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Geology 101 - Fall 2016
Earth & Environment
Study Questions 4
Part 1 - Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards
1. Explain the difference between effusive and pyroclastic
volcanism. What factors control whether an eruption will be
effusive or pyroclastic?
2. Why are fractures, including columnar jointing, common in lava
flows? How do they form?
3. Why does mafic lava tend to spread out forming thinner, more
extensive lava flows? Why does felsic lava tend to form lava
domes?
4. How are eruption columns/clouds and pyroclastic flows
different?
5. What is tephra? How is it formed? List some of the different
types/categories of tephra particles.
6. Describe the major types of volcanic hazards. Be sure to include
the following:
• How may lava flows be hazardous? Do lava flows often kill
people? Why or why not?
• How can pyroclastic eruptions be hazardous? What effects can
they have on people, machinery, transportation, etc.?
• What are lahars? How do they form? What areas around a
volcano do they affect? Does a volcano always have to erupt
to produce a lahar?
• Which of the hazards discussed above can affect people the
greatest distance away from a volcano?
• Which of the hazards discussed above has the potential to kill the
greatest number of people? Why?
7. What is a shield volcano? Draw a sketch showing the shape that
shield volcanoes have. Why do they have this shape? What kind of
lava builds shield volcanoes?
8. What is a stratovolcano (composite volcano)? Draw a sketch
showing the shape that stratovolcanoes have.Why do they have
this shape? What kinds of eruptions build stratovolcanoes?
9. What is a caldera? How does it form? How is a caldera different
from a crater?
10. What kind of volcano is Mt. St. Helens? What kinds of activity
and hazards has it exhibited?
11. What is volcano monitoring? Describe two types of
measurements can be made and what these measurements tell us.
Why is volcano monitoring important?
12. What types of information can be used to produce volcanic
hazard maps? How can such maps help save lives and reduce
economic losses?
13. Who needs to be involved in reducing the potential for
disasters caused by volcanic eruptions?
Part 2 - Weather-related hazards - storms and floods
1. Weather-related hazards are among our most costly, and the
costs keep going up. How costly are these hazards? What are some
of the economic and personal impacts? Why do the costs keep
getting worse?
2. What are the major damaging effects of tropical storms
(including hurricanes/typhoons)? What were some of the impacts
of Sandy in 2012? What were some of the impacts of Hurricane
Joaquin in 2015?
3. What impacts and costs can a major drought have?
4. Describe the relationship between flood size (in terms of
discharge) and flood frequency (or probability). (Hint: Look at the
graphs discussed in class.) Be sure to include the following:
• Which happen more often, smaller floods or larger floods?
• What is the likelihood (probability) that a "50-year flood" may
happen in any given year?
• What is the likelihood (probability) that a "100-year flood" may
happen in any given year?
• What is the likelihood (probability) that a "500-year flood" may
happen in any given year?
• What is the average recurrence interval for the flood that has a
10% chance of occurring each year?
• If a "100-year flood" happened last year, could another one
happen this year on the same river? Explain.
5. How can human activities cause the frequency of flooding to get
worse and increase the size of floods at the same time?
6. How can human activities also increase the potential costs and
consequences of flooding?
7. What is a flood hazard map? What details can these maps show?
Why are flood hazard maps important? Why do they need to be
updated over time? Who uses them, and what are they used for?
8. What can people do to reduce the risks and costs of flooding -
i.e. reduce the the potential for property damage and loss of life?
Include: (1) ways that flood waters can be controlled, (2) ways that
the potential discharge can be reduced, (3) ways that human
infrastructure/buildings can be made more resistant to flooding,
and (3) other ways that people can avoid being affected by
flooding.
Part 3 - Weather-related hazards continued - landslides
1. Discuss at least two major factors that contributed to the
landslide that killed 36 people in Oso, Washington. What were
some of the warning signs that indicated high risk to the town?
2. Why do landslides keep affecting more and more people? What
human activities can make landslides more likely? What human
activities put more people in bad places?
3. What are the major types of mass movements? How can you tell
them apart?
4. Relate the likelihood of mass movement to the slope angle
(steep or shallow), vegetation, water, type of sediment or rock, and
fracturing. How do these factors affect the balance between the
strength of the material and the force of gravity pulling downward?
5. Explain how heavy rain can trigger landslides. Include two
reasons why water changes the balance of forces.
6. Besides rain, what else can trigger landslides?
7. How can places at high risk for landslides be identified? What
signs or evidence would you look for?
