Final Exam Flashcards
Erosion
The removal, transport, and deposition of weathered material over a very large distances, often (though not always) by water.
Fluvial erosion
Erosion resulting from streams- any channel flowing water
How do fluvial erosions begin
When water moves in thin sheets downslope (overland flow). Eventually the moving water forms channels. The hydraulic power of the channel flow scours out deeper gullies and eventually connects to the drainage system of a valley
Sinuous Stream Channels
Have gentle irregular curvature.
Very common.
As stream gradient lessens (the slope down which the stream flows flatten), the sinuosity increases
Straight Stream Channels
Are relatively rare and typically only occur over short distances.
Straight channels are typically controlled by the underlying geological structure
Braided Stream Channels
Occur in streams that carry large amounts of sediment
Braided channels consist of numerous interwoven channels
Meandering Stream Channels
Occur over flatter land with lower gradients and are characterized by tightly curving serpentine stream channels
Competence
Refers to the size of the largest object that a stream can transport
Higher competence means a stream can transport larger objects
Competence primarily depends on stream velocity, such that moving faster moving streams have higher stream competence.
Capacity
A stream is the amount of material a stream a stream can transport
Capacity depends both on stream velocity and stream volume
Stream load
The material transported by a stream
Dissolved load
Is the minerals dissolved in the moving stream water
Suspended load
The fine clay and silt particles that move along the stream via suspension and never touch the stream bed
Bedload
Is the larger sand grains and gravel that bounce along the bottom of the stream (saltation) or for larger objects, get dragged along the stream bed (traction)
Bedload moves slower than the dissolved and suspended loads above it (closer to the surface) because of friction
Valley depending
Happens in areas with steeper stream gradients when the fast moving water erodes away rock and forms v-shaped valleys- a process called Dow cutting.
The hydraulic power of the fast-moving water and abrasion from eroded material along the stream bed erode the valley and create deep canyons
Valley Widening
Happens in areas with low stream gradients (flat land), the water slows down and the stream takes on a more meandering flow.
Faster moving water along the _______ of a meander erodes _______ the bank (a cut bank) and widens the valley. Slower moving water in the _______ of a meander redúceles the streams competence and capacity and results in decomposition along a point bar.
Outside, away, inside
Delta Formation
Occurs when the stream enters a larger body of water
The flow velocity drops rapidly, which causes the stream competence and capacity to decrease and results in depositions of the stream load in a delta
How much water is stored in the oceans
97%
Water is always moving
True
Groundwater
Refers to underground water in the subsurface zone
Zone of saturation
Refers to underground water in the subsurface zone where spaces are completely filled with water
Aquifers
Where groundwater is stored
Porosity
Measure of the “empty spaces” of a material
Permeability
Is a measure of ability of material to transmit water though interconnected pores/voids
Aquicludes
Are impermeable layers in an aquifer system that prevent water from infiltrating
Confided aquifer
Surrounded by aquicludes
Take a longer time to recharge since water cannot readily percolate through the soil to the aquifer given the presence of impermeable layer.
Do not require pumps
Artesian wells
When a well opening is drilled into a confined aquifer
Cone of Depression
When humans rapidly extract water from an aquifer, the water table near the well will lower and the well may run dry. This local lowering of the water table near and overused well is called this
Land Subsidence
When humans extract water from an aquifer faster than water is recharged to the aquifer, the pores formerly filled with water will compact
Karst Landscapes
In areas where the underlying bedrock is limestone or some other water-soluble rock (Florida)
Weakly acidic rainfall dissolves carbonate (limestone) rock and results in the formation of solution cavities in the bedrock. These cavities grow in time and form an ____________ system of __________ and __________. Discharge of groundwater through ____________ occurs at the openings of the ________ to the surface.
Underground, caverns, water transport, natural springs, aquifer
As solution cavities grow in the bedrock, they can cause __________ to sink or collapse. This is how ________ form.
Overburden, sinkholes
Dissolution Sinkholes
Form when limestone under a thin layer of sandy soil dissolves near the surface and gradually leads to the development of depression in the land
Cover subsidence sinkholes
Form when the overburden is composed of a thicker layer of sand. As the solution cavities in the bedrock grow, sand from the overburden spills into into the cavity, causing a depression.
