Earth Science 1100
Summed over the entire Earth ________ .
the rates of lithospheric consumption at subduction zones and production at mid ocean ridges are equal
The figure shows the age of oceanic crust (red is young, blue is old). Where is the seafloor spreading apart the fastest?
the southern Pacific Ocean basin
The crustal root beneath mountains created by continent-continent collision (e.g., the Himalaya mountains) is ________ when compared to the root beneath mountains created by rifting (e.g., the Basin & Range province of the western U.S.).
thicker
Imagine that you are planning to conduct field work and need to record earthquakes. What is the minimum number of seismometers you will need in order to locate the earthquakes?
three
Which of these locations is most likely to have the oldest rocks?
the middle of a continent
If the ratio of daughter to parent atoms in a rock is 93.75 to 6.25, then 5 half lives have occurred. If the half life of decay is ten million years, then the rock is 30 million years old.
- 4 - 40
Imagine that you land on a previously unknown planet, measure its topography, and find that it is the map, above. Compared to the earth (below), what can you certainly conclude about the newly discovered planet? Two of the following six answers are correct. Select only two.
- Plate tectonics is not operating on the unknown planet - The unknown planet has a solid crust
The formation of the earth resulted in ________. Three of the following seven answers are correct. Select only three.
- a planetary interior initially heated by kinetic energy - a collection of radioactive elements that decay keeping the interior hot - an interior made up of three chemically distinct layers
Using the photo, above, what type of rocks andesitic to rhyolotic rocks and plate setting subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental plate might you expect were involved in the formation of this mountain?
- andesitic to rhyolotic rocks - subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental plate
Of the following, which are factors that contribute to the earth's continental topography and oceanic bathymetry? That is, which factors facilitate the continental topography being located at about 0 km to 1 km above sea level where as most oceanic bathymetry is about 4 km to 5 km below sea level? Five of the following ten answers are correct. Select only five.
- continental crust is composed of granite - oceanic crust is composed of basalt - the mantle is higher density than most of the crust - the mantle is ductile - continental crust is more buoyant than oceanic crust
The correct sequence of events that led to the displayed rock strata is deposition of fine sandstone , then deposition of grey sandstone , then deposition of conglomerate , and ending with deposition of fine sandstone .
- deposition of fine sandstone - deposition of grey sandstone - deposition of conglomerate - tensional stress creating faulting
Mount Augustine is in Alaska and Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the Himalaya Mountains. They both ________. Two of the following six possible answers are correct - select only two.
- differ in their plate tectonic settings - are made-up of different rock types
Andesitic to rhyolitic lavas _____. Three of the following six answers are correct - choose only three.
- do not flow as far from the vent as basaltic lavas do - have a lower eruption temperature than basaltic lavas - have a higher viscosity than basaltic lavas
The types of rocks we would expect to find while walking along an outcrop in Ohio are sandstones, shales, and limestones and therefore Ohio was at some time in the past a shallow sea .
- sandstones, shales, and limestones - shallow sea
The process of melting basalt in a subduction zone produces a melt that separates from the solid basalt as temperature increases such that the remaining solid basalt has a higher melting temperature than before the separation . Overall, this process creates rocks which are different from the original basalt .
- separates from the solid basalt as temperature increases - has a higher melting temperature than before the separation - which are different from the original basalt
In the above photo, the ice in the glass is floating such that a small portion of the ice is above the water line and a much greater amount of ice is within the water. To raise more of the ice above the water line, ___________. You can think of the ice as crust and the water as mantle. Three of the following ten answers are correct. Select only three.
- the water density should be greater than it is now - the ice density would need to be lesser than it is now - add some ice to the cube
When tracing a fault along the earth's surface, it will likely end where rocks elastically bend to accommodate the throw along the fault and when tracing it into the depths of the earth, it will likely end at the transition from brittle crust to ductile crust .
- where rocks elastically bend to accommodate the throw along the fault - at the transition from brittle crust to ductile crust
Imagine you are thinking of buying a house and are told that six years ago the neighborhood experienced a ten-year-flood. Assuming that you buy the house, what is the probability of you experiencing a ten-year-flood in the first year of your home ownership?
