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Geology > Final > Flashcards

Final Flashcards

1
Q

Soil make-up

A
  • 25% air
  • 25% water
  • 45% mineral matter
  • 5% organic matter
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2
Q

The hydrosphere make-up

A
  • 97.2% ocean
  • 2.15% glaciers
  • .62% groundwater
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3
Q

The hydrologic cycle

A

evaporation, precipitation, run off, infiltration

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4
Q

What is a river/ stream?

A

Water flowing at Earth’s surface in a confined channel

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5
Q

What is a river/stream’s gradient?

A

The slope of the stream

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6
Q

what is a river/stream competence?

A

The largest grains the river can carry

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7
Q

With increasing gradient, the _________ increases

A

competence

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8
Q

What river has a high competence?

A

Colorado river

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9
Q

Fossils with a narrow age range and a wide distribution commonly used to determine the relative and/or absolute age of a rock unit are called:

A

Index fossils

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10
Q

The radioactive decay of a parent isotope gives rise to:

A

Daughter elements

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11
Q

In analyzing a sample of charcoal that contains 25% of the original Carbon-14 that has a half life of 5730 years, how old is the sample

A

~11,460 years old

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12
Q

Steno’s laws

A

rules for determining the order in which rocks were deposited in

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13
Q

Principle of superposition

A

The bottom layer is older than the layers on top

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14
Q

Principle of original horizontally

A

Particles and sediment is deposited horizontally

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15
Q

Principle of lateral continuity

A

Sediment deposition is laterally continuous until there is a change in in environment

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16
Q

Principle of cross cutting relationships

A

fractures in rock are younger than the rocks

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17
Q

Unconformity:

A

represents a long period during which deposition ceased, erosion removed previously formed rocks, and then deposition resumed.

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18
Q

Angular Conformity:

A

Consists of tilted or folded sedimentary rock that are overlain by younger, more flat-lying strata.

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19
Q

Fossils are used to correlate between _______

A

rock units

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20
Q

Conditions that favor preservation (fossils)

A
  • rapid burial

- organisms with hard parts (skeletons, shells, etc.)

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21
Q

What do fossils tell us?

A
  • Age of a rock
  • Community dynamics
  • Type of environment (wet/dry, marine/non-marine)
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22
Q

Absolute age dating

A
  • primarily in igneous rock
  • half life
  • isotopes
  • radioactive dating
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23
Q

Isotopes:

A

An atom of an element with different # of neutrons

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24
Q

Half-life:

A

Time needed fir 1/2 of parent to decay

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25
Q

Sources of error of radioactive dating

A
  • No daughter atoms
  • fresh, unweathered samples should be used
  • wrong isotopes
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26
Q

The geologic time scale:

A

-formed using both absolute and relative dating
-separated mostly by observed evolutionary change
-(in order from greatest to least)
Eons, eras, periods, epochs, stages

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27
Q

Metamorphic rocks:

A

Rocks that have been changed texturally, mineralogically, and/or chemically

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28
Q

Temperatures in the crust rise with depth. This feature of the earth is called:

A

Geothermal gradient

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29
Q

Metamorphism occurring over large areas is known as:

A

Regional metamorphism

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30
Q

The proper order of Slate by increasing metamorphic grade:

A

Slate, phyllite, Schist, Gneiss

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31
Q

_____ in metamorphic rocks occurs due to differential stress

A

Foliation

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32
Q

Waterfalls migrate upstream through the process of:

A

Knickpoint migration

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33
Q

A geologic unit composed of highly porous, gravel-rich materials would likely make a good _____

A

aquifer

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34
Q

What are the key factors influencing the erosion and deposition of a stream:

A
  • Velocity
  • Channel dimensions
  • Discharge
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35
Q

What are the three movements of sediments within the bedload of a stream/river?

A
  • rolling
  • sliding
  • saltation (bouncing)
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36
Q

Aquitard:

A

A layer of geologic materials which impedes groundwater movement

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37
Q

Artesian wells generally result from:

A

well installations in a confined aquifer

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38
Q

Groundwater which is NOT overlain by an impermeable layer of geologic materials is said to be:

A

Unconfined

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39
Q

Metamorphic environments:

A
  • Deep basins
  • fault zones
  • Impact zones
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40
Q

Foliation:

A

preferred mineral grain orientation due to differential stress

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41
Q

What sediments align in minerals due to direction of stress

A

-Micas, amphiboles, pyroxenes

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42
Q

Why do some rocks foliate and others do not?

A

The parent rock’s minerals are either are or are not micas, pyroxene, amphiboles

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43
Q

Capacity:

A

maximum solid load of a stream can carry

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44
Q

What is the mission of a river?

A

To get water and sediments to base level

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45
Q

What is base level?

A

An ocean, lake, or another basin

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46
Q

What keeps rivers and streams from forming a water world?

A

Plate tectonics

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47
Q

What is a water fall?

A

A local base level, the resistant rock ledge(which limits the waters ability to erode deeper.

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48
Q

Knickpoint migration:

A

movement of a waterfall

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49
Q

How do streams flow?

A
  • streamflow

- velocity

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50
Q

streamflow:

A

controlled by velocity

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51
Q

Velocity:

A

speed of the river

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52
Q

Laminar flow:

A

smoother flow (streams)

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53
Q

Turbulent flow:

A

chaotic flow (rapids)

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54
Q

What are drainage basins?

A

Area where all water that falls in the area, will drain into that basin (stream order)

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55
Q

Stream order:

A

Measurement of the relative size of streams

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56
Q

Two types of streams:

A
  • Braided
  • Meandering
  • Type depends on proximity to head waters, farthest from where stream meets discharge outlet
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57
Q

Braided stream:

A
  • High energy
  • typical mountain drainage
  • over time turns to meandering stream
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58
Q

Meandering stream:

A
  • lower energy

- associated with flood plains

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59
Q

Factors affecting erosion and deposition of a stream:

A
  • velocity gradients
  • shape, size, and roughness of channel
  • discharge
  • gradient: the different river flows within a channel
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60
Q

What point in a stream has the maximum velocity?

A

The center

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61
Q

How do streams transport sediment?

A
  • rolling
  • sliding
  • saltation (bouncing)
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62
Q

Sediments contacting at the bottom of the river is the:

A

bed load

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63
Q

Sediments that are are floating in the water is the:

A

Suspended load

64
Q

Point bar:

A

The inner curve of a bend, deposits sediment

65
Q

Cut bank:

A

The outer curve of a bend, erosional

66
Q

Where do streams slow down?

A
  • Channel deposits

- ex. Point bars and deltas

67
Q

Deltas:

A

-Where rivers meet base level they are forced to slow and drop the sediment

68
Q

Direction that rivers migrate:

A

left and right (meandering)

up and down (downcutting)

69
Q

stream capture:

A
  • drainages running into each other

- two 1’s meeting makes a 2, two 2’s meeting makes a 3…etc

70
Q

How to calculate discharge:

A
  • measurement of how much the river is outputting
  • cubic feet per second
  • Discharge= (velocity)(depth)(width)
71
Q

Increased disharge=

A

Increased capacity

72
Q

Increased velocity=

A

Increased competence

73
Q

Types of deltas:

A
  • River dominated delta (bird foot delta)
  • Wave dominated delta(Triangular or “delta” shaped)
  • Tide dominated delta
74
Q

River dominated delta (bird foot delta):

A
  • Sediment makes its way to ocean

- ex. Mississippi river

75
Q

Wave dominated delta (triangular shaped delta):

A
  • Sediment is deposited at mouth of river

- Ex. Nile river delta

76
Q

Tide dominated

A
  • Island bars running parallel to river output

- ex. Fly river delta, New Zealand

77
Q

Types of floods:

A
  • Regional

- Flash

78
Q

Regional flood:

A

large area flooding

79
Q

Flash flood:

A
  • localized flooding usually due to storms

- Ice jams and dam failures can cause heavy precipitation

80
Q

Flood recurrence interval

A

ex. “100 year flood”

- within a 1/100 chance of that size of flood happening in a year

81
Q

Flood control methods:

A
  • dams
  • levees (sides of a river built higher)
  • channelization (LA river, straightened and steepened)
  • Management (passing no building laws)
82
Q

Rural flooding:

A
  • less severe
  • longer “lag” time
  • lots of grass and soil to soak up some flow
83
Q

Urban flooding:

A
  • more severe

- less “lag” time

84
Q

Slot canyons:

A

-narrow canyon carved by massive flooding events

85
Q

Zone of aeration:

A

area of subsurface that is not fully saturated (moist soil)

86
Q

Pore space:

A

space between sediments that can be filled with water

87
Q

Capillary fringe:

A

beginning of zone of saturation

88
Q

Zone of saturation:

A

100% saturated

89
Q

Porosity:

A

-percentage of volume of rock or sediment that consists of pore spaces

90
Q

Specific yield:

A

the measurement of how much free flowing water can come out of it

91
Q

Specific retention:

A

the water that will not be free flowing

92
Q

Permeability:

A

the ability of water to move between the grain gaps, the ability to transmit a fluid

93
Q

Clay permeability example:

A

Porosity: 50
Specific yield: 2
Specific retention: 48

94
Q

How to calculate hydraulic gradient:

A

H1-H2/distance

95
Q

Water will always move _____ to contour line

A

perpendicular

96
Q

Aquitard:

A

An impermeable layer that has low specific yield and does not transfer much water

97
Q

Aquifer:

A

rock strata or sediment that transmits groundwater freely

98
Q

Aquifer types:

A
  • perched
  • confined
  • unconfined
99
Q

Confined aquifer:

A

aquifer that is confined between two aquitards

100
Q

Unconfined aquifer:

A

aquifer that is not overlain by an aquitard

101
Q

Perched aquifer:

A

Is above an aquitard, ca be above surface water level

102
Q

Groundwater is often:

A
  • Mildly acidic

- Contains weak carbonic acid

103
Q

How is groundwater formed?

