Env S Geo 101 Midterm

Biochemical oxygen demand reflects the amount of

decaying organic matter in water bodies

Detrital sedimentary rocks differ from chemical sedimentary rocks in that

detrital sedimentary rocks are composed of visible pieces of preexisting rocks, and chemical sedimentary rocks are composed of minerals that evaporate or precipitate from a solution

Which of the following would be considered a point source of pollution?

discharge of industrial wastewater

In a covalent bond,

electrons are shared between a limited number of atoms

What phase of mining generally causes the least environmental degradation?

exploration and testing

Cinder Cones form on oceanic plates above hotspots.

false

What are the possible effects of utility lines (electric power, gas, water, sewer) rupturing in an earthquake?

fires could be sparked by broken electric power and gas lines, and if water lines are also broken, there may not be any way to put them out AND loss of functioning water and sewer lines could cause sanitation problems, which may lead to outbreaks of disease

Which type of flood is typically caused by intense rainfall of short duration?

flash flood

The statistical probability of a flood of a certain magnitude occurring in any given year is referred to as the

flood recurrence interval

What aspect of tropical cyclones tends to cause the greatest death and destruction

flooding from rain, waves, and storm surge

The objective of _____________ is to maximize beneficial use of the floodplain while minimizing flood damage and the cost of flood protection.

floodplain regulation

Gypsum used in drywall and graphite used in pencils

form from sedimentary and metamorphic processes, respectively

Why does acid rain result from fossil fuel consumption?

fossil fuel burning releases nitrogen and sulfur oxides

Why might the emission of radon gas be useful in predicting earthquakes?

fracturing of the rocks allows radon to move more readily

Strong bedrock, like granite, influences the formation of what types of hillslopes?

free cliff face with talus at the base

How might global warming exacerbate coastal hazards?

global warming will likely be accompanied by sea level rise

What aspect of hillside development has contributed to the frequency of landslides in southern California?

grading of hillslopes to create pads for home construction

One possible explanation for the driving force behind plate motion is slab-pull. This idea calls for

gravity to pull dense oceanic lithosphere into the mantle

Why was Alfred Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift not taken seriously by most geologists?

his mechanism for movement of the continents was faulty

Which soil horizon is known as topsoil?

horizon

A strike-slip fault has what type of motion?

horizontal

A major drawback associated with the use of nuclear energy is

how to dispose of the radioactive waste

Which of the following types of renewable energy displaces people and traps sediment so that beaches aren't replenished with sand?

hydroelectric power

Sea otter reintroduction in Alaska has led to

increase in kelp forests

Hydraulic conductivity in soils increases with

increasing particle size

The Ogallala aquifer water table has dropped due to withdrawals for

irrigation, domestic, and municipal use

The Moment Magnitude of an earthquake

is a measure of the energy released in the earthquake AND requires knowledge of the amount of slip on the fault, the length and depth of the fault rupture, and the strength of the rocks involved in order to calculate it

The water table

is the boundary between the vadose zone and the saturated zone

Environmental geology

is the study of human interactions with the Earth environment, hazards, and resources AND is applied geology

The sludge from sewage treatment plants

is used as fertilizer because it contains nitrogen and phosphorus

If magma has a HIGH silica content

it has high viscosity and a high explosive potential since its difficult for trapped gas to bubble out and escape

Why is drainage control sometimes an effective method of landslide control?

it reduces the amount of water in the hillslope materials

A _______________ species, such as the wolf or sea otter, has an effect on its ecological community disproportionate to its abundance.

keystone

The "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico results from

large amounts of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, carried by the Mississippi River to the Gulf

How much of the Earth's water is stored as (non-saline) groundwater?

less than 1%

In what types of rock do most caves form?

limestone

Climate describes __________ atmospheric conditions at a particular place or region over time spans of ______________

long term, years to decades

Off-road vehicle use contributes to soil problems by

loosening soil and changing the hydrology of a site

Regional metamorphism involves ______________, and contact metamorphism involves _________________.

metamorphism of rocks over a large geographic area at convergent plate boundaries; local heating of rocks around an intrusion of magma

How do soils become fertile?

mild weathering of parent material and addition of organic matter

Intrusive igneous rocks differ from extrusive igneous rocks in their

mineral crystal sizes

Coastal marshes reduce flooding and coastal erosion. This impact is an example of

natural service functions of ecosystems

How a species "makes its living" is called its

niche

What are the two drinking water contaminates thought to pose an immediate health threat?