10% chance
When considering all earthquakes around the world per year, earthquakes with a magnitude of 3 occur about ________ as earthquakes of a magnitude 6.
1000 times more often
In the southeastern United States, the approximate number of people at risk from a one meter rise in sea level are ___________.
2,600,000
When considering typical ocean salinity, "salts" such as chlorides, sodium, and several other salts make up 3.5% by volume and originate by erosion and runoff from the continents delivering dissolved ions to the oceans .
3.5% erosion and runoff from the continents delivering dissolved ions to the oceans
If all of Greenland's and all of Antarctica's ice melted, then global sea level would rise by ________ meters.
70
Which of the following rivers is most likely to form the deepest canyon?
A river with a discharge of 500 cubic meters per second and an elevation of 1500 m.
The correct time sequence of end moraines, from youngest to oldest is ___________.
A, B, C, D
This rock is found in northern Ohio. It is a granite. Which of the following can you reasonably conclude?
At some time in the past, the average annual temperature of northern Ohio must have been less than zero degrees Celsius for hundreds to thousands of years.
Why is oceanic crust generally less than 200 million years old?
Because oceanic crust older than 200 ma is too dense to remain on top of the mantle.
In the photo, why have sediments filled-in the reservoir, behind the dam? The dam is located near Los Angeles, California.
Because sediments are easily eroded in this environment.
Why does the peak of a river flood wave arrive hours to days after rainfall ends?
Because soils provide a large, temporary storage for the rain water.
The above plot show the atmospheric oxygen concentrations for the past two decades (black line in each plot). Now, assume that the burning of fossil fuels stopped in the year 2000 and that no more oil, natural gas, or coal was burned to create energy. Which red line represents the most likely Oxygen concentrations in this new, assumed world? Note that the black line of oxygen concentrations represents what actually happened these past two decades; the black line is the same in all four plots. Choose the plot with the red line that represents a world in which fossil fuel burning stopped two decades ago.
C
The Conglomerate had its sediments (clasts) transported the shortest distance from their original site of erosion.
Conglomerate
According to the study using the GRACE satellites, which region(s) of the world is(are) losing water via human actions?
Irrigated agricultural regions
The above graphic is a map of an oceanic hotspot. Volcano locations are marked A through E. North is at the top of the map as noted by the N arrow. Which of the following is true.
Location A is likely the most recently active volcano.
On February 27, 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred in Concepcion, Chile which is located on the west coast of the South American continent where the Nazca plate is subducting. As a result of the earthquake, crustal movement of nearly 3.0 meters occurred around Concepcion. Is it possible for Columbus Ohio to experience this amount of sudden movement; why or why not?
No because Ohio does not have any plate boundaries.
Is a decade enough time to determine climatic changes in temperature, i.e., to determine if global warming has stopped?
No, because the drivers of climate change, such as the movement of ocean waters, the impacts of greenhouse gases, and the orbital dynamics of the earth, operate on multi-decadal to multi-millennial time scales.
From 2008 to 2014, did the eastern coast of the U.S. experience an increased risk for earthquakes?
No, the apparent increased risks are merely a result of mapping algorithms and not a result of changing tectonic forcings.
The plate tectonic setting east coast of the United States is a (an) ___________. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
Passive margin
Imagine that you have landed on a previously unknown planet and have five seismometers. You have noticed a cluster of earthquakes occurring in one particular location. Where would you place the seismometers in order to understand a large cross-section of the planet's deep interior structure?
Place the five seismometers in a line, with the first seismometer located the closest to the cluster of earthquakes, the second further away, and so on until the fifth would be placed the greatest distance away.
Why does the water table in Ohio fluctuate seasonally (i.e., why does it go up and down)?
Precipitation varies seasonally and hence the water available to recharge the water table varies seasonally.
In the picture of Yosemite National Park, above, the water fall on the right is _____.
an example of a location where a minor alpine glacier once joined a major alpine glacier
Imagine that you are in the field and find 50 million year old limestone and shale rocks and find 80 million year old andesitic rocks. What do you think is the most likely geologic setting that produced this environment?
Subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental plate followed by the formation of a shallow sea.
In the mid-1960s, the discovery of ___________ demonstrated conclusively that the earth's oceanic crust was capable of moving thousands of kilometers. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
Subduction zone
Most of the pulling force driving plate motion is produced at ________. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
Subduction zone
magine that you and your research team have measured earthquakes that have occurred at your study site. You find that the earthquake depths extend from near the earth's surface to almost 700 km depth. You conclude that you have found a (an) _________. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
Subduction zone
Annual temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit are shown for three states and for the entire continental 48 states of the USA (blue lines). Degrees Fahrenheit are on the left-side Y-axis. The X-axis shows dates extending from the 1895 to 2021. Grey trend lines are drawn in all four plots. Averages are horizontal orange lines. The slopes of the trend lines for each state are: Alaska = 3.1°F/100 years, California = 2.2°F/100 years, Ohio = 1.3°F/100 years, USA 48 = 1.6°F/100 years. The average temperatures are: Alaska = 26.5°F, California = 57.7°F, Ohio = 50.7°F, USA 48 = 52.3°F. Using this information, the following can be concluded. Select all that are correct.
Temperatures are rising the fastest in Alaska compared to California, Ohio, or the continental USA. The lowest temperatures are in Alaska.
In regions such as California that rely upon snowfall and snowmelt for their water resources, what is a potential impact of global warming?
The annual snowfall in will decrease; the annual rainfall will increase; and the storage of water, e.g., reservoirs behind dams, will not accommodate the change.
In the Congo Basin, field geology and well bore observations indicate that there is a 1 km thick sequence of Cenozoic lacustrine sediments (lake deposits) sitting on top of an 8 km thick series of Paleozoic to Mesozoic marine sediments. The present elevation of the Basin is 300m. What can you conclude about the geologic setting for the Congo Basin area suggested in the above model? Note that the Late Jurassic is a period during the Mesozoic.
The geologic setting in the graphic is not correct.
The above two photos are from the same location in Glacier National Park in the continental U.S.A. The top photo is from the year 1910 and the bottom is from 2007. What can you reasonably conclude from these photographs? Two of the following are correct. Select only two.
The glacier is losing ice mass The average annual temperature of Glacier National Park is increasing.
How does a greenhouse gas warm the earth?
The greenhouse gas allows the sun's solar radiation to pass through the atmosphere while blocking some of the earth's long wavelength infrared radiation from leaving the atmosphere.
The above graphic is a map of an oceanic hotspot. Volcano locations are marked A through E. North is at the top of the map as noted by the N arrow. Which of the following is true.
The plate is moving west.
Imagine that instead of looking at ice in water, you were looking at a rock in magma, respectively. Assume that the rock solidified from the magma. What do you expect to happen next? To answer this question, you can think of the water in the glass as liquid magma, and the ice as a solid rock solidified from the magma.
The rock would sink to the bottom of the magma.
Why are landscape features like 1 and 2, in the above graphic, important? Select all that are correct.
They are indicative of variations in climate.
The above graphic is of Big Sur along the coast of California. The top panel is a Google Earth map view where the yellow line indicates the topographic cross section of the middle panel. The bottom panel is a photograph of the location of the yellow line. Based on this information, what can you reasonably conclude?
This region of California has never been glaciated
The plate tectonic setting of the San Andreas fault in California is a (an) _______. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
Transform boundary
Alpine glaciers around the world ___________.
are melting and receding
In science, models and/or theories ________.
are proven to be true or false based on measurements, observations, and/or the results of experiments
Alpine glaciers always flow down the topographic slope, so under what conditions does the end of the glacier actually retreat back up the valley?
When the mass of ice being melted is greater than the amount of snow being accumulated
Hawaii and Yellowstone volcanoes are hotspots. The erupted Hawaii lavas are basalt but the erupted Yellowstone lavas are rhyolites. Why are the two lavas different?
