Exam 4 Flashcards
Which of the following is the best measure of the wetness or dryness of a region?
Difference between annual precipitation and evaporation potential
How are sand grains transported by the wind?
By saltation in the first few meters above the land surface
What mature desert landscape feature consists of coalesced alluvial fans?
Bajada
What are inselbergs?
Bedrock hills in a highly eroded desert landscape
What term refers to the “bouncing” mode of sand transport in a windstorm or stream?
Saltation
Where did the great loess deposits in the central United States originate?
They originated as rock flour in Pleistocene glacial streams and rivers.
Which one of the following is determined by the angle of repose for dry sand?
Inclination angle of a dune slip face
Which one of the following concerning desert lands is FALSE?
Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.
Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape
Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape.
Which one of the following statements concerning rock weathering is true?
Warm temperatures and high soil moisture accelerate chemical weathering.
Which of the following statements concerning dry lands is FALSE?
Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.
Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape
Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.
Which dune is crescent-shaped with its tips pointing downwind?
Barchan
Where are rain shadow deserts common?
The dry valleys of eastern California and Nevada
What type of deposit consists of glacial rock flour from blowing winds?
Loess
What percentage of Earth’s land area do desert and steppe lands cover?
3o%
Where has the process of desertification been particularly well documented over the past 5o years?
The Sahel along the southern margin of the Sahara Desert
Between which latitudes do most dry lands lie?
Between 20 and 3o degrees north and south of the equator
Which of the following is formed from the abrasion of rocks by windblown sand?
Ventifacts
Which sand dunes are long, high, and parallel with the prevailing wind direction?
Longitudinal
Which of the following statements about deserts is true?
Deserts are lifeless.
Wind is the most significant agent of erosion in desert regions.
Deserts are always hot.
Water is the most significant agent of erosion in deserts.
Deserts are dominated by sand dunes.
Water is the most significant agent of erosion in deserts.
Which of the following statements characterizes ephemeral streams?
Ephemeral streams flow only at certain times of the year.
Ephemeral streams don’t have any life in them.
Ephemeral streams flow all the time in the desert.
Ephemeral streams generally depend on groundwater in the desert to flow year round.
Ephemeral streams are streams that flow through deserts, but hay their origins outside of the desert
Ephemeral streams flow only at certain times of the year.
Which one of the following is an evaporite mineral?
clay quartz calcium gypsum
gypsum
What is a playa commonly occupied by?
an ephemeral lake a sand dune Salt-tolerant vegetation a dome an interdune
an ephemeral lake
What does saltating mean?
Flakes of gypsum mineralize to form crystals that resemble the shape and size of salt grains.
Sand grains avalanche down the slip face of a dune.
Sand grains are lifted by the wind, leap a short distance, and then fall back to the ground.
Sand grains pile up to form little ripples that grow into larger dunes.
Clay particles rotate through the air as they are blown by desert winds.
Sand grains are lifted by the wind, leap a short distance, and then fall back to the ground.
What is the angle of repose for sand on the slip face (leeward side)?
90 degrees
10 degrees
40 degrees
34 degrees
34 degrees
Which of the following accurately describes the Basin and Range region of the westem United States?
a region with alternating mountains and basins that have been produced by reverse faulting
a region with alternating mountains and basins that have been produced by normal faulting
a large area characterized by large mountains and rivers that reach the Pacific Coast
an area with alternating mountains and basins in a humid climate
a region formed by tectonic extension that includes perennial rivers and extensive channel networks
a region with alternating mountains and basins that have been produced by normal faulting
A(n)______is a cone-shaped deposit of sediment that is deposited when a stream exits the mouth of a canyon.
alluvial fan inselberg bajada playa dune field
alluvial fan
What type of rocks would you expect to find in a playa lake depositional environment?
