final study guide Flashcards

1
Q

climate change

A
  • Increase over time of the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans
  • more contraversial
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2
Q

Keeling curve

A
  • shows us the CO2 concentration in atmosphere over time
  • exponential increase
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3
Q

global verticle energy balance

A
  • some energy is trapped by our atmosphere, some leaves and bounces back
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4
Q

climate proxies

A
  • how we know about past climates
  • Tree rings, rock formations, earth material chemical compositions, lake-floor sediments
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5
Q

Greenhouse effect

A
  • Earth absorbs sunlight, and some energy is given back to space, while some is absorbed - Necessary and natural, but it shouldn’t be enhanced with more gases in the atmosphere
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6
Q

carbon cycle

A
  • plate tectonics allow for flow of carbon throughout atmosphere
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7
Q

three milankovitch cycles

A
  1. Eccentricity- circular or oval like
  2. Obliquity- shape of Earth’s orbit
  3. Precession- wobble that makes the Earth closer of further from the sun
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8
Q

ideal combination for glacial development

A

a) circular orbits, which prevent close summer passes
b) small tilts (close to 22.1o) less summer solar heating
c) N.H. summer is farthest from the Sun, which needs a proper combination of the eccentricity and precession

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9
Q

global ocean conveyor belt

A
  • Heat is transferred through the water to the north towards Iceland
  • Warm water exchanges heat with the cooler air becoming colder and saltier
  • Near iceland, water becomes more dense (cool and salty) than the water below and sinks, flowing southward along the floor of the Atlantic
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10
Q

role of volcanic eruptions

A
  • Volcanic eruptions injecting sulfur-containing gases, [SO2 and H2S], into the stratosphere, leading to the formation of liquid sulfate aerosols
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11
Q

what extreme weather events are we confident are impacted by climate change?

A
  • need more research on things like hurricanes and extra-tropical cyclones, already are very confident on extreme heat and cold
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12
Q

internal energy

A
  • planet formation energy, gravitational energy, radioactive decay energy
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13
Q

gravity

A
  • fundamental force that draws matter together
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14
Q

potential energy

A
  • stored energy
  • builds up and drives geological disasters
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15
Q

crust

A
  • overlies mantle
  • light color
  • low density rock
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16
Q

lithosphere

A
  • ridig solid rock
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17
Q

asthenosphere

A
  • fluid like (plastic rock)
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18
Q

strain

A
  • can change in form or size of a body due to external forces
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19
Q

tension

A
  • a state of stress that tends to pull the body apart
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20
Q

compression

A
  • a state of stress that causes a pushing together
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21
Q

shear

A
  • slides past eachother
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22
Q

isostacy

A
  • the less dense material floats on top of more dense material
  • impoundment of water in Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam causes area to sink
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23
Q

alfred Wegner

A
  • came up with Theory of Continental Drift
  • German meteorologist
  • had 4 main evidences to support his theory that continents drifted apart
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24
Q

the theory of continential drift 4 pieces of evidence

A
  1. fossil evidence- fossils found in different areas from where they are from (split by ocean)
  2. simmilarities across oceans- rock types, mountain ranges are geologically related but seperated by oceans
  3. coastlines look like they fit together
  4. paleoclimate glacial scarring found on rocks in tropical regions, coal in polar regions
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25
plate tectonic theory
- Harry Hess - used echo sounding surveys on the ocean floor and came up with the seafloor spreading theory - convection currents that recycle magma
26
where are new rocks and old rocks?
- New rock in middle of ridge, old rock at trenches
27
convergent boundary
- push together - can make mountain ranges and trenches - subduction zones- one plate sinks below - this happens when oceanic and continential plates collide
28
divergent boundary
- push apart - pushes old rock away - get earthquakes here - ex: mid-atlantic ridge
29
transform boundary
- one subducts - get volnacoes and mountains forming, trenches, deep earthquakes - ex: san andreas fault
30
oceanic-continential convergence
- denser ocean sinks and subducts - volcanoes - trenches - deep earthquakes
31
ring of fire
- area around pacific rim - lots of volcanic activity here
32
continential-continential convergence
- Himalayan mountain range - buckling and pushing - none subduct - earthquakes here
33
ocean-ocean convergence
- marianas trench - one moves faster
34
earthquake
- vibrations are felt or recorded - can be caused by a few things: volcanic activity, landslides, movement of the Earth across a fault (most common)
35
faults
- fracture in Earth across which the two sides move relative to each other - are complex zones of breakage with irregular surfaces, many miles wide and long
36
elastic rebound theory
- Elastic strain accumulates across a fault - When elastic strain energy exceeds the friction along the fault, a rupture occurs, and the rocks snap back into place, releasing stored energy
37
types of faults
- dip- slip fault
38
dip-slip fault
- dominated by vertical movement - ore veins often form in fault zones, so many mines are actually dug out along - caused by pushing or pulling force
39
normal fault
- occurs when hangingwall moves down relative to footwall, and zone of omission results
40
reverse fault
- occurs when hangingwall moves up relative to footwall, and zone of repetition results
41
strike-slip fault (right and left lateral faults)
- Dominated by horizontal movement - When straddling a fault, if right-hand side moved towards you, it is a right-lateral fault - When straddling a fault, if the left-hand side has moved towards you, it is a left-lateral fault
42
dip
- angle of inclination from horizontal of tilted layer
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strike
- compass bearing of horizontal line in tilted layer
44
foreshocks
- smaller events preceeding the earthquakes
45
aftershocks
- smaller events after the earthquake
46
8 things that can form from fault lines
- Compression, uplift, hills and mountains - Extensions, down- dropping, basins and valleys
47
epicenter
- the point on the Earth's surface where the rupture happened
48
hypocenter or focus
- the point on the faultline underground where the rupture actually happened
49
Seismometer
- drum with a piece of paper on it and a pen - mechanism on it that is sensitive to waves - records how much energy comes in - seismology is the study of earthquakes - seismographs are the graphs that come from a seisometer
50
amplitude
- baseline to the height/crest
51
waveline
- crest to crust
52
period
- time between waves (1/frequency)
53
frequency
- number of waves in a second
54
body waves
- pass through entire planet - could be primary (P) or secondary (S) - most abundant at high frequencies - most energetic closer to epicenter
55
surface waves
- move through surface only - Love and Rayleigh type waves - take longer to complete a cycle and they carry a significant amount of energy far from epicenter
56
Love and Rayleigh waves
- called L waves because they are long waves - Love waves are side to side (horizontal) - Rayleigh waves are like rolling waves (elliptical)
57
P waves
- primary (happen first) - fastest to reach recording station - can move through solid, liquid, and gas - moves in compressional fashion (push-pull) like slinky
58
S waves
- second, slower to reach recording station - shear waves - side to side and up and down - only travel through solids, but due to the shearing action, they cause severe damage
59
seismic waves
- defined by the way they displace the ground
60
locating earthquakes
- Requires at least 3 seismic stations - Measure the time difference between P and S wave arrivals - Convert time difference into distance
61
Richter scale
- deals with the amount of energy - logrithmic - For every 10-fold increase in the amplitude of the recorded seismic wave, the Richter magnitude increases one number
62
Mercalli Intensity
- based on damage
63
moment magnitude
- Estimates the torque required to move rocks along a fault with a given resistance
64
predicting earthquakes
- hard to predict, but there are some precursors - we know where they happen (plate boundaries)
65
societal effects of Earthquakes
- Quality of construction, preparedness of people, time of day
66
1886 Charleston Earthquake
- 60 deaths - magnitude 7
67
Loma Prieta
- magnitude 7.5 - caused 63 deaths - along San Andreas fault line
68
Nepal earthquake 2015
- 9,000 people died - 8 magnitude - triggered avalanche on Mt. Everest
69
direct effects from 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake
- solely linked to deformation of ground near the fault itself (fault rupture) - Many earthquakes do not rupture the surface - Hyogo-Ken Nanbu rupture in rural island area - Ground displaced just 3 meters
70
tsunamis
- means harbor wave in Japanese - see them mostly in inlets or harbors - different than tidal waves
71
crest
- top of the wave
72
trough
- lowest point of the wave
73
wave height
- distance between crest and trough
74
wavelength
- distance between two troughs or crests
75
rogue wave
- unusually tall wave - Created as waves become synchronized
76
seiches
- Oscillating waves in enclosed body of water – sea, bay, lake, swimming pool - Energy from strong winds or earthquake
77
causes of tsunamis
- earthquakes in deep ocean - landslides - volcanic eruption - land that collapses into a body of water
78
why do these waves happen?
- Water is not compressible - Cannot absorb fault-movement energy - Water transmits energy throughout the ocean in waves (drop a rock into a pond) - Vertical-fault movements most commonly cause tsunami
79
tsunami warning
- feel earthquake - see a significant draw down in sea level - hear the wave coming
80
what to do during a tsunami
- seek high ground - go upstairs in a well built building - climb a tree
81
costliest tsunami
- 2011, Fukushima Japan - over 19,000 deaths - caused by 9.0 magnitude earthquake - more than $30 billion - Caused a nuclear meltdown at 3 reactors
82
mass movements
- Large volumes of material move downslope under the pull of gravity - Triggered by earthquakes, volcanoes, heavy rainfall - annually cause $1.5 billion in damage
83
gravity
- pulls all the time - Given time, gravity will pull all land into the sea - May be catastrophic or very-slowing moving
84
Power behind agents of erosion
- rainfall, water flow, ice gliding, wind blowing, waves breaking
85
causes of swelling
- Soil has a high percentage of open spaces, porosity, water fills the voids, freezes & expands, uplifting surface - Soil rich in expandable minerals, i.e. clay, absorbs water & expands - Heating by the sun causes increased volume
86
causes for shrinking
- thawing - drying - cooling
87
creep
- very slow - Best seen by looking at the objects on or affected by a slope -Trees, telephone poles, stone walls
88
external processes (natural) for mass movement
- Steepening the slope (fault movements) - Removing support from lower part of slope (stream or ocean wave erosion) - Adding mass high on a slope (sediment deposition)
89
human causes of mass movement
- Adding fill, creating hills to add views - Remove material at base to widen or clear roadways or to create a building lot
90
internal causes of mass movement
- Inherently weak material - Water - Decreasing cohesion - Adverse geologic structures
91
water's influence on mass movement
- Weight - Interaction with Clay - Decreased cohesion of rocks - Subsurface Erosion - Pressure in pores of rocks and sediments
92
St Francis Dam
- Built in 1926 - Part of foundation in poorly bedded gravels, sands & muds held together by clay - Midnight March 12, 1928 base of the dam failed - Took 5 hours to travel to Pacific Ocean - Killed 420 people
93
slow vs fast mass movements
- slow- property damage - fast- property damage and injury or death
94
triggers for mass movement
- fires- removes vegetation, enhances surface runoff; can make the soil hydrophobic - roads- natural support has been removed from hillslope - storms- rainfall intensity and duration; saturated soils are weaker - earthquakes
95
4 main types of movement
1. falls 2. flows 3. slides 4. subsides
96
falls
- free fall - dominantly vertical downward movement - move as seperate blocks
97
flows
- flow over landscape - move as very viscous fluids - turbulance within moving mass - names: Loess flow, mudflow, earthflow, debris flow
98
slides
- Movements above one or more failure surfaces - move as semisolid mass - Curved concave- upward - Nearly planar
99
subsides
- collapse into void - dominantly vertical downard movement - move as seperate blocks
100
yosemite
- 162,000 tons of granite rock - Launched in the air for a 500 m drop - Hit ground creating a Mag. 3+ earthquake - 1 death, by tree falling in airblast
101
rotational slide
- Move downward and outward on top of curved surfaces - Slump – head moves downward and rotates backward - Scarp nearly vertical and unstable - Toe of slump moves outward
102
translation slides
- Masses move down and out by sliding on surfaces of weakness - Faults, clays, soft rocks slipping off hard rocks - Sliding mass may deform and disintegrate into debris slide - Lateral spreading may occur where material fails and flows
103
point fermin
- Block Slide - Layers of sandstone and clay-rich mudstone - January 1929, half-mile long block slide - 5 acres of mass onland - Slow moving – 1-2 years to slide - Movement triggered by excess water from yard irrigation
