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80 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
A really cold winter is proof that global warming is a hoax?
False
A release of methane hydrates or clathrates (same thing) would lower global temperatures by reflecting incoming sunlight?
False
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by about how much in the past century?
100 ppm
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at an all-time high?
False
During the last 800,000 years, northern hemisphere glaciations have occurred about how often?
Every 100,000 years
Earth gets more total sunlight when eccentricity is high?
True
Faster plate spreading rates at mid-ocean ridges are a likely cause of higher sea level in the past?
True
For the same slope, would shear stress be greater on the Earth or the Moon.
Earth
From which direction does the wind in MN usually come
West
Ice ages are common throughout Earth's history?
False
Mass wasting is an important process on rocky (i.e., sediment poor) shorelines?
True
Mean annual temperature in the northern hemisphere has increased by about how much in the last century?
.5 C
Milankovitch hypothesized that ice ages developed when winters are coldest?
False
One can discern the direction of longshore drift by examining the amount of sand on the two sides of a jetty or groin?
True
Output of the Sun is effectively constant?
False
Over the last 500 Ma, sea-level is thought to have varied by roughly how much?
500m
Rocky beaches are more common on uplifted coastlines?
True
Surface currents and water waves are the same thing?
False
Surface currents rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere?
True
The Atlantic Ocean off of the east coast of the US has high salinity because evaporation significantly exceeds precipitation there?
True
The cations that comprise part of ocean salinity are largely from terrestrial weathering?
True
The greenhouse effect works by atmospheric absorption of visible light from the sun?
False
The little ice age, a period of cold temperatures in N. America and Europe, occurred about how long ago?
400 Years ago
The net transport of water is parallel to average wind direction?
False
The superstorms in The Day After Tomorrow are (think about the direction of vertical airflow; is it up or down?) Ignore what they may have called them in the movie, focus only on the direction of airflow. Once you have that, high or low pressure will follow.
High pressure cells
The Younger Dryas, a period of cold climate that followed deglaciation in the northern hemisphere occurred about how many years ago?
10,000
Thermohaline circulation is driven by density variations of seawater?
True
To what does angle of repose refer?
the steepest stable angle loose sediment can maintain
Tsunamis are just long wavelength ocean waves?
True
Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas?
True
Wave base is about what fraction of wavelength deep?
One-half
Wave refraction creates longshore drift or, at least, accentuates it?
False
We live in the hottest period of Earth's history?
False
What does water do to shear strength?
can both increase and decrease it
What is regolith?
unconsolidated material on the Earth's surface
What would have the higher angle of repose?
A mixture of sand and gravel
When the volume of ice in ice caps increases, the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in the oceans increases?
True
When was the last snowball Earth thought to have occurred?
500 Ma
Which of the following has little or no effect on global temperature? Volcanoes, output of the sun, ocean circulation, orbital variations, none of the above.
None of the above
Where is a place where surface water descends to form deep water?
The North Atlantic
Which of the following is closest to the angle of repose of dry sand (all numbers stated in degrees) ?
35
Which of the following is not a means of removing dissolved content from ocean water?
Volcanic outgassing
What are potential sinks of sand to a beach?
Dune growth, stream discharge, longshore drift
What are potential sources of sand to a beach?
Dune erosion, stream dischange, longshore drift, onshore transportation.
Which of the following is not evidence of creep on a hillslope?
-curved tree trunks
-large rocks covering the surface
-tension cracks
-none of the above
large rocks covering the surface
Which of the following is the least likely mass wasting trigger?
-wildfire
-rain
-floods
-earthquakes
-tornadoes
Tornadoes
Which value is closest to the amplitude of the tides in open water?
1 m
What value is closest to the average salinity of ocean water?
40 per mil
Without a moon, Earth would not have ocean tides?
False
At what depth does hte wave motion vanish?
1/2 the wavelength
Do waves slow down or speed up in shallow water?
Slow down.
What is refraction?
Bending of wavefront due to velocity changes
What is a longshore drift?
Definition: shore parallel transport of sand
What is a berm?
Berm: topographic high marking limit of wave run up at high tide
What is a backshore?
Beach back of berm (not affected by waves)
What is a foreshore?
Intertidal zone
What is nearshore?
The wavebreaking area
What are inputs of the sand budget?
Rivers, clidd and dune erosion, on-shore transport, littoral drift.
What are outputs of the sand budget?
Dune formation, off-shore transport, littoral drift
What are the characteristics of rocky shorelines?
Wave-cut bench: wavebase at low tide
Wave-cut notch: erosional "pit" at base of cliff
Beaches tend to be small "pocket" beaches in sheltered bays
Mass wasting is important
Most common on uplifted coasts
How fast is the sea level rising in this century?
2 mm/yr
What is mass wasting?
The movement of rock and regoloth by gravity
What is regolith?
The irregular blanket of unconsolidated rock and soil on the surface
What is shear stress?
-A component of gravity parallel to slope
-Zero for horizontal surface
-increases as slope increases
What is shear strength?
-the product of compenent of gravity perpendicular to slpe and frictional properties of sediment
What are some characteristics of shear strength?
-decreases as slope increases
-increases witha ddition of water, but drops when saturated
-increases with root binding and cementing
What is a trigger?
A sudden change in conditions (rain, fire, earthquake, road cuts)
What are characteristics of rock falls?
Granular flow, very high velocities. Often forms conical pile of unsorted debris: talus slope
What are characteristics of mud flows?
Slurry flow, moderate velocity, water saturated, common in hilly regions with seasonal rains, common on strato volcanoes
What are characteristics of debris flow?
Slurry flow, usually sand and large size clasts dominant, water lowers viscosity, often called landslides in popular media
What are the characteristics of slump?
Consolidated slide, low velocity, water important as a trigger, often leave crescent-shaped head scarps and have back-titled beds, also called landslides in popular media
What are the characteristics of creep?
Coherent downslope movement of soil at rates of cm/yer, almost all unconsolidated slopes undergo creep, look for inclined or bent tress, tilted telephone poels and fences, inclined tombstones, etc, slow, but pervasive
What are the characteristics of the greenhouse effect?
Incoming sunlight primarily in the visible band, outgoing radiation is primarily infrared- atmosphere absorbs/reflects much of this
What is the biggest componenet of greenhouse gases?
Water (95%)
What are Milankovitch Cycles?
-Changes to Earth's orbit due to gravitational interactions with Moon, Sun, and large planets
-Result in changes in amount and distribution of solar insolation
What are the characteristics of eccentricity?
Affects total sunlight received each year (more sunlight in elliptical extreme, affects the severity of seasons (winter is worse if spent further from sun), alternates between extremes every 100 ka
What are the characteristics of obliquity?
-causes the seaons
-grater obliquity= greater seasonality
Alternates between extremes every 41ka
What are the characteristics of precession?
determines timing of seasons, makes one cycle ever ~23 ka
What is Milankovitch's Theory?
Severity of summer determines if ice grows or shrinks in NH
What are the characteristics of a snowball earth?
Hard to get into, hard to get out of
-ice reflects most incoming sunlight keeping the planet cold
-the way out is mounting CO2