New Madrid earthquakes were centered in a plate interior
Which of the following is true with respect to the underlying geology in the Vajont River valley?
The Vajont River valley is underlain by rocks that dip (tilt) INTO the valley.
Using LIDAR mapping and carbon dating, geologists found evidence that _______.
The area around Oso had a history of landslides
The recurrence interval for a flood of a given magnitude is defined as...
The average number of years between occurrences of a flood of that magnitude or greater.
How does the lithosphere differ from the asthenosphere?
The lithosphere is stronger than the asthenosphere
Why is Yellowstone's supervolcano so explosive?
The magma beneath Yellowstone is full of gas and very viscous because it is silica-rich.
What does the Richter Magnitude Scale depend on?
The maximum amplitude of earthquake waves on a seismograph
Which of the following was the main reason why most scientists did not believe in the concept of continental drift?
The originator of the concept of continental drift did not adequately explain how the continents could move
What was the origin of the pumice rafts associated with the 1883 eruption of Krakatau?
The pumice rafts formed when hot ash from pyroclastic flows encountered cold seawater
Which of the following did NOT occur as a result of the eruption of Krakatau?
The sound of explosions could be heard as far away as San Fransisco, California.
What caused the Industrial Canal & Intercoastal Waterway levees to fail?
The storm surge sent a huge wave of water up the Intercoastal Waterway, over-topping the canal walls and scouring away the earthen levees.
Why does the damming of rivers sometime contribute to coastal erosion?
The supply of new sand to replenish beaches is cut off
Which of the following would be a modern analogy to the Reelfoot Rift when it was active?
The triple junction centered around the Afar triangle in northeast Africa
When waves approach the shore and enter shallow water
The waves slow down and the wave height increases
What effect do groins, breakwaters, and jetties have on coastal erosion?
They interrupt the transport of sand down the beach front
Why would a home built on the floodplain behind a levee be safe from flooding?
This statement is not true.
Which of the following is NOT a common reason cited for building large dams on rivers?
To raise groundwater levels
The most recent super volcano to erupt was ______ and it occurred ______ years ago. This volcano may have nearly ended human life on this earth.
Toba : 74,000
A rapid retreat of the shoreline can indicate a tsunami wave is imminent
True
A tsunami ripped the Dutch ship Berouw from its moorings and deposited it 0.5 miles upstream from the ocean. A subsequent wave picked it up again and carried it another mile upstream.
True
Major eruptions of volcanoes emit large amounts of CO2 and CH4, but their total contribution to atmospheric carbon levels is small.
True
Natural gas was the largest source of electricity/power generation in the United States in 2016.
True
The theory of continental drift was explained and replaced by the theory of plate tectonics...
True
When the Dec. 16 1811 New Madrid earthquake occurred in Missouri, people as far as New York and North Carolina felt the shaking...
True
According the Case Study, what do residents of Houston blame for exacerbating flooding in their neighborhoods?
Unregulated development/building in the area
The sun's peak radiation is in the _______ part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Visible light
How do volcanoes form at convergent boundaries?
Volcanoes at convergent boundaries form when the meeting temperatures of the rock is lowered by the water in the subducting plate. This melt may then rise to the surface where it will form a volcano.
As a result of mass movements on the slope above the Vajont Dam, _______.
Water levels in the reservoir were raised and lowered several times in an attempt to reach hydraulic equilibrium between the water level in the reservoir and the nearby rocks.
Why did the 17th Street and London Street canals fail?
Water soaked into the underlying peat layer and weakened the soft sediments beneath the levee wall.
Based upon the Modified Mercalli Shake Map, the highest intensity estimated for the New Madrid Dec. 16 1811 earthquake was...?
X+
What is Yellowstone?
Yellowstone is a caldera that overlies an active magma chamber
What is the source of Yellowstone's volcanism?
Yellowstone sits on a hotspot
Which change is NOT expected as a result of global warming?
Increase in extreme weather events - INCORRECT
The effect of aerosols can be best described as ____. Group of answer choices
Reflecting sunlight and cooling the atmosphere
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014 estimated that Earth's average surface temperature would likely rise by how much above preindustrial levels by 2050?
Two degrees Celsius
Which of the following is NOT true with respect to the longest aftershock during the 1811-1812 earthquakes?
A. The strongest aftershock caused the formation of the bluffs along the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, Iowa. (CORRECT ANSWER) B. The town of New Madrid subsided so much during the strongest aftershock that residents had to wade in cold river water for over half a mile in the dark just to reach dry land. C. The shaking associated with the strongest aftershock was so intense that the entire town of New Madrid was destroyed D. The strongest aftershock was thought to have the same magnitude as the original earthquake
The wetlands surrounding New Orleans are rapidly disappearing. Why?
A. The wetlands surrounding New Orleans are being destroyed by ocean saltwater. B. Man-made levees do not allow the Mississippi River to flood, starving the wetlands of sediments. ANSWER = A and B
Pyroclastic flows contains all the following except...
A. Water (CORRECT ANSWER) B. Lava fragments C. Ash D. Hot gases
Using the accompanying diagram, label the features correctly.
A: head, B: toe, C: crown, D: main scarp
Mass wasting or slope failures include _____.
All of the above
What makes Houston susceptible to flooding?
All of the above
Why does a delta form when a river meets the ocean?
All of the above
Which agency manages the rivers, dams, and levees in the United States.?
Army Corp of Engineers
The layer of the earth that deforms and flows, behaving like plastic, is called the?
Asthenosphere
Based upon knowledge of landslide physics, where did geologists direct rescue workers to search for survivors?
At the distal edge of the slide
Why does Japan rely so heavily on nuclear energy?
Because Japan has few natural resources that it can use to generate electricity
Why are the impacts of coastal hazards such as erosion, storm surge, and flooding so great?
Because densely populated areas are located at or near the coasts
The 1883 eruption of Krakatau had a VEI of 6, yet is still one of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions known to humankind. Why is this?
Because nearly 40,000 people died in this eruption
