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Earthquakes and Natural Disasters
Test 3
107
Geology
Undergraduate 1
03/31/2010

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Cards

Term
The number of F6 tornadoes documented in recorded history is __?
Definition
zero
Term
Heat moves from one latitude to another
Definition
by means of the oceans and the atmosphere
Term
In terms of physics, the formation of tornadoes depends on ________ in a spinning vortex.
Definition
the conservation of angular momentum
Term
In a tornado, you are likely to be in less danger in a car or mobile home?
Definition
in a car
Term
With respect to the greenhouse effect, the Earth's atmosphere is _____
Definition
transparent to short and opaque to long-wavelength radiation
Term
Large Plinian eruptions change climate by _____
Definition
ash and sulfuric acid blocking out incoming solar light
Term
The air in the center of a tornado
Definition
moves up
Term
Annual deaths from tornadoes over the long term
Definition
have decreased
Term
Over the last 7000 years, there has been a
Definition
lowering of global average temperature totaling 2 degrees celsius
Term
Internal causes of slope failure include all but which of the following?
Definition
increasing cohesion
Term
the size of a lump of clay
Definition
can swell substantially with adsorption of water
Term
A potential threat from the growing hole in the ozone layer is that
Definition
there will be increased skin cancer in humans
Term
The Earth is ____ during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Definition
farthest from the Sun
Term
Surface temperatures on Mars are _____ those on the surface of Earth.
Definition
much lower than
Term
The Older Dryas and Younger Dryas stages represented
Definition
two cooling stages during the warm-up from the last major glacial advance
Term
Clays form primarily by
Definition
chemical weathering
Term
The bulk chemical compositions of feldspars and clays are
Definition
similar, but their internal structures are radically different
Term
In California on March 12, 1928, a dam failed and unleashed a 185-ft hight wall of water moving 18 mph that killed about 420 people. This was caused by ____.
Definition
dissolution of gypsum cement holding the dam's foundation rock together
Term
When an ice sheet melts into the ocean, it
Definition
raises sea level
Term
Many hill-slope masses are weak due to preexisting geologic conditions such as:
Definition
ancient slide surfaces, rock layering dipping less than topographic slopes, and structures within the rocks, including as fractures, ancient faults, and thin clay seams (all of these)
Term
The Great Plains region of the central United States plays host to about _____ percent of the tornadoes that occur on Earth.
Definition
70
Term
Rocks have weaknesses that set-up slope failure in all but which of the following situations:
Definition
rocks are cemented together
Term
Catastrophic subsidence into sinkholes tends to occur where limestone has been dissolved by ___.
Definition
carbonic acid
Term
Glass is opaque to ___ radiation.
Definition
long-wavelength radiation
Term
In low-pressure atmospheric areas, the overall vertical movement of air tends to be _____.
Definition
upward
Term
Which of the following provides the most favorable conditions for tornado formations?
Definition
cold, dry air overriding warm, damp air
Term
Freshwater that passes through uplifted sediments containing quick-clay changes the sea-salt content, leaving quick-clay with ____.
Definition
decreased strength due to low salt content
Term
As noted in the videa "Warnings from the Ice," the most recent research indicates that climatic fluctuations of several degrees Celsius can occur on scales as small as ______.
Definition
ten years or less
Term
Interglacial periods refer to ____.
Definition
intervals of warmer global average temperatures
Term
sturzstrom
Definition
a long-runout movement of a huge mass of earth material at great speed
Term
During a La Nina condition, the trade winds in the Pacific
Definition
are stronger than normal
Term
The human drama of the 1930s "Dust Bowl" was captured in many articles and books, including:
Definition
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Term
The Coriolis Effect is generated by:
Definition
the rotation of the Earth
Term
The difference between climate and weather is:
Definition
climate covers long term conditions and weather covers short term processes
Term
porosity
Definition
void space within a soil or rock
Term
Escaping water within a sand body may create quicksand when:
Definition
the uplifting force of the water exceeds the weight of the sand grains
Term
Jet streams
Definition
relatively narrow bands of high-velocity winds flowing eastward at high altitudes
Term
Prevailing winds at ocean shorelines
Definition
tend to be from land to sea in winter
Term
The horse latitudes are located at
Definition
about 30 degrees north of the equator
Term
Within the context of climate change, a tipping point is:
Definition
the concept that there are points at which small changes suddenly produce large effects
Term
As shown in the film "Warnings from the Ice," an ice ____ floats on the sea.