fossiliferous limestone interbedded sandstones and conglomerates cross bedded sandstone evaporites and claystone poorly sorted conglomerates
evaporites and claystone
An isolated, heavily eroded hill or mountain that rises abruptly from a plain is a(n)
fault block playa alluvial fan bajada inselberg
inselberg
Other than the landforms you learned about in the video, what is another landform present in the Basin and Range Province?
vegetated hills lopes integrated drainage networks deep lakes perennial streams sand dunes
sand dunes
Which of the following describes favorable conditions for transverse dune formation?
areas with steady prevailing winds and abundant sand areas adjacent to the coast with partial vegetative corer areas with variable winds and abundant sand
areas with a flat, hard surface and limited sand
areas with variable winds, vegetative cover, and limited sand
areas with steady prevailing winds and abundant sand
Which of the following is a difference between barchan and parabolic dunes?
Barchan dunes are commonly found on the coast, while parabolic dunes prefer hard, bedrock surfaces. A barchan exhibits a concave slip face, while a parabolic dune shows a convex slip face. A barchan exhibits a convex slip face, while a parabolic dune shows a concave slip face. The tips of a barchan dune point into the wind, while the tips of a parabolic dune point downwind. Barchan dunes are partially covered by vegetation, while parabolic dunes lack vegetative cover.
A barchan exhibits a concave slip face, while a parabolic dune shows a convex slip face.
Barchanoid dunes are an intermediate form of
barchan and parabolic dunes barchan and transverse dunes barchan and longitudinal dunes barchan and star dunes parabolic and transverse dunes
barchan and transverse dunes
Which dunes are formed under varying wind directions, but are dominantly parallel to the average direction?
barchan parabolic barchanoid transverse longitudinal
longitudinal
Star dunes exhibit
scalloped rows of sand orientated perpendicular to wind many ridges radiating from a central point numerous ridges that align perpendicular to wind direction cresent-shaped ridges with convex slip faces several ridges that suggest a consistent wind direction
many ridges radiating from a central point
What type of hard stabilization structure is designed to keep tidal inlets from shifting location or filling with sand?
Groins
Breakwaters
Seawalls
Jetties
Jetties
Which of the following pairs of words refer to the movements of sand and water on a beach due to a breaking wave?
Swash and slosh
Wash and backwash
Splash and slosh
Backwash and swash
Backwash and swash
What is a deep-water wave?
A wave where the water depth exceeds one-half the wavelength
A wave where the wavelength exceeds one-half the wave height
A wave where the wave height exceeds the water depth
A wave where the wavelength exceeds one-half the water depth
A wave where the water depth exceeds one-half the wavelength
Which of the following is an isolated remnant of bedrock standing above a wave-cut platform along a shoreline?
Sea stack
Sea cave
Seamount
Sea arch
Sea stack
What essentially causes water movement and sand transport parallel to a beach?
A long fetch parallel to a beach
The uprush of water from each breaking wave (the swash) is at an oblique angle
Strong offshore winds creating a pileup of water along a beachfront
Deep-water waves breaking offshore
The uprush of water from each breaking wave (the swash) is at an oblique angle
Which one of the following would prove that a coastline is emergent?
Extensive barrier islands
Numerous large estuaries
Many small bedrock islands
Elevated wave-cut terraces
Elevated wave-cut terraces
What type of hard stabilization structure is built more or less parallel to the beach?
Jetties
Seawalls
Groins
Breakers
Seawalls
Which one of the following is a manmade coastal feature?
Sand spit
Sea arch
Barrier island
Breakwater
Breakwater
Which of the following is true regarding the gravitational forces affecting Earth?
The gravitational forces of each vary depending upon seasons on Earth.
The lunar force is about twice that of the Sun.
The solar force is about twice that of the Moon.
The solar and lunar gravitational forces are about the same magnitude.
The lunar force is about twice that of the Sun.
What currents move sand and water parallel to the beach?
Longshore
Rip
Flood
Refracted
Longshore
Which of the following describes a baymouth bar?
A sand deposit on the estuary side of an inlet through a barrier island
A sand deposit on the seaward side of a tidal inlet to a large estuary
A sandbar extending across a former inlet to a bay or estuary
A sand barrier extending partway across the entrance to a bay or estuary
A sandbar extending across a former inlet to a bay or estuary
Along which type of coastline are large estuaries more common?
Stable
Submergent
Emergent
Retreating
Submergent
When does a deep-water wave become a shallow-water wave?
When the wavelength is about one-half the water depth
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
When the wave period is greater than one-half the water depth
When the wave period is greater than twice the water depth
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
How are spits, hooks, and baymouth bars formed?
Wave erosion cuts away both sides of a long sandbar, leaving a sand ridge aligned parallel to the shore.
A headland is eroded and the sand is deposited in an offshore basin.
Sand eroded from a wave-cut cliff is deposited around sea stacks and arches.
Sand is deposited from longshore currents.
Sand is deposited from longshore currents.
What do the terms “swash” and “backwash” describe?
The forward and backward water movements as storm waves reflect from a seawall or groin
The swirling action and sand movements produced when a shallow-water wave impinges on the bottom
The oscillatory movements of water beneath a passing wave
Movements of water and sand as waves break along a beach
Movements of water and sand as waves break along a beach
Which tides are the maximum-amplitude tides produced when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned?
Rip tides
Tidal surge
Spring tides
Neap tides
Spring tides
What process describes incoming waves slowing down and rotating until they are parallel to the shoreline?
Resurgent
Erosion
Refraction
Reflection
Refraction
What is “fetch”?
The beachfront area where rapid erosion is taking place
The rotational movements of water particles beneath a passing surface wave
Ocean currents moving parallel to the beach
A large expanse of open water over which the wind blows and generates waves
A large expanse of open water over which the wind blows and generates waves
What is the name of a natural sandbar or low sand ridge that connects one island to another island or to the mainland?
Tombolo
Sand groin
Jetty
Spit
Tombolo
What type of tide is a tidal current that flows through an inlet into a bay or estuary?
Neap
Spring
Flood
Ebb
Flood
What feature erodes and leads to enlargement and extension of a wave-cut platform in the inland direction?
Offshore, wave-cut breakwater bar
Wave-cut barrier beach
Wave-cut tombolo
Wave-cut cliff
Wave-cut cliff
Which of the following tides is an incoming or rising tide?
Flood
Rip
Ebb
Drift
Flood
Which one of the following coastlines would typically have wave-cut cliffs, sea stacks, sea arches, and wave-cut platforms?
One where bedrock is vigorously eroded as sea level rises
One where unconsolidated sediments are being eroded as sea level falls
One where unconsolidated sediments are being rapidly eroded as sea level rises
One where a bedrock, wave-cut cliff is rapidly retreating inland as sea level falls
One where bedrock is vigorously eroded as sea level rises
Emergent coastlines of Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden) and the Hudson Bay region of Canada result from which one of the following combinations?
The tectonic subsidence rate exceeds the rate of sea level rise.
The rate of glacial rebound is less than the rate of sea level rise.
The rate of tectonic uplift exceeds the rate of sea level fall.
The rate of glacial rebound exceeds the rate of sea level rise.
The rate of glacial rebound exceeds the rate of sea level rise.
When does a deep-water wave become a shallow-water wave?
When the wave period is greater than one-half the water depth
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
When the wavelength is about one-half the water depth
When the wave period is greater than twice the water depth
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
Which of the following features extends partway across the mouth of a bay or estuary?
Barrier island
Jetty
Spit
Spit
What term describes the broad dome of water moving with the eye and frontal portion of a hurricane?
Cyclonic mound
Storm surge
Sea dome
Eyewall ridge
Storm surge
When does a deep-water wave become a shallow-water wave?
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
When the wave period is greater than twice the water depth
When the wavelength is about one-half the water depth
When the wave period is greater than one-half the water depth
When the wavelength is about twice the water depth
Which of the following are both calcium-bearing minerals?