A

-When rainwater dissolves Carbon Dioxide from the air and from decaying plants

104
Q

How can groundwater form lakes?

A

Karst topography: the groundwater dissolves limestone and leads to it collapsing

105
Q

What are hot springs evidence of?

A

groundwater movement

106
Q

What are some problems associated with groundwater?

A
  • It is a non-renewable source
  • the occurrence of subsidence (deflation of land)
  • saltwater contamination
107
Q

How is groundwater movement dictated?

A

by gravity and geological conditions

108
Q

Two types of glaciers:

A
  • Alpine: exist in mountains

- Continental: ice sheets (antarctica and greenland)

109
Q

Zone of accumulation:

A

base line of the glacier (top)

110
Q

Zone of wastage:

A

Where the glacier begins to reduce itself

111
Q

The glacial budget:

A

more or less material will reflect on the zones of accumulation and wastage

112
Q

How do glaciers move?

A

(Zone of fracture)
———————————-
-Internal flow (Inside)

113
Q

Crevasses

A

linear cracks in glaciers due to movement of glacier

114
Q

Plastic flow of glacier

A

Center of glacier moves

115
Q

How do glaciers erode?

A

By grinding rocks and transporting sediments

116
Q

Striations:

A
  • Hints at directions of glacier movement

- Scratched by moving sediments

117
Q

Polished surfaces:

A

Result from sand paper-like glacial ice grinding down rock

118
Q

Cirques:

A

A bigger zone of accumulation

119
Q

Arete:

A

Spine like tops between glaciers

120
Q

Horn:

A

Several cirques coming together, making a pyramid-like horn

121
Q

Truncated spurs:

A

formed by the main glacier eroding many arete’s in the system

122
Q

V-shaped valleys mean:

A

They were carved by a stream and are unglaciated

123
Q

U-shape valleys mean:

A

They were carved by glaciers

124
Q

Tarns:

A

Lake located in an iceless cirque

125
Q

Fjords:

A

Flooded glacial valley

126
Q

Hanging valleys:

A
  • waterfalls with huge drop-offs

- where supporting glaciers meet the valley of the main glacier

127
Q

Glacial till:

A
  • Unstratified and unsorted
  • From glacial deposits
  • sediments drop where ice melts
128
Q

Medial Moraine

A
  • Ex. Mt mckinley
  • build up of glacial till
  • Usually in ablation
129
Q

Terminal moraine

A
  • The furthest the glacier reached

- during melting, the glacier deposits till making a hill

130
Q

Recessional moraine

A
  • Interior of glacier
  • from grow and retreat
  • younger than terminal
131
Q

Ice can deposit ice in a _______

A

kettle lake

132
Q

Esker and games form by:

A

movement under the ice

133
Q

Drumlins:

A

Steep face will face the glacier

134
Q

lateral moraines:

A

-Form on sides/margins of glaciers

135
Q

Kettle lakes:

A

debris and ice depress the earth and melts, leaving a lake

136
Q

Isostatic subsidence:

A
  • Glacial ice can depress the earth’s surface

- rebound: after ice melts, the earth takes a while to go back to normal

137
Q

The laurentide Ice sheet:

A
  • North America
  • 95-20 thousand years ago
  • deglaciation produced the great lakes and long island
138
Q

The three natural phenomenon that controls glaciation are:

A
  • Earth’s orbit around the sun that changes
  • Earth’s tilt also not constant from 23 1/2
  • Earth’s precession
139
Q

Ice Cores:

A

-preserve atmospheres of atmospheres (air bubbles, air chemistry, CO2 levels)

140
Q

Right now, we are in a

A

glacial period

141
Q

Deserts are:

A
  • Hot
  • Dry
  • Cold
  • < 25 cm of precipitation/ year
142
Q

Most deserts occur at ______ latitude

A

30 degrees

tropic of cancer and tropic and capricorn

143
Q

_____ ___results in dry and arid areas

A

falling air

144
Q

Types of deserts:

A
  • Polar
  • Rainshadow
  • Inland
  • Western Coastal
145
Q

Polar deserts:

A

-occur at the poles

146
Q

Rain shadow deserts:

A
  • Associated with topographic features, usually mountains

- ex. Death valley

147
Q

Inland deserts:

A

fair removed from any water source

148
Q

Western Coastal deserts:

A

Associated with ocean currents and cool water upwelling

149
Q

Playas:

A

dry lake beds

150
Q

Bajada:

A

set of alluvial fans

151
Q

Inselberg:

A

mountain island , a single mountain

152
Q

Elevated flat areas in the desert:

A

Plateus - mesas - buttes
————————————->
largest to smallest

153
Q

What is the key to erosion and transportation in the desert?

A

air

154
Q

blowouts:

A

sand removed from an area by wind

155
Q

deflation:

A

small particles removed leaving a hard crust called Desert pavement

156
Q

The three factors that determine the type of sand dunes

A
  • Wind direction and strength
  • Sand supply
  • Vegetation that is present

Geology (4 decks)

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