Definition
shelf
Term
What type of material caused a major landslide in Norway in 1978 seen in a video in class?
Definition
quick clay
Term
What effect does high albedo have on Earth's climate?
Definition
lowers surface temperatures
Term
What gas makes up more that 90% of Mars' and Venus's atmospheres and was also that predominant in early Earth's atmosphere?
Definition
Carbon Dioxide
Term
The most important greenhouse gas on Earth is
Definition
carbon dioxide
Term
Greenhouse-gas effectiveness on a per-molecule basis is
Definition
greater for methane than for carbon dioxide
Term
Large flood basalt eruptions would change global climate by
Definition
increasing global temperature from increasing CO2
Term
A mass movement at Nevados Huascaran in 1970 was triggered by
Definition
a very large earthquake
Term
Of the following types of mass movements, which moves fastest?
Definition
avalanche
Term
Water tends to move __ in quick sand and ___ in quick clay.
Definition
up; down
Term
Which of the following cities has not experienced significant coastal subsidence?
Definition
Portland, Maine
Term
Subsurface erosion by groundwater can cause
Definition
piping
Term
Volcano flank collapse in Hawaii has produced slumps and debris avalanches on the ocean floor that are
Definition
larger in area than the islands themselves
Term
In a video shown in class, houses were seen to move as fast as 18 mph on top of
Definition
a flow of quick clay
Term
Water weakens earth materials in which of the following ways:
Definition
interplay with clay minerals, decreasing the cohesion of rocks, subsurface erosion, pressure in pores of rocks and sediments (all of these)
Term
El Nino typically lasts
Definition
6-18 months
Term
The sum of all underlying causes can push a slope to the brink of failure, and then an immediate cause may trigger the movement. Triggers for mass movements include
Definition
heavy rains, earthquakes, thawing of frozen ground, the construction projects of humans (all of the above)
Term
The Dust Bowl in the 1930s was caused primarily by
Definition
the jet stream position that caused dry air to sink over the plains
Term
As a hurricane forms, the air
Definition
rises, cools, and releases the latent heat of vaporization, thus heating up the core
Term
Inside the eye of a hurricane,
Definition
air pressure is low
Term
A Himalaya-sized mountain range extending from Wyoming to Ohio would
Definition
be likely to decrease the number of tornadoes in the Great Plains
Term
The highest wind speed recorded in a hurricane is
Definition
not as high as the maximum speed ever recorded in a tornado
Term
Cloudiness or snow- and ice-cover may cause solar radiation to be reflected back to space, which is known as
Definition
albedo
Term
The peak season for tornadoes to strike in the US is
Definition
earlier in the year than for hurricanes in the US
Term
If a hurricane moves east and strikes the west coast of Florida, the most damage will be
Definition
on the south side of the strike zone
Term
The atmospheric pressure above the mound of water in a hurricane storm-surge is
Definition
lower than the air pressure in the surrounding area
Term
Freshwater that passes through uplifted sediments containing quick-clay changes the sea-salt content, leaving quick-clay with
Definition
weak structure, grains mostly less than .002 mm in diameter, water contents commonly in excess of 50 percent, a low salt content (all of the above)
Term
The calmest location in a hurricane is
Definition
in the eye
Term
Thunderstorms occur where warm, moist air has absorbed enough heat and moisture to be significantly ___ than the surrounding air
Definition
less dense
Term
Quick clays are more likely to
Definition
move when saturated with fresh water
Term
A potential benefit from the growing hole in the ozone layer is that
Definition
greenhouse effects will be decreased
Term
Surface temperatures on Venus are ______ those on the surface of Earth
Definition
much higher than
Term
Of the following types of mass movements, which moves slowest?
Definition
creep
Term
The Earth is ___ during the Northern Hemisphere winter
Definition
closest to the sun
Term
In a video shown in class, houses at _____, California, were sliding toward the ocean.
