(1) Describe and define the three main factors that determine the amount of damage to buildings etc. due to an earthquake.
(2) Where and how does the nature of the substrate (the surficial and bedrock geology) come into the amount of damage due to an earthquake?
(3) Explain how and why a scientist would use the Mercalli Intensity scale rather than the Richter scale for earthquake magnitude.
(4) What is Paleoseismology? How can paleoseismic information be used to reduce earthquake damages?
(5) Compare and contrast volcanic eruption and earthquake 1) predictability and 2) extent of damage
(6) What are tsunamis and how are they caused? How can they be almost unnoticeable while at sea, but devastating when they hit the coast?
(7) How do volcanic hazards at divergent margins or intraplate settings differ from hazards at convergent margins?
(8) How are volcanic eruptions ale to produce gigantic mud flows?
(9) What are some of the posisible methods of forecasting vocanic eruptions?
(10) Differentiate between pyroclastic flow and ash fall
(11) Thought question: Based on reading in the book and realizing that it is impractical to move everyone who lives in a floodplain to higher ground, what should we (as a country or state) do to minimize the damage and expense of flooding in the future?
(12) Answer the same question concerning landslide damage and expense?
(13) What do we mean when we say a 10-year flood has occurred?
(14) How does urbanization affect the flood hazard? (list at least two effects)
(15) What types of areas are most susceptible to damage by subsidence? Suggest at least two types of risk areas.
(16) Explain how the greenhouse effect leads to global warming. Discuss several positive and negative feedback loops that could accelerate or decelerate the CO2-greenhouse effect. {You don't have to limit yourself to those mentioned in the book.}
(17) How (specifically) can volcanoes affect the short term and long-term climate on Earth? Treat the long-term and short-term separately.
(18) Explain how one volcanic eruption can influence global climate for up to a period of several years?
(19) How have tectonics over tha last 10 million years influenced global climate change?
(20) Once the thermohaline cycle shuts down, please explain how and why the EarthÕs climate changes.
(21) What are some of the ways that geologic conditions can cause a septic-tank displosal system to fail?
(22) What are the major ways tha we control emissions of sulfur dioxide? What are the major methods used to control pollution from cars?
(23) What is atmospheric inversion and how may it be produced?
(24) Define anthropocene. Describe when and how human started having significant influence on climate.
1) The resonance period of a 15-story building is A) 10 sec. B) 1.5 sec. C) 15 sec. D) 150 feet. E) 150 sec.
2) Seismic control on the amount of damage to buildings from earthquakes is A) wave amplitude. B) wave frequency. C) duration of shaking. D) height of the building. E) all of the above
3) A seismic sea wave generated by an earthquake is called a(n) A) tsunami. B) pastrami. C) swami. D) breaker. E) none of the above
4) An objective determination of the strength of an earthquake can be reported with the A) modified Mercalli scale. B) bathroom scale. C) Richter scale. D) Moh's hardness scale. E) fiducial scale.
Match each major earthquake with the primary damage factor in the event.
5) Seismic waves were amplified by soft lake bed sediments. A) Mexico City, 1985 B) San Francisco, CA, 1906 C) Kobe, Japan, 1995 D) Anchorage, Alaska, 1964
6) Fire destroyed most of this wooden city. A) Mexico City, 1985 B) San Francisco, CA, 1906 C) Kobe, Japan, 1995 D) Anchorage, Alaska, 1964
7) Ground liquefaction caused major subsidence. A) