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Geo 214 Final
Environmental Geology
88
Geology
Undergraduate 1
06/08/2010

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Cards

Term
The population "doubling time" equation used in class and in the textbook is based on a
Definition

Exponential Growth Rate 

 

Term
Which of the following defines "environmental geology"
Definition

Geological hazards, water pollution, humans, property

 

Term
Sustainability is a balance between population, carrying capacity of the Earth and
Definition
Economics
Term
People in a country like Haiti are more at risk form EQ's because of
Definition
Little education, Poor quality buildings, high population densities, poor emergency response
Term
One way to assess the risk of a hazard is to examine the proximity of populations to a hazard, an example is...
Definition
VPI
Term
A persons perception of risk of a hazard varies, and depends on
Definition
Age, gender, experience, media attention
Term
Which of the following is used to mitigate the risk of a geological hazard?
Definition
Education, warning system, insurance, hazard maps
Term
The 2001 Nisqually EQ was an example of a deep EQ, which are generated by
Definition
Tension in the sub ducting plate
Term
Tall buildings tend to shake more by waves having
Definition

Low frequencies 

Term
About how long would it take a tsunami wave generated by a subduction zone EQ off the coast of washington to reach bellingham?
Definition
2.5 hours
Term
One mechanism that is thought to drive lithospheric plate motion is
Definition
slab pull
Term
An EQ can destroy buildings.  A building is safest when resting on
Definition
Granite
Term
Seismic monitoring allows seismologists to determine EQ
Definition
locations, magnitudes, recurrence intervals, episodic activity.
Term
Faults that generate shallow EQs in the puget sound are being discovered because of...
Definition

LiDAR

Light Detection and Ranging 

Term
Shallow EQs occur in the Puget Sound region because of
Definition
Compression in the North American crust
Term
Sea level is expected to rise in the decades to come because of
Definition
Ocean warming
Term
The main sources of sediment "nourishment" for beaches along the coast of WA has diminished because of..
Definition
Dams on the Columbia River
Term
Which of the following is a life line for the city of Bellingham?
Definition
I-5, Electric power, natural gas, water lines
Term
About how long would it take for a tsunami to travel from the Aleutian Islands to the WA coast?
Definition
3-4 hours
Term
The most probable volcanic hazard associated with Mt. Rainier is
Definition
Lahar
Term
What very important tool is used to monitor beach erosion?
Definition
Aerial photos
Term
The mitigation plan that the city of Orting, WA has established to reduce the risk of a lahar is to
Definition
Evacuate people away from the hazard
Term
A monitoring technique used by the USGS for monitoring Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 was
Definition
Seismometers.
Term
What technology is used by USGS scientists to warn airliners of ash locations after an eruption?
Definition
Remote sensing
Term
An example of a dangerous volcanic gas that can kill vegetation and animals and humans is
Definition
CO2
Term
Evidence for the recurrence interval of the Cascadia subduction zone EQ is based in part on?
Definition
Submarine landslides
Term
Far out in the ocean, tsunamis waves have wave heights in the order of..
Definition

