Geology "Final"

Which statement about the photic zone is true?

The photic zone has sufficient sunlight for organisms to photosynthesize.

Which statement about valley glaciers is true?

They tend to flow faster than continental glaciers.

What happens when a wave enters shallow water?

Wavelength decreases, wave height increases, and wave speed decreases.

A glaciers budget is balanced when ____.

additions to the zone of accumulation equal losses in the zone of wastage

Ice Ages ____.

are the result of variations in the amount of solar heat received

A deposit of unconsolidated sediment that extends landward from low tide to a change in topography or to where permanent vegetation begins is a(n) ____.

beach

A glacial landform that forms at the head of glacial valleys or troughs is called a(n) ____.

cirque

Which of the following is an erosional feature of glaciers?

cirques

The deep seafloor is primarily composed of ____.

clays and biological oozes

The densest ocean water is ____.

cold and very saline

Sediment is lost from the nearshore zone primarily by ____.

deposition into submarine canyons and offshore transport

Wide beaches, deltas, and barrier islands are characteristic of ____ coasts.

depositional

What type of coast is straight and has marine terraces?

emergent coast

Which of the following is a depositional feature of glaciers?

end moraine

Which type of glacial deposit was formed by running water?

eskers

The area within 200 nautical miles of its shoreline to which the U.S. claims all mineral resources is called the ____.

exclusive economic zone

Sea level has fallen dramatically since the Pleistocene Epoch.

false

There is good evidence that variation in solar energy, as evinced by sunspot activity cycles, is responsible for short-term climatic variations.

false

A terminal moraine marks the ____.

farthermost point of a glacier's advance

The distance wave-producing winds blow over a continuous body of water is the ____.

fetch

The largest waves are generated when ____.

fetch is large, wind speed is high, and wind duration is long

Ocean water evolved ____.

from condensation of water vapor from volcanic eruptions

What term describes the straight scratches on rock surfaces created by glacial abrasion?

glacial striations

The movement of water within a wave travels ____.

in a circular path at a depth of one-half the wavelength

In a cross-section of a glacier, where do the greatest flow velocities occur?

in the few tens of meters below the surface

Emergent coasts form when ____.

land rises or sea level falls

The most important process by which glaciers move is ____.

plastic flow

Although sea level is rising worldwide, the amount of rise varies by location. What two factors influence the amount of sea level rise at a local scale?

rate of uplift or subsidence and volume of water in oceans

If wastage is greater than accumulation, a glacier is said to be ____.

retreating

Worldwide, the majority of glaciers are ____.

retreating

What are narrow surface currents that flow in the same general direction as the approaching waves?

rip currents

A glacial landform produced primarily by plucking rocks on the downstream side and smoothing by the glacier on the upstream side is called a(n) ____.

roche moutonée

The oceans are most likely to get saltier if ____.

runoff from lakes and streams is increased

A glacier forms when ____.

snow accumulates to form ice, and the ice mass begins to flow under its own weight

The three stages involved in the formation of glacial ice are, in order, ____, ____, and ____.

snowfall; firn; glacial ice

What is a lake formed within a cirque?

tarn

Spring tides are tides ____.

that result from the combined gravitational force of the aligned Moon and Sun

The health of a glacier and the glacial budget are determined primarily by ____.

the amount of snowfall and temperature

Ocean energy is difficult to harness because ____.

the energy is not very concentrated

What happens to ice movement within a glacier when the glacier is retreating?

the ice flows downhill

Mountain valleys subjected to glaciation are typically shaped like ____.

the letter "U"

Salinity of seawater is a measure of ____.

the total quantity of dissolved solids

What is a spit that connects an island to the mainland called?

tombolo

Continental glaciers generally flow on the order of centimeters to meters per day.

true

Glaciers are geologically important because they erode, transport, and deposit so much material.

true

Glacial till is ____.

unstratified sediment deposited directly by a glacier

Which term describes vertical ocean circulation, in which water moves from deep to shallow?

upwelling

The most useful way to measure seafloor depth is to ____.

use an energy source to produce strong waves that will reflect from the seafloor and layers beneath the seafloor

A glacier that is unconfined by topography and has tributaries is a(n) ____.

valley glacier

Short-term climatic changes like the Little Ice Age are poorly understood. One hypothesis for why short-term climatic events occur is ____.

variations in solar radiation

Beaches change seasonally in response to changes in ____.

wave intensity

Water in waves is displaced from the circular orbits when ____.

waves enter progressively shallower water

Surface ocean currents are ____ driven, and deep ocean currents are ____ driven.

wind; pressure

A beach with a small berm, coarser sediment, and offshore sand bars is a(n) ____.

winter beach

How much of Earth's surface is covered by glaciers?

10%

When did the Pleistocene Ice Age end?

11,700 years ago

Geologic evidence suggests that oceans formed by at least ____.

3.5 billion years ago

What amount of oil from U.S. production comes from the Gulf of Mexico?

30%

A glacier begins to flow when the ice reaches what critical thickness?

40 meters

If wavelength is 18 meters, wave base is located at ____.

9 meters