Exam 3 part 4 Flashcards
Besides sewage, what are 4 other types of ground water contamination?
1) Highway salt
2) Fertilizers
3) Pesticides
4) Chemical and industry materials
Is ground water acidic?
It is mildly acidic due to carbon acid that it gets from decaying plants and rainwater that dissolved carbon dioxide in the air
What is hard water?
water with a lot of calcium bicarbonate
What happens when carbonic acid reacts with the calcite of limestone in the ground?
It will create calcium bicarbonate
How are most caverns created?
After the water table has been lowered enough for these caves to appear, acidic ground water dissolves soluble rock at or just below the zone of saturation
Where do caverns form?
In the aeration zone
What are drip stones?
They are tavertine, calciate deposited as dripping water evaporates
What are dripstones called collectively?
they are called speleothems
What are stalactites?
They are the drip like stones that hang from the ceiling of a cavern
What are stalagmites?
They are tavertine that forms on the floor
Over time what do stalactites and stalagmites do?
they will form a column
what is karst topography?
Landscapes that have been shaped mainly by dissolving power of groundwater
What are 3 common features of karst topography?
1) Irregular terrain
2) Sinkholes
3) Striking lack of surface drainage (streams)
karst topography doesn’t seem to have streams, why?
They are underground
What are the two basic cycles of glaciers?
1) Rock cycle
2) Hydrologic cycle
What is a glacier?
A thick mass of ice that orginates on land from the accumulaction compaction and recrystallization of snow
Why don’t we have glaciers if we do have snow and it does get cold?
Because the cold and the snow need to be perennial
What are the two major types of ice glaciers?
Alpine (Valley) glaciers and Continental (Ice sheet) glaciers
What is an Alpine/Valley glacier?
It is a glacier that forms in mountainous areas, they flow downwards a valley from an accumulation center at its head
What is a Ice sheet/continental glacier?
It’s a glacier that is much larger than an alpine/valley glacier, they flow in all directions from one or more snow accumulation centers