Geology Chapter 15 and Chapter 16 Review

it covers approximately

10% of Earth's Land surface and weathers to a rich, productive soil

The majority of the world's deserts are located between what latitude?

20 and 30 degrees

The majority of the world's deserts are located between what latitudes?

20 and 30 degrees

Wave-cut platform

A beveled surface that slopes gently seaward, formed by the erosion and retreat of a sea cliff.

Mesa

A broad, flat-topped erosional remnant bounded on all sides by steep slopes.

Submergent coast

A coast along which sea level rises with respect to the land or the land subsides.

Emergent coast

A coast where the land has risen with respect to sea level.

Alluvial Fan

A cone-shaped accumulation of mostly sand and gravel deposited where a stream flows from a mountain valley onto an adjacent lowland.

Parabolic Dune

A crescent-shaped dune with its tips pointing upwind.

Barchan Dune

A crescent-shaped sand dune with its tips pointing downward

Longshore current

A current

Rain-shadow desert

A desert found on the lee side of a mountain range because precipitation falls mostly on the windward side of the range.

Playa

A dry lakebed found in deserts.

Spit

A fingerlike projection of a beach into a body of water such as a bay.

Longitudinal Dune

A long ridge of sand generally parallel to the direction of the prevailing wind.

Barrier island

A long, narrow island of sand parallel to a shoreline but separated from the mainland by a lagoon.

Salinity

A measure of the dissolved solids in seawater, commonly expressed in parts per thousand

Reef

A moundlike, wave-resistant structure composed of the skeletons of organisms.

Dune

A mountain or ridge of wind-deposited sand.

Rip current

A narrow surface current that flows out to sea through the breaker zone.

Tranverse dune

A ridge of sand with its long axis perpendicular to the wind direction.

Baymouth bar

A spit that has grown until it closes off a bay from the ocean sea or lake.

Ventifact

A stone with a stone surface polished, pitted, grooved, or faceted by wind abrasion.

Desert pavement

A surface mosaic of close-fitting pebbles, cobbles, and boulders found in many dry regions, results from wind erosion of sand and smaller particles.

Gyre

A system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Tombolo

A type of spit that extends out from the shoreline and connects the mainland with an island.

Breaker

A wave that steepens as it enters shallow water until its crest plungers forward.

Marine terrace

A wave-cut platform now above sea level.

Loess

A wind-blown deposit of silt and clay.

Exclusive Economic Zone

An area extending 370 km seaward from the coast of the United States and its possessions in which the United States claims right s to all resources.

Pediment

An erosion surface of low relief gently sloping away from the base of a mountain ridge.

Butte

An isolated, steep-sided, pinnacle like hill formed when resistant cap rock is breached, allowing erosion of less resistant underlying rocks.

Wave

An undulation on the surface of a body of water, resulting in the wave surface rising and falling.

Desert

Any area that receives less than 25 cm of rain per year and that has a high evaporation rate.

Beach

Any deposit of sediment extending landward from low tide to a change in topography or where permanent vegetation begins.

What type of dune is crescent-shaped, and its tips point downwind?

Barchan

What type of dune is crescent-shaped, and its tips point downwind?

Barchan Dune

Pelagic clay

Brown or red deep-sea sediment composed of clay-sized particles

ooze

Deep-sea sediment composed mostly of shells of marine animals and plants.

Which of the following is a feature produced by wind deposition?

Loess

headland

Part of a shoreline, commonly bounded by cliffs, that extends

Coriolis effect

The apparent deflection of a moving object from an anticipated course because of Earth's rotation.

Coriolis effect

The apparent deflection of an object from its anticipated course because of Earth's rotation. Winds and oceanic currents are deflected clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Nearshore sediment budget

The balance between additions and losses of sediment in the nearshore zone.

Wave refraction

The bending of waves so that they move nearly parallel to the shoreline.

Wave base

The depth corresponding to about one-half wavelength, below which water in unaffected by surface waves.

Aphotic zone

The depth in the ocean below which sunlight does not penetrate.

Fetch

The distance the wind blows over a continuous water surface.

Desertification

The expansion of deserts into into formerly productive lands

Abrasion

The process whereby rock is worn smooth by the impact of sediment transported by running water, glaciers, waves, or wind.

