Summer Purpera Lecture Exam Two

Front 1

The_________includes all the water at and near the earth’s surface. This water moves through the hydrologiccycle, whose main processes involve evaporation into and precipitation out ofthe atmosphere

Back 1

Hydrosphere

Front 2

A ________ is any body of flowing water confined within a channel

Back 2

Stream

Front 3

A stream’s size is influenced by the area of its_____________ , the climate, theamount of vegetation, and the underlying geology.

Back 3

Drainage Basin

Front 4

The term ___________ describes a stream’s size and is defined as the volume of water flowing past agiven point in a specified length of time

Back 4

Discharge

Front 5

A stream’s ________ is the total quantity of material that the stream transports and consists ofthe____________ (material moved along the stream bed), the______________ (finematerial carried in suspension), and the_____________(dissolvedmaterial).

Back 5

Load

Bed Load

Suspended Load

Dissolved Load

Front 6

The term ___________ refers to the total load that a given stream can carry

Back 6

Capacity

Front 7

Thesteepness of a stream channel is called its __________ Typically its the steepest near astream’s source and tends to decrease downstream.

Back 7

Gradient

Front 8

_________________ is the lowest elevation towhich a stream can erode downward

Back 8

Base Level

Front 9

A sketch of a stream’s elevation from source tomouth is called its________________ , which typically assumes aconcave-upward shape.

Back 9

Longitudinal Profile

Front 10

The sinuous bends or curves in a stream channelare called ______________

Back 10

Meanders

Front 11

The erosion along the outside curves ofmeanders, with accompanying deposition along inside curves, results in a slowdownstream migration of the meanders. Asthe meanders enlarge and migrate, they eventually form a________________ that borders the stream channel

Back 11

Flood Plain

Front 12

____________ occur when streams overflow their banks.

Back 12

Floods

Front 13

________________ are those that affect localizedsections of a stream system; they are caused by intense rainstorms and eventslike dam failures. They are typically short-term events

Back 13

Upstream Floods

Front 14

________________ are those that affect largeareas of a stream system; they are typically caused by prolonged rain orextensive regional snowmelt. Theytypically last longer than upstream floods.

Back 14

Downstream Floods

Front 15

Stream__________ and __________________ are constructed to illustrate the behaviorof a stream as a function of time and are useful in assessing regional floodhazards. ________________ areuseful in assessing the probability of flood occurrence in a given stream.

Back 15

Hydrographs

Flood Frequency Curve

Flood Frequency Curve

Front 16

Strategies for reducing flood hazards includerestrictive zoning, the prohibition of construction in__________ areas,__________ , and the construction of ____________ , diversion channels,_________ , and flood-control dams. Each ofthese measures has limitations

Back 16

Flood Plain Areas

Channelization

Retention Ponds

Levees

Front 17

____________ is the most important agent sculpting theearth’s surface

Back 17

Water

Front 18

The________________ includes all the water at and near the earth’ssurface.

Back 18

Hydrosphere

Front 19

The_______________ includes all the processes by which water inthe hydrosphere circulates

Back 19

Hydrologic Cycle

Front 20

A hundred-year flood is a flood with____________________ of one hundred years

Back 20

Recurrence Interval

Front 21

A____________is a fan-shaped deposit of sediment formed ata stream’s mouth

Back 21

Delta

Front 22

An__________________is a fan-shaped deposit of sediment formedwhere a stream flows from a Mountain into a dry plain or desert, or flows into amore slowly flowing, larger stream

Back 22

Alluvial Fan

Front 23

The_____________of a stream is the elevation of the stream’swater surface at any point along the stream's course

Back 23

Stage

Front 24

The ________________River is the highest-discharge stream in theUnited States.

Back 24

Mississippi

Front 25

Floods are probably the most widely experiencedgeologic hazards

Back 25

True

Front 26

The main processes of the hydrologic cycleinvolve surface runoff and infiltration.

Back 26

False

Front 27

The main processes of the hydrologic cycleinvolve surface runoff and infiltration.

Back 27

True

Front 28

At any given point, stream-deposited sedimentstend to be well mixed in terms of size or weight

Back 28

False

Front 29

Oxbow lakes are characteristic of relativelyyoung stream channels

Back 29

False

Front 30

The major factors that determine whether a floodwill occur are the amount of water involved and the rate at which it enters thestream system.

