Final Study Guide Chaps. 10-13

Bring Scantron Form E882

Also, all the quiz questions (since the midterm) might appear again on the exam.

Chapter 10: Global Climate Systems

1. Know the difference between climate and weather.

2. Does seasonal variation in temperature increase or decrease with distance from the equator?

3. Know the precipitation characteristics of leeward vs. windward sides of a mountain.

4. Know the precipitation characteristics of areas of convergence (like the ITCZ) vs. areas of persistent high pressure.

5. What are the characteristics of a Mediterranean climate?

6. Know that Mediterranean climates are found on the west side of continents at about 30 degrees latitude.

7. What type of climate do we live in?

8. Be able to read a climograph.

9. Understand all the questions that were on the climograph quiz. You’ll see several of them again.

El Nino Questions:

10. Do ocean temperatures increase or decrease during an El Nino year? In what ocean?

11. Where do you normally find cold upwelling?

12. Why is cold upwelling good for fish populations?

13. What happens to areas that normally have cold water upwelling during an El Nino year?

14. What happens to the NE trade winds during an El Nino year? How does this impact the coastal currents along the west coast of California and South America?

15. What parts of the world experience flooding during an El Nino year?

16. What parts of the world experience drought during an El Nino year?

17. What is the impact on hurricanes in the Pacific? In the Atlantic?

18. How do we measure ocean temperatures from satellites?

19. What is La Nina?

Global Warming questions:

20. Which year has been the warmest on record? 2005

21. What happens to sea level during global warming?

22. How are coral reefs impacted by warmer ocean temperatures?

23. What is the primary human activity that increases global warming?

24. What are the two primary greenhouse gasses? (non including water vapor)

25. The Kyoto Protocol binds more-developed countries to a ____ % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels

26. Did the U.S. ever sign the Kyoto treaty . Yes, but the Bush administration negated it.

Chapter 11: The Dynamic Planet

1. Understand the various exogenic and endogenic forces that create the Earth’s landscapes.
2. What is the major endogenic energy source?
3. Understand how scientists use the principle superposition of sedimentary (same as the law of original horizontality) rocks to decode past climate and environmental history.
4. Know the differences between the theories of catastrophism and uniformitarianism and punctuated equilibrium.
5. Understand the differences between absolute and relative dating. What are some examples of relative dating?
6. Know the age of the Earth. Geologic time is recorded in eons, eras, periods and epochs. What period and epoch are we in? (i.e. the most recent period and epoch).
7. Know the sequence of the structure of the earth, from the surface to the center.
8. How deep is the lithosphere? What lies just beneath? Be able to label a diagram of the layers of the Earth.
9. The most prevalent types of rock in the earth’s crust (lithosphere) are granite and basalt. Which is the dominate rock in the ocean crust? Which type in the continental curst? Which of the two rock types is heavier? Which is produced at the mid-ocean ridges?
10. Given a diagram of the layers of the earth, be able to match names to layers.
11. The layer of the Earth’s structure made of molten iron is responsible for generating the Earth’s magnetic field. Which layer is it?
12. Understand how the magnetic field fluctuates and reverses and how often this happens. What is the evidence for such reversals?
13. What is Isostasy? How is it affected previously glaciated landscapes?
14. How long ago did the single land island of Pangaea exist? What process changed the distribution of large land masses?
15. Understand all the tectonic processes: plate boundary interactions (convergent and divergent plates, transform faults); continental drift; hot spots and mantle convection; and warping.
16. Know where to find examples of sea-floor spreading (mid –ocean) and continental rifting (East African rift zone); subduction (NW coast of US, coast of S.A., other areas around the Pacific Rim); and continental collision zones (India- Himalayas).
17. What are the different processes at work in ocean ridges versus ocean trenches?
18. What feature is formed when two ocean crusts moving toward one another meet?
19. Given the diagram titled “crustal formation ( 9.5 in Elemental, 12.5 in Geosystems) be able to label the Subduction zone, the asthenosphere, the oceanic ridge, sea floor spreading, intrusive igneous rocks (plutons or batholiths), magma, extrusive igneous rocks.
20. Where is the Pacific Ring of Fire? What tectonic processes are involved?
21. Be able to describe the tectonic processes at work at the following locations: Africa’s Rift Valley; the Himalayan Mountains; the Pacific Rim (Ring of Fire); Hawaii; Iceland; the Andes, and the San Andreas Fault.
22. Understand the rock cycle and how igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks are created.
23. Know the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and their characteristics. Is basalt intrusive or extrusive? Is granite formed as an intrusive or extrusive igneous rock? Which process allows for slower cooling? Larger crystals are formed by which type of cooling – rapid or slow?
24. Know how plutons and batholiths are produced.
25. Which California mountains form the world’s largest batholith?
26. Are batholiths and plutons made of granite or basalt?
27. Understand the process of lithification. What type of rocks undergo lithification – igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic?
28. Which sedimentary rocks are organic in origin (originate from biological materials)? When subjected to metamorphosis, what do they become? i.e. metamorphic limestone becomes _______.
29. What is the current geological epoch – the one that began about 10,000 years before present? (Holocene) The geologic epoch that preceded the Holocene consisted of a series of ice ages that began about 1.8 million years ago and continued until 10,000 years BP? (Pleistocene)

