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130 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Angular unconformity |
horizontal layers are deposited on top of tilled or folded layers |
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Non conformity |
sedimentary layers deposited on top of igneous/metamorphic rocks |
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Disconformity |
Sedimentary layers with time missing |
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Reservoir rocks |
have high porosity and high permeability. Example of this is sandstone |
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Seal rocks |
have low permeability and low porosity, Example of this is shale rock. |
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Anticlinal trap |
Arch shaped folds |
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Salt domes trap |
lots of layers of salt that are far below surface of Earth. Oil reserves are stored in these |
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Surface mining |
heating rocks greater than 500 degrees to distill off the oil. |
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Steam assisted gravity |
-extracts bitumen through thermal production in subsurface -uses horizontal well pair -steam reduces bitumen viscosity |
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Hydraulic Fracturing |
-method to extract natural gas and oil from oil shale |
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Hydraulic Fracturing |
1.) pumps water and chemicals/sand into well to increase pore pressure 2.) causes fracturing; sand holds fractures open 3.) oil and gas is extracted |
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Coal |
-fromed from plant material--> swamps mashes and costal plains -form at temps greater than 100 degrees -more widely distributed than oil and gas |
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Acid Rain |
-coal in Eastern US has higher sulfur concentraion -SO4 and NO3 react with water in Atmosphere to form surfuric acid/nitric acid |
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Particulate pollution |
smog; increased heavy metals (mercury) |
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Global warming |
-variability comes from different estimates of future CO2 emissions -1-6 degree increase by 2100 and 4 ft sea level rise |
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Acid Mine Drainage |
-yellow boy -oxidation of FeS -lowers pH -precipitates Fe-Hydroxides |
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Carbon sequestration |
-inject supercritical CO2 into permeable rock layers |
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Weathering |
the breakdown of exposed rock into smallfragments and dissolved ions |
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Transport |
Grains become rounded primarily during this |
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Erosion |
The removal of detritus (rock fragments) from an outcrop is called |
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Clastic |
Broken down rock fragments eventually form which type of sediments and rocks |
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Biochemical |
Cemented shells of marine organisms form which type of sediments and rocks |
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Diagenesis and lithificaion |
compaction and cementation of grains occurs during |
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Diagenesis |
The physical and chemical alteration of rocks that occurs as sediment transformed into a rock is called |
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River bed |
A well-sorted sandstone with asymmetric ripples was most likely deposited as sand where |
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Sedimentary basins, broad depressions that catch sediments |
The thickest sequences of sedimentary rocks are typically found in- |
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DELTS |
which is NOT a continental sedimentary environment |
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physical weathering |
The breakdown of rocks by a mechanical process is called |
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Symmetric ripples |
Which of the following features are you most likely to find in a former beach environment |
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Sharp, U-shaped |
Compared to steam modified terrain, a glacially modified terrain has ____ mountain profiles and ____ valleys |
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Reflecting incoming solar radiation |
A high albedo surface does a good job or what |
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Kettle |
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Striations |
Grooves on exposed bedrock that formed from rocks dragged along the base base of glaciers are called |
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When temperatures drop, sea levels fall and the oceans become more saline |
Which of the following relationships best explain the link between global sea level and polar ice extent? |
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Snow/ ice covered surfaces |
The surfaces that reflect the most incoming solar radiation are |
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Cirque |
Which of the following erosional landforms displays steep walls and a flat base at the head of a glacial valley? |
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Outwash |
glacial drift that has been sorted and distributed by meltwater |
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till |
poorly sorted and unstratified sediment associated with glaciers |
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Groundwater |
Water that has percolated through the Earth's surface and is stored underground is referred to as |
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FALSE |
groundwater reserves are smaller in volume than surface water in the United states. |
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plant growth feedback |
What is an example of a negative feedback loop? |
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unusually warm weathers in the eastern pacific ocean |
El nino |
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FALSE |
Ice core and ocean sediment cores are anaylyzed for the oxygen isotopic compositions to estimated tempeature in the past |
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100,000 years periodically |
Eccentricity is approximately |
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40,000 years periodically |
Axial tilt |
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Cone of depression will result |
A body of groundwater that is well connected and easily transmitted to the surface by pumping is called an aquifer. If the aquifer is pumped faster than it is recharged. |