nitrate and fecal coliform bacteria

Mineral resources are

nonrenwable resources because new mineral deposits are forming too slowly to be of use on human time scales

What does the concept of environmental unity state?

one action leads to subsequent actions in linked systems

What are the requirements for a sediment to become a source rock for oil and natural gas?

organic matter must accumulate in a low-oxygen environment

Why do manure spills into bodies of water result in fish kills?

oxygen in the water is consumed by the bacteria that breakdown the manure (concentrated organic matter)

Soil taxonomy is a classification system based on

physical and chemical properties of the soil profile

How are the impacts of natural hazards linked to population growth?

population growth concentrates people and resources, such that the impacts of an individual natural hazard can be greater

On what basis are Mercalli intensity values assigned to locations?

qualitative perceptions of and structural response to the shaking

​Greenhouse gases include all of the following except ____. radon methane carbon dioxide chlorofluorocarbons

radon

Positive and negative magnetic anomalies preserved in basalt in the ocean floor are parallel to mid-ocean ridges and...

record when basalt erupted and cooled during times of normal magnetic polarity and times of reversed magnetic polarity AND record when basalt erupted and cooled during times of normal magnetic polarity and times of reversed magnetic polarity

The major goal of the U.S. earthquake hazard reduction program is to

reduce earthquake hazards through understanding of risks and prediction of hazards

One result of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park is

regrowth of streamside vegetation

As these organics become hydrocarbons, they migrate upwards into porous, permeable rocks, such as sandstone or fractured limestone. This type of rock is called a

reservoir rock

The smelting of sulfide ores

results in acid rain

Which of the following statements about stress and how rocks deform is CORRECT? 1. permanent deformation is brittle and elastic deformation is ductile 2. joints are fractures that have experienced movement 3. rocks shorten in response to compressive stresses and stretch in response to tensile stresses 4. folds like anticlines and synclines can form from tensile and shear stresses, but not compressive stresses

rocks shorten in response to compressive stresses and stretch in response to tensile stresses

The portion of rainfall that flows off the land and directly into a river is called

runoff

How does urbanization affect runoff and flooding?

runoff increases and the time between the precipitation event and water rise in local streams decreases

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

How is the behavior of seismic waves traveling through the Earth used to characterize the Earth's interior?

seismic waves will reflect (bounce) or refract (bend) when they encounter a boundary between layers of different densities AND seismic waves will speed up when they travel through rocks that are high density, and slow down when they travel through rocks that are less dense AND S waves can't travel through liquid, so because they never travel all the way through the Earth, we can surmise that the outer core is liquid

Which of the following statements about earthquakes is CORRECT?

shake maps are based on the proximity to known faults and the characteristics of soils and bedrock within an area, and are used to predict which locations will suffer the most ground shaking during an earthquake

Weather describes__________ atmospheric conditions over time spans of __________________ . .

short term, hours to days

The suspended load of most rivers consists mainly of

silt and clay

How do slumps and translational slides differ?

slumps are rotational, while translational slides are planar

Which of the following are environmental issues associated with the production and use of coal?

slurry impoundments, acid rain, and valley fill

How do engineers define soil?

solid Earth material that can be removed without blasting

Oil and natural gas originate in a fine-grained, organic-rich sedimentary rock referred to as a

source rock

Why are most active volcanoes associated with plate tectonic boundaries?

spreading or sinking plates interact at plate boundaries with other materials to produce magma

As an ecosystem evolves following disturbance, it follows the path of

succession

The biomagnification of mercury occurs as mercury moves through

the aquatic food chain

What is average residence time?

the average time required for the total stock of a material to be cycled through a system

The Mohorovicic discontinuity represents

the boundary between mantle and crust

Why does the withdrawal of fluids, such as water or oil, from the subsurface sometimes lead to subsidence?

the fluids provide partial support for the overlying rock mass, which collapses when the fluids are removed

Why is the geologic history of a volcano important in hazard prediction?

the geologic history reveals the frequency and style of eruptions

Why is cyanide heap leaching used to extract gold from some deposits?

the gold concentration is too low to be extracted using traditional methods

What is the principal difference between the inner core and outer core?

the inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid

Why do some faults "creep" with slow, constant movement and others are "stuck" and aren't moving?