While both hotspots have basalt supplies at the base of the crust, the low-density basalt magma rises quickly through Hawaii's high-density, thin, oceanic crust but the low-density basalt magma rises slowly through the low-density, thick, continental crust of Yellowstone, thus it cools slowly and fractionates beneath Yellowstone to form rhyolites at eruption.
Can a planet with no tectonic movements have quakes, i.e., its version of earthquakes which we'd call "planet"quakes instead of "earth"quakes?
Yes, heat could be escaping via conduction, hence expansion and contractions of rocks which could cause planetquakes.
In the travel time chart, the lack of S-wave arrival times inside of the dashed-purple oval is evidence of _______.
a liquid outer core
If the world's Industrial Revolution had not used fossil fuels for its energy and instead used solar energy, wind energy, and other non carbon based energies, then what would be today's atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration?
about 280 ppm
What is a (are) possible reason(s) why some unique places in Greenland's ice appear to be accelerating their drainage into the ocean?
all of these
Given a magnitude 7 and a magnitude 5 earthquake in the same location of Los Angeles, California and given a seismometer in Columbus, Ohio. The magnitude 7 earthquake produces S-waves that arrive in Columbus from Los Angeles __________ S-waves from the magnitude 5 earthquake.
at the same time as
From 1990 to about 2007, global climate models used in the IPCC reports at that time reasonably accurately predict [ Select ] ["atmospheric carbon dioxide and atmospheric temperature", "atmospheric carbon dioxide and sea level rise", "atmospheric temperature and sea level rise", "sea level rise only (neither atmospheric carbon dioxide nor atmospheric temperature)", "atmospheric temperature only (neither atmospheric carbon dioxide nor sea level rise)", "atmospheric carbon dioxide only (neither atmospheric temperature nor sea level rise)"] but were well below the measured amount of [ Select ] ["atmospheric carbon dioxide and atmospheric temperature", "atmospheric carbon dioxide and sea level rise", "atmospheric temperature and sea level rise", "sea level rise", "atmospheric temperature", "atmospheric carbon dioxide"] .
atmospheric carbon dioxide and atmospheric temperature sea level rise
Samples from ice cores provide both direct and indirect measurements of past environments. Of the following, which is not a direct measurement, i.e., which is indirectly measured?
atmospheric temperature
Two hydrographs are shown in the graphic, above. Recall that these show river flow over time. Time periods are labeled with A, B, C, and D. A flood is most likely to occur during time period B . Draining of the channel, also known as recessional flow, is most likely during time period C .
b c
The age of the ocean floor ________.
becomes progressively older when the observer is moving away from any mid-ocean ridge
The U.S. population has doubled from 150 million people to over 300 million people from 1950 to 2015, _________.
but U.S. withdrawals of surface water and groundwater have slightly declined since reaching their high point in 1980
How did this mountain peak form?
by glacial erosion
The total age of the Earth is determined ____________.
by radiometric dating
We can expect a one meter of sea level rise _______.
by the year 2150 but not before 2050
The graphic above represents the existing earth and a new earth. The six graphics below are travel time charts for the existing earth and a new earth. In the travel time charts, the blue lines for the P-wave and S-wave travel times are all the same and represent the existing earth. The red lines for the P-wave and S-wave travel times are different in each of the six plots. Choose the pair of red P and S wave travel times that match the new earth in the graphic above. Assume that the physical properties of the crust, mantle, and core remain the same.
c
In the graphic, which are the best locations to look for oil or natural gas? Choose all that are ideal for finding oil or natural gas. You might want to refer to previous lectures such as Tectonic Evolution.
c d e f
What type of stress (i.e., force) produced the fault in the above photo?
compressional stress
Why is northwest Ohio flat and southeast Ohio hilly? Because thousands of years ago continental scale glaciers covered northwest Ohio but did not cover southeast Ohio
continental scale glaciers northwest Ohio southeast Ohio
Heat moves through the mantle by ________.
convection, which results from thermal expansion of the deep mantle rocks and hence an increase in their buoyancy
n the above graphics, the seismic wave travel times for a typical travel time chart are shown in blue. Which of the red lines are the correct travel times for seismic waves beneath the African continent?
