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41 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Creep |
almost imperceptible downslope movement of soil and uppermost bedrock zones |
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Porosity |
% of void space in soil |
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Internal causes of slope failure |
1. Inherently weak materials 2. Water in different roles 3. decreasing cohesion 4. Adverse geologic structures |
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Things that increase the odds of slope failure |
1. Adding mass high on a slope (sediment deposition) 2. Steepening the slope (fault movements) 3. Removing support from low on the slope (stream or ocean erosion) |
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Falls |
mostly free fall, then bounding and rolling, separate blocks |
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Flows |
flows over landscape, very viscous fluids, turbulence within moving mass |
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Slides |
slides on top of basal slip surface, moves as semisolid mass |
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Subsides |
collapses into void, dominantly vertical downward movement, moves as separate blocks |
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slump |
on rotational plane, slow |
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Mitigation methods for stabilizing a slope |
drainage control slope support/anchors vegetation geosynthetics retaining walls rock fall netting debris flow channels |
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Characteristics of clay |
commonly associated with earth failures most abundant of all sediments slippery, absorbs water expands and contracts, constantly changes compressed clay rock = shale |
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Discharge |
volume of water that flows past a point in a given time greater discharge, greater load of sediment carried |
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gradient |
slope of stream channel |
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Narrowed stream channel |
faster water, more erosion |
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Base level |
The lowest elevation to which a river will erode/reaches equilibrium lowest energy |
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Widened stream channel |
slower water, more deposition |
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Causes of tsunamis |
Disturbance affecting entire water column earthquakes mass wasting volcanoes extraterrestrial impacts |
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Inundation |
Horizontal flooding |
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tsunamis move fastest in |
deep water |
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Angle of repose for sand sized particles |
32 degrees |
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How vegetation reduces mass movements |
roots absorbs water |
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Drainage basin |
where all the water is coming from that gets drained by a river and all its tributaries |
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Littoral zone |
The littoral zone is the part of the ocean closest to the shore. The littoral zone is from the shoreline to 600 feet out into the water |
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What moves things around in the ocean? |
Currents |
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Most devastating natural disaster in america |
tornadoes |
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Typical travel distance of a tornado |
4-5 miles |
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Conditions for tornadoes |
high wind shear moisture differences temperature differences |
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Conditions for hurricanes |
water above 80 degrees F low wind shear high humidity |
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Which coast of the U.S. has warmer waters? |
East coast |
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Most important factor in wind speed of a tornado |
pressure differences inside and out of the tornado |
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Coriolis effect |
Objects in the Northern Hemisphere are moved to the right (clockwise), while objects in the Southern hemisphere are moved to the left (counterclockwise). Atmospheric circulation combined with earth’s eastward rotation |
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Stages of a hurricane |
1. Tropical disturbance 2. Tropical depression 3. Tropical Storm 4. Hurricane |
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Thunder
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Sudden release of noise due to the rapid expansion of air. When lightning moves through the air it increases the temperature of the air dramatically in a very short period of time. The air then cools rapidly. This rapid expansion and contraction of the air gives off the sound waves that is heard from the lightning.
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Lightning
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Electric discharge due to electrical differences built up in a cloud. Electric spark occurs to diffuse difference
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Hurricane season for northern hemisphere
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June - November
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Beach drift
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waves come in a swashing motion at an angle
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Longshore current
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due to wind and angle of incidence. Forces a natural drift down the beach
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Rip currents
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Current that moves away from shore, usually can be distinguished by no breaking waves
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Conditions that make tornado alley
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Cold polar winds that come from the north collide with Hot, humid air from the south
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Tornado scale
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Enhanced fujita scale
EF 0 - EF 5 |
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Hurricane scale
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Saffir-simpson scale rates a hurricane's intensity using wind speed and storm surge
Category 1 - Category 5 |