the ones that are slowly creeping are lubricated by either fluids or slippery rocks AND the ones that aren't moving are stuck together by friction

The shrink-swell potential of a soil is dependent upon

the proportion of clay in the soil

Darcy's Law allows geologists to calculate

the rate of discharge of an aquifer

The safety factor for landslides is

the ratio of resisting to driving forces

The movement of the Pacific plate over a stationary mantle plume has produced volcanoes that make up the Hawaiian Islands (shown below). If the Pacific plate is moving to the northwest, what features should we expect to see in the hot spot track that is the Hawaiian Island chain?

the volcanoes should get progressively older towards the northwest end of the chain

When waves approach the shore and enter shallow water

the waves slow down and the wave height increases

What is one reason that ash fall is such a significant hazard?

the weight of the ash can cause structural damage to buildings

Which of the following statements about scientific theories and laws is correct? 1. theories turn into laws 2. laws explain why the world works the way it does 3. once developed, theories cannot change 4. theories are based on a body of data that have been repeatedly confirmed by observations or experiments

theories are based on a body of data that have been repeatedly confirmed by observations or experiments

Water discharged from power plants creates what kind of pollution?

thermal pollution

the largest use of freshwater in the United States is for __________

thermoelectric power generation

How did mountain ranges like the Himalayas, Alps, and Appalachians form?

they are all examples of mountains that formed along continent-continent convergent plate boundaries

What adverse effect do groins, breakwaters, and jetties have on coastal erosion?

they block the transport of sand and starve downdrift areas of sand

What is a drawback of seawalls?

they bounce wave energy back across the beach and cause erosion

Sulfide minerals are potential environmental hazards because

they can combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid

Since instrumental recordings of climate only go back to the 1800's, scientists use indirect information stored in natural archives to infer prehistoric climate. From the list below, select ALL the natural archives that can be used as proxies for climate reconstruction. -tree rings -corals -volcanic rocks - ice cores -stalagmites

tree rings, corals, ice cores, stalagmites

Any shoreline construction causes change in the beach environment.

true

As velocity and discharge of stream increase, so does capacity.

true

Erosion or removal of material from the base of a slope may increase landslide hazards.

true

A transform plate boundary involves

two plates sliding past each other, such as the North American plate and the Pacific plate sliding past each other along the San Andreas Fault

How can you estimate the time it takes for a population to double in size?

use the formula D = 70/G, where D = time and G = growth rate

As water infiltrates the ground it travels through the earth material above the water table known as the

vadose zone

Urbanization influences soil erosion processes primarily because of

vegetation removal and soil disturbance at construction sites

Most water pollution associated with mining operations has to do with

water passing through mine wastes

If water is so abundant on Earth, why are water resources such a big concern?

water resources are not necessarily where humans need them and when they need them

Why are headlands more susceptible to erosion than bays?

waves converge on the headlands due to wave refraction

Nutrient levels in wastewater can be reduced by cycling wastewater through

wetlands

Why is it necessary to keep cooling water flowing through a nuclear reactor core?

without the water, heat will build up in the reactor core, which may lead to a meltdown

The area beneath the water table where all the pore spaces are filled with water is called the

zone of saturation

​Which change is NOT expected as a result of global warming?

​increase in the flow of the warm Gulf Stream toward Europe

​Which factors contribute to sea-level rise from global warming?

​melting land ice and heating and expansion of sea water

What are 2 reasons nuclear reactors require cooling water to flow through them at all times? -To cool the reactor. -To generate steam to run the turbines. -To heat the reactor. -To remove excess nuclear radiation.

-To cool the reactor. -To generate steam to run the turbines.

What are the three largest uses of freshwater in the United States largest to smallest? irrigation public supply thermoelectric power

1. Thermoelectric power 2. Irrigation 3. Public Supply

Earthquakes 1. occur on faults when rocks rupture, releasing stored up stress as energy 2. are currently measured in the United States using the Richter Scale, since this is a more accurate scale than the Moment Magnitude scale 3. most commonly occur in the interior of tectonic plates 4. affect different types of Earth materials equally

1. occur on faults when rocks rupture, releasing stored up stress as energy

Which of the following may INCREASE landslide hazards? 1. grading slopes so that they are less steep 2. drainage controls that remove water from the hillslope 3 slip surfaces, like bedding planes or foliation planes, that are tilted in the downslope direction 4. vegetation with good root systems