Chapter 12: Earthquakes and Volcanoes

1. Know the difference between relief and topography. Is relief greater or less above the oceans than it is below?
2. The North American Plate has been growing through subduction and associated volcanic activity on which of its coasts?
3. What is the first order, second, and third order of relief?
4. Define a continental shield and a craton. Where do you find a shield in North America?
5. What is a terrane? With what tectonic process is it associated?
6. Understand the types of stress that affect the Earth’s crust and the corresponding strain. How do the stresses of tension, compression and shear express themselves on the surface of the earth? Know which type of stress results in stretching, shortening, or shearing the crust. Know which types of stress produce the various types of faults.
7. What type of fault is the San Andreas? What expression describes the direction of movement along this fault? How long is the San Andreas fault? If it weren’t for its “sticking points” how much would the plates along the San Andreas move away from each other in a year?
8. What are warping forces? Name some North American landscape features that have been created by warping forces.
9. What forces have created the mountain ranges of the Basin and Range Province? (also known as the Great Basin). What type of stress produced what type of faults in this area?
10. What is orogenesis?
11. What is the difference between a nuée ardente and a lahar?
12. Know the differences between effusive and explosive volcanic activity. Which types of lava composition (basaltic, granitic/andesitic) and viscosity (low or high) are associated with each? Note: high viscosity is very thick.
13. What is the prime example of flood basalt in the U.S.? Is it effusive or explosive?
14. What is the prime example of a composite volcano in the U.S. Was it effusive or explosive in 1980?
15. What are pyroclastics (also called tephra)? With what type (composition and viscosity) of magma and lava are they associated?
16. What are the differences between a shield and a composite volcano? Between a composite cone and a cinder cone?
17. A shield volcano has what type of lava flows – effusive or explosive? Is the lava primarily granitic/andesitic or basaltic?
18. Where are you most likely to find volcanic activity – in association with what types of plate boundaries and tectonic processes?
19. What is the difference between a focus and an epicenter?

Chapter 13 Weathering, Karst Landscapes and Mass Movement

(If we do not cover all of chapter 13, I will tell you which questions will not be included on your final on the last day of lecture.)

1. What is the science of geomorphology?
2. How does the dynamic equilibrium model of landscape formation differ from the older evolutionary (sequential) models?
3. What are some examples of a destabilizing event that allows a landform system to reach a geomorphic threshold?
4. What is meant by a waxing or waning slope?
5. What is regolith?
6. What is an angle of repose? Does it differ for different materials?
7. What factors determine the rate of weathering (both physical and chemical)?
8. Under what climate conditions do you find the greatest rates of chemical weathering?
9. Under what climate conditions do you find the greatest rates of physical weathering?

10. Understand the dynamics of each of the following types of physical weathering: frost action (wedging); crystallization; hydration; exfoliation and pressure-release jointing.

11. Understand the dynamics of each of the following types of chemical weathering: hydrolysis, carbonation, spheroidal weathering, and oxidation.
12. What type of chemical weathering is at work in creating karst landscapes? What is a karst landscape? What landforms are unique to Karst topography?
13. Where do we find karst landscapes in the U.S.?
14. Since karst landscapes require water to form, why does New Mexico, with its arid climate, have extensive karst topography?

15. Understand the different types of mass movement (mass wasting): fall; slide; flow; and creep.

16. What initiates hill slope failure?

17. What is the difference between a rotational (slump) and a translational slide? Which type was the La Conchita slide (near Carpenteria, see fig 10.15). Pt. Fermin was the same type as La Conchita)? Which type was Portuguese Bend?

18. Frost heaving is associated with which type of mass movement?

19. What is scarification?

20. What is a lahar?

10 pt Essay Question: Be as specific as possible. Write an essay, not a list .

Describe how the theory of plate tectonics explains mountain building. Include in your discussion all types of mountains, including volcanic, folded and faulted; listing examples of each type, their location and the specific tectonics (types of plate boundaries) involved.

And/or

How does plate tectonics, which is a process in the lithosphere impact process in the other spheres: atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere?