1. The flat surface adjacent to a river channel is called what?
D
2. Meander migrate or shift their location by...
C
3. sand and gravel are transported by streams primarily as...
B
4. streams transport chemical pollutants such as nitrates as...
D
5. the most important causes of river floods include what?
B
6. in a stream channel, water flow velocity multiplied by channel cross-sectional area, symbolized as "Q," is...
C
7 the discharge of a stream is measured in which of the following units?
B
8 the equation R= (n+1)/m is used to calculate...
A
9 what is the probability of a 20-year old flood occurring in any one year?
A
10 the time that elapses between the majority of rainfall and a flood's peak is called what?
E
11 what materials would you expect to find on a floodplain?
E
12 "the problem that local modification may increase flood hazards elsewhere is sometimes also a complication with the building of ________, raised banks along a stream channel."
B
13 the mississippi river flood of 1993 had a recurrence interval of over 100 years. What does this mean?
B
14 urbanization increases the magnitude and frequency of flooding. which of the following has the most effect?
D
15 the hurricane related process that kills the most people and often causes the most damage is what?
B
16 what is wave period
D
17 what happens when waves enter shallow water?
A
18 over several years, sand in the beach and surf zones...
D
19 how is the shape of a shoreline affected by the natural aging process?
a it becomes more irregular
b it get longer
c it becomes straighter
d it does not change
C
20 wave refraction is the process which...
C
21 a longshore current...
C
22 most barrier islands (such as the Outer Banks of North Carolina)...
A
23 barrier islands moving landward is because...
C
24 vacation homes on barrier islands are...
D
25 beaches can be considered 'rivers of sand' why?
C
26 as a general rule, how are the cost and benefits of erosion control structures distributed?
A
27 down slope movements are classified using many variables. which is not a variable used to classify downslope movements?
A
28 slope stability is evaluated by computing a safety factor (SF). what is the definition of the safety factor?
A
29 the safety factor (SF) is used to determine whether a slope is stable. what is the safety factor when a slope is considered unstable?
B
30 water is involved in many slides. which of the following statements about water is false?
B
31 the stability of dry, unconsolidated granular material, such as sand in a dune, is determined by...
C
32 sandy soil has greatest strength when it is...
C
33 what process is mainly a result of soil expansion and contraction
D
34 which mass movement involves material with the highest water content?
D
35 in which type of mass wasting movement does the moving material retain its original shape?
C
36 a head scarp and hummocky toe are characteristics of a(n)...
C
37 one factor that influences slope stability but which humans can't alter is...
D
38 a slope that looks stable but has bent trees, tilted fence post, and cracked walls may actually have...
D
39 which of the following is not a method used to prevent landslides?
A
40 in an advancing glacier...
A
41 "__________" is the wholesale removal of loose sediment, usually fine-grained sediments, by wind. "such an effect my contribute to the maintence of a surface called desert pavement."
A
42 where sediment is transported and deposited by wind, the principal depositional feature is a(n) ______, a low mound or ridge, usually made of sand
A
48 the latitudal zone in which the largest portion of Earth's deserts are located...
A
52 the term desertification, however, is generally restricted to... the relatively rapid development of deserts cause by the impact of _________.
A
53 incidences of malignant melanomas (skin cancer) were reaching epidemic proportions over 20 years ago (1987) in Australia, due to destruction of the ozone layer over what continent?
A
54 drying up of lakes that once occupied the Sahara and adjacent areas as far east as Djibouti, is believed to have resulted from....
B
55 of course CO2 is the principal greenhouse gas. other greenhouse gasses include CFC's and CH4 (methane). CFC's are now highly regulated, but this is not the case for methane. while methane is produced in natural environments, the present concern has to do with methane from what source?
C
1 the big bang occurred ______ years ago
D
2 the earth and the rest of our solar system formed ______ years ago
A
3 olympus mons on mars, the largest volcano in the solar system, suggests that mars recently passed through which stage?
E
4 presently the earth is in which stage?
e quiescence
A
5 in which stage do the core and mantle form?
C
6 which stage for the moon?
C
7 the vast majority of rock-forming minerals are...
B
8 which mineral group is most abundant in the earths crust?
C
9 rock salt and limestone are examples of...
B
10 what distinguishes slate from schist?
C
11 the two most fundamental characteristics that distinguish minerals are...
B
12 the nature of the crystalline state can be verified by experiments involving the interaction between X-radiation and a crystal. the specific phenomenon is called...
D
13 the earliest known evidence for continental drift was...
C
14 the rifting of east africa is associated with a...
B
15 new oceanic lithosphere forms at...
D
16 a volcanic island arc forms where...
B
17 the driving force or mechanism that causes seafloor spreading and continental drift is...
A
18 where are rocks most likely to strain in a plastic fashion?
D
19 volcanoes of the andes mountains along the west coast of South America are a direct result of...
B
20 the San Andreas fault is a...
C
21 the Hawaiian volcanoes occur...
B
22 rocks on the ocean floor are...
C
23 type of stress associated with a normal fault
B
24 type of stress associated with a reverse or thrust fault
D
25 type of stress associated with a strike-slip fault
D
26 Very shallow seismicity, most of which is located along the mid-oceanic ridges are associated with what kind of plate boundary?
B
27 earthquake foci (hypocenters) at depths up to 700 kilometers are associated with what kind of plate boundary?
A
28 shallow seismicity involving only lateral (strike-slip) movement are associated with what kind of plate boundary?
C
29 the recent earthquake in Haiti (12 January 2010) was caused by movement associated with which type of plate boundary?
B
30 the effects of an earthquake on humans and their structures are measured as...
B
31 what determines the magnitude of an earthquake?
D
32 which of the seismic wave-types is responsible for the most of the destruction associated with an earthquake?
C
33 which of the seismic wave-types travels the fastest?
C
34 which of the seismic wave types is the slower of the 2 body waves?
D
35 seismic hazards are only important at plate tectonic boundaries
a true
b false
B
36 with modern instrumentation earthquakes can be predicted very accurately
a true
b false
B
37 large buildings are more likely to survive a serious earthquake if they are situated on soft, unconsolidated sediment. in effect, the building is cushioned by the soft sediment.
a true
b false
B
38 way out in the open ocean the characteristics of a Tsunami wave are...
C
39 so, earthquakes that occur along normal or reverse faults, in which the displacement is primarily ________, are much more efficient at displacing water and thus generating tsunamis
D
40 over deep seawater (i.e., well away from coastlines) the typical velocity of a tsunami is on the order of...
A
41 in open water, the amplitude of a tsunami rarely exceeds 1 meter, but onshore it is not unusual for tsunamis to crest at _________ above normal sea level.
E
42 the prediction of tsunamis focuses on identifying ________ that are likely to generate tsunamis and on estimating the travel time of tsunamis across ocean basins
E
43 what is the major factor responsible for explosive volcanism?
A
44 what is a lahar?
B
45 which of the following is the most dangerous to humans?
B
46 the largest volcano in the world (i.e., earth) is located where?
D
47 Divergent plate boundary goes with which tectonic plate setting?
B
48 transform plate boundary goes with which tectonic plate setting?
E
50 intra-plate (i.e., away from plate boundaries) goes with which tectonic plate setting?
C
51 approximately how many potentially dangerous volcanoes are there?
B
52 a major source of property damage and loss of life resulting from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo was (were)...
B
53 Magmas that are high in SiO2, like andesite and rhyolite, tend to be very resistant to flow (high viscosity)
a true
b false
A
54 Eruptions of strato-type (composite) volcanoes are much more explosive and much more difficult to predict than eruptions from shield type volcanoes
a true
b false
A
55 material introduced into the atmosphere by an eruption can cause a measurable lowering of the mean global temperature for one or more years. This happened following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo (1991)
a true
b false
A
56 tiltmeters, geodolites, GPS, and laser distance measuring instruments are used to monitor...
D
57 infrared remote sensing techniques have been used to detect...
B
1 what is the porosity of 100 millimeters of sand that absorbs 25 millimeters of water
A
2 what would make the best aquifer
B
3 the water table is the...
A
4 an unconfined aquifer lacks a(n)...
D
5 what is the name for any process that adds water to an aquifer?
A
6 which of the following does NOT happen when water is pumped from a well in an unconfined aquifer?
A
7 what is the name for water under pressure beneath a confining layer, such that the water naturally rises to the height of the water table in the recharge zone?
C
8 karst topography develops
C
10 what is generally the most serious threat to groundwater on Outer Banks of North Carolina?
B
11 according to Darcy's Law, groundwater flow is faster when...
C
12 which of the following is, for practical purposes, always involved in chemical weathering?
C
13 red color in soil results from...
C
14 which is not a chemical weathering process?
A
15 chemical weathering is fastest in...
D
16 mechanical weathering...
B
17 soil particle textural classes are...
C
18 the C-horizon of a soil is...
B
20 "weathered parent rock, partially broken down," best describes which soil horizon?
C
21 the "zone of leaching, dissolved or suspended materials move downward," best describes which soil horizon?
C
22 metallic mineral deposits that are worth mining are...
C
23 hydrothermal deposits of ore minerals...
C
24 aluminum ore deposits are...
C
25 lateritic weathering produces which ore deposit?
B
26 a major type of non-metallic mineral deposit is...
C
27 rock salt and rock gypsum are what kind of mineral deposits?
C
28 which of the following is the most important modern source of iron???
C
29 we know that the early atmosphere of the earth (prior to ~2 billion years ago) was very different from what it is today. the early atmosphere was depleted in O2, enriched in CO2, and enriched in sulfur. the formation comes from which of the following types of iron deposits
D
30 most of the copper production in the world today comes from which of the following types of deposits?
C
31 the copper in these deposits (preceding question) can be traced all the way back to a source in...
B
32 manganese nodules form...
C
33 commerically, the most valuable petroleum reservoirs (like aquifers) are...
D
34 fossils fuels are found in...
B
35 coal forms from...
D
36 atmospheric pollution is the worst when...
A
37 most of the oil production in the world (~80%) comes from which of the following kinds of structural trap?
B
38 most of the world's petroleum is recovered from depths between 2000' and 10000'. why is this?
a it is too costly to drill for the abundant oil reserves at depths greater than 10000' and petroleum doesn't form at depths less than 2000'
b oil is converted to graphite under the metamorphic conditions at depths greater than 10000'; and at depths less than 2000' oil is too fluid to be contained
c there is a lot of petroleum at depths less than 2000', but it is too viscous to be extracted economically; at depths greater than 10000' petroleum breaks down to gas
d petroleum in the depth range from 2000' to 10000' is easy to detect by modern seismic methods. at shallower and greater depths respectively there can be complications due to the presence of water or magma
e at shallow depths (<2000') groundwater dilutes petroleum and makes it unusable; at great depths (>10000') petroleum solidifies to coal
C
39 which source could yield large amounts of natural gas in the future?
D
40 one of the largest recent oil discoveries in North America was in western Wyoming. the reserves are unusual because they are beneath what?
D
41 exploration for oil in east Africa focuses on lakes that occupy what kind of tectonic feature?
a normal faulted-bounded rift valleys, ex. lake tanganyika or lake malawi
b volcanic calderas near the Serengeti Plain
c downwarping associated with overthrust belst of the Virunga Range
d shallow basins formed by gentle warping of the crust, lake victoria
e normal faulting responsible for the inland delta of the Okavango River
A
42 there is renewed interest in some of the older oil fields (ex. in Texas) that were believed to be nearly exhausted, because new geophysical evidence shows that...
a the source rock just needs to be fractured up with explosives to create more porosity
b untapped reservoirs often occur at greater depth
c the source can be highly compartmentalized, such that additional drilling can often intercept untapped compartments
d extractable oil can also occur in unlikely source rocks, like shale
e new oil is continually seeping in to replace oil that has been pumped, but you have to let the oil field "rest" for several years
C
43 an important reason that the US is not generating much energy from nuclear fission is...
C
45 geothermal heat is a good energy resource but...
C
46 most gasohol blends are from...
A
47 expanded use of which energy resource would contribute least to global warming?
C
48 in the US, the bulk of the uranium deposits are found in...
C
49 at yellowstone national park one sees evidence of which energy resource?
