Unit Three Exam
Which one of the following applies to an alpine glacier that lengthens (extends its terminus downslope) over a period of many years?
A. accumulation and ablation are about equal B. ablation exceeds accumulation C. accumulation exceeds ablation
Which circumstance will occur if the present pattern of water use of the Ogallala aquifer continues?
About one-quarter of the original water in the aquifer will be consumed by about 2020.
____ is sediment that was first transported by a glacier and then transported and deposited by a glacial melt water.
Stratified drift
A long, low-lying sandy island that extends parallel to the shoreline is called a(n) ____.
barrier island
The Outer Banks of North Carolina were formed primarily from sediments eroded and deposited by ocean waves. Which type of landform are the Outer Banks?
barrier islands
A spit that extends partially or completely across the entrance to a bay is called a ____.
baymouth bar
The use of microorganism to treat a contaminated aquifer is called _______.
bioremediation
When oxygen is injected into a contaminated area for treatment, ____ remediation is applied.
chemical
A spoon-shaped depression that was eroded into a mountain peak by a glacier is a(n) ____.
cirque
When a coastal region is a site of upwelling, this means:
cool nutrient rich water rises up to displace warm surface water
The average residence time for pollutants is highest in which of the following reservoirs?
deep groundwater
Erosion of desert soils by wind is called ____.
deflation
Deep sea currents are driven by:
density
Human mismanagement can cause the conversion of semiarid land to arid land in a process called _______.
desertification
A wavelength is the ____.
distance between successive crests
In the United States, some of the ____ regions use the ____ amounts of water.
driest; greatest
A(n) ____ is an asymmetric mound or ridge of windblown sand.
dune
The first step in treating a contaminated aquifer is to ____.
eliminate the source of the contaminant
A(n) ____ sea level change occurs when the growth or melting of glaciers alters the global sea level.
eustatic
Greater surface area leads to a loss of water in reservoirs due to ____.
evaporation
Playa lakes often dry up due to ____ and seepage.
evaporation
An example of a nonpoint source of pollution is ____.
fertilizer spread over a farmer's field
The ____ portion of a beach lies between mean high and low tides.
foreshore
Lithified sand dunes are called ____.
fossil dunes
Wind erodes sand:
from the windward side of a dune, and deposits it on the sheltered leeward side
Tectonic extension and uplift has created the mountain and valley landscape of the Great Basin. The downdropped valleys are called ____.
grabens
What is a narrow barrier or wall built on a beach, perpendicular to the shoreline, to trap sand transported by currents and waves?
groin
A(n) ________ is an irregular, usually thin till layer laid down by a retreating glacier.
ground moraine
A(n) ________ is likely to host a waterfall or steep rapids today.
hanging valley
Since the end of the last Ice Age, northern Canada:
has experienced significant uplift
Which of the following is an example of a biodegradable pollutant?
human and food waste
A thick mass of ice that floats on the ocean surface but is connected to and fed from a glacier on land is called a(n) ____.
ice shelf
In the United States, which type of use accounts for the largest consumption of water?
irrigation
A spring tide is a ____ tide that occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are ____.
large; aligned
Which one of the moraines listed below is NOT characteristic of continental glaciation?
lateral moraine
Spits form from sand or gravel deposited by ____ currents.
longshore
The daily tidal range is LEAST during ________ tide.
neap
Drumlins are ________.
not found singly, but in clusters
Water vapor that condenses when rising over a mountain range is more likely to fall as rain and snow ____.
on the windward side of the range
Longshore currents transport sediment ____.
parallel to the shore
Which of the following is not a problem in ground water pollution?
plant nutrients cause algal blooms
The type of glacier movement in which ice flows as a viscous fluid is called ____.
plastic flow
Wastes from nuclear power plants are ____.
radioactive
Because of the Coriolis effect, surface ocean currents are deflected to the ________ of their path of motion in the Northern Hemisphere.
right
Playas are often a source of economically valuable ____.
salt mineral deposits
If too much freshwater is pumped out of a coastal aquifer:
saltwater intrusion can occur.
Over time, the capacity of a reservoir is decreased due to ____ behind the dam.
silting
A/An _____ is an example of point source pollution.
spill at a gas station
The slip face is the ____ side of a dune.
steep
The relative rates of basal slip and plastic flow depend on the ____ of the bedrock underlying the glacier, the ____ of the ice, and the temperature of the glacier.
steepness; thickness
The only feasible method for the disposal of radioactive wastes is to ____.
store the waste in a safe place, and allow it to decay naturally
Rocks embedded in the base of a glacier scrape across underlying bedrock, gouging parallel grooves and scratches called ____.
striations
A(n) ____ is a small lake at the base of a(n) ____.
tarn; cirque
A moraine that forms at the end of a glacier when it is at its greatest advance is a ____.
terminal moraine
The desert region that covers portions of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico is known as ____.
the Colorado Plateau
Buttes and mesas are formed by ____.
the downcutting and lateral erosion of bedrock by rivers and streams
Ocean waves steepen near shore because:
the lower portion of the wave slows down as it drags agains the sea floor
Crevasses form in the surface of glaciers because:
the near-surface ice behaves as a brittle solid
The higher-altitude portion of a glacier where snow accumulates from year to year and forms glacial ice is called the ____.
the zone of accumulation
Buttes and mesas are common in the Colorado Plateau because:
through flowing rivers carve out these features
The pollution of Love Canal, in New York, was caused by ____.
toxic manufacturing waste
The primary purpose served by surface ocean currents is to:
transfer heat and equalize the imbalance of energy between the poles and the equator.
