Natural Disasters Final Exam Review

Slow flowing, more viscous basaltic lava commonly has a rough, blocky texture called __________. -Aa -Pahoehoe -Bb -Poi -Cc

-Aa

In the United States, total deaths from lightning per decade have ___________ since the 1940s. -Remained about the same -Been insignificant -Fluctuated widely -Been decreasing steadily

Been decreasing steadily

The natural materials most commonly associated with earth failures are __________.

Clay materials

Why are there so many more impact craters visible on the Moon than on Earth?

Craters on Earth can be destroyed by erosion and mountain-building processes, or obscured by vegetation or sedimentation.

A major comet or meteorite impact occurred in Mexico at the time boundary between the __________.

Cretaceous and Tertiary

Wildfires that race through the treetops are known as __________

Crown fires

__________ are low-pressure air zones enclosed by somewhat circular isobars. -Jets -Ferrel cells -Cyclones -Fronts

Cyclones

When the relative humidity reaches 100%, excess water vapor condenses and forms liquid water; this temperature is the ______________ temperature of their air mass. -Dew point -Maximum humidity -Condensation -Liquidus

Dew point

A well-formed conical volcano located about an active subduction zone that has not erupted in 12,000 years is ____________. -Considered active -Dormant, but will likely erupt again at some point -Likely extinct -Extinct and will not erupt again

Dormant, but will likely erupt again at some point

The state in the United States with the most days of thunderstorms in a typical year is ____________. -Texas -Ohio -Indiana -Illinois -Florida

Florida

A slopping surface separating air masses that differ in temperature and moisture content is called a ____________. -Hadley cell -Front -Jet stream -Trade wind

Front

Several geologic phenomena are being studied as signs of an impending volcanic eruption. These include seismic waves, ___________ , and the release of gases. -Ground deformation -Crystallization rates -Flash floods -Landslides -Unusual animal behavior

Ground deformation

Tsunami is a Japanese word that means __________ waves. -Dragon -Big -Killer -Harbor -Island

Harbor

The best course of action to take if you suspect a tsunami is headed your way is to _______________. -Get on a boat -Wait until you are sure one is coming before deciding what to do -Climb a tree (NO; (BAD ALSO FOR LIGHTNING) -Head to higher ground and stay there -Grab scuba gear, get in the deep end of a swimming pool

Head to higher ground and stay there

Which of the following types of severe weather results in the highest average annual death toll in the United States? -Tornado -Cold -Heat -Hurricane -Lightning

Heat

If basaltic lava reaches the sea or a lake, it cools rapidly into ____________ lava. -Sheet -Bed -Blanket -Pillow

Pillow

The _________ are the two main jet streams in each hemisphere. -Temperature jet and tropical jet -Eastward jet and westward jet -Polar jet and subtropical jet -Slow jet and fast jet -Polar jet and temperature jet

Polar jet and subtropical jet

Many hill-slope masses are weak due to preexisting geologic conditions such as __________.

-Structures within the rocks, such as fractures, ancient faults, and thin clay seams -Rock layering dipping less than topographic slopes -Ancient slide surfaces

The sum of all the underlying causes can push a slope to the brink of failure, and then an immediate cause may trigger the movement. The immediate causes for mass movements include __________.

-Thawing of frozen ground -Earthquakes -Heavy rains

Tsunamis are typically about __________ high in the open ocean, and 6 to 15 m high on reaching shallow water. -0.1 m -20 m -5 m -1 m

1 m

Over ________ of volcanism is associated with the edges of tectonic plates. -50% -60% -70% -80% -90%

90%

The main destructive actions of tornadoes include all but which of the following? -A strong high-pressure zone in the center blows buildings apart -Winds rushing up the funnel have a lifting force in the updraft -High-wind speeds blow away buildings and trees -Winds lift off the room of a house, allowing exposed walls to be knocked over

A strong high-pressure zone in the center blows buildings apart

Severe coastal erosion is __________ by seawall construction.

Accelerated

A caldera collapse occurs _____________. -In the middle of the eruption -Before the eruption starts -At the onset of Vulcanian activity -Millions of years after the volcano's final dying eruption -After the magma chamber is mostly empty

After the magma chamber is mostly empty

Green house gases include ________________. -CO2 -Methane (CH4) -Ozone -Water vapor -All of these choices are correct

All of these choices are correct

Important requirements for hail to form are _______________________________. -Strong updrafts to keep hailstones suspended while adding coatings of ice onto ever-growing cores -Large thunderstorms with buoyant hot air rising from heated ground -Upper-level cold air creating maximum temperature contrasts -All of these choices are correct -None of these choices are correct

All of these choices are correct

The viscosity of magma is lowered by _____________. -Decreasing SiO2 content -Decreasing crystal content -Increasing temperature -All of these choices are correct

All of these choices are correct

Violent causes of death from volcanic eruptions include _______________. -Tsunami -Poison gases -Pyroclastic flows -Lahers -All of these choices are correct

All of these choices are correct

The space between Mars and Jupiter is occupied by __________.

Asteroids

Seafloor spreading generates ______________ magma. -Felsic -Andesitic -Basaltic -Grantic -Rhyolitic

Basaltic

Thunder is caused by ___________. -High temperatures of lightning that flash heat the surrounding air, causing it to expand explosively -The compression of free photons in the lightning bolt -The compression of free neutrons in the lightning bolt -The compression of free electrons in the lightning bolt -The combustion of flammable atmospheric gases by the lightning bolt

High temperatures of lightning that flash heat the surrounding air, causing it to expand explosively

Tsunami are created by big "splashes" made in the deep ocean by all but which of the following? -Fault movements -Landslides -Meteor impacts -Hurricanes -Volcanic eruptions

Hurricanes

In 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy crashed with spectacular results into __________.

