EXAM 1

Question 1

Describe Network Resilience

Answer 1

To remove a node, knowing the whole network will not crash because other nodes will compensate.

Question 2

Elements formed by Big Bang

Answer 2

H, He, Li, Be

Question 3

Elements formed by Stellar Nucleogenesis

Answer 3

Elements 5-26

B, C , O, N, Ne, Na, Si, P, S, Ar, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Fe

Question 4

Elements formed by Supernova Nucleogenesis

Answer 4

Elements 27 +

Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Zr, Nb, Mo, Sn, In, Te, Xe, Ba, Pr, W, Re, Pt, Au, Hg, Pb, Bi, Th, U

Question 5

Why does mountain have high biodiversity

Answer 5

1. Their soil originated from oceanic plate (subduction forms mountains). Therefore, the soil provide environmental conditions that drives adaptive change, resulting in speciation.

Ex: Cedar and Redwood

Question 6

What are Core Mantle Hot Spots?

Answer 6

a fixed, intensely hot area in the mantle below Earth’s crust.

Question 7

Why are volcanoes made by hot spots unique compared to volcanoes made by subduction

Answer 7

These volcanoes does not occur from Earth’s tectonic plates. Rather, they are formed by the rising mantle plumes, melting a hole in the crust, so the magma can ooze outwards.

Question 8

What is B12?

Answer 8

A cofactor composed of Cobalt as its core. It plays a role in cell metabolism, nerve function.

B12 deficiency leads to pale skin, muscle weakness, neuralgia, indigestion, etc

Question 9

What is Selenium

Answer 9

A cofactor responsible for supporting immunity, reproduction, brain, thyroid gland

Selenium deficiency leads to autoimmune disease risk, cancer death risk, cardiovascular disease

Question 10

What are Main Sequence Stars

Answer 10

Stars that convert hydrogen into helium into their core, releasing energy

Question 11

What happens when hydrogen runs out in a star

Answer 11

The star will be unable to hold its own gravity, thus being collapsing itself into a core

This leads to white dwarf (small stars) and supernova (big stars)

Question 12

Methodology of Finding Earth’s Origin of Water

Answer 12

Volcanoes: Hydrogen and Oxygen exist in Earth’s mantle. Thus, this forms water in the form of vapor and is degassed by volcanoes

Comet/Asteroid: Comparing Deuterium of Comet/Asteroid to Earth

Question 13

Why is Earth’s Oceanic Crust more denser than Continental

Answer 13

Oceanic plates are composed of basalt igneous rock while continental are composed of granite. Basalt is more dense than Granite

Question 14

How are subduction zone contribute to the ocean’s salinity?

Answer 14

Subduction zone gives opportunity for sediments to erode into the ocean. When an oceanic plate subduct against a continental, it creates a trench. Gravity, wind, water can erode sediments into the trench

Question 14

How are subduction zone contribute to the ocean’s salinity?

Answer 14

Subduction zone gives opportunity for sediments to erode into the ocean. When an oceanic plate subduct against a continental, it creates a trench. Gravity, wind, water can erode sediments into the trench

Question 15

Do you think you would find greater geological diversity on or near an active margin or a passive continental margin?

Answer 15

Active Margin

Subduction can generate multiple environment such as volcanic environment or oceanic trench environment

Question 16

Why do soils derived from the erosion of greywacke provide better growth conditions
for plant and animal life than soils derived from sandstone or claystone?

Answer 16

Sandstone is too permeable while claystone is not permeable. Grewackle is the perfect mixture

Question 17

The main dome of Enchanted rock is the top of a granitic

Answer 17

Batholith

Question 18

What is a batholith? How does it form?

Answer 18

large igneous intrusion extending into Earth’s crust

Batholith forms from magma intruding into Earth’s crust, cooling, and revealed by erosion

Question 19

What type of rock is granite?

Answer 19

Igneous

Question 20

What are igneous rocks?

Answer 20

Rock formed by the cooling of magma

Question 21

What are sedimentary rock?

Answer 21

Rocks that form from compressed or cemented layers of sediment

Question 22

What are metamorphic rocks?

Answer 22

Rocks that form from high pressure and heat

Question 23

What are the unusual chemical characteristics of serpentine rocks compared to
typical rocks on the Earth’s crust?

Answer 23

Serpentine rock is low in essential nutrients and high in toxic heavy metals.

Question 24

What causes supercontinent formation?

Answer 24

Continental Plate colliding with another continental plate

India and Eurasia

Question 25

What causes supercontinent break up?

Answer 25

Convection current that causes mid ocean ridge in pangea

Question 26

Why is it that the early dinosaurs in Australia were very similar to dinosaurs on other continents, while the later dinosaurs, as well as mammals in Australia were and are very different from those on other continents (hint: see figure from lecture)?

Answer 26

Break up of a large continent that caused the dinosaurs to be separated, causing it to speciate but have a common ancestor

Question 27

Contrast the different physical processes that give rise to subduction-zone volcanism vs. core-mantle hot-spot volcanism

Answer 27

Subduction zone volcanism contains water (from water seeping down when plates subduct) contributing to pressure. There is a finite space so if a mantle move, which occupies space, so will water

Core mantle hot spot lack water, making volcanoes less violent

Question 28

On local scale, how would you spot the differences between a subduction-zone
volcano and a typical core-mantle hot-spot volcano (i.e. not a supervolcano)?

Answer 28

Looking if there are presence of tectonic plates. Subduction zone will form tectonic barrier

Question 29

Rank these environments in terms of albedo (highest to lowest)
Desert
Forest
Ocean
Fresh snow on glacial ice

Answer 29

Snow on glacial ice: Ice reflect sunlight well

Desert: Mineral in Sands reflect sunlight

Forest: Tree absorb sunlight

Ocean: Water absorb sunlight

Question 30

Of the following gases, which is least abundant in the modern Earth’s atmosphere?
Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide

Answer 30

Carbon Dioxide

Question 31

Why does the sky look blue?

Answer 31

Sunlight interact with oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere.

Rayleigh Scatter scatters the shorter wavelength blue light more than the longer wavelength reds and oranges.

Question 32

Why are clear nights often colder than cloudy nights?

Answer 32

On cloudy nights there is cloud bottom albedo which reflects infrared light given off by the planet back down to the surface

Question 33

How does the state of water, i.e. ice, liquid, aerosol (droplets in air), vapor, affect
albedo?

Answer 33

Water has low albedo. Therefore, anything that melts into a liquid will decrease the albedo. Water vapor forms cloud which increase albedo. Therefore, aerosol in the atmosphere increase albedo

Question 34

What is volcanic “ash” actually composed of?

Answer 34

Pulverized rock crystals that stay in the atmosphere. Minerals, rock and glass

Question 35

How did smoke from the 2020 Australia wildfires affect the albedo of glaciers of New
Zealand’s South Island, over 2000 km away?

Answer 35

Brown soot and ash from the wildfire were blown from Australia to New Zealand. The dark color of the ash has lower albedo, thus reflecting less sunlight and causing the glacier to melt

Question 36

Explain the two major reasons why higher latitudes are generally cooler than lower
latitudes.

Answer 36

1. Angle of incidence is higher on higher latitude, thus sunlight is more scattered than focused
2. Transit Distance: There is more atmospheric distance that sunlight must travel through at higher latitude than lower latitude

Question 37

Why are sunsets and sunrises orange/red?

Answer 37

In the evening, there are more transit distance that sunlight has to travel through. Therefore, more Rayleigh Scattering can occur in the atmosphere and we see the longer wavelength which is the orange/red spectrum

Question 38

Besides proxy data on temperature, what other (direct) information about the past
can be obtained from ice cores?

Answer 38

Greenhouse Gasses composition, precipitation, Wind pattern