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53 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Superstorm Sandy made a landfall in NJ at the height of -positive NAO -negative NAO -El Nino |
Negative NAO (meandering jet stream) |
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Which of the following is primarily an atmospheric phenomenon (i.e., independent of oceans)? - Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation -North Atlantic Oscillation -El Niño/Southern Oscillation |
NAO |
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During El Niño, -the sea surface temperatures of the eastern Pacific are anomalously high -the sea surface temperatures of the western Pacific are anomalously high - the trade winds are anomalously strong |
-the sea surface temperatures of the eastern Pacific are anomalously high |
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In El Niño years, the northern-tier states tend to experience a colder or milder winter? |
a mild winter |
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Sea level is on the rise globally primarily because of |
thermal expansion of water |
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Which of the following states observes thunderstorms most frequently? -Alaska -Kansas -Florida |
Florida |
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Which of the following is NOT conducive to thunderstorm? -a cold front -vertical wind shear -cold and dry air below, warm and moist air above |
Cold and dry air below, warm and moist air above (it's the opposite) |
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Where does lightning occur most frequently? Land, Oceans, or Both? |
Land |
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The number of deaths due to lightning in the US has been increasing or decreasing? |
decreasing |
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A lightning was spotted and 3 seconds later a thunder was heard. The lightning was how far away? |
about a kilometer |
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When lightening is close you should NOT -seek shelter under a tall tree -stay in a parked car -move out of water asap |
-seek shelter under a tall tree |
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Over the Eurasian continent tornadoes are relatively infrequent because |
-the Tibetan Plateau separates warm tropical air and cold Arctic air. |
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Most tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere spin counterclockwise because |
While tornadoes are too short-lived to be affected by the earth's rotation, the supercells which create them operate on a large enough timescale to be affected by the earth's rotation. |
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Which of the following statements about tornadoes is incorrect? -A hook echo in radar image is a good indication of a tornado -Tornadoes do not hit large cities -Wedge tornadoes are a wide and most violent kind |
-Tornadoes do not hit large cities |
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The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale for tornadoes is based on |
damage; predicts wind speed based on damage |
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In the US, on average, the leading cause of crop damage is |
droughts |
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In 1997-1998 a number of wildfires occurred in Indonesia because of |
el niño |
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Most small wildfires are started by |
humans |
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A high-temperature wildfire whose flames reach the canopies of trees is a crown, ground, or surface fire? |
a crown fire |
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A wildfire on a mountain slope usually migrates |
upward |
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The Santa Ana Winds start from the Great Basin as |
cold dry air from the great basin between the Sierra and the Rockies |
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In the US, the amount of CO2 emitted by wildfires is estimated to be |
4-6% of human carbon emissions |
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About 3000 km below the Earth's surface lies the boundary between |
the mantle and the outer core |
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Is the Earth's mantle elastic or plastic? |
elastic on a short timescale, plastic on a geologic timescale. |
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Most tectonic plates are created at |
MidOcean ridges (divergent plates) |
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In the '50s the theory of seafloor spreading was supported by |
magnetic striping |
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Average speed of seafloor spreading is |
inches per year |
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Which of the following is created by a hot spot activity? -Hawaii -Iceland -New Zealand |
Hawaii |
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Large earthquakes and active volcanoes are most common in what tectonic areas? -Subduction zones, -Midocean ridges -hot spots |
Subduction zones |
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The San Andreas Fault is what kind of fault? -strike slip -normal -reverse (thrust) fault |
strike slip |
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High-energy, low-intensity earthquakes can be produced by -fault rupture -tectonic creep -elastic rebound |
tectonic creep |
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Which of the following does NOT apply to the S-wave? -travels faster than p-wave -more destructive than the P-wave -cannot travel through the outer core |
faster than p wave |
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How many more times is an M6.5 eatrthquake energetic than an M3.4 earthquake? -3.1 times -( 32+32+32+1.4) times -(32 x 32 x 32 x 1.4) times |
(32 x 32 x 32 x 1.4) times |
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Which of the following was NOT the reason why Loma Prieta Earthquake (CA 1989) caused a great damage to San Francisco, 100km away from the epicenter? -material amplification and liquefaction -directivity along the San Andreas fault -unprecedented magnitude |
-unprecedented magnitude |
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Which of the following was NOT a plate boundary earthquake? -Great San Francisco (1906) -Northridge (1994) -New Madrid (1811-1812) |
New Madrid (1811-1812) |
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During the Great San Francisco Earthquake (1906), more than 2,000 people (80%) died because of |
fire |
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The Parkfield earthquakes are known for what? |
Their regularity. |
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Intra-plate earthquakes are felt in a vast area because of: -a hard, unfractured crust -a network of faults -the lack of mountains |
a hard, unfractured crust |
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Which of the following does NOT cause a tsunami? -an underwater landslide -asteroids -gravitational pull of the moon |
Gravitational pull of the moon |
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Will an M6.5 earthquake in the Pacific Ocean cause a tsunami? |
No, this isn't a subduction zone question. The threshold for tsunamis is 7.5 or greater. |
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A tsunami originated off the coast of Japan will reach the southern tip of South America in about how long? |
24 hours |
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A typical tsunami in the outer ocean has a wave height of |
under a meter |
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When the depth of water becomes 1/16, the wave speed becomes |
about 1/4 (speed=√gravity*depth) |
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Which of the following was NOT a major reason why the Japanese tsunami of 3/11/11 became a catastrophy? - a complicated coastal geometry (Ria) -improper warning -land subsidence |
improper warning |
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Which of the following statement about tsunami is correct? - Just before the arrival of a tsunami, water always recedes from the beach -The first batch of a tsunami is always the highest and most powerful -When a massive tsunami recedes toward sea it causes more damage with the debris it created on the way in |
When a massive tsunami recedes toward sea it causes more damage with the debris it created on the way in |
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Which of the magma forms has least silica/gas? Rhyolite, andesitic, or basaltic? |
Basaltic, (Rhyolite has the most, andesitic is in the middle, basaltic is the lowest) |
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What type of magma leads to an explosive eruption? (what silica/ gas contents) |
high silica/ gas content |
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A flat body and frequent, nonexplosive eruptions characterize what kind of volcano? -Shield (Hawaii/ Iceland) -Composite (Strato) (Mt St Helens, Rainier) -Dome (Lassen Peak, Mono craters) |
Shield |
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Which of the following is the leading cause of deaths associated with volcanic eruptions? -Ash fall -Lava -Pyroclastic flows |
Pyroclastic flows: a fast-moving current of hot gas and rock (collectively known as tephra), which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h (450 mph). The gas can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). |
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The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland caused |
massive airline disruptions |
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The two most abundant constituents of volcanic gas are |
CO2 and water vapor |
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Lahars (mudflows) and a detectable climate cooling followed the eruption of - Mt. St. Helens -Mt. Pinatubo -Mt. Unzen |
-Mt. Pinatubo |
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The 1883 eruption of this volcano caused a massive tsunami and killed over 36,000 |
Krakatoa |