3 slip surfaces, like bedding planes or foliation planes, that are tilted in the downslope direction

Which of the following does NOT tend to increase biodiversity in an ecosystem? 1. evolution 2. diverse habitats 3. extreme disturbance 4 relatively constant environmental factors

3. extreme disturbance

Which of the following would be the MOST STABLE slopes? 1. steep slopes made of weak rocks next to a reservoir 2. steep slopes that have been logged using clear-cutting methods and cut by logging roads 3. steep, forested slopes with good drainage 4 steep slopes in a urban area that have been oversteepened due to construction practices, and that have become saturated with water

3. steep, forested slopes with good drainage

A tsunami may occur when _____. 1. An earthquake occurs on or near the ocean floor. 2. an volcano erupts underwater. 3. an underwater landslide occurs. 4. All of the above have the potential to cause a tsunami.

4. All of the above have the potential to cause a tsunami.

What information would you need in order to prepare a landslide hazard map? 1. topography (steepness of slopes) 2. the kinds of rocks or Earth materials present 3. inventory of past landslides 4. all of the above

4. all of the above

How does no-till agriculture reduce soil erosion? 1. crop residue left on the fields provides a protective cover 2. it eliminates plowing 3. it follows the contours of topography 4. both a and b

4. both a and b

Which of the following statements about storm surge is CORRECT? 1. water is pushed farther inland when the shore is steeply sloping 2. storm surge is minimized if it coincides with high tide 3. coastal communities are not protected from storm surge by coastal wetlands and mangrove swamps 4. storm surge is highest on the side of the rotating storm that is blowing landward

4. storm surge is highest on the side of the rotating storm that is blowing landward

A lahar is produced when

A lahar is produced when

Question 10 2 / 2 pts Which of the following drawings shows detrital sediment that was likely transported for a long time and deposited far from the source? sediment transport.jpg

C

which country uses the most coal?

China

Why is there a "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico? What factors and processes create the "dead zone?"

Deadzones are created when there is an excess of nutrients due to human pollution and dead zones are places where there is too little oxygen for the organisms in the water

Why are native trees more diverse in North America than in Europe?

European trees were trapped between the ice sheet and E-W trending mountain ranges

Desalination is a low-cost, low-energy alternative to conventional water resources.

False

Where are high-level nuclear wastes from nuclear power plants currently being stored?

In steel-lined concrete containers or pools within the nuclear power plants.

What information can be obtained from air bubbles trapped in glacial ice?

Information about atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane when the ice formed.

What is peak oil?

It is a term for the time that will come when one-half of Earth's oil supply has been extracted and used. It is likely to occur sometime between 2020-2050.

What effect does high albedo have on global temperature?

It lowers the global temperature

Give one example of a surface with low albedo, and one example of a surface with high albedo.

Low- trees High- snow

What phenomenon contributes to the temperature variations that occur in 100,00, 40,000, and 20,000 year cycles?

Milankovitch cycles

What is the health threat from nitrates in drinking water?

Nitrates can cause an anemic condition called "blue baby" in young children.

Identify the 2 environmental concerns associated with hydroelectric power. -Nitrogen gas enriched water can kill fish. -Oversupply of sediment from dams clouding the water that spills over a dam. -Dams cause changes to the natural stream flow, affecting stream biota and productivity. -Dams result in more frequent flood events.

Nitrogen gas enriched water can kill fish. Dams cause changes to the natural stream flow, affecting stream biota and productivity.

______________ of pollution are intermittent and not confined to an area. An example is _____________.

Nonpoint sources the runoff from a field

We know there are water shortages in some parts of the world and we have to use our water resources more carefully. What is the root cause of the emerging global (fresh)water shortage?

Over population

_____________ of pollution are confined to an area. An example is ___________________.

Point sources leaking underground storage tank

How do seismologists know the outer core is liquid?

S-waves are absorbed upon arrival in the outer core

Why does shale that contains natural gas need to be fractured or "fracked" to extract the natural gas? (Choose the option that best answers the question)

Shale has very low permeability so the rock has to be fractured to open pathways to allow natural gas to move out of the rock

How does plate tectonics influence climate change over long-term, geologic time scales?

The movement of the plates also causes volcanoes and mountains to form and these too can contribute to a change in climate.

What is albedo?

The reflection coefficient or the light reflectivity of a surface.