Definition
Portuguese Bend
Term
Slope failures in soil often occur because ____ swell when they get wet
Definition
clays
Term
A few years ago, a student in this class reported that her great-great-great grandfather died as a result of a mass movement listed in our textbook. This occured at
Definition
Elm, Switzerland
Term
External processes that increase the odds of a slope failure include
Definition
steepening the slope, as by fault movements, removing support from low on a slope, as by stream or ocean-wave erosion, adding mass high on a slope, as in sediment deposition (all the above)
Term
Clay materials may have their strength lessened by water
Definition
adsorbed to the exterior of clays, thus spreading the grains apart, absorbed between the interlayer sheets, with resultant expansion (both A and B are correct)
Term
Catastrophic subsidence into sinkholes tends to occur more often in areas underlain by
Definition
acidic freshwater flowing through limestone
Term
The underlying cause of the Rissa, Norway, landslide was
Definition
too little salt in the soil
Term
In July 1996, a 162,000 ton mass of granite pulled away from a canyon wall and slid down 540 ft, then launched into the air for a 1,640-ft drop in an arcing trajectory, reaching a speed of 270 mph before hitting the valley floor at
Definition
Yosemite National Park
Term
When a meteorite produces an impact crater on Earth, the crater typically is
Definition
about 10 times the diameter of the meteorite
Term
Evidence for the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary impact includes which of the following:
Definition
shock lamellae in quartz grains from samples worldwide form a layer at that time boundary
Term
The worst diaster (i.e. most people killed) in Kansas since settlement by people of European descent was probably
Definition
either the blizzard of 1886 or the Udall tornado in 1955
Term
Arrange the geologic eras in order from youngest to oldest:
Definition
cenozoic, mesozoic, paleozoic
Term
A state in the US with the fewest lightning deaths in a typical year is:
Definition
Washington
Term
The air in the center of the tornado moves ___ and the air in the center of the eye of a hurricane moves ____.
Definition
upward; downward
Term
The trend of annual fire-related deaths in the US over the last 20 years has
Definition
decreased, despite population increase
Term
The elevation change of a stream per unit of horizontal distance is its ___.
Definition
gradient
Term
Which of the following was partially destroyed by a large fire in 1871?
Definition
Chicago
Term
Which of the following is most likely to occur in Kansas in the next 100 years?
Definition
an F5 tornado
Term
The worst flood since 1850 at St. Louis occurred in
Definition
1993
Term
Sinkholes in Kansas are usually related to dissolution of
Definition
limestone or salt
Term
The Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary layer worldwide has a high percentage of the element ____ in its clay, an enrichment about 300 times greater than the normal abundance
Definition
iridium
Term
When space debris blazes through the Earth's atmosphere as a streak of light or shooting star and lands on Earth as a solid rock, it is referred to as
Definition
a meteorite
Term
If a hurricane moves west and strikes the southern coast of Texas, the most damage will be
Definition
on the north side of the strike zone
Term
The part of Kansas that was glaciated about 700,000 years ago was
Definition
the northeastern part
Term
Typhoons rotate in a ____ fashion around a central core in the Northern Hemisphere
Definition
counterclockwise
Term
When flooding occurs along a river, as you go further downstream
Definition
the flooding gets less severe as water spreads out in time and space
Term
Assume that we have a 100-year flood here this year. What is the possibility that a 100-year flood will occur here next year?
Definition
1.0%
Term
The presence of a strong La Nina condition
Definition
correlates to an increase in the number of Atlantic hurricanes
Term
Which of the following US National Parks was devastated by forest fires in 1988, only to undergo renewal of its ecosystem in the years since?
Definition
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana
Term
Worldwide sea level is affected by the rate of sea-floor spreading. A low rate of spreading
Definition
produces deeper seas and lower sea levels
Term
In comparison to the outer planets, the inner planets have
Definition
higher mass density
Term
In effect, the solar energy stored by plants during their growth is
Definition
returned to the atmosphere when the plants burn during a fire
Term
A stream with too much bed load will result in what type of channel pattern?
Definition
braided
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