A poleward-moving ocean current is ________.
warm
A streambed that is dry most of the year is called a_______.
wash
Surface currents are mostly _____ driven.
wind
The natural sandblasting (abrasion) of surface bedrock in a desert region is the result of
wind erosion
The lower-altitude portion of an alpine glacier where more snow melts in the summer than accumulates in the winter is called the ____.
zone of ablation
A bajada is an erosional surface.
False
A leaking septic tank is an example of nonpoint source pollution.
False
Although many of Earth's alpine glaciers have been rapidly shrinking in recent years, the Antarctic Ice Sheet has remained stable, losing no ice mass.
False
Aquifer depletion is uncommon in the United States.
False
Deserts never occur along coastlines.
False
Glacial ice forms in the zone of ablation.
False
Ice is so much more viscous than water that it sorts particles into various sizes.
False
Many of the world's deserts lie at about 50° north and south of the equator.
False
On a submergent coastline, a portion of the continental shelf that was previously underwater becomes exposed as dry land.
False
Radioactive wastes can be destroyed using chemical reactions.
False
Storms are not responsible for much coastal erosion.
False
The Gulf Stream is a cool northward moving current.
False
When a cone of depression forms around a well, the condition cannot be reversed.
False
Windblown sand is an effective agent of erosion
False
Soils formed on loess areas are generally fertile.
True
Some of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States are deserts.
True
The 1972 Clean Water Act stated that by 1985 the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters should be eliminated.
True
The 1972 Clean Water Act stated that the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts should be reduced by 50 percent by 1990.
True
Washes are dry for most of the year.
True
When a glacier is retreating, the upstream ice is still moving forward toward the downstream terminus of the glacier.
True
When moisture-laden air flows over a mountain range, it cools and loses its ability to hold moisture.
True
When the Gulf Stream reaches the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, it sinks to the ocean floor and deflects to become the North Atlantic Deep Water.
True
A(n) ________ cross-valley profile is typical of canyons and valleys eroded and deepened by alpine or valley glaciers.
U-shaped
The Pleistocene Glaciation began about ____ years ago.
2 million
Dry, sinking air results in many of the world's deserts being located at ____ south and north latitudes.
30°
During the maximum extent of Pleistocene glaciers around 18,000 years ago, global sea level was about ____ than present levels.
A. 10 meters higher B. 130 meters lower C. 120 meters lower
A ridge that develops when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys.
Arete
Continental glaciation:
B. occurred over much of North America C. cannot be found on Earth today D. is found in mountainous regions
Why is the Atacama Desert of South America dry?
Cool marine air encounters warm land and heats up, and then absorbs moisture from the ground, creating a coastal desert.
Which ocean current has the greatest warming influence on the climate of the East Coast of the United States of America?
Gulf Stream Current
How does refraction affect wave erosion along irregular coasts?
Headlands erode more quickly and adjacent bays fill with sand.
In Africa, desertification caused the ____ Desert to expand into the Sahel region.
Sahara
_______ is one of the two major flow mechanisms in a glacier.
Slipping
Pressure from the weight of overlying ice favors melting at the base.
True
Concerning the distribution of land and water, which of the following statements is true?
The Southern Hemisphere has much more water surface than the Northern Hemisphere.
A person in an industrial urban society can live a clean and healthy life on 50 liters of water per day. How does this compare with the water use for an average American?
The average American uses many times more than this.
Sea levels has risen and fallen repeatedly in the geologic past, and coastlines have emerged and submerged throughout Earth's history.
True
Sediment is considered a nonbiodegradable pollutant.
True
An ocean wave moves along the sea surface, but the water in the wave travels in circular paths.
True
Because Earth's circumference is greatest at the equator and Earth rotates once each day, a point on the equator rotates much faster than a point near the North Pole.
True
Currently, Earth has only two ice sheets.
True
Dilute acids and bases can be used for the chemical remediation of groundwater contaminants.
True
Elevated wave-cut platforms in Southern California are evidence that this coastal area is emergent.
True
Glacial striations can be used to map the flow direction of glaciers.
True
Loess particles stick together so effectively that they form vertical bluffs and cliffs.
True
Migrating dunes can overrun buildings and highways.
True
Most wave erosion occurs by abrasion with the silt, sand, and gravel that waves carry.
True
Much of the northern Great Plains is covered with ground moraines, loess, or outwash.
True
One environmental problem associated with groundwater withdrawal is land subsidence.
True
The largest use of water in the United States is for:
agriculture
A glacier that forms in mountainous terrain and covers and area of less than 50,000 square kilometers is a(n) ____ glacier.
alpine
The effects of abrasion by windblown sand and silt:
are concentrated close to the ground
Due to the Coriolis effect, currents in the Northern Hemisphere ____.
are deflected to the right
