Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
64 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Name 3 of 4 major oceans |
Atlantic Pacific Indian |
|
The measurement of ocean depth and the charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor is called |
Bathymetry |
|
List the 3 major topographic units of the ocean floor |
Continental margin Ocean Ridges Deep ocean basin |
|
The pacific ocean is considered a ____ continental margin, due to the High level of geological activity |
Active |
|
The Atlantic ocean is considered a ______ continental margin, due to the LOW level of geological activity |
passive |
|
The passive continental margin contains 3 boundaries the |
Continental shelf Continental slope Continental rise The Continental Shelf is the flooded extension of the continent |
|
Deep Ocean Trenches are areas of ______ in the ocean |
Plate Convergence |
|
A ______ is a submerged volcano in the ocean |
Gouyahts |
|
Which one of the following statements best describes erosion? |
the process by which weathered rock and mineral particles are removed from one area and transported elsewhere |
|
Mass wasting, a process that often occurs between weathering and erosion, involves ________. |
the transport of material due to gravity |
|
What is the most abundant, naturally produced, weak acid involved in chemical weathering and soil formation? |
carbonic |
|
Feldspars commonly decompose during weathering to clay minerals, silica, and soluble constituents. |
True |
|
Quartz is quite resistant to weathering and is an important component of sands in riverbeds and on beaches. |
True |
|
Abundant moisture and warm temperatures result in high rates of chemical weathering. |
True |
|
What two factors speed up rates of chemical reaction and weathering in rocks and soils? |
warm temperatures; very moist |
|
Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is true? |
Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart. |
|
Which of the following is not a physical weathering process? |
rocks reacting with organic acids from plants |
|
Which of the following statements best demonstrates the connection between climate and weathering? |
Warm temperatures and abundant moisture will cause faster weathering. |
|
Organisms contribute to soils formation by ________. |
degrading organic matter to form humus stirring the soil to allow air infiltration contributing organic matter to the soil all of the above |
|
Which of the following does NOT contribute to the formation of soil? |
longitude |
|
The word topsoil is commonly used, but not always correctly. The proper definition is ________. |
the dark, organic rich layers of O and A |
|
Lahars are essentially mudflows associated with volcanoes and volcanism. |
True |
|
How does water affect the mass wasting process? |
Water fills pore spaces between sediments, which buoys them upward and allows gravity to more easily pull the sediments downslope. |
|
If the glacial budget is balanced (accumulation equals wastage), then ________. |
the terminus of the glacier is stationary |
|
What condition is most necessary to build a glacier? |
More snow must fall in the winter than melts in the summer. |
|
What will the glacial budget be for a glacier that is in a state of retreat? |
Wastage exceeds accumulation. |
|
Abrasion and plucking generally involve what part of a glacier? |
the bottom or base |
|
Till is an unsorted sediment deposited directly from the melting glacial ice; stream action is not involved. |
True |
|
A ________ forms when a block of ice is buried in drift and subsequently melts, creating a pit. |
Kettle |
|
A(n) ________ represents a former meltwater channel or tunnel in glacial ice that was filled with sand and gravel. |
Esker |
|
Climatologist define a "dry climate" as a climate in which ________. |
precipitation is less than expected evaporation |
|
In a dry climate, weathering is significantly less than in a humid climate because ________. |
there is a shortage of moisture and organic acids |
|
What is the most important agent of erosion in deserts? |
Water |
|
Bajadas develop from coalescence of alluvial fans along fronts of mountain ranges in arid lands. |
True |
|
Desert pavement is the result of ________. |
deflation |
|
Which type of sand dune consists of a U-shaped dune with the tips pointing upwind, forming in areas where there is some vegetation present? |
parabolic |
|
A cirque represents an erosional feature formed in what was an important accumulation zone for snow and ice at the upstream head of a glacier. |
True |
|
A(n) ________ is a closed depression formed by melting of an ice block buried in a moraine or outwash plain. |
Kettle |
|
Salinity in the ocean is highest in regions where ________ is high and ________ is low. |
evaporation; precipitation |
|
The most abundant salt in seawater is ________. |
NaCl |
|
The total amount of solid material dissolved in water is known as ________. |
salinity |
|
Density in seawater is determined by ________. |
both temperature and salinity |
|
At high latitudes the thermocline is ________. |
There is no thermocline at high latitudes. |
|
Clams, sponges, and other bottom-dwelling animals are called benthos organisms. |
True |
|
Plankton are organisms that swim freely in the ocean. |
False |
|
Fish most commonly live ________. |
near islands and continents |
|
Most marine animals live near the surface of the ocean because of ________, which supports photosynthesis by marine algae that form the basis of the food chain. |
Sunlight |
|
Organisms, such as algae and bacteria, that drift with ocean currents are known as ________. |
Plankton |
|
Which of the three choices best describes the marine habitat of nekton organisms? |
freely swimming through the water |
|
What limits productivity in polar regions? |
the lack of sunlight year round |
|
Why is productivity low in tropical regions? |
because the thermocline acts as a barrier to the mixing of surface and deep waters |
|
Feeding stages in the food chain are known as trophic levels. |
True |
|
Organisms that feed through a food web instead of a food chain are more likely to survive because ________. |
if a member of the food web diminishes in availability, there are still many other things to eat |
|
In the food chain, each feeding stage is called a ________ level. |
Trophic |
|
Name 3 Principle Stages of the hydrologic cycle |
Evaporation/ transpiration Precipitation Transportation |
|
_______ Streams are slow, flow with little energy and have straight flow |
Laminar |
|
______ Streams are fast, flow with high energy and have swirling flow |
Turbulent |
|
List the 3 types of stream load |
Dissolved suspended bed |
|
which of the above 3 carries the most stream load? |
Suspended |
|
Alluvial channels are called ______ in fairly flat, low energy streams with cut banks and point bars |
Meandoning |
|
Alluvial channels are called _______ in high-energy streams near glaciers |
Braided |
|
What is the ultimate base level? |
Sea level |
|
Name a Temporary base level |
local base level |
|
Name 2 reasons or factors why rainfall will either infiltrate or runoff the surface |
Water already in soil Nature of material |