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Geo. Test III Study Questions
Groundwater, Rivers, Coasts, Glaciers, Deserts, Mineral Resources
170
Geology
Undergraduate 1
03/25/2006

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Term
What is the earth's most critical resource?
Definition
water
Term
What percentage of the earth's water is readily available for use by humans?
Definition
.0003%
Term
Where is the most of earth's water located?
Definition
oceans & lakes (97.41%)
ice & snow (1.984%)
Term
Where is readily available freshwater located?
Definition
ground water (.592%)
surface water: rivers & lakes (.0071%)
Term
In what ways could population growth be limited by low water supply?
Definition
Limited water will cause population growth to stop either through drought & famine or through laws.
Term
Describe the hydrolic cycle.
Definition
Rain falls to the ground and either sinks in to become groundwater or runs off into rivers and lakes. Water is evaporated from surface water (rivers/lakes) into clouds and falls again as rain.
Term
What is perhaps the most over-exploited of Earth's resources?
Definition
rivers
Term
What is instream river use? Name 2 examples.
Definition
Using river water in a way that does not take the water from the river; navigation, hydropower
Term
What is offstream river use?
Definition
Extracting water from rivers.
Term
How does consumptive offstream river use differ from non-comsumptive use?
Definition
In consumptive use (ex.irrigation), the water is not returned immediately to the source, which means that ppl will eventually be forced to import water or mine for groundwater. Nonconsumptive use (ex. domestic water) is returned relatively quickly, but it may be polluted or unusable.
Term
Name the type of lake according to this balance:

precipitation + runoff = evaporation + outflow
Definition
freshwater lake
Term
Name the type of lake according to this balance:

precipitation + runoff = evaporation (w/ no outflow)
Definition
saltwater lake
Term
Name the type of lake according to this balance:

precipitation + runoff < evaporation (w/ or w/o outflow)
Definition
dry lake
Term
What is an example (mentioned in class)of how easily humans can destroy the delicate balance of a lake? Who is responsible for this? How lond did it take for the lake to dry up?
Definition
*the Aral Sea

*Soviets

*only about 30 yrs
Term
Where does40% of the public water supply in the U.S. come from?
Definition
groundwater
Term
Name 3 cities for which groundwater is the only source of water.
Definition
Miami, Memphis, Tucson, Honolulu
Term
Name three areas in the U.S. whose only source of agricultural water is groundwater.
Definition
Arizona, California, and the Midwest
Term
What is porosity?
Definition
the fraction of volume that is void spaces in the ground (how much space there is between grains/rocks in the ground)
Term
What is permeability?
Definition
ease of fluid flow
Term
What are the names for the zones above and beneath a water table?
Definition
*above: zone of aeration

*beneath: zone of saturation
Term
In which zone would you find an aquifer (or groundwater)?
Definition
zone of saturation
Term
Water sinking into the ground is called ___?
Definition
infiltration
Term
What is a perched water table called?
Definition
aquiclude
Term
Define aquifer.
Definition
water-saturated rock with enough porosity and permeability to allow water to be extracted
Term
How are unconfined aquifers connected to the surface?
Definition
by permeable rocks
Term
How are unconfined aquifers recharged?
Definition
recharged locally by rain
Term
Is recharge in a confined aquifer instantaneous?
Definition
nopers, it's local, but it takes a while
Term
What is a cone of depression?
Definition
change in aquifer's water level due to pumping the water out faster than permeability allows movement[image]
Term
What is draw-down?
Definition
the difference between regular water level and the level of water in a cone of depression
Term
What are things that draw-down is affected by/depends on?
Definition
amount of renewal, amount & span of use; permeability of aquifer, rate & time of extraction
Term
How do unconfined aquifers interact with rivers?
Definition
they can cause either losing stream or gaining stream
Term
Define "loosing stream".
Definition
river in which water infiltrates into groundwater
Term
Define "gaining stream".
Definition
groundwater flows up into a river
Term
What do we call the area wher aquifers intersect the surface of the ground?
Definition
an oasis
Term
What is a confined aquifer?
Definition
groundwater under pressure that is trapped by aquicludes
Term
What is another name for a confined aquifer, and why are these very valuable resources?
Definition
*artesian well

*flows naturally out of the ground b/c of a hydrostatic head, so you don't have to waste energy pumping
Term
What are critical issues of groundwater management and conservation?
Definition
groundwater mining, interaction w/ saltwater, and groundwater quality
Term
What is the sustained yeild of an aquifer?
Definition
the amount of water that can be withdrawn constantly and over a long period of time
Term
If the rate of extraction of water from a well exceeds the sustained yeild, the resultin overdraft is known as ____?
Definition
groundwater mining
Term
What is the name of the aquifer that sustains agriculture in the High Plains?
Definition
the Ogallala aquifer
Term
Why is groundwater mining a particularly serious problem?
Definition
because much of the groundwater is fossil water acquired during the glacial age
Term
What is ground subsidence?
Definition
problem that occurs when so much groundwater is removed that the ground sinks significantly
Term
Why does saltwater intrusion of aquifers occur?
Definition
If too much water is pumped from an aquifer near an ocean, seawater will invade and destroy the source of freshwater.
Term
Is saltwater more or less dense than freshwater?
Definition
saltwater is more dense, that's why in coastal aquifers, freshwater floats on seawater
Term
Where is saltwater intrusion most likely going to be a problem?
Definition
places with dense populations near the coast, like Miami and the eastern seabord
Term
What results from the interaction between Earth's internal and external processes?
Definition
landforms
Term
How do internal processes build?
Definition
they convert Earth's heat energy into potential/mechanical energy
Term
How do external processes degrade?
Definition
they liberate potential energy by erosion and mass wasting
Term
What are some factors that determine landforms?
Definition
local geology (e.g. types of rocks, plate tectonic setting), climated, time, glaciation
Term
What are present-day landforms heavily influenced by?
Definition
Pleistocene glaciation, either directly (ice-carved landforms) or indirectly (sea-level change, wetter climate then than now)
Term
What are the four types of landforms and erosional agents?
Definition
rivers, coasts, glaciers, deserts
Term
In river systems, what is the function of the hydrolic cycle?
Definition
conversion of Solar energy to mechanical energy
Term
What is fluvial erosion?
Definition
erosion by rivers/streams/running water
Term
The ability of a river to erode and the size of the particles that it can transport are determined by _____?
Definition
stream velocity
Term
Does the size of the particles a river can carry increase of decrease with its velocity?
Definition
increases
Term
What is the velocity of a river determined by?
Definition
its gradient, or slope
Term
What determines the sediment load that a river can transport?
Definition
the river's discharge
Term
What is discharge in terms of a river?
Definition
the volume of water that goes through a point in a certain amount of time - velocity (x) cross section
Term
What determines the gradient of a stream or river?
Definition
elevation of the headwaters, base level (in most cases, sea level), location within the drainage basin
Term
What are the characteristics of youthful fluvial topography?
Definition
broad uplands and steep-walled canyons completely filled by fast-flowing rivers, no flood plains; the river mainly erodes
Term
What are the characteristics of mature fluvial topography?
Definition
wide valleys only partly filled by the river, noticeable but narrow flood plans; the river erodes and deposits sediment
Term
What are the characteristics of old age fluvial topography?
Definition
no uplands, flood plains many km wide; river mainly deposits sediments
Term
What are flood plains and how have they been used since the Neolithic period?
Definition
flat and wide expanses of fertile soil, used for agriculture
Term
Why are flood plains so fertile and therefore heavily populated?
Definition
They are subject to periodic flooding that deposits rich sediments.
Term
How do rivers build their flood plains?
Definition
By eroding the outer margins, or cut banks, of the meanders and depositing point bars on the inner margins. [image]
Term
What is an oxbow lake?
Definition
a feature of mature flood plains formed by cutoff of meanders; water in an oxbow lake is usually clearer than the river and contains a unique ecosystem [image]
Term
Why do floods occur?
Definition
the intensity of rainfall/snowfall increases the river discharge to the point that it overflows its banks
Term
Where do flash floods occur?
Definition
places witout a flood palin; level of water increases and decreases quickly
Term
What type of flood takes many days to accumulate, occurs in a wide flood plain, and may take months to recede?
Definition
riverine flood
Term
How frequent are catasrophic floods?
Definition
they aren't very frequent, but still inevitable
Term
What are recurrence intervals?
Definition
statistical averages in which the inverse of the probability that a flood of a given size will occure on any given year; every year there is a 1% probability that there will be a 100 year flood
Term
Why is correctly estimating the probability of very large floods difficult?
Definition
insufficient data,and the effects of climate change and climate cycles
Term
How does urbanization of flood plains increase the flooding potential?
Definition
it replaces permeable soil w/ impermiable surfaces like concrete, so the water cannot sink into groundwater
Term
What are some methods of flood mitigation currently in use, even though none are good for the long-term?
Definition
artificially filling above the 100 yr flood level; building artificial levees; building flood control damns
Term
The Pacific coast is an active continental margin, and the Atlantic coast is a passive continental margin. Which coastline is submergent and which is emergent?
Definition
*Pacific is emergent
*Atlantic is submergent
Term
Where do waves acquire their energy?
What factors determine wave size?
Definition
*from the wind
*wind velocity, duration of wind, and fetch
Term
What is "fetch"?
Definition
distance over which wind blows
Term
In what type of waves does energy move forward, but mass does not?
Definition
waves of oscillation
Term
In what type of waves does energy and mass move forward?
Definition
waves of translation
Term
Wavelength ______ as waveheight _______.
Definition
Wavelength DECREASES as waveheight INCREASES.
Term
Name the four types of waves of oscillation.
Definition
ripples, chop, fully-developed seas, and swell
Term
What is the lowpoint of the chop called?
Definition
a "trough"
Term
What is another word for waves of translation? The foremost of these waves that hits the shore is called a ____?
Definition
*surf