104
dangers of Vaiont, Italy
- Sedimentary rock layers folded into trough pattern, causing beds to dip toward river - Two sets of fractures split rocks apart - Sliding on hills, historically - Rock layers with seams of weak clays - Limestone in hills with numerous caverns - Increased water pressure at base after dam constructed
105
heavy rain in Vaiont, Italy
- Added weight onto unstable slopes - 9 Oct 1963 10:41 pm, south wall of reservoir failed - Killed 3,000 people in 7 minutes - Slide 1.8 km long and 1.6 km wide
106
snow avalanches
- Heavy snowfall on steep slopes, pull of gravity - Austria has 35 annual deaths from snow avalanches
107
submarine mass movements
- Volcanic Island Collapses into the sea - Canary Islands - Mega-tsunami
108
slow subsidence
- Removal of water or extraction of minerals and oil - Hawaii – as magma drains, land slumps - Compaction of soils - I.e. Mississippi Delta - Long term – Venice, Italy
109
catastrophic subsidence
- Limestone sinkholes, SE US - Extensive network of caverns - Removal of groundwater or prolonged dry spells can alter internal pressure of cave - Alabama, 4,000 sinkholes have formed since 1900
110
mitigation efforts for mass movements
- Install sensors on suspect terrane to measure – pore water pressure – Stretching and contraction of the soil – Listen to noise of movements - Measure precipitation and temperature - Install drainage system to release groundwater - Make the surface impermeable - Grow some grass
111
volcanism
- Process through which magma rises through Earth’s crust & extrudes onto surface - there are about 1500 active volcanoes on Earth - 75% are in the ring of fire
112
extinct volcanoes
- not erupting, not likely to erupt
113
dormant volcanoes
- not erupting, has erupted in historic time or expected to erupt in future
114
active volcanoes
- is erupting or expected to in the near future
115
how we understand volcanoes
1. Plate Tectonics 2. Magma (liquid rocks)
116
where are volcanoes?
- most are along plate boundaries and most others are along hot spots
117
hot spots
- plate moves over stationary mantle plume - ex: Hawaii, Yellowstone
118
felsic magma
- sticky consistency - mica and fledspar
119
mafic magma
- iron and magnesium - basalt, "runny" type of magma
120
viscosity
- internal resistance to flow - lower- more fluid-like - higher- more resistant to movement
121
volatiles
- dissolved gases in magma that is like soda - explodes
122
gases in volcanoes
- 50-80% water vapor - CO2, N2, SO2, H2S - release of toxic gases can cause fatalities
123
lava flows
- least dangerous hazard from volcanoes - types: Pahoehoe and A'a
124
Pahoehoe
- smooth and ropy surface
125
A'a
- jagged irregular blocks
126
pyroclastic materials
- forms when gas release/explosion of viscous magma - categorized by particle size
127
shield volcano
- wide, gently-sloping - formed from low viscosity basaltic flows - gentle eruptions - common in ocean basins - largest volcanic type - ex: Mauna Loa
128
Cinder cones
- small, steep-sided volcanoes - formed from pyroclastic materials - single opening - Often form on flanks or within calderas of larger volcanoes – Ex: Wizard Island
129
composite cones or stratovolcanoes
- made up of layers of pyroclastic materials and lava flows - Lahars common - intermediate in size and slope - high viscosity, high volatiles, large volume - ex: Mt. Fuji, Mt. Rainer
130
lava domes
- variable- Steep-sided, bulbous masses of viscous lava - Often found in composite volcanoes - Usually felsic in composition - Can be dangerous and can result in pyroclastic flow - Ex: Mt St. Helens
131
eruptions
- release of internal heat - Magma formed by melting existing rock - Lowers pressure - Raises temperature - Increases water content
132
how eruption types are categorized
- based on solids, liquids, gases erupted - can range from gentle flow, to more explosive gas eruptions, to solid eruptions
133
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
- In Iceland - phases: effusive to strombolian/vulcanian types - ash cloud reached over 5 miles high
134
Mount Pinatubo
- an explosive type of eruption - in 1992 - pyroclastic flows, blocks and bombs
135
Hawaiian-type eruptions
- Effusive, gentle - Produces flowing lava
136
strombolian-type eruption
- Explosive, small-moderate eruptions on a regular basis - Produces some ash and bombs
137
vulcanian-type eruptions
- Explosive, moderate eruption size, produces volcanic bombs and more ash
138
plinian-type eruptions
- Incredible gas-powered eruptions & pyroclastic material-ash - Lots of Pumice - Dangerous Plinian-Type Eruptions
139
Giant Continental Calderas
- Huge negative land forms - Lake Yellowstone in Wyoming - Long Valley California - Formed following rapid eruption of pyroclasts - Huge volumes of magma pour out in short amounts of time – ultra-Plinian type - Ex: Yellowstone National Park, WY
140
volcanic explosivity index
- gentle type: 1-3 - explosive type: 3-5 - catastrophic: anything above
141
volcanic tremors
- siesmic vibration - minutes to days
142
can volcanoes produce different types of earthquakes?
- yes
143
USGS monitoring volcanoes
- they have people that respond (volcano hazards team) and monitor