Back 30

True

Front 31

Once an area has a one-hundred-year flood, itwill not experience a flood of similar size for at least another one hundredyears

Back 31

False

Front 32

Buildings in a floodplain can increase floodheights by occupying volume that water formerly could fill

Back 32

True

Front 33

Farming can contribute to flooding by removingthe natural vegetation and leaving the soil exposed, which increases surfacerunoff

Back 33

True

Front 34

Construction of a flood-control dam results in anew base level downstream from the dam

Back 34

False

Front 35

Gently sloping, broad beaches are typicallyassociated with _______________, such as the eastern margin of North America.Far Removed from a plate boundary

Back 35

Passive Continental Margins

Front 36

____________ coasts canbe recognized by the presence of ____________, __________coasts

Back 36

Submergent

Drowned Valleys

Emergent

Front 37

___________ and ___________are the principalnatural agents of shoreline modification caused by erosion and sedimentdeposition.

Back 37

Waves

Currents

Front 38

___________________, the deflection of waves around irregularitiesin the coastline, results in the rapid erosion and rounding out of angularcoastline features.

Back 38

Wave Refraction

Front 39

A subtle but continuous process of coastalerosion is caused by _____________________ (the lateral movement of water along the shoreline) that transport sediment particles in the samegeneral direction as the motion of the longshore current (littoral drift)

Back 39

Longshore Currents

Front 40

Human-made structures constructed to protect andstabilize shorelines include ____________ ,riprap, groins, jetties, and ___________. Such structures, although effective forshort-term protection of specific segments of a beach, often result inincreased erosion along unprotected sections of the beach

Back 40

Seawalls

Breakwaters

Front 41

Expensive______________ projects to restore some beaches that experience rapid erosionand widespread development have not been particularly effective

Back 41

Beach Nourishment

Front 42

____________ and______________ are fragilecoastal environments that are especially vulnerable to natural forces and/orhuman activities.

Back 42

Barrier Islands

Estuaries

Front 43

A ___________is a gently sloping shoreline area washed overby waves and covered by sediment

Back 43

Beach

Front 44

. Thedepth at which water motion within a wave is negligible is the ___________________

Back 44

Wave Base

Front 45

_____________ or abrasion, is theerosion caused by the grinding action of sand-laden waves on a coast.

Back 45

Milling

Front 46

______________________are steplike terraces cut into bedrock along acoast by wave action as a consequence of rising land or falling water level.

Back 46

Wave-Cut Platforms

Front 47

________________ refers to the movement of sand along thelength of a beach in the same general direction as the longshore current.

Back 47

Littoral Drift

Front 48

A storm_____________is a local increase in the water level of anocean or large lake that occurs in response to low air pressure associated witha major storm, such as a hurricane

Back 48

Surge

Front 49

Waves and currents are the principal forcesbehind natural shoreline modification.

Back 49

True

Front 50

Wave-cut platforms are more pronounced alongcoastlines composed of soft, unconsolidated material than along coastlinescomposed of resistant bedrock

Back 50

False

Front 51

Chesapeake Bay is anexample of a drowned valley.

Back 51

True

Front 52

The construction of groins results in the lossof beach up-current of the groins and in the buildup of beach below

Back 52

False

Front 53

The damming of a large river whose mouth is neara beach can result in erosion of the beach

Back 53

True

Front 54

Replenishment of sand along eroded beaches(beach nourishment) is the most cost-effective method of beach restoration

Back 54

False

Front 55

Barrier islands tend toretreat seaward with time.

Back 55

False

Front 56

Water circulation is very limited in estuaries,making them vulnerable to pollution.

Back 56

True

Front 57

The rate of shoreline erosion in the future maybe higher due to global warming enhanced by the greenhouse effect.

Back 57

False

Front 58

A 1971 study showed that the erosion of theGreat Lakes shoreline had been significantly reduced after the installation ofshoreline protection structures

Back 58

False

Front 59

The movement of geological materials, usually downslope, in response tothe force of gravity is called _______________ or ____________. Mass movements occur when ____________ (downward pull) exceedsthe _______________ (frictionalresistance) of a material

Back 59

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement

Shearing Stress

Shear Strength

Front 60

For dry, unconsolidated material, the maximumslope angle at which the material is stable is called the _________________.