d
Based on climate model simulations, if thermohaline circulation collapses (i.e., shuts down and fully stops), then the surface air temperature of Europe will decrease because warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico will no longer flow northward toward Europe and thus no longer warm the air near Europe.
decrease Gulf of Mexico
Marine magnetic anomaly stripes are oriented parallel to each other and are located in oceanic crust. They are observations supporting the identification of a (an) ________. Fill in the blank with one of the following: convergent boundary || divergent boundary || transform boundary || subduction zone || passive margin || continent-continent collision || hotspot || plate interior || continental plate interior || oceanic plate interior
divergent Boundary
Desalination could be a viable water source for ___________ located near oceans.
domestic use in small cities
The Earth's past 500 million year geologic history can be determined by correlating strata from one continent to another continent using ________.
fossils from a couple of species that coexisted for a few million years and which are found in only a few rock formations but those formations are found in several locations around the globe.
In Greenland during June 2012, the measured amount of water flowing out of the ice is greater thanthe amount of water flow predicted by regional climate models. This implies that models may over predict the amount of sea level rise .
greater than' models may over predict the amount of sea level rise
Why is the residence time of a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere important? The longer the residence time, the greater the potential for the gas to increase atmospheric temperatures .
longer increase atmospheric temperatures
Over six continents, climate models have simulated the temperature from 1900 to 2000. These simulations best match measured temperatures when accounting for human and natural influences . The simulations match measured temperatures for the continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa (all six continents) .
human and natural influences North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa (all six continents)
The greatest amount of irrigation water usage is in the western United States and the greatest amount of thermoelectric water usage is in the eastern United States .
in the western United States in the eastern United States
Greenland's ice measured over time from satellite and field measurements has mass in the zone of accumulation (i.e., at the highest elevations) that is [ Select ] ["decreasing", "remaining the same", "increasing"] and has a mass in the zone of ablation that is [ Select ] ["decreasing", "remaining the same", "increasing"] and combining the zones, all of Greenland's ice is [ Select ] ["decreasing in", "remaining the same in", "increasing in"] mass.
increasing decreasing remaining the same in
From 1978 to 2017, Arctic sea ice is increasing in extent and Antarctic sea ice is slightly increasing in extent and globally the sum of both is decreasing in extent.
increasing slightly increasing decreasing
As compared to the density of the mantle, the oceanic crust is ________.
initially less dense when it is formed, after formation it eventually becomes more dense
The mass of the Amazon River __________.
is enough to elastically compress the crust by about 8 to 10 cm per year.
At a subduction zone, the overriding plate ________.
may be composed of either oceanic or continental lithosphere
The above plots show temperature anomalies in two Antarctic ice cores (EPICA and Vostok) and an estimate of ice volume, with all three from present to 450,000 years ago. Based on this plot ______.
natural forces should now be cooling the earth
Wetlands are important to the global carbon balance because ________.
significant quantities of carbon dioxide can bubble-out of the water ("evasion"), thus contributing to atmospheric carbon dioxide
A basaltic partial melt has been detected beneath the Yellowstone volcano. The P-waves travel through the partial melt at a velocity that is slower compared to normal P-wave crustal velocities and therefore arrive at the seismometer later compared to normal P-wave arrival times.
slower later
Based on measurements of sediment sizes in the sea floor and on models that use temperature anomalies of the ocean surface, the North Atlantic ocean circulation is slowing down and results in cooler temperatures around Iceland and a warmer Gulf Stream region .
slowing down cooler temperatures around Iceland and a warmer Gulf Stream region
Suppose that you develop the following hypothesis: Some floods in rivers have enough energy to carry large clasts, i.e., particles of sediment about the size of your thumb or larger. If true, then sedimentary rocks from fluvial environments, i.e., rivers of the geologic past, should include such large clasts. If false, then any finding of such large clasts in a sedimentary rock cannot be associated with river water flows. What observations would support a true result?