A meter

Term
A tsunami wave can have a wave height as large as
Definition
400 kilometers
Term
What type of magma is associated with the formation of North Cascade volcanoes?
Definition
Andesite
Term
El nino winters generated more storms and beach erosion.  El ninos are caused by
Definition
warming of surface waters in the eastern pacific
Term
Some beach locations north of Bellingham have net-shore drift in the southerly direction.  This is due to
Definition
Predominant winds from the north in the Georgia Straight
Term
A useful tool that engineers use to design buildings in regions susceptible to EQs are _____ maps
Definition
Ground shaking maps
Term
PGA maps for Bellingham are generated using information about..
Definition
Shallow, crustal EQs, Deep EQs, Subduction EQs, EQ recurrences
Term
Lahars are usually associated with volcanoes in the Cascades because the volcanoes generally have more...
Definition
Ice/snow
Term
What satellite technique is used for measuring ground deformation near a volcano?
Definition
InSAR
Term
The distance that wind travels over a water surface is called
Definition
Fetch
Term
As the magma rises into a magma chamber underneath a volcano, it will expand because of...
Definition
A decrease in the lithostatic stress
Term
If Mt. Baker were to discharge a large ash plume, in what direction will the jet stream likely take it?
Definition
East
Term
The "explosive" hazards of a volcano increase when the magma has a
Definition
high silica content
Term
Tectonic plate velocities on the Earth are measured using
Definition
GPS
Term
Lahars on Mt. Pinatubo are generated by
Definition
Heavy rain
Term
A monitoring instrument that is used to record ground vibrations caused by a lahar is a
Definition
AFM
Term
Ground Shaking in Bellingham due to a subduction zone EQ (magnitude 9) could last about
Definition
3 minutes
Term
What type of a plate boundary are stratovolcanoes typically associated with?
Definition
Convergent
Term
The strength offered by air and water in the pores spaces of grains on a slope is called
Definition
Cohesion
Term
The strength offered by the physical interaction of grains on a slope is called
Definition
Friction
Term
The weights of grains immersed in water are reduced because of
Definition
Buoyancy
Term
The friction force increases when the
Definition
Normal force increases, coefficient of friction increases, a decrease in slope angle, Buoyancy force decreases
Term
As soils become more saturated on a slope, buoyancy causes a reduction in the
Definition
Friction Force
Term
The Dominant 'driving' force on a slope is the force
Definition
parallel to the slope incline
Term
A slope becomes more "unstable" with an increase in
Definition
Clay content
Term
The factor-of-safety that determines the mechanical stability of a slope is the ratio between
Definition
Resisting forces/Driving forces
Term
An effective way to increase the stability of a slope is to
Definition
drain water from the slope
Term
Clay minerals can absorb water because they are
Definition
negatively charged
Term
Portions of coastal Louisiana are sinking because of
Definition
Consolidation of saturated loosely packed sediments 
Term
Trees are important for slop stability because they 
Definition
Intercept rain, transpire water, add root strength, reduce soil water
Term
Water that infiltrates into a slope will 
Definition
Decrease the resisting forces
Term
Rock bolts or tie-back anchors like those used on the slope on College Way increase the
Definition
Friction force
Term
Which of the following sediments would have a higher strength due to friction?
Definition
compacted dry sand
Term
The sediments along the Bellingham waterfront where WWU proposes to develop are susceptible to 
Definition
EQ ground shaking amplification, Liquefaction, lateral spreading, a loss of shear strength
Term
In BHAM, there are regions were rapid subsidence can occur due to the collapse of 
Definition
Old coal mines
Term
Regions in the San Joaquin Valley in California have subsided due to 
Definition
Irrigation form aquifers
Term
The basement of Miller Hall on WWUs campus is settling into a deposit of
Definition
Peat
Term
Evapotranspiration is a term used to quantify 
Definition
Vegetation interception loss, vegetation transpiration, soil evaporation, leaf evaporation
Term
the magnitude of consolidation and settlement due to a heavy structure is determined by the sediment..
Definition
porosity
Term
Which "life line" is at risk due to a landslide in the Puget Sound Landscape?
Definition
Gas pipeline, railroad track, water pipeline, highways
Term
In the US, over 50% of flood related deaths (humans) occur in 
Definition
Motor vehicles 
Term
If at a certain location in a stream the average velocity is 4 feet per second and the cross-sectional area is 20 square feet, what is the discharge of the stream at that location?
Definition
10 CFS
Term
Stream hydrographs serve as great stream monitoring tools.  A hydrograph is a plot of stream 
Definition
discharge as a function of time
Term
The stream discharge of a stream will increase quicker after a rainfall event in a watershed with 
Definition
More urbanization
Term
The 100-year flood means that a flood having a large magnitude 
Definition
Has a 1% chance of occurring ever year
Term
Flash floods tend to occur in the Smith Creak Basin in the lake Whatcom watershed because the basin has
Definition
Steep bedrock topography
Term
Floods tend to occur in the spring time in Minnesota because of 
Definition
Frozen soils
Term
Besides heavy rain, what other factors caused the large downstream flood on the lower Nooksack River in 1990?
Definition
Rain on snow
Term
Which structural technique is used on the Nooksack River to mitigate floods?
Definition
Levee
Term
What is an example of a nonstructural method for mitigating a flood?
Definition
Flood insurance, property acquisition, forecast modeling, floodplain maps
Term
After a steep section of a watershed is clear-cut logged, which of the following occurs?
Definition
Roots decay after about 5 years
Term
The "magnitude of hydraulic conductivity (permeability) is controlled by 
Definition
Grain size
Term
What type of sediment has the lowest porosity?
Definition
A mixture of gravel, sand, silt and clay
Term
The velocity of groundwater flow is controlled by the
Definition
Porosity, hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, grain size
Term
A saturated geological deposit that can produce sufficient water to wells is called 
Definition
An Aquifer
Term
If an equivalent 1 inch rain fell in 24 hours on a watershed in the PNW in May and September, the hydrograph would be smaller in September because of  
Definition
drier soils
Term
A flood having a return period of 5 years has a ______ probability of occurring in any given year
Definition
0.20
Term
As clouds rise up over mountains, they expand, cool and produce more rain.  This effect is called 
Definition
Orographic effect
Term
The source of groundwater in the Puget Sound is primarily in 
Definition
Glacial deposits
Term
The sides of a cone of depression created by a pumping well would be steepest in a 
Definition
Silt
Term
The most useful map that can be used to mitigate development on a floodplain is 
Definition
A 100-year flood map
Term
Liquefaction occurs most dramatically during an EQ in saturated
Definition
Silt/sand
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