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150 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is a desert?
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lack of precipitation, specifically less than ten inches of precipitation annually.
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Deserts are formed where
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there is a lack of storm activity, and the main control for deserts usually is the descending branch of the Hadley or Polar cells.
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Where air descends and moves under high pressure. . .____
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the parcel moves away from saturation and is less likely to form clouds.
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Where do continental deserts form?
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far away from any moisture sources for precipitation
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Coastal deserts form?
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by the cold ocean currents found on the west coasts of many continents.
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20% of desert land surfaces have?
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sand
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Bedrock outcrops and fluvial deposits make up ____ of deserts
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30%
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50% of desert land surfaces have?
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exposed gravel and pavement
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What are the 4 main deserts in North America?
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Great Basin, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Sonoran
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This desert is the hottest desert in NA and has the most diverse ecosystem and get 1-10' annually.
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Sonoran
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What are ephemeral streams?
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no continuous flow like the Salt River
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This stream has a continuous like the Mississippi river.
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Perennial streams
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Exotic streams like the Nile or Colorado
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headwaters originate in a moist area and travel through desert
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The sediments deposited on the valley floor create a feature called?
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alluvial fan
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Several alluvial fans next to each other create a landform called?
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bajadas
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Arid locations are also noted by the accumulation of clay and iron oxides on rock facing the prevalent winds which is called?
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desert vanish
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Ancient peoples often carved drawings in the varnish, called?
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petroglyphs
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Mesas and Buttes
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Both have a more resistant cap rock that holds the landform upright. The cap rocks are typically sandstone or limestone.
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Has flat top and wider than height?
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Mesa
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Butte
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pillar like and continued erosion of mesa
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The ranges are?
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horsts, or upward faulted blocks
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The basins are?
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grabens, or downward faulted blocks.
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What are heat waves?
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more than 2 days of excessive heat
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In 1995 in Chicago?
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there was a heat wave and 465 deaths between July 11-27
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Europeans are especially susceptible to heat waves because?
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they do not usually have the infrastructure to support excessive heat
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No surface water in AZ is safe to drink _____.
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untreated
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Dehydration?
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thirst, headache, and muscle cramps
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Heat exhaustion?
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clammy skin, slurred speech, thick saliva, heat cramps
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Heat strokes occur?
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body temperature above 103, no sweat, skin flushed
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Body temperature can rise to?
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>106 degree F in 10 minutes or less
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Physical weathering?
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thermal expansion, freeze thaw, ad physical change
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Oxidation, chemical change, and hydrolysis are signs of?
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Chemical weathering
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Karst topography
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very specific 'bumpy' surface
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What is a cavern?
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many interconnected chambers
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What is spelunking
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cave exploration
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Speleothems are?
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features created after the cave has formed
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Speleothems need incoming water and precipitate _____?
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CaCO3
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Sinkholes?
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collapse at surface
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What are landslides?
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wide variety of mass movements resulting in mass waste
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Three things that influence driving force on slopes are?
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gravity, weight, and slope
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Describe resisting force.
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slope materials and vegetation
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What is the angle of repose?
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the steepest slope possible, and has unconsolidated dry materials
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Triggers of angle of repose are?
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water, events such as earthquakes, and slope modification
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Describe mass movement slope failures.
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moves coherently, and consist of little mixing or internal deformation
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What are sediment flows?
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moves as fluid and has debris mixed with water or air
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The collection of fallen material at the base of the slope is called?
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Talus
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What are floods?
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periods of very high discharge that usually exceeds ability of channel to transport water
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A flood stage is?
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height where river will overflow its banks
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A broad flat area next to channel is?
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a flood plain
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What is a levee?
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its a floodplain feature, that has a ridge alongside the channel. It can be both natural or artificial
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A terrace is?
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a former floodplain that is now uplifted
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What is discharge?
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volume per time:
1 cfs=7.48 gallons |
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What is tractive force?
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the amount of energy present in the stream channel
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The amount of energy required to move sediment in the channel is called the?
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critical tractive force
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The spatial area defined by a river system a.k.a watershed is called?
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drainage basin
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What does stream order mean?
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hierarchical ranking of streams
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What are the components of stream order?
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mean length
tributaries width depth discharge |
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Describe braided streams.
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Consist of small intertwining channels with sediment overload, arid locations, and loss of velocity
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This type of stream has a gradual slope, and broad flat topography
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meandering stream
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A meandering stream has?
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an undercut bank; outer portion of curve, fastest velocity, greatest scouting, and degradation
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The point bar of the meandering stream?
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the inner portion of the curve, lowest velocity, and aggradation
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What is an oxbow lake?
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a cut off meander
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What is a meander scar?
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an oxbow lake filled with sediment
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Flood hydrograph is?