Jupiter

Thunderstorms occur where warm, moist air has absorbed enough heat and moisture to be significantly __________ than the surrounding air. -Denser -Less energetic -Less dense -Less electrically charged -More electrically charged

Less dense

The altitude where 100% humidity is reached is the ___________ level. -Differential lapse -Lifting lapse -Falling condensation -Lifting condensation

Lifting condensation

Tsunami's typically have ___________ relative to wind-blown waves. -Short periods and short wavelengths -Long periods and no measurable wavelengths -Long periods and short wavelengths -Long periods and long wavelengths

Long periods and long wavelengths

When space debris blazes through Earth's atmosphere as a streak of light or shooting star, it is referred to as a __________.

Meteor

Most Icelandic eruptions are __________. -Explosive rhyolitic eruptions -Plinian eruptions -Super-eruptions -Peaceful fissure eruptions

Peaceful fissure eruptions

Dome collapse, overspilling crater rim, direct blast, and eruption column collapse are all ways to generate __________. -Pyroclastic flows -Lava flows -Fissure eruptions -Felsic magma

Pyroclastic flows

The thermal degradation of wood involves the process of __________.

Pyrolysis

The Enhanced Fujita Scale _______________. -Assess the severity of lightning strikes based on the electric current between ground and cloud -Quantifies tornado magnitude on an open-ended scale, similar to earthquake magnitude -Ranks tornadoes by their lowest achieved internal pressure -Quantifies tornado magnitude based on estimated maximum wind speed -Quantifies nor'easters based on maximum measured wind speed

Quantifies tornado magnitude based on estimated maximum wind speed

When waves approach headlands they __________.

Refract, focusing energy

__________ are powerful flows of water away from the shoreline.

Rip currents

Adiabatic cooling occurs when an air mass ___________. -Falls and contracts -Rises and expands -Rises and contracts -Falls and expands

Rises and expands

Why are rain and clouds common in a low-pressure system? -Rising air warms that increases the rate of evaporation putting more moisture in the air -Rising air cools causing condensation -Falling air warms that increases the rate of evaporation putting more moisture in the air -Falling air warms causing condensation

Rising air cools causing condensation

Of the following types of mass movements, which can move fastest?

Rock fall

A ______ is an oscillating wave that sloshes back and forth within an enclosed body of water such as a sea, bay, lake, or swimming pool. -Sake -Seiche -Slashe -Serape -Seraglio

Seiche

The organic debris left on the ground after logging or windstorms is called __________

Slash

Detailed mapping of the ocean bottom around the Hawaiian Islands revealed a previously unrecognized tsunami source. What did geologists discover on the seafloor in this area? -A system of major oceanic transform faults -A deep ocean trench along a subduction zone -A major undersea volcano -Slumps and debris avalanches formed by volcanic, flank collapse -A huge undersea meteor crater

Slumps and debris avalanches formed by volcanic, flank collapse

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a sample of water is referred to as the _______________ heat. -Greenhouse -Specific -Condensation heat -Latent

Specific

____________ are steep-sided, symmetrical volcanic peaks built of alternating layers of pyroclastic debris capped by the high-viscosity andesitic to rhyolitic lava flows that solidify to form protective caps. -Shield volcanoes -Stratovolcanoes -Scoria cones -Calderas

Stratovolcanoes

Earthquake-related tsunamis are created by sub sea fault movements with pronounced vertical offsets of the seafloor. Such movements occur most commonly along ____________. -Oceanic transform faults -Seafloor spreading centers -Hot-spot island chains -Continental rift zones -Subduction zones

Subduction zones

Beaches generally grow in __________ and shrink in size in __________.

Summer; winter

Silicon and oxygen link up to form the silicon-oxygen ________________. -Dodecahedron -Trihedron -Dihedron -Hexahedron -Tetrahedron

Tetrahedron

High humidity during a heat wave is particularly bad because ______________. -The heat capacity of water increases -The evaporation of sweat is slowed -Latent heat is absorbed from the skin as dew forms on it -Then less cooling moisture is in the air -It causes a slow unraveling of DNA strands

The evaporation of sweat is slowed

Active volcanoes today in Oregon and Washington, including Mt. St. Helens, result from _________________. -The subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath North America -Continent-continent collision -The subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath North America -Heat generated by friction on the San Andreas Fault -Spreading of the Juan de Fuca Ridge

The subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath North America

Which of the following statements about the net effect of groins is accurate?

They cause sand to be deposited on the up-drift side and eroded on the down-drift side.

In __________ masses move down and out by sliding on planes of weakness, such as faults, bedding, or clay-rich layers.

Translational slides

Fire burns faster __________.

Up a slope

The 3 "V's" of volcanology are _______________________. -Volatiles, volume, and variability -Viscosity, velocity, and volume -Volatiles, velocity, and variability -Viscosity, volatiles, and volume -Viscosity, volatiles, and velocity

Viscosity, volatiles, and volume

Geologists have shown that the east coast of the United States faces a serious tsunami threat from _______________. -Large earthquakes offshore of Portugal -Landslides along the White Cliffs of Dover -Volcanic flank collapse in the Canary Islands -Breakup of Antarctic ice shelves -Meteor impact in the Mediterranean Sea

Volcanic flank collapse in the Canary Islands

The greenhouse effect results in ___________________. -Milankovitch Cycles -Warming -An increase in surface albedo -Cooling

Warming

The most intense fires in shrublands occur __________.

When the shrubs contain large amounts of natural oils

A shield volcano has a great __________________. -Height compared to its width -Amount of pumice -Proportion of pyroclastic material, compared with lava flows -Width compared to its height

Width compared to its height