Earth Science Final (Ch. 16-18)

World wide average salinity is _____

3.5%

Approximately what percentage of the world's freshwater is frozen?

77%

All of the following represent forms of glacial erosion except _____

Ablation

The zone where positive gains end and losses begin in the glacial mass balance is called _____

An equilibrium line

Alpine glaciers include all of the following except:

An ice cap

A terrace is _____

An uplift wave-cut platform

Coral formations _____

Are made of animals living symbolically with simple algae

At present, which of the following soil orders of soil taxonomy occupies the most land area worldwide?

Aridisols

Near the shore, waves of transition begin to "feel bottom" and, as a result, the orbits of the water molecules in the wave become more _____. The process eventually cause _____ to form.

Elliptical; Breakers

The general name for any distinct layer in a pedon is ____

Horizon

The type of glacier that dominates Greenland and Antarctica is _____

Ice sheet

Kettle holes are formed by _____

Ice that melts after having been buried by glacial sediments.

Salinization is likely to occur _____

In areas of high potential evapotranspiration and low actual evapotranspiration

The height of a tsunami grows as it approaches a coastline primarily because _____

Its wavelength shortens

A general term for the coastal environment is _____

Littoral zone

A roughly equal mixture of sand, silt, and clay is called _____

Loam

Which of the following occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are in alignment (i.e., in opposition or conjunction)?

Maximum tidal ranges occur

When two valley glaciers join together, they form a _____ at the point at which they merge.

Medial moraine

Which of the following soil horizon designations is in correct sequences from the surface to bedrock?

O, A, E, B, C, R

The science that deals with the origin, classification, and distribution of soils is known as _____

Pedology

Permanently frozen subsurface ground is called _____

Permafrost

Because the algae which live in symbiotic relationship with coral perform _____, carols _____.

Photosynthesis; Must live in water that is penetrated by light

Drumlins are formed in _____, and their tapered ends point _____

Till plains; downstream

Which of the following is not an example of an erosional coastal landform?

Tombolo

The material in a glacial moraine is _____

Unsorted

True solum is made up of _____

A combination of A, E, and B horizons

The basic sampling unit in soil surveys is called _____

A pedon

The opposite of the accumulation zone in a glacier is the _____

Ablation zone

Glacial polish results from _____

Abrasion

A soil rich in hydrogen ions is a(n) _____ soil, and high in base cations is a(n) _____ soil.

Acid; basic

An atoll is approximately _____ in shape because it forms _____.

Circular; Around submerged volcanic islands

A tarn is a lake in a _____

Cirque

A glacier that is confined in a bowl-shaped recess is called a _____

Cirque glacier

From inland to the ocean, which sequence of zones is correct?

Coast, backshore, foreshore, nearshore

The term periglacial refers to _____

Cold-climate processes along the margins of glaciers

Which of the following are erosional landforms created by alpine glaciations?

Cols and horns

A continuous mass of ice covering a large landmass is known as _____

Continental glacier

Which of the following is incorrectly matched?

Crevasses -- Vertical cracks from friction or tension. Ice regelation -- The melting and refreezing of basal ice. Glacial Ice -- A metamorphic version of snow and firn. All of these are correctly matched

The movement of material out of a layer is called _____, whereas the deposition of materials in a layer is called _____.

Eluviation; Illuviation

T/F: Although many elements are dissolved in seawater; no gases are dissolved in it

False

T/F: As the evaporation rate increases, salinity decreases.

False

T/F: Brine water tends to occur near coastal deltas.

False

T/F: Crevasses form in the basal layer of a glacier.

False

T/F: Firn has a higher density than glacial ice.

False

T/F: Glacial ice can form during the duration of a single winter season in most glacial areas.

False

T/F: Seawater is not a solution

False

T/F: Soil color does not reflect composition or chemical makeup of soils.

False

Because the upper regions of a glacier flow _____ than the base of the glacier, the upper part of the glacier tends to be _____.

Faster; stretched

Terms used to describe soil structure include _____, _____, and _____

Fine; Medium; Coarse

Snow that has a compact, granular structure is known as _____

Firn

The general term for all glacial deposits is _____

Glacial drift

A general term for a mass of perennial ice, resting on land or floating shelf-like in the sea adjacent to land is _____.

Glacier

Brine water results from _____

High evaporation rates

In terms of area extent, which of the following sequences is in order from most to least area covered?