*breaker
Term
What is one way in which waves erode the shore that is actually a mini-explosion?
Definition
compression and expansion of air in cracks of rocks
Term
When does the most erosive action of waves take place, and what is it characterized by?
Definition
during storms; battering-ram action of "tools" (e.g. rocks, driftwood, houses, tourists) picked up by the sea
Term
How do waves straighten irregular coastlines?
Definition
wave energy is focused toward headlands and away from embankments, which is called wave reflection
Term
What are longshore currents?
Definition
"rivers" of seawater forced to move parallel to the shore when waves approach at an angle
Term
What is littoral drift?
Definition
sediment transported by longshore currents that is constanly modifying beaches
Term
What are groins?
Definition
structures built to preserve beaches, but only serve to aggravate the problem further down the coast
Term
Identify rip currents.
Definition
Rip currents form where longshore currents overflow the surf zone (like a river overflowing its banks). They move sediment (& people) toward the open ocean.
Term
What are sand beaches and where are they usually found?
Definition
shorelines dominated by sand deposition; supplied by rivers and wave erosion; distinctive of submergent coasts
Term
What are some features of depositional coastlines?
Definition
barrier islands, spits, baymouth bars. tidal marshes
Term
What is beach erosion?
Definition
redistribution of sediment during large storms
Term
What type of erosion are cliffs and wave-cut platforms dominated by, and which type of coast are they distinctive of?
Definition
shorelines dominated by wave erosion; more distinctive of emergent coasts
Term
What are wave-cut platforms and cliffs?
Definition
erosion by waves carves flat surfaces backed by vertical walls [image]
Term
What is a sea stack?
Definition
an old wave-cut platform cut off from the coast [image]
Term
Marine Terrace
Definition
[image] "has more of a slope instead of being sheer like the cliffs, with little or no wave-cut platform"
Term
What is an estuary?
Definition
a partially enclosed basin in which river water mixes with sea water; usually a river valley near the mouth invaded by the sea (submerged by sea-level rise at the end of the Pleistocene glaciation)
Term
What is a Bird's Foot Delta?
Definition
delta with relatively little redistribution of fluvial sediments by coastal processes; an example is the Mississippi [image]
Term
What is an arc-shaped delta?
Definition
delta where the redistribution of fluvial sediments is dominated by waves and longshore currents [image]
Term
Describe the formation and process of how a hurricane forms and works.
Definition
Forms from hot ocean water (about 80*F); The rate at which water evaporates gets to a critical point at the surface and rises with high humidity. It cools as it goes up and condenses. Condensation of water creates a lot of energy and rain and heat. The air heats up again and goes higher until air cannot rise anymore (about 20-50km). Air pressure below drops catastrophically. When air pressure drops it sucks in air all around. The air that rushes in completes the cycle and makes the process self-sustaining.
Term
Hurricane Diagram (not a question, just for help in understanding the process described in FC #101)
Definition
[image] [image]
Term
Where do hurricanes dissipate and why?
Definition
Dissipate on land or at a latitiude of 45* or 50* because there is no more hot, humid air available
Term
How does global warming relate to hurricanes?
Definition
causes more frequent and more destructive hurricanes
Term
Besides wind damage and rain, what is a major threat posed by hurricanes?
Definition
Storm surges, which is a sudden and dramatic rise in sea level
Term
What are the two possible causes for storm surges?
Definition
either the wind pushing on the water or the swelling of sea surface caused by falling atmospheric
Term
Many present-day landforms were either carved by the glaciers of or affected by the colder and wetter climate of which period?
Definition
Pleistocene
Term
When was the Pleistocene period?
Definition
2 million to 10,000 years ago
Term
What conditions must be present for a glacier to form?
Definition
the amount of snow that accumulates in winter is more than can melt in the summer
Term
What is a glacier, anyway?
Definition
a solid, moving sheet of ice
Term
What do crevasses in glacial ice indicate?
Definition
irregularities in the motion of ice
Term
What are moraines?
Definition
debris of all sorts (including mineral sediment) transported by glaciers [image]
Term
What is a medial moraine?
Definition
If one or more tributary glaciers coalesce with the main glacier the lateral moraines unite to form trains of debris on the surface of the glacier at or near its center [image]
Term
What is a terminal/end moraine?
Definition
When equilibrium is maintained between the melting of a glacier and its forward advance, the debris carried on, within, and dragged along the bottom is deposited at a point and builds up a heterogeneous mass of the transported material called the terminal moraine. If a glacier is slowly retreating and makes successive halts farther and farther up the valley, a series of terminal moraines are formed which are called recessional or retreating moraines. [image]
Term
What are the most characteristic features of glacial erosion?
Definition
U-shaped valleys [image]
Term
What is a glacial trough?
Definition
Glaciers transform v-shaped stream valleys to u-shaped glacial troughs by erosion. A U-shaped valley is a type of glacial trough.
Term
What is a hanging valley?
Definition
Tributary glaciers are often smaller than the main glacier and do not cut as deeply. When the ice melts, these shallower glacial troughs lead into the deeper main trough, leaving hanging valleys. Waterfalls are common features of hanging valleys (e.g. Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite; below). [image]
Term
What is an arete?
Definition
A knife-edged rock divide between two glacial cirques [image]
Term
What is a cirque?
Definition
A steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain caused by glacial erosion. After glaciation, the depression may contain a lake. [image]
Term
here's a good picture of a cirque with a tarn in the center
Definition
[image]
Term
What is a tarn?
Definition
a lake in the center of a cirque [image]
Term
What's a horn, and what's a fjord?
Definition
A horn is just a peak, and a fjord is a glacial valley that has been invaded by the sea.
Term
What are kettle lakes?
Definition
lakes that form in a shallow basin or bowl shaped depression that was formed when a large block of ice was buried in outwash. Upon melting and dewatering of the sediment the hole left by the block may become a kettle-lake or a kettle-depression.
Term
kettle lake formation diagrams
Definition
[image] [image]
Term
What is an esker?
Definition
a long, narrow ridge of sediment left after the melting of a glacier [image]
Term
What are Pleistocene Pluvial Lakes?
Definition
HUGE lakes that existed during the Ice Age. (e.g. Great Basin, Lake Bonneville that covered all of the Great Salt Lake and the salt flats)
Term
What defines a desert?
Definition
*low rainfall (less than 25 cm per year)
*evaporation greater than precipitation
*limited biological productivity that is a consequence of the first two points
*many deserts are not sandy; some are just bare rock like Death Valley
*some deserts are cold, like Great Basin, Nevada
Term
What are polar deserts?
Definition
dry valleys that are not covered in snow, because deserts have little precipitation
Term
What are subtropical deserts?
Definition
deserts located 30*N and S of the equator and controlled by atmospheric circulation, which is determined by latitude; Ex. Sahara, Outback, Arabia, etc.
Term
What are continental interior deserts?
Definition
deserts that form from being so far away from the ocean and humidity
Term
Why do coastal deserts form?
Definition
Cold ocean (longshore) currents reduce evaporation from the ocean, which reduces precipitation on the coast; winds blowing landward are dry; only possible source of rainfall is thus non-existant
Term
In coastal deserts, where do the few plants that can be found obtain water?
Definition
an abundance of fog that the plants are adapted to extracting water molecules from
Term
What is unique about some meteorological stations in Chili that have existed since the 1800s?
Definition
They have never, in all the 200 yrs of their existence, seen a single drop of rain.
Term
Why do rain-shadow deserts form?
Definition
precipitation is low because air from the ocean is blocked by mountains [image]
Term
What are the four deserts in North America?
Definition
Chihuahua, Sonoran, Mojave, Great Basin
Term
Describe the Chihuahua desert.
Definition
located in Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas; has the highest biodiversity of any desert in the world; identifiable by the Agavi plant from which tequila is made [image]
Term
Describe the Sonoran desert.
Definition
located in S. Arizona, California, Nevada, Baha-Mexico; identifiable by the big saguaro cactus [image]
Term
Describe the Mojave desert.
Definition
located in S. California, S. Nevada; identifiable by the Joshua Tree, also called the Yucca [image]
Term
Describe the Great Basin desert.
Definition
locate mostly in Nevada; a cold rain-shadow desert; identifiable by sagebrush
http://www.laspilitas.com/comhabit/pictures/big_basin_sage.jpg
Term
What is the cheif erosional agent in deserts?
Definition
running water
Term
What are canyons?
Definition
deep and narrow valleys carved by temporary streams
Term
What does the wind do as an erosional agent in deserts?
Definition
it modifies the landscape and gives details
Term
What allows massive erosion during torrential downpours in a desert?
Definition
absence of soil
Term
How much rain does Death Valley receive per year and in what timespan?
Definition
1/2 inch of rain in a 15 minute shower
Term
Where do alluvial fans form?
Definition
where the gradient of the streams decreases and the sediment load is deposited
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/aster_artII_alluvial.jpg
Term
How does coalescence of alluvial fans form?
Definition
through merging bajadas that gradually smother the mountain ranges (which are the sediment sources)
Term
What is a bajada?
Definition
Sloping, coalescing, spreading masses of gravel and sand deposited by streams as they emerge from narrow mountain valleys, and extending from the mountain base into the surrounding valley. [image]
Term
What is a playa?
Definition
flat even area of salt and mud flats where fine grained material is deposited from running water in a desert [image]
Term
Why is Racetrack Playa in Death Valley so named?
Definition
because large rocks move by themselves and leave long tracks more or less parallel to one another [image]
Term
What are eolian sediments?
Definition
sand dunes; eolian because they move by wind
Term
What do the types of dunes depend on?
Definition
depend on predominant wind direction, amount of sand, and plant life
Term
What are the characteristics of trasverse dunes?
Definition
wind in one direction perpendicular to dune and a lot of sand