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a measure of discharge, rainfall, and time
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What does return interval mean?
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it refers to an amount of water in the channel
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Statistical probability
discharge amounts specific to channel all describe what? |
the return interval
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Tides are?
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daily oscillation
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Waves are a form of?
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energy
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Tides are?
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daily oscillation
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How do tides occur?
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ocean waters respond to the attraction of moon and sun
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Waves are a form of?
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energy
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How many tidal bulges does the moon make?
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2
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Tides are?
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daily oscillation
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How do tides occur?
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ocean waters respond to the attraction of moon and sun
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The moon exerts 2 times more than ___
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the sun
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Waves are a form of?
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energy
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How many tidal bulges does the moon make?
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2
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How do tides occur?
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ocean waters respond to the attraction of moon and sun
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The moon exerts 2 times more than ___
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the sun
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How many tidal bulges does the moon make?
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2
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The moon exerts 2 times more than ___
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the sun
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A crest is a ____ tide
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high
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A _____ is a low tide
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trough
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What does range mean in relation to tides?
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the height between low and high tide
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Spring tides?
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have large tidal range
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Neap tides?
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have small tidal range
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A mixed tidal pattern is?
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highs and lows
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A diurnal tidal pattern is?
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1 high 1 low
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A semidiurnal tidal pattern is?
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2 highs 2 lows
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What are waves?
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undulations at the surface
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What is the function of the wave?
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it's used to transfer energy through water
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What is wave base?
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1/2 of wavelength
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Wave energy refracts and converges at the _____?
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headlands
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At the bay,waves refract and _____?
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diverge
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What is swash?
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when waves enter at oblique angles
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When a wave refracts to move in the direction of slope its called?
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backwash
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Which direction does the long shore current move?
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down beach in the direction of the wind
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What is longshore drift?
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sediment in longshore current
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What is beach drift?
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sediment movement onshore
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What is littoral drift?
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sediment movement from longshore drift to beach drift
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Erosional landforms are?
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arch
stack terrace cave |
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Depositional landforms are?
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beach
spit hook baymouth bar tombolo barrier island |
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What is a spit?
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its attached to mainland and deposition of littoral drift
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A hook is?
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a continuation of a spit
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What is a badmouth bar?
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a spit crossing bay
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An eroded headland is called?
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sea arch
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What is a sea stack?
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a further eroded sea arch
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What is a tombolo?
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a beach connected to a stack
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What is a glacier?
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a large mass of moving ice
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Where are glaciers located?
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in areas of permanent snow
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What are glaciers composed of?
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mostly ice, air, water, and debris
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How do you classify glaciers?
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Thermal
mass balance location |
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What are the 3 steps to glacier?
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Snow
Firn Glacial ice |
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What is calving?
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tidal glaciers in which terminus forms a steep cliff
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What is the zone of accumulation?
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supply
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What is the zone of ablation?
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loss
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The equilibrium line is where?
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zone of accumulation equals zone of ablation
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A positive net balance shows?
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accumulation>ablation and glacier advances
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A negative net balance shows?
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ablation>accumulation and glacier retreats
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Brittle zone
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is the upper portion and has crevasses
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Plastic zone
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lower portion of glacier and 100 ft deep
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Glacial transport
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entrainment of unconsolidated sediment
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Stratified drift
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sorted meltwater
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Unstratified drift
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till
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Medial moraines occur?
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in the middle
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Lateral moraines occur?
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on the side
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Terminal moraines occur?
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on the end
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Erratic?
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plucked, entrained material deposited elsewhere
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What is a cirque?
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a bow like depression
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What is a tarn?
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water in a cirque; lake
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Arete is?
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the ridge between 2 or more cirques
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Steep peak with cirques on 3 or more sides is called a?
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horn
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U-shaped valley
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glacial trough from main glacier channel
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Fjord
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u-shaped valley below sea level
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What is advocacy?
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to argue in favor of an idea or proposal
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Greenhouse Effect?
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a natural process; greenhouse gases retain heat
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Greenhouse warming?
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global warming as an enhanced greenhouse effect
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What is global warming?
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an increase in global temperature
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Climate change?
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any natural and/or human-related change to climate
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There has been a ___ increase in the average global temp in the last 150 years
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.6 degrees C
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Paleoclimatology focuses on proxy data which shows?
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natural climate recorders
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In paleoclimatology, you must approximate?
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temperature and precipitation
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Correlation
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variables seem to move together
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What does forcing mean?
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radiation budget
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What does feedback mean?
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increase/decrease of initial change
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What is climate teleconnection?
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cyclical driver
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Milankovitch Cycle
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eccentricity
obliquity precession |
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If there is a low albedo, then?
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surface is black and rough
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If there is a high albedo, then?
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surface is white and smooth
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Climate change is about what?
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adaptability and stewardship
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