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GEOG 104: FINAL EXAM
Plate tectonics theory |
Large scale motions of the lithosphere (outer solid ridge of earth) |
Evidence of Pangea |
-fit of continents
-rock type & mountains found on North America and Europe
-fossils of same plants and animals found on Africa, South America, and Antarctica.
|
Lithosphere |
The rigid outer part of the Earth. |
layers of earth |
1. inner core
2. outer core
3. mantle
4. asthenosphere (part of the mantle)
5. crust
6. lithosphere
|
Mafic |
-have high density
-are dark in color
|
What is the inner core composed of? |
solid iron and nickel crystals |
What is the liquid outer core composed of? |
Molten iron and nickel. |
What is mantle composed of? |
Solid iron, magnesium and silicone oxides. |
Asthenosphere |
Soft layer of mantle under the lithosphere made of radioactive decay and molten rock. |
How does molten rock on the asthenosphere move? |
Very slowly by convection. |
Transform boundary |
The boundary at which two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontaly.
|
Where do transform boundary's occur most often |
Mid ocean ridges |
continental drift |
The hypothesis that continents have broken up and slowly moved to their current locations. |
Sea- floor spreading |
The process by which new oceanic crust forms as magma rises towards the surface and solidifies
|
Plate tectonics |
The theory that explains how the tectonic plates move and change shape |
Convergent boundary |
The boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates |
Divergent boundary |
The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other
|
Rift Valley |
long, narrow depression formed at divergent boundaries |
Subduction |
process in which two plates collide and the denser plate descends below the other
|
Where does subduction occur mostly? |
Oceanic vs. Continental |
Ocean trench |
the process of subduction creates this at an oceanic oceanic convergent boundary
|
What are mountains created by? |
contiential vs contiental convergent boundar. |
What creates volcanic mountain ranges? |
Oceanic- Continental convergent boundary's. |
What type of boundary is created by long faults? |
Transform |
Convection current |
this type of energy transfer is believed to drive plate movement |
Hot spot |
unusually hot area in Earth's mantel where high temperature plumes of mantle rise towards the surface |
What are the hawaiian islands formed by? |
Hot spots. |
Air mass |
large body of air that has distinctive characteristics and forms in specific geographic regions
|
Fonts |
boundaries to air masses |
Stationary front |
where contrasting air masses are flowing parallel to each other |
Warm front |
where warm air is advancing into cool air and slowly slides over the top of it
-causes slow and steady rain |
Cold front |
where cold air is advancing into warm air and is forced to go on top of the cool air
-rain is intense and short |
Midlatitude cyclone |
spins counterclockwise in Northern Hemisphere
-where warm and cold fronts develop
form when undulations (up and down movement like a wave) form in the polar jet stream |
Continental polar |
Dry, cold climate zone above 60 degree latitude
|
Continential tropical |
Warm, moist climate zone near the equator |
Cyclone |
A severe storm, tropical strom, etc. Has winds that are in areas of low atmospheric pressure. |
Occluded front |
Cut off, as the warm air mass at an occluded front is cut off from the ground by cooler air beneath it. |
Anticyclone |
A high-pressure center of dry air.
|
Isobars |
a line drawn to connect points of equal atmospheric pressure |
Maritime tropical |
air of a mass originating over tropical oceans and characterized by high temperature and humidity. |
Maritime polar |
air coming originally from polar regions but having humidity and temperature properties modified by passing over relatively warm oceans. |
Mountain winds |
Valley winds that cool in the evening due to a loss of surface energy to space; the wind then moves down slope |
Valley wind |
During the day, the air above the mountains warm causing it to rise; this; that is a valley wind
|
Polar easterlies |
winds that blow from the Pole to 60 degrees |
Prevailing westerlies |
winds that blow from 60 degrees to 30 degrees |
Trade winds |
winds that blow from 30 degrees to 0 degrees |
Chinook winds |
warm dry wind that blows on the leeward side of the mountain; as it descends the mountain it is heated and causes large meltings of ice |
Santa ana winds |
warm dry winds; high pressures pushes them |
How does water trigger mass wasting events? |
Heavy rains, period of snow |
How do oversteepened slopes trigger mass wasting events? |
Undercutts valley walls and angle of repose is readjusted. |
Angle of repose |
the steepest angle which material remains stable |
How do you find the angle of repose? |
rise(vertical)/run(horizontal) |
How does removal of vegetation trigger mass wasting? |
Plants protect against erosion because of their root system. |
What natural distastes can trigger mass wasting? |
Earthquakes |
Thawleg |
Deepest and fastest channel at any given stream. |
Drainage basin |
Where all flowing water, rainfall or snowmelt included will flow. |
Fluvial erosion |
breakdown and removal of rock fragments and sediments by moving water |
Entrainment |
when sediment is picked up and suspended into flowing water |
Abrasion (streams)
|
sediment scratches at the bottom of the stream and loosens more sediment |
Saltation (sterams) |
speed of water increases and even larger sediments, or rocks, are picked up and suspended by water. |
Traction (stream) |
Water transports sediment and rocks when particles are too big or heavy to be picked up, so it rolls or tumbles. |
Cut bank |
water moves fastest, erosional side. |
Point bar |
inside of curve, moves slower, depositional. |
River deepening |
results from gravity pulling downward on water as it flows. |
Delta formation |
water with lots of sediment entrained upon entering a lake or ocean and will slow it down.