Calcite and gypsum
Halite and sylvite
Bauxite and kaolin
Quartz and plagioclase
Calcite and gypsum
Which one of the following is a FALSE statement concerning the Bingham Canyon mine?
The ore contains, on average, more than 3 percent by weight of copper.
The mine is the largest open-pit copper mine in North America.
Most of the mineralized rock is part of an igneous rock pluton.
The mine is located in Utah near Salt Lake City.
The ore contains, on average, more than 3 percent by weight of copper.
Which type of coal is typically found only in association with tightly folded strata?
Peat
Lignite
Anthracite
Bituminous
Anthracite
How do graphite deposits typically form?
As hydrothermal vein deposits in limestone around a granitic batholith
By decomposition of humus and soil gases during intense tropical weathering
By metamorphism of organic-rich black shales
As deposits around submarine hot spring vents
By metamorphism of organic-rich black shales
Why are sandstones much more common reservoir rocks of petroleum than are shales?
Sandstones are more abundant than shales.
Sandstones are more permeable than shales; thus subsurface fluids tend to flow through sandstones rather than through shales.
Shales, especially black shales, are much richer in primary organic matter than are sandstones.
Shales are more porous, so the oil tends to leak out over time.
Sandstones are more permeable than shales; thus subsurface fluids tend to flow through sandstones rather than through shales.
Which mineral is the source of phosphorous in phosphate fertilizers?
Garnet
Kaolinite
Apatite
Phosphorite
Apatite
Which of the following are used as abrasives?
Talc and graphite
Apatite and galena
Calcite and gypsum
Diamonds and garnets
Diamonds and garnets
Why are coal and petroleum considered fossil fuels?
Carbon dioxide, released when coal and petroleum burn, contributes to the greenhouse effect.
The oxygen and nitrogen content of coal and petroleum was derived from the ancient atmosphere.
Their energy content was derived from ancient sunlight.
Coal beds and petroleum reservoir rocks contain abundant fossils.
Their energy content was derived from ancient sunlight.
What mineral decomposes chemically to produce acidic soil waters that can cause secondary enrichment in copper and other ores?
Calcite
Pyrite
Quartz
Bauxite
Pyrite
With what natural resource are the terms “cap rock” and “reservoir strata” associated?
Bedded rock salt
Petroleum
Oil shale
Sedimentary iron ore
Petroleum
Of the following minerals, which would not be likely to be concentrated in placer deposits?
Corundum
Diamond
Gypsum
Native gold
Gypsum
Which common rock-forming silicate mineral that exists as large crystals with quartz and feldspars in pegmatites is used as an insulator in electrical equipment?
Muscovite
Graphite
Hornblende
Olivine
Muscovite
In which of the following situations would vein- or fissure-filling deposits of lead and zinc minerals be common?
Rhyolitic lava flows interbedded with pyroclastics
Impactites and shattered rock of a meteorite-impact zone
Rocks of a contact-metamorphic zone formed around a shallow, granite pluton
Rocks formed in a deep, high-grade regional-metamorphic zone
Rocks of a contact-metamorphic zone formed around a shallow, granite pluton
Of what metal is bauxite the ore?
Iron
Aluminum
Tin
Gold
Aluminum
Which of the following is a renewable resource?
Petroleum
Timber
Soil
Water
Timber
In which of the following tectonic rock units would copper and copper–zinc sulfide deposits formed around ancient seafloor hot spring vents most likely be found?
An ophiolite complex
An exotic terrane
A cratonic complex
An accretionary wedge complex
An ophiolite complex
Which of the following ore deposits form because of the prolonged, intense tropical weathering of specific kinds of bedrock?
Silver
Magnesium
Mercury
Aluminum
Aluminum
What mineral once was made into pencil lead but now is more commonly used as a solid lubricant?
Gypsum
Graphite
Bornite
Galena
Graphite
What mineral is an essential component of plasters and plasterboard?
Garnet
Talc
Apatite
Gypsum
Gypsum
What term means “the sun in the making”?
Nebular sun
Presun
Solar disk
Protosun
Protosun
Which era is sometimes called the “age of dinosaurs”?
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
Pleistocene
Cretaceous
Mesozoic
During which era did mammals become the dominant land animals?
Pleistocene
Cretaceous
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Cenozoic
Cenozoic
Which single supercontinent had formed by the close of the Paleozoic?
Gondwanaland
Laurasia
Rodinia
Pangaea
Pangaea
According to most sources, what is the approximate age of Earth?
2 billion years old
4.5 million years old
16 million years old
4.6 billion years old
4.6 billion years old
What were the first true terrestrial animals?
Mammals
Lobe-finned fish
Trilobites
Reptiles
Reptiles
Which one of the following does not characterize the early development and specialization of primitive mammals?
Specialization of limbs
Increase in size
Specialization of teeth
Increase in stomach capacity
Increase in brain capacity
Increase in stomach capacity
During which time period did large tropical swamps extend across North America, eventually becoming the vast coal deposits of eastern North America and Europe today?
Devonian
Pennsylvanian
Cambrian
Silurian
Pennsylvanian
Which type of bacteria thrive in environments that lack free oxygen?
Anaerobic
Iron-fixing
Aerobic
Foraminifera
Anaerobic
What era is known as the “age of flowering plants”?
Cenozoic
Precambrian
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Cenozoic
Which geologic period was supposedly a time of major extinctions, including those of 75 percent of amphibian families?
Mississippian
Pennsylvanian
Permian
Jurassic
Permian
What term means “planets in the making”?
Terrestrial
Asteroids
Jovian
Protoplanets
Protoplanets
Which one of the following represents the greatest expanse of geological time?
Paleozoic
Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Precambrian
Precambrian
During the early Paleozoic era, the current continents of South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, India, and perhaps China comprised which vast southern continent?
Gondwanaland
Rodinia
Laurasia
Pangaea
Gondwanaland
With what other element dissolved in water was most of the Earth’s first free oxygen combined, as observed in Precambrian rocks?
Carbon
Iron
Silicon
Potassium
Iron
Fossil fuels are notably absent from rocks from which time period listed below?
Precambrian
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
Paleozoic
Precambrian
What is the major source of free oxygen in the atmosphere?
Green plants
Silicate minerals
Water
Molten rock
Green plants
In rocks of which age does most of Earth’s iron ore exist?
Precambrian
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Cenozoic
Precambrian
What term means “the era of ancient life”?
Cenozoic
Precambrian
Paleozoic
Neolithic
Paleozoic
What important event in animal evolution occurred at the beginning of the Cambrian period?
The appearance of animals with wings
The development of cells
The appearance of animals with hard parts
The development of animals with vertebrae
The appearance of animals with hard parts
Which rocks are devoid of fossils, which hinders the correlation of rock units?
Cenozoic
Paleozoic
Precambrian
Mesozoic
Precambrian
Where is it thought that Earth’s primitive atmosphere came from?
It was produced by radioactive decay of the core of Earth.
It was expelled from within the Earth.
It escaped from water.
It was collected from the nebula.
It was expelled from within the Earth.
Which era of geologic time spans about 88 percent of Earth’s history?
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
Precambrian
Paleozoic
Precambrian
What continent dominated the Northern Hemisphere during the late Paleozoic, combining present-day North America, Europe, western Asia, Siberia, and perhaps China?
Laurasia
Rodinia
Gondwanaland
Pangaea
Laurasia
What acid forms when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in seawater?
Carbonic acid
Hydrochloric acid
Nitric acid
Carbolic acid
Carbonic acid
Below which altitude measurement is 50 percent of Earth’s atmosphere found?
- 2 km
- 4 km
- 6 km
- 9 km
- 5 km
5.6 km
What term refers to the temperature decrease in the troposphere?
Thermocline
Environmental lapse rate
Tropopause
Adiabatic lapse rate
Environmental lapse rate
In which layer of the atmosphere do temperatures rise to more than 1000°C?
Thermosphere
Troposphere
Cryosphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Are eccentricity, obliquity, and precession considered to be natural, human, solar, volcanic, or astrological causes of climate change?
Natural
Solar
Volcanic
Astrological
Human
Natural
What was the approximate increase in global temperature during the twentieth century?
- 7°C
- 6°C
- 9°C
- 5°C
- 8°C
0.8°C
Would the average surface temperature of Earth’s atmosphere be lower, higher, or unchanged if it contained no greenhouse gases?
Lower
Unchanged
Higher
Lower
What term describes the amounts of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) present in greenhouse gases?
Major
Trace
Minor
Negligible
Trace
What accounts for the increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”)?
Dental procedures
Fertilizers
Factories
Locomotives
Automobiles
Fertilizers
Of the following, what material makes up much of the shells of numerous marine microorganisms called foraminifera?
SiO2
NaCl
CO2
CaCO3
Fe2O3
CaCO3
How many spheres are involved in the exchanges of energy and moisture that occur in Earth’s climate system?
Seven
Six
Five
Three
Four
Five
Which of the following substances can be used as a paleothermometer?
Corals
Fossil pollen
Aerosols
Tree ring data
Corals
How much has sea level risen over the last 100 years?
Between 10 and 23 cm
Between 15 and 23 cm
Between 25 and 30 cm
Between 10 and 15 cm
Between 5 and 10 cm
Between 10 and 23 cm
In which zone of the atmosphere is ozone concentrated?
Cryosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
What is the environmental lapse rate that occurs going up in the troposphere?
The air temperature decreases 4.2°C/km.
The air temperature decreases 5.3°C/km.
The air temperature decreases 0°C/km.
The air temperature decreases 3.5°C/km.
The air temperature decreases 6.5°C/km.
The air temperature decreases 6.5°C/km.
What type of bacteria produces methane?
Aerobic
Aerated
Anaerobic
Anaerobic
What instrument records vertical changes in temperature, pressure, wind, and humidity?
Aerometer
Radiosonde
Theodolite
Climoprobe
Barometer
Radiosonde
What term refers to a measurement of the amount of radiation reflected by a surface?
Electromagnetic spectrum
Absorption
Reflection
Dispersion
Albedo
Albedo
In which layer of the atmosphere does the temperature remain constant to an altitude of about 20 kilometers?
Tropopause
Troposphere
Stratopause
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
What gases will be released as a result of the melting of permafrost and decomposing vegetation?
CFCs and ozone
Carbon dioxide and methane
Nitrous oxide
Carbonic acid
Hydrogen and helium
Carbon dioxide and methane
Which gaseous element comprises the greatest percentage of the air that we breathe?
Carbon dioxide
Oxygen
Helium
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen
Which regions of the Earth will experience a greater adverse response to global warming?
Tropical
Boreal
Polar
Grassland
Coastal
Polar
What is the name of the lines of indirect evidence that scientists use to reconstruct past climates?
Proxy data
Paradigms
Inferences
Hypotheses
Proxy data
How do explosive volcanic eruptions affect global temperatures?
Explosive volcanic eruptions have no effect on global temperatures.
Explosive volcanic eruptions raise global temperatures.
Explosive volcanic eruptions lower global temperatures.
Explosive volcanic eruptions lower global temperatures
How will increased levels of atmospheric CO2 ultimately affect the pH of global oceans?
Raise
Lower
Have no effect on
Dilute
Lower
What huge magnetic storms may be responsible for variations in temperature and precipitation?
Sunspots
Hurricanes
Tsunamis
Typhoons
Monsoons
Sunspots