Tide

The regular fluctuation of the sea's surface in response to the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun

Deflation

The removal of sediment and soil by wind.

Upwelling

The slow circulation of ocean water from depth to the surface

Downwelling

The slow transfer of ocean water to depth.

Photic zone

The sunlit layer in the oceans where plants photosynthesize

Storm surge

The surge of water onto a shoreline as a result of a bulge in the ocean's surface beneath the eye of a hurricane and wind-driven waves.

Which of the following is a feature produced by wind deposition?

Ventifact

Wind erodes material by either

abrasion or deflation

Wind is

also an erosional agent in deserts and is very effective in transporting and depositing unconsolidated, fine-grain sediments.

Moundlike, wave-resistant structures consisting of

animal skeletons are reefs.

Semiarid regions receive more precipitation than

arid regions, yet are moderately dry.

Desertification is the expansion of deserts into formerly productive lands. It destroys

cropland and rangelands.

Arid regions, generally described as deserts are

dry and receive less than 25 cm of rain per year.

Pediments are

erosional bedrock surfaces of low relief that slope gently away from mountain bases, and which are covered by alluvial fans or bajadas.

Alluvial fans are

fan-shaped sedimentary deposits that may coalesce to form bajadas.

Barchan, longitudinal, transverse, and parabolic are

four major dune types.

Most reefs are

fringing reefs, barrier reefs, or atolls.

This dry climate zone results from a

high pressure belt of descending dry air.

Deserts are characterized by

high temperatures, little precipitation, and sparse plant cover.

Oceanic circulation

is mostly horizontal in surface currents and deep-sea currents, but vertical circulation takes place

Inselbergs are

isolated, steep-sided erosional remnants that rise above the surrounding desert plains.

The majority of the world's deserts are in the

low latitude, dry climate zone between 20 and 30 degrees north and south latitudes.

Wind transports sediment in suspension or as bed load. Suspended load is the

material that is carried in suspension by water or wind.

Bed Load is the

material that is too large or heavy to be carried in suspension and is thus moved along the surface by saltation, and by rolling or sliding.

The remaining deserts are in the

middle latitudes, where thier distribution is related to the rain shadow effect, and also in the dry polar regions.

Dunes are

mounds or ridges of wind-deposited sand that form when wind flows over and around an obstruction.

The sediments on the seafloor are mostly

pelagic clay and ooze consisting of the skeletons of tiny organisms.

Desert landforms include

playas, which are dry lakebeds, but when temporarily filled with water, form playa lakes.

Buttes and mesas are

respectively, pinnacle-like and flat-topped erosional remnants with steep sides.

Abrasion is the impact of

saltating sand grains on an object.

present-day research vessels investigate the seafloor by

sampling, drilling, echo sounding, and seismic profiling.

Silt and clay sized particles constitute most of the world's

suspended load

The winds are deflected clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere by

the Coriolis effect to produce Earth's global wind patterns

Shoreline

the area between mean low tide and the highest level on land affected by storm waves

Tides are caused by

the combined effects of the Moon and the Sun on the oceans.

Mechanical weathering is

the dominant form of weathering in deserts and, coupled with slow rates of chemical weathering, results in poorly developed soils.

Running water is

the major agent of erosion in deserts and was even more important during the Pleistocene, when wetter climates resulted in humid conditions.

Deflation is

the removal of loose surface material by wind.

The winds of the major air-pressure belts, oriented east-west, result from

the rising and the cooling of the air

Dry climates, located in the low and middle latitudes where the potential loss of water by evaporation exceeds

the yearly precipitation, cover 30% of Earth's land surface and are subdivided into semiarid and arid regions.

The Coriolis effect causes wind to be deflected

to the left in the Northern hemisphere and to the right in the Southern Hemisphere

The Coriolis effect causes wind to be deflected

to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

Rainfall is

unpredictable, and when it does occur, tends to be intense and of short duration.

The upper 100 m or so of the oceans is the photic zone

where sunlight is sufficient for photosynthesizing organisms.

The amount of sand available, the prevailing wind direction and velocity, and the amount of vegetation determine

which type of dune will form.

The major agent of erosion in deserts today is

wind

Ventifacts are common products of

wind abrasion

Loess consists of

wind-blown deposits of silt and clay that is derived from deserts, Pleistocene glacial outwash deposits, or river floodplains in semiarid regions.