Back 60

Angle of Repose

Front 61

The very slow, often imperceptible, downslopemovement of soils and rocks is called________. Soil creep occurs more commonly than rockcreep

Back 61

Creep

Front 62

_______________is the term used todescribe rapid mass movements of soil or rock. Mass movements are classified on the basis of the type of material movedand the type and rate of movement:

Back 62

Landslide

Front 63

_______________ :thefree-fall of material not always in contact with the ground. Most falls are rockfalls

Back 63

Fall

Front 64

__________: the downslope movement of a relativelycoherent unit of rock or soil along a well-defined surface.

Back 64

Slide

Front 65

_________: a slide that hasmoved a short distance. Soil slumpsoften display a rotational movement

Back 65

Slump

Front 66

________:the downslope movement of a material in achaotic fashion with mixing of particles within the flowing mass. Snow avalanches, debris avalanches, pyroclastic flows, and lahars are examples offlows.

Back 66

Flow

Front 67

_______________ is the expansion of wet soil as it freezes andthe ice expands.

Back 67

Frost Heaving

Front 68

_____________ is a fine-grainedsediment of pulverized rock produced by glacial erosion.

Back 68

Rock Flour

Front 69

___________ is the accumulated debris that results fromrockfalls or rockslides

Back 69

Talus

Front 70

Themost rapid mass movements are normally rockfalls, avalanches, and______________

Back 70

Mudflows

Front 71

Landslides are often triggered by heavy rain or _____________

Back 71

Earthquakes

Front 72

The force behind mass movements is gravity

Back 72

True

Front 73

All things being equal, the angle of repose isgreater for smooth, rounded particles than for rough, sticky, or irregularparticles

Back 73

False

Front 74

The area of Portuguese Bend in Los AngelesCounty, California is an example of a slide area that was activated by humanactivities.

Back 74

True

Front 75

Artificial reservoirs can cause landslides byincreasing the pore pressures in rocks along the sides of the reservoirs.

Back 75

True

Front 76

Creep, in addition to causing severe propertydamage, often results in the loss of human life

Back 76

False

Front 77

A snow avalanche is a type of slide

Back 77

False

Front 78

The most rapid mass movements can travel atspeeds of hundreds of kilometers per hour

Back 78

True

Front 79

Generally, the most successful retaining wallsare low and thick, rather than high and thin

Back 79

True

Front 80

Moisture-reduction techniques work best whererocks or soils are impermeable to water

Back 80

False

Front 81

Aerial photography canbe a useful tool in the identification of inconspicuous mass movements.

Back 81

True

Front 82

Thetwo types of glaciers are____________(also known as mountain orvalley glaciers) and ________________ (also known as ice caps or icesheets). _______________ are by far themost numerous today, but the _______________covering Greenland andAntarctica contain a much greater volume of ice.

Back 82

Alpine Glaciers

Continental Glaciers

Alpine Glaciers

Continental Glaciers

Front 83

Wind erosion consists of either_________(the erosion of a solid object by the impact of windblownparticles) or ____________ (the wholesale removal of loose sediment by thewind). Surface features produced by winderosion and/or deposition include ventifacts, desert pavement, dunes,and loess deposits

Back 83

Abrasion

Deflation

Front 84

A _________ is an extremelyarid region that is incapable of supporting appreciable life. Most of the world’s major deserts fall inbelts close to 30 degrees north and south of the equator. The distribution of deserts may change in thefuture because of changes in the global climatic pattern or shifting oflandmasses due to plate tectonics

Back 84

Desert

Front 85

_____________ refers to the relatively rapiddevelopment of deserts on arid-but-marginally habitable land caused by theimpact of human activities such as deforestation, agriculture, andovergrazing. Much of the western half ofthe United States is vulnerable to this

Back 85

Desertification

Front 86

A _____________ is a mass of ice formed from compacted,recrystallized snow that moves over land under its own weight.

Back 86

Glacier

Front 87

_____________ is glacial erosion that occurs as ice freezesonto rock and tears away rock fragments as the ice moves on

Back 87

Plucking

Front 88

____________ is sediment deposited by melting glacial ice.

Back 88

Till

Front 89

A _____________ is a landform made of till.

Back 89

Moraine

Front 90

A____________is a low mound or ridge of fine-grainedmaterial (usually sand) deposited by the wind

Back 90

Dune

Front 91

____________ is a deposit of windblown silt

Back 91

Loess

Front 92

A______________________ is an area of low rainfall on the leeward sideof a mountain range that is caused by loss of moisture from air passing overthe mountains.

Back 92

Rain Shadow

Front 93

Most of the glaciers in theworld today are continental glaciers

Back 93

False

Front 94

Approximately 75% of theearth’s fresh water is stored as glacial ice.

Back 94

True

Front 95

The equilibrium line on aglacial surface indicates the line of farthest glacial advance

Back 95

False

Front 96

A valley carved by a glacier istypically V-shaped

Back 96

False

Front 97

The Great Lakes were formed bycontinental glaciers that covered the northern United States during the lastIce Age

Back 97

True

Front 98

Many of the world’s majordeserts occur in belts close to 30 degrees north and south of the equator

Back 98

True

Front 99

Deposits of loess in the UnitedStates are concentrated around the Mississippi River drainage basin

Back 99

True

Front 100

Because of their water content,the polar ice caps cannot be considered a type of desert.

Back 100

False

Front 101

Desertification involves theexpansion of desert regions as a result of forces originating within thedesert.

Back 101

False

Front 102

Dust devils are a significantagent of soil erosion in arid environments.

Back 102

True

Front 103

____________ is the long term, averagetemperature and precipitation for a given geographic region

Back 103

Climate

Front 104

________________ change is a worldwide increase (globalwarming) or decrease (global cooling) in atmospheric temperature.

Back 104

Global Climate

Front 105

Gases, such as _____________ and ____________, help trap the heat radiated from earth’s surface, thusmaintaining a relatively warm and life friendly atmospheric temperature. This benefit from heat retentive gases iscalled “______________________.”

Back 105

Carbon Dioxide

Water Vapor

The Greenhouse Effect

Front 106

Changes in sea temperature inconjunction with melting ice cause variations in salt concentration in seawater. In turn, these variations canalter the behavior or existence of ocean currents. These ocean currents, called ___________________, are important climate regulators bytransporting heat from one location to another.

Back 106

Thermohaline Currents

Front 107

Asice melts, Earth’s surface ____________ decreases causing further warming

Back 107

Albedo

Front 108

______________ isa greenhouse gas that is necessary to the process of photosynthesis in plants.

Back 108

CO2

Front 109

Duringthe 20th Century, Earth’s average temperature increased by about_________.

Back 109

1.08F

Front 110

Themost likely cause of recent increases in carbon dioxide concentration (anincrease of 45 ppm, for example, in the 30-year period, 1960-1990) is the useby humans of_________________

Back 110

Fossil Fuels

Front 111

Asubstantially better understanding of past global climate change has resultedfrom the study of ___________________ obtained from Greenland and Antarctica.

Back 111

Ice Cores

Front 112

Earths Avg Temp is

Back 112

59 F

Front 113

Thermohalineocean currents are controlled by temperature and wind.

Back 113

False

Front 114

Ifsea level rises due to global warming, rivers emptying into the sea will experience morefrequent flooding

Back 114

True

Front 115

Thereare more hurricanes today than in the past

Back 115

False

Front 116

Methanerepresents the largest amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

Back 116

False

Front 117

Watervapor is a greenhouse gas

Back 117

True

Front 118

Withoutgreenhouse gases in the atmosphere, life on Earth would not be possible

Back 118

True

Front 119

Oceancurrents and climate change are linked

Back 119

True

Front 120

Onthe basis of atmospheric concentration (amount), carbon dioxide is the most significantgreenhouse gas

Back 120

False

Front 121

Globalwarming will likely increase the spread of diseases.

Back 121

True

Front 122

Humanactivity is not thought to have a significant impact on global climate

Back 122

False