Why did cooling water stop flowing through the Fukushima Daiichi (Japan) reactors in March, 2011? Select the best answer.

The tsunami that followed the earthquake destroyed power lines, cut water lines, and took out the backup diesel generators, leaving no way to supply cooling water to the reactor cores.

A concentration of minerals that can be legally mined at a profit at the current time is called a reserve.

True

China is the world's largest consumer of total energy, but the United States is the world's largest consumer of oil.

True

Intrusive igneous rocks consist of slowly cooled magma.

True

Which country uses the most oil?

United States

Which volcano is more likely to produce a lahar - a composite volcano like Mt. Rainier in Washington or a shield volcano like Kilauea in Hawaii? Why?

a composite volcano because ash from a pyroclastic eruption could mix with water from melted snow and ice on the summit and form a lahar

What is uniformitarianism?

a concept that states that present processes operated in the past, at similar rates

An aquifer with an impermeable layer above and below it is called

a confined aquifer

What is the best description of a '100-year' flood?

a flood that has a 1 in 100 probability (1% chance) of occurring each year

Unconformities represent

a gap in the geologic record

Which of the following statements about obtaining natural gas through the process of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") is CORRECT?

a horizontal well is drilled into a shale unit, which is then artificially fractured, and the fractures are held open with a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals

What is a theory?

a hypothesis that has withstood extensive testing

When the water table intersects the ground, it will discharge as

a spring

Why is topographic monitoring sometimes useful in forecasting a volcanic eruption?

a volcano sometimes swells as lava moves into the edifice

Why is it possible for an ecosystem adapted to cool temperatures (algific talus slopes), to thrive in the warm summer climate of Iowa?

air chilled by flowing through fractured and partially dissolved limestone and dolomite bedrock creates a microclimate with cooler temperatures

Rare earth elements are used in which of the following? a. hybrid cars like a prius b. magnets in wind turbines c. computer screens d. all of the above

all of the above

Synthetic organic chemicals like PCBs, dioxins, MTBE, etc. -are toxic -accumulate in the food chain -don't break down easily in the environment -all of the above

all of the above

Which of the following fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, when burned? oil coal natural gas all of the above

all of the above

An _________ is earth material capable of storing and supplying groundwater at a useful rate

aquifer

Why is human population growth considered an environmental problem?

as the population increases, more resources are needed and more waste is produced, causing greater amounts of disruption to the environment

In an ionic bond,

atoms are joined by negatively or positively charged ions

Shield volcanoes have gently-sloping sides because they are dominated by eruptions of runny

basalt

Aside from recycling, the only viable source of aluminum is from which mineral?

bauxite

In the next few decades, water resources in the Colorado River Basin are expected to

be stressed even further due to anticipated population growth

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

Biotechnology can help reduce the environmental impacts of mining through a. the use of plants to revegetate mine waste piles b. bioleaching of crushed ore c. the construction of wetlands to treat contaminated water d. both b and c

both b and c

What environmental impact does the production of shale gas and tar sands have in common?

both generate contaminated wastewater

In what way can the construction of dams and levees INCREASE flood damage on a floodplain?

by giving a false sense of security that encourages development on the floodplain

Aquifers

can be any Earth material with high porosity and high permeability

An advantage of the Universal Soil Loss Equation is that it

can evaluate the potential impact of conservation practices that control erosion

When upward migration is impeded by a barrier, known as a ____________ , the hydrocarbons can accumulate and become trapped.

cap rock

The total load of sediment that a river carries in a given period of time is called

capacity

Greenhouse gases include all of the following. Which gas is thought to have the greatest effect on global warming or increasing global temperatures? methane nitrous oxide carbon dioxide chlorofluorocarbons

carbon dioxide

​CO2 reacts with water to form _______________, which makes the ocean more acidic.

carbonic acid

The maximum number of people Earth can hold without causing prohibitive environmental degradation is called

carrying capacity

The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo

caused global cooling the next year because incoming solar radiation was scattered off ash particles and aerosol droplets in the atmosphere

The Kissimmee River in Florida needed restoration because of

channelization

A _____________ forms when the surface of the water table is drawn down by a pumping well.

cone of depression

A ___________________ is formed when a confining or impermeable layer restricts the upper surface of the zone of saturation.

confined aquifer

What is the Ocean Conveyor Belt? Which part of the world is most affected by changes to this conveyor?

constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. Northwest Europe