http://www.nps.gov/grsa/resources/images/transverse_diag.gif
Term
What are the characteristics of parabolic dunes?
Definition
one direction of wind and plants [image]
Term
What are the characteristics of barchan dunes?
Definition
wind in one direction and little sand [image]
Term
What are the characteristics of longitudinal/sees dunes?
Definition
When barchan dunes become highly elongated, they may form into longitudinal dunes, also known as linear dunes. In other parts of the world, such as in Africa, great fields of longitudinal dunes can dominate the landscape for hundreds of miles. [image]
Term
What are the characteristics of star dunes?
Definition
Wind blowing from all directions [image]
Term
What are some reasons for desertification?
Definition
*replacing native grasslands w/ crops
*overgrazing
*depletion of groundwater for irrigation and urban growth
*soil salinization caused by evaporation of irrigation water
*global climate change
***In short: OVERPOPULATION
Term
True or False? The average concentration of most mineral resources in the Earth's crust is lower than what is required to extract them at a profit.
Definition
True
Term
What is an ore deposit, or mineral reserve?
Definition
a volume of rock in which a mineral resource has been concentrated enough to make its extraction economically feasible
Term
What does the concentration factor required to generate and ore dposit depend on?
Definition
*average abundance in the crust
*location of the ore deposit
*technology available
*how much we are willing to pay for the resource
Term
What is significant about the fact that mineral resources are unevenly distributed throughout the world?
Definition
This leads to a full spectrum of human behavior, from friendly international trade to total war. The US imports much of its mineral raw materials.
Term
What are pegmatites?
Definition
type of igneous mineral deposits characterized by coarse grained granitic rocks that is a major source of many gemstones and light strategic metals (Le, Be)
Term
What are layered igneous intrusions?
Definition
mineral deposits charachterized by settling of heavy minerals during crystallization of magmas; only source of chromium, nickel, and platinum
Term
What are hydothermal deposits?
Definition
Igneous mineral deposits characterized by circulation of hot water driven by magmatic heat; major sources of copper, silver, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum
Term
What are kimberlites?
Definition
Igneous mineral deposits characterized by explosive eruptions that transport very deep rocks to the surface; only primary source of diamonds
Term
What are evaporites?
Definition
Sedimentary mineral deposits characterized by evaporation of water from the ocean or salt lakes; major source of table salt, gypsum, borates, nitrates, phosphates
Term
What are banded iron formations?
Definition
Sedimentary mineral deposits characterized by change in the chemistry of sea water triggered by rise of oxygen 2 Ga ago'; only source of commercial iron

no oxygen >> Fe 2+ = Ferrous iron, soluble
W/ oxygen >> Fe 3+ = Ferric iron, insoluble

banded iron formations are only found in Canada, Australia, Brazil, Southern Africa
Term
What are placers?
Definition
Sedimentary mineral deposits characterized by mechanincal accumulation of dense minerals by running water; important source of gold, diamonds, tin
Term
What are bauxites?
Definition
Weathering mineral deposits characterized by enrichment of aluminum in soild by leaching of all other elements in tropical climates; only commercial source of aluminum; found in Jamaica and Australia
Term
What is land reclamation?
Definition
process of restoring the land to conditions as close as possible to what it was before mining: cleaning, backfilling, restoring slopes, planting
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