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Installing a more powerful pump |
which of the following is the least effective in combating the effects of a declining water table? |
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Dissolution |
by what chemical process do carbonate minerals, the primary constituents of limestone weather? |
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it requires dry climates |
which of the following about karst topography is false |
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TCE |
What chemical migrates to the bottom of aquifers due to density driven flow |
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True |
Groundwater can flow upward against gravity |
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TRUE |
a spring is the surface manifestation of the water table |
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Divides |
Drainage basins are seperated by |
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False |
Meandering streams usually form in areas with a higher gradient than braided streams |
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High gradient of river |
Which of the following does not contribute to the flooding in the Red River of North Dakota and Minnesota |
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Lateral continuity |
If the rock type and fossil content of twobodies of rock on opposite sides of a canyon are identical, then theseremaining outcrops were likely physically connected at one time and formed partof an extensive layer of rock. This idea summarizes the principle of
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angular unconformity |
Flat-lying sedimentary rocks deposited on top oftilted sedimentary rock layers, likely an erosional surface between the twosections is an example of
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2 billion years |
If the half-life of a radioactive isotope is 1 billion years, and wedetermine that one-fourth (1/4) of this radioactive isotope is in an unaltered(unreacted) state in a particular sample, the age of the sample would beapproximately-
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Weathering |
is the breakdown ofrocks into fragments and dissolved ions, does not involve movement.
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Erosion |
is the moving of weathered fragmentsaway from the rock from air, water, or ice.
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Chemical weathering |
is the breakdown of rocks by chemical processes, carbonation is an example |
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Erosion |
Is the moving of weathered fragments away from the rock from the air, water, or ice |
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Diagenesis |
lithifies sediments into rocks |
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Sedimentary basins |
are broad depressions where sediment collects, this produces thick sequences of sediments up to 15km deep |
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Crossbeds |
-form from running water, as the water flows it creates bedforms, such as ripples or dunes on the floor of a channel. |
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Bedding |
layers of sedimentary rocks |
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Ripples |
Cm scale ridges and troughs there are asymmetric ones that are like sand dunes and rivers. |
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Assymetric ripples |
like sand dunes and rivers |
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like lakes and oceans |
Symmetric ripples |
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Clastic |
consist of rock fragments |
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biochemical |
consist of shell or skeletal material |
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chemical |
prepcipitate out of solution |
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organic |
coal |
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Troposphere |
is about 10 km up to20, this includes the clouds and is known as the “weather layer.”
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Stratosphere |
is up to 50 km and isthe “drier layer”
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Hydrosphere |
is all the water notfrozen on/in earth. (thermohaline circulation)
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cryosphere |
contains ice components (glacialbudget).
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the greenhouse effect |
this is the effect ofatmospheric gases like carbon dioxide absorbing energy from the sun and earthand trapping it near the Earth’s surface, warming the Earth to a temperaturerange that is hospitable for life
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CO2 and methane
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greenhouse gases |
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is the fraction ofsolar energy that is reflected
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albedo |
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Positive feedback loops |
change in one component enhances another. Thisamplifys. This is an example of albedo
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Albedo feedback loop |
Temp rise--> caps melts--> decreases albedo-->temp rises
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Normal Albedo |
warm western pacific and cold eastern pacific. winds move from east to west. The western pacific has lots of rain |
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El nino |
warm eastern pacific and cold western pacific, effects trade winds, wet Eastern pacific like Southern |
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La nina |
colder pacific temps and stronger trade winds |
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Thermohaline circulation (THC) |
is a part of thelarge-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradientscreated by surface heat and freshwater fluxes.
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20th century warming |
warming correlates with increasing CO2from industrial revolutions emissionsàfossil fuels. The mean surface temp is 0.6-0.8 degrees higher. The 20thcentury is abnormal compared with climate variation over the last millennium. Cisotopes also have a distinctive signature from burning fossil fuels.
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This is known from the marines on edges |
-How do we know how far south the Wisconsin glaciation has reached |
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Striations |
groove in exposedrock (rock surface) from debris (rock) on the bottom of the glacier-this is howyou can tell the glacier movement direction.