8. What can be done to make slopes more stable and therefore
make landslides less likely?
9. What other actions can people take to reduce the risk of disaster
from landslides?
Part 4 - Water, Mineral, and Energy Resources
1. What is the hydrologic cycle? What are the major reservoirs or
locations for water in the hydrologic cycle? What processes are
involved in the cycling of water between the different reservoirs?
2. How are water supplies important for human life, for energy
generation, and for other parts of the economy?
3. How does changing land use from forest to farmland to city
change the amount of runoff and the amount of infiltration that
happens when it rains? How does land use affect the rate/timing of
runoff? How does land use affect the peak discharge in the river?
Why do cities have high runoff and low infiltration? (Hint: Look
back to flooding section.)
4. Where is most of the Earth's liquid water? In what form (solid or
liquid) is most of the Earth's fresh water, and where is it located?
How much of the earth's fresh water is in liquid form?
5. For what purpose is most of our freshwater used? Why does this
matter?
6. Explain how the use of ground water can affect the availability
of surface water in the surrounding area. Why does this happen?
7. Describe some other potential consequences of using too much
groundwater. Be sure to include the following:
• What is meant by "water mining" and "fossil" water?
• What are the long-term implications for communities and
agriculture that depend on fossil water? Give two examples
of where this is a problem.
• Why does subsidence occur? How can it be prevented?
• What is saltwater intrusion? How, why, and where does it occur?
8. What environmental and ecosystem effects can result from
overuse and diversion of surface water supplies? Explain using
examples.
9.What is desalination? Why do people use this option even though
it is relatively costly? Can desalination have any negative
environmental effects?
10. What can be done to reduce our consumption of water
resources? How can waste water (e.g. sewage) help? Be sure to
include ways to conserve water at home, throughout cities and
towns, and in agricultural areas. Give at least five examples.
11. How can a combination of high demand for clean water and
limited supply result in conflict, political problems, and even war?
Give examples. What can we do about such problems?
12. What mineral/rock resource is used in the greatest amounts?
13. What three materials on Table 12.4 in the lecture slides have
the shortest estimated time before reserves run out under current
conditions? List both the materials and the related time estimates.
14. How could the following changes in conditions affect the time
estimates from question 12?
• increased (or decreased) sale price of the material
• improved processing technologies
• environmental regulations
• more efficient use of materials
• increased recycling
15. How do the locations where a mineral resource is found affect
global trade and international politics? Include the case of rare
earth minerals as an example. Why are rare earth minerals so
important to our modern society?
16. Where does the energy stored in fossil fuels originate?
17. How do renewable and non-renewable sources of energy
differ? Include the environmental implications and long-term
sustainability of their use.
18. Summarize the general trends in mineral and energy resource
use over the last 150-200 years. How has total energy use
changed? What sources have increased in use? What sources are
used less now?
19. What are some of the environmental impacts of extracting and
using oil and gas?
20. What are some of the environmental impacts of extracting and
using coal?
21. For decades, oil prices have generally tended to rise over time.
What is the cause of the recent drop in oil prices?
22. Why are solar and wind power generation increasing so
rapidly?
23. How much of our total energy needs could wind and solar
power potentially supply? What are some of the challenges to
generating large amounts of electricity solar and wind power?
24. Is corn-based ethanol a suitable replacement for oil as a
transportation fuel? Explain why or why not. Be sure to consider
all of the different resources required to grow, transport, and
process corn for ethanol, other uses for those resources, and other
uses for the corn itself.
25. Why is energy efficiency important? Include at least three
major benefits of increased energy efficiency. How can better
buildings help?
26. What are the major economic reasons currently driving reduced
use of coal for electricity generation in the U.S.?
27. What geologic and economic reasons were used in the 1990s to
predict that West Virginia coal production would decline, even
without any new regulations or any new competition?
Part 5 - Air Pollution
1. List some of the key sources for each of the following
atmospheric pollutants:
• Nitrogen oxides
• Sulfur dioxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Ground-level ozone
• Particulates
• Mercury
• Chlorofluorocarbons
• Lead
• CO2
2. How can (or have been) emissions of each of the following be
reduced?:
• Nitrogen oxides
• Sulfur dioxide
•
•
•
•
•
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•
Carbon monoxide
Ground-level ozone
Particulates
Mercury
Chlorofluorocarbons
Lead
CO2
3. Of our major fossil fuel resources, which is the most polluting?
Which is least polluting?
4. What do PM10 and PM2.5 refer to? Why is PM2.5 particulate
matter a much bigger health concern?