Cover Collapse Sinkholes
Form when the overburden includes lots of clay. The dissolution cavities grow and eventually the clay overburden collapses suddenly into the cavity.
Where do the energy from waves come from
The wind
The stronger the wind the higher the waves
Wave Crest
The highest point of the wave
Wave Trough
The lowest point of the wave
Wavelength
Is the horizontal distance (length) between two wave crests
Wave refraction
When waves reach the shoreline at an oblique angle, can be caused by wind direction, underground topography, currents, and etc
Longshore current
Originated parallel to the ocean results from wave refraction
Which way do longshore currents usually move
From north to south in the US
Headland
Is the part of the shore that extends out into the ocean like a peninsula
Headlands recieve more ______ from wave action, and thus ______ happens faster
Energy, erosion
Barrier Island
Enough sediment will get deposited on an underwater sandbar in shallow water just offshore that the sandbar will poke out up above the water level
Spit
When longshore current crashes onto the bay at an angle, it will deposit sediment sideways across the bay.
Baymouth Bar
When the spit cuts off the bay entirely
Jetties
Are structures that jut out into the ocean at the mouth of a bay, river, or inlet
Groins
Like jetties just not the mouth of a bay river etc.
Breakwaters
Are rock structures that are built out to sea a little ways
They disrupt and slow down waves before they reach the shore.
Tombolos
Sediment accumulates behind breakwaters, eventually forming little sandbar peninsulas
Emergent Coastlines
Have rugged looks (Pacific Coast)
Sea levels are falling
Cliffs
Submergent Coastlines
Sea level rise
Smooth coastlines (Florida) (East Coast)
Wide Coastline
What is the ITCZ
An area of low pressure near the Equator, often seen as a line of clouds
Seasons are caused by the distance between Earth and Sun
False
What law relates the temperature of an object to the amount of radiation it emits
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
Which of the following is a correct definition for the given type of humidity?
Relative the % of water vapor in a parcel relative to its capacity
What does it mean for an air parcel to be saturated
Relative humidity = 100%
Mixing ratio = saturation mixing ratio
Vapor pressure = saturation vapor pressure
When is a sea breeze most common in coastal Florida
Summer daytime
Describe E Climates
Cold
Exfoliation is this type of weathering
Physical (Mechanical)
What is the correct order of these events
Weathering, mass wasting, erosion
The Himalayas are the highest mountains on Earth. What formed them
Convergent Boundaries
What formed the Hawaiian Islands
Volcanoes along a hot spring
What is the difference between river “competence” and river “capacity”
Competence: how large an object it can move
Capacity: How much it carries
What is the river’s Bedload
The larger sand grains and gravel that roll or bounce along the bottom
Florida’s bedrock is this type
Limestone, a type of sedimentary rock
What can cause sea levels to change?
Melting of the glaciers on dry land
Changes in ocean temperatures
Vertical movement of continental crust
What kind of water takes up the most space
Warm
Where is ground water stored
Aquifers
What is the geologic term for a landscape made up of water soluble rock like limestone
Karst
What type of sinkhole forms the most suddenly
Cover collapse sinkhole
When is the most common moth for sinkhole occurrence in Florida
January
Why is January a common month for sinkhole occurrence in Florida
Irrigation is common to protect citrus from common freezes
What is another common time of year for sinkholes in Florida
Late spring: April and May
Why is late spring a common time for sinkholes in Florida
Irrigation of water-stressed crops at the end of the dry season
Which of the following is evidence supporting Continental Drift Theory
Continental coastlines fit like puzzle pieces
Similar fossils at locations that are now far away from each other
New rock found at divergent undersea plate boundary
What climate conditions are associated with pedzolization as the dominant pedogenic regime
Cool and rainy
Layers of the Earth from outermost to innermost
Crust, mantle, liquid core, solid core
What is calculated by measuring the distance between two wave crests
Wavelength
Much of the southeast US and Caribbean is the type of coastline
Submergent
Much of the Pacific Coast of the US and Canada is this type of coastline
Emergent
What’s the term for a narrow strip of sand that is gradually deposited across a bay because of the longshore current
Spit
You put a GPS tracker on a grain of sand in Daytona and track it for 10 years. What direction would you expect it to move
South towards miami
Which of the following is human-built feature designed to disrupt coastal sediment transport
Jetty, Breakwater, and Groin