stratigraphically alternating sequences of sandstones, conglomerates, and shales
Thermohaline circulation is driven by [ Select ] ["deep waters rising in the North Atlantic", "surface waters sinking in the North Atlantic", "intermediate depth waters forming a circulating gyre in the North Atlantic"] and it takes [ Select ] ["10 years", "100 years", "1000 years", "10,000 years"] to circulate throughout all oceans.
surface waters sinking in the North Atlantic 1000 years
Which seismic wave types cause the greatest damage to buildings _____.
surface waves
A property of rocks that enhances mantle convection is _________.
that a 1 percent expansion requires an increase of 300-400ºC and leads to a 1 percent decrease in density
In the travel time chart, the P, PcP, PKP, S, ScS, SKS, etc. arrival times indicate that ______. Three of the following six potential answers are correct - select only three.
the Earth has a spherical structure with layers (e.g., crust, mantle, core) having differing physical properties
Mount St. Helens eruptions are more violent than Hawaii's eruptions because _______.
the lava from Mt. St. Helen's eruptions is lower in temperature and hence higher in viscosity compared to the lava from Hawaii
The P-waves from earthquakes create first motions at seismometers that are compressional and up in twoquadrants whereas the P-waves from nuclear explosions create first motions at seismometers that are compressional and up in four quadrants.
two four
Which of the following is the strongest greenhouse gas (i.e., traps the greatest amount of energy in the earth's atmosphere) when measured on timescales of days to months but less than a year?
water vapor
Arrange the following molecules in the correct order from shortest to longest residence time in the atmosphere (i.e., how long the molecule will stay in the atmosphere). The shortest is: water vapor . The intermediate is: methane . The longest is: carbon dioxide .
water vapor methane carbon dioxide
At what depth did the deformation in the above photo occur?
well within the crust
Oceans and the salinity causing process have existed for at least a billion years, so why are the oceans not more salty than they are today? Three of the following six potential answers are correct - select only three.
~Because some salts are deposited with sediments at the bottom of the ocean. ~Because some biological processes such as the formation of shells by organisms remove salts from the ocean. ~ Because some chemical reactions of basalt with ocean water removes salts.
In Lecture Question 2: The U.S. market for oil and products is at least half a trillion dollars per year. We've only looked at the price per barrel and gas at the pump costs. Annual tax revenues from just the gasoline tax is important at $60B to $70B. What would happen to that tax revenue if everyone drove electric cars that they "filled up" at home? Note: those moneys are used for maintaining interstate highways and local roads. What happens to oil industry economies? There is no correct answer, rather choose all that you think will happen.
~Every motor vehicle owner would be required to annually report their mileage for a tax assessment, regardless of where they drove their vehicle. Roads would have automated toll takings based on license plate readings. ~certain extra amounts provided to road maintenance. ~ Switching to all electric implies job losses in the oil industry. So, we'd have problems in states where the oil industry dominates the economy. A comparison is the job losses in coal mining. ~ The oil industry would survive by providing natural gas to create electricity. ~Oil economies would switch to renewable energy economies. ~ Something else? Email me your thoughts [email protected]
The travel time chart demonstrates that _________. Three of the following six potential answers are correct - select only three.
~P-waves and S-waves have increasing velocities and therefore must travel into the earth's deep interior ~the earth's internal structure is similar everywhere throughout the globe ~ surface waves have a constant velocity and therefore must travel only along the earth's surface
The Cavendish torsion balance experiment published in 1798 demonstrated that the average density of the entire earth is about twice as dense compared to the densities of rocks at the surface of the earth. This leads us to the conclusion that rocks deep inside the earth likely contain more iron and nickel compared to rocks at the surface of the earth.
~about twice as dense ~likely contain more iron and nickel
An earthquake occurred along a strike-slip fault in a remote part of Alaska. Unfortunately, scientists were not able to visit the location to look at the offset rock formations and instead used seismology to confirm that the earthquake was a result of strike-slip motion. This confirmation required seismometers located in three of the four quadrants surrounding the earthquake and P-wave up motions in two quadrants and P-wave down motions in two quadrants .
~seismometers located in three of the four quadrants surrounding the earthquake ~P-wave up motions in two quadrants and P-wave down motions in two quadrants