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Cirque |
looks like invertedcone, steep walls, flat valleys- this is the head of valley.
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Horns |
exposures/ peaksabove glacier level
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U-shaped valley |
steep walls, broad,rounded valley.
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Arete |
narrow ridge betweentwo cirques
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Hanging valley |
from a tributaryglacier, not as deep as main glacier
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Fjord |
flooded, glacialvalley-usually along the coastline.
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Erratics |
large boulders, outof place
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Tills |
unconsolidatedsediment that is poorly sorted (clay to boulders)
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Moraine |
-accumulations of rocky sand at the edges or ends of glaciers
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Drumlins |
large stream linedhills parallel to ice flow
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Esker |
long, narrow ridge of sand and gravel that have tunnels of meltwater |
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Outwash |
sortedglacial drift that is sorted by meltwater and has broad plains
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kettle |
hallows or undraweddepression that is commonly found by ponds or lakes.
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Erratic, tills, moraines, and drumlins |
Which glacial deposits are formed by ice |
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-WisconsinGlaciation happened about 75,000-11,000 years ago
-last glacial maximumwas about 21,000 years ago -multiple glacialevents-4 -increased land exposure -warming and coolingperiods, O isotopes, low ratio=cooler period |
Wisconsin Glaciation history |
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lauventideice sheet-> edge -glaciations and icefree periods -oldest till about600,000 years old -SE corners of MN-no ice
--Wadena, Rainy,superior, and Des Moines are common glacial lobes |
Minnesota Glaciation history |
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Precession |
happens about every24,000 years and is a wobble of the pole due to equatorial bulge.
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Axial Tilt |
happens about every41,000 years and is an axial tilt of rotation from 22-24 degrees; moons orbitalpath.
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Eccentricity |
100,000 years and iselliptical path of earth.
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Rain shadows |
-occur on large mountain ranges, an example of this is cascades.
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Waterusage- Energy (50%), Agriculture (35%), Public (11%), Industry (5%). Humans useabout 250 liters per day.
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Water usage |
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Reservoirs |
theseare large storage areas that include dams and wetlands, storage can occur innatural lakes, artificial reservoirs, and wetlands. In natural lakes, theyabsorb short-term flows during major precipitation and release it slowly tohelp control flooding.
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Porosity |
spaceavailable within a rock for water
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Permeability |
ability for solidto allow fluid to flow through it.
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confined aquifiers |
prevent local infiltration of water, these can be rechargedonly from recharge area
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unconfined aquiers |
surface water is free to infiltrate to a aquifier and assistrecharge.
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Artesian wells |
drilled into confinedaquifier and water moves towards surface without pumping.
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Karst |
this is irregular terrain that has sink holes, springs anddisappearing streams. Acidic groundwater will chemically weather and dissolveslimestone (CACO3). In minnesota in the southeast there is a mystery cave.
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includes microbes andfor iron barriers uses phosphorous from detergents.
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Cleanup for bioremediation |
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Leachate |
liquid rich in medals and chemical solvents
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Gasoline |
a biological pollutant- chemicals such as industrial benzeneand TCE which is an industrial solvent.
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Drainage basin |
where all water from ice, snow, or ice converges into a single point at alower elevation, usually the exit of the basin.
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Divides |
are the elevatedboundary between areas that are drained by different river systems.
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braided streams |
have a chaotic paternand high velocity and high discharge they also have a high gradient and highsediment load
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Meandering stream |
low gradient, lowslope, low velocity, and lower sediment load
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Oxbow lake |
remnant river meander forms duringmajor flooding
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Red River Flooding |
flows from south to north. The springthaw and discharge are aligned. Ice jam again from south to north flow. Flatlandà Glacial lake Agassiz. It decreases in gradient downstream.
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original horizontality |
layers of sediment/rock are depositedhorizontal or parallel to Earth’s surface.
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lateral continuity |
rock layers extend in all directionsuntil the edge of their areaàlikely to appear on both sides of a canyon.
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cross-cutting |
igneous intrusion like a dike or afault that cross cuts rock layers is younger than the rock layers.
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Inclusions |
rock fragments are older than the rockthey are within.
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