Ice sheet, ice cap, ice field

Why, specially, is glacial ice analogous to a metamorphic rock?

It forms as a result of recrystallization caused by pressure

About 2% of the oceanic mass comprise the _____

Mixing zone of blended solutes and temperatures

At present, which of the soil orders of soil taxonomy occupy the most land area in the United States?

Mollisols

A soil order characteristic of the Amazon Basin is a(n) _____

Oxisol

The largest ocean in the world in terms of area is the _____ and the smallest ocean in terms of the area is the _____

Pacific; Arctic

Soil texture described the size of _____

Soil particles

Which of the following is incorrectly matched?

Spring tides-high tides only

Which of the following is a depositional landform created by glaciations?

Stratified drift

The arrangement of soil particles is called soil _____

Structure

Areas of permafrost, ground ice, and frost action are in which climate types?

Subarctic and tundra

Unfrozen ground in a region of discontinuous permafrost is known as _____

Talik

Waves in shallow water that "feel bottom" are _____ and more _____ spaced than the swell they are related to.

Taller, Closely

Mollisols are associated with _____

The greatest grain harvests in the world

Which of the following is true of glacial movement?

The internal flow just below the surface is greater than the basal flow.

The destruction of a mangrove swamp might lead to _____

The loss of aquatic species, the erosion of the coast, sediment accumulation on nearby reefs, and their consequent death

Which of the following is true of the ocean deep zone?

The water in this zone does not freeze because of the intense pressure exerted by the weight of overlying water/The water in this zone does not freeze because of its salinity

The material deposited behind a terminal moraine forms a(n) _____ whereas that deposit in front of the terminal moraine forms a(n) _____

Till plain; Outwash plain

T/F: Permafrost develops where soil or rock temperatures are below freezing for at least two years.

True

T/F: The Moon's gravitational pull on the Earth is greater than that of the Sun's.

True

T/F: The active layer is usually thinner toward the pole and thicker at lower altitude

True

T/F: The bulk of ice on Earth is in Greenland and Antarctica

True

T/F: The presence of meltwater at the bottom of glacier can increase its rate of movement.

True

T/F: Swelling clays can damage foundation because they swell when moistened and shrink when dried.

True.

An earthquake, submarine landslide, or eruption of undersea volcano is capable of producing a _____

Tsunami

Which soil order would tend to occur in the southeastern U.S. with its high temperature and humid environment?

Ultisols

The R horizon refers to _____

Unweathered sediment or consolidated bedrock

Unlike a stream-cut valley that assumes a characteristic _____-shape, a glacially-carved valley evidences a characteristic _____-shape

V;U

Heavy, expandable clay soils are classified as _____

Vertisols

Which of the following soils would have limited horizon development and would be destructive of buildings and roads?

Vertisols

Which of the following is not an example of a depositional coastal landform?

Wave-cut platform

Which of the following is not related to coral rock formations?

Bay barriers and barrier spits

The transformation of snow into glacial ice in Antarctica takes _____ than in midlatitude alpine glaciers because _____

Both A and B (longer; less snow falls per year in polar regions/less melting and refreezing occurs in Antarctica)

Which of the following is not true of tides?

They are produced solely by the gravitational pull of the Sun.

Gelisols are most likely to be found in _____

Canada

Unsorted and unstratified glacial deposits (not landforms) are called _____

Till

A coral is a type of _____ that secretes _____ to form an organic rock home.

Polyp; Calcium carbonate

The basic soil unit used in preparing soils maps; i.e., in identifying a series of soils in an area, is the _____

Polypedon

Soils associated with iron oxides generally show _____ color.

Red

Basal slip is facilitated by _____

Regelation, Presence of melt water, saturated sediments. (All of the above)

Erratics are _____

Rocks that are not native to an area

The concentration of dissolved solids in the seawater is called _____

Salinity

As regards wetlands; which of the following is correctly matched?

Salt marsh -- Poleward or the 30th parallel in either hemisphere

White to pale color in soils are generally associated with _____

Silicates and aluminum oxides

Which of the following lists of soil categories gives the proper hierarchy for the soil Taxonomy system from the largest group to the smallest unit?

Soil orders, suborders, great groups, subgroups, families, series

Brackish water would most likely occur _____

in a deltaic swamp

The principle natural soil-forming factors _____

include climate, vegetation, topography