EES:1030 lab quiz #4 study

Zone of Aeration (unsaturated zone)

Dry area above the water table; pore spaces between sediment grains that are mostly filled with air

Alluvial fans

Fan-shaped deposits of sediments dropped by streams flowing out of mountains

Aquifer Materials

Sand and gravel, sandstone, limestone, and fractures granites

Unconfined Aquifers

Where groundwater is in direct contact with the atmosphere through the open pore spaces of the overlying soil or rock

Paleoclimate

a climate prevalent at a particular time in the geological past.

Arete

a narrow, knifelike ridge separating two adjacent glaciated valleys

Glacier

a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.

Point Source

a source that can be traced back to the specific spot that is causing the pollution

Kame

a steep-sided mound of sand and gravel deposited by a melting ice sheet.

Hanging Valley

a tributary valley that was not deepened as much as the main valley and that enters a glacial trough at a considerable height above the floor of the trough.

Cirque

an amphitheater-shaped basin at the head of a glaciated valley produced by frost wedging and plucking

Confined Aquifer

an aquifer below the land surface that is saturated with water, (also called aquitards or aquicludes)

Playa

an area of flat, dried-up land, especially a desert basin from which water evaporates quickly.

What desert landform is created when several alluvial fans overlap?

bajadas

Cone of Depression

develops on the water table around a well pumping from an unconfined aquifer

Ice Sheets

enormous ice masses that flow in all directions from one or more centers and cover everything but the highest land

Fault Block Mountains

formed when tensional forces elongated and fractured the crust into numerous blocks

Zone of Saturation

groundwater (beneath the water table); pore spaces between grains are filled with water

Water Table

line that separates the two zones (saturated & unsaturated); can change position depending on the rise and fall in the amount of groundwater

Esker

long ridge of material (sand & gravel) deposited by a meltwater stream flowing beneath a glacier

Tarn

small lake occupying a cirque

Outwash Plain

the flat area at the end of a glacier where meltwater flows and deposits sediment

What factors might affect the shape of different types of dunes?

wind direction, vegetation, sediment supply

Paleoclimate indicators

-Tree rings --Wider rings indicate warmer temperatures and increased precipitation while narrower rings may suggest colder or drier periods -Lake and ocean sediments -- These sediments include diatoms, foraminifera, microbiota, pollen, and charcoal. -Corals -- Organisms such as corals, diatoms, and forams serve as useful climate proxies. -Ostracod crustaceans -- The trace element and stable isotope geochemistry of their shells have been documented as evidence of past climate fluctuations.

Paleo CLIMATE indicators

-evidence of warm climates in places that are now cold (coal and plant fossils in Antarctica) -evidence of cold climates in places that are now warm (glacial striations in Africa)

Drumlin

A hill shaped deposit of till. The shape of these features resembles an elongated teaspoon laying bowl down. The tapered end points to the direction of glacier advance.

Aquifer

A porous or permeable sediment or rock from which a useful amount of groundwater can be obtained

Horn

A pyramid-like peak formed by glacial action in three or more cirques surrounding a mountain summit.

Kettle

A small depression that forms when a chunk of ice is left in glacial till

Paleoclimate Indicators

Specific rock type - been moved from a specific climate which can indicate a certain time period

Permeability

The ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces, or pores.

Porosity

The percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces.

Examples of Porosity

Volcanic Rock, Sandstone, Poorly-sorted sediment, clay