5. What is acid rain? What pollutants is it caused by? What are
some of the environmental affects of acid rain?
6. What pollutants are responsible for damaging the ozone layer?
7. What is smog? Why does California have such a big problem
with smog? What are some of the health affects and their resulting
economic impacts? How is this a good example of disconnected
economics?
8. Discuss the issue of mercury pollution. How and why have
mercury emissions changed over time? What is currently the
biggest source of mercury pollution? What is being done to fix this
problem?
9. What is bioaccumulation? How does bioaccumulation put
hazardous levels of mercury in our food supply? What are some of
the health problems that result from eating too much mercury?
Part 6 - Weather and Climate
1. What is weather? What is climate? Explain the difference
between climate and weather.
2. Why does a single snow storm in winter tell us nothing about
climate change?
3. What parts of the Earth are involved in the climate system?
4. How does climate vary during ice age cycles? How are glacial
and interglacial periods different with respect to the extent of ice
and sea level? Is the modern climate glacial, or is it interglacial?
5. How are glacial and interglacial periods different with respect to
global average temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide
levels?
6. Compared to today, how much higher or lower was sea level at
the peak of the last glacial maximum?
7. If you were to visit the Great Basin region during the last glacial
period, what would you find there that is largely missing today?
What does this tell us about the differences between glacial and
interglacial climates in this region? (Include both temperature and
precipitation in your answer.)
8. Describe some of the different types of records that provide
information about long-term climate changes. What do these
records tell us about the past? Be sure to include the following:
• ice cores
• tree rings
• lake sediments
• ocean sediments
• oxygen isotopes
•
extent of glacial deposits
9. Why do glacial-interglacial cycles occur, and why is their timing
so regular? Be sure to describe the three orbital cycles that are part
of the Milankovitch hypothesis and how they affect solar energy
input.
10. What are aerosols? How do aerosols from volcanic eruptions
affect climate?
11. What is albedo? Which has a higher albedo: dry land or water?
How is albedo important to climate and climate change?
12. How does the amount of ice/snow on land and on the sea affect
albedo?
13. What is meant by positive-feedback and negative-feedback
processes? How could changing the Earth's climate produce a
positive-feedback situation in arctic regions?
14. Are the Milankovitch cycles alone enough to explain the full
magnitude of climate change between glacial and interglacial
periods? Explain why or why not. If not, what else is needed?
15. What are the major atmospheric gases that are responsible for
the greenhouse effect? Explain how the greenhouse effect works.
Why is it important for keeping the planet hospitable for life?
16. How and why are the concentrations of greenhouse gases
changing over time? Compare current concentrations with past
history. How are these changes related to human activities?
17. Why do many scientists prefer to use "global climate change"
instead of "global warming"?
18. What is some of the evidence that the Earth's climate system
has been changing significantly in recent decades? Include at least
five different kinds of evidence.
19. How do the climate changes of the last 150 years compare with
long-term changes that came before?
20. Can changes in volcanic activity or changes in the energy
output of the sun explain the current warming trend? Explain why
or why not.
21. What is the most likely major cause of modern climate change?
How do we know?
22. What are some of the expected consequences of a warming
climate? Will every location be affected in the same way?
23. Where does most of the energy used in the U.S. come from?
How does this affect the atmosphere? How does the per capita
energy use in the U.S. compare to that in other countries?
24. What is ocean acidification? What is causing it? What are some
of the consequences?
25. Besides climate change, what other reasons are there to
consider switching from fossil fuels (especially oil and coal) to
other sources of energy. Give at least three reasons.
26. Explain how reducing fossil fuel use can actually provide
economic benefits. Give at least two examples.
27. Why is it so difficult for the public to understand that climate
change is real? Why do so many think that reality is open to
debate?
28. Why is it important to separate fact from opinion, fact from
fiction, science from pseudoscience, and reality from myth when
deciding what to do about climate change? Why is this so difficult
to do, especially for non-scientists?
29. How do your personal lifestyle decisions and your political
decisions affect energy use, air pollution, and climate change?
How might concern for the future of today's children and
subsequent generations guide our decisions? Should it?
Part 7 - Sustainability Revisited
1. How can a more sustainable way of life help us with water,
mineral, and energy resources?
2. How can a more sustainable way of life help us reduce the
environmental impacts of resource extraction (e.g. mining, oil/gas
drilling, etc.) and reduce the environmental and human health
impacts (e.g. air, water pollution) from using those resources?
3. How can a more sustainable way of life help us deal with
climate change?