|
Floodplain |
land area covered by water during flood of nearby river or stream
|
Bluffs |
higher ground on either side of the river floodplain, marks outer limit of flood plain.
|
Ox bow lake |
horseshoe shaped lake that is a former meander in the river but cutoff by change in river course, usually due to flooding. |
Meander scar |
dry curved horseshoe shaped river that was abandoned by river when it changed course. same as ox bow |
What are the landforms that separate braided streams? |
Sandbars. |
Glaciers |
large masses that form on land areas that are cold enough and sustain enough snowfall. |
Ablation |
loss of a glacier. |
Accumulation |
growing of a glacier. |
Zone of accumulation |
snow and ice collect in this zone and become compacted and recrystallize. |
Zone of ablation |
Zone of accumulation goes downhill and melts faster than new ice can form. |
Glacial retreat |
Glaciers melt and retreat up valley from where it flowed. |
Glacial drift |
Accumulation of deposits or rocky gravel, silt or clay from melting. |
Till |
sediment accumulated by retreating ice |
Cirque |
Bowl like depression in glacier. |
What are 2 examples of ice sheets? |
Antarctica and greenland. |
What are some erosional glacial features? |
Paternoster lakes, arete, horn, fjord, cirque, roche mountanee. |
What are glacial depositional features? |
kames, lateral moraines, medial moraines, terminal moraines, crevasses, outwash plaines, kettles, drumlines, eskers. |
Which way is ice moving in a rouche mountee? |
Towards the jagged end. |
What are the 2 types of glaciers |
alpine and Continental |
What created a u-shaped valley? |
When glaciation occuers, a glacier moves through a valley. |
Salation (sand) |
when sand bounces across the ground. |
Backslope |
windward side of the dune. |
Slipface |
leeward side of the dune. |
Loess |
windblown silt. |
Discharge |
velocity x height x width. or Q/velocity X width. algebra. |
DAR |
1 degree/100meters
10 degrees/1000meters |
WAR |
0.5/100m or 5degrees/1000m |
why do you get volcanos with divergent plate movement? |
because plate stretches and magma comes out. |
frost wedging |
water and
Ice expands and forces the rock apart |
When do you use DAR in lapse rate |
When you go downhill |
How do you find slope and gradient of a stream
|
rise/run |
Energy equation |
ex. 1370 wpm 3x3 = 9m2
1370/9 |
Humidity |
relative/specific. |
Tornado spatial patterns |
both tornadoes and agriculture require moisture so tornadoes often occur where there is a lot of agriculture |
Temporal Tornado Frequency |
Tornadoes are reported most frequently in Spring.
-They occur most frequently in late afternoon.
|
salt crystal growth |
water evaporates and leaves salt behind, salt heats and expands and wears away rock. |
Exfoliation |
The peeling of surface layers from exposed bedrock. |
Oxidation |
rusting of rock, makes it a brown, white or green color. oxygen and metal required
|
Hydrolysis |
silica rocks break down at edges in reaction to water. |
Dissolution |
limestone worn away by carbon. Formed in places that used to be underwater
|
Biomechanical |
force in nature breaks down a rock. |
Biochemical |
living organism releases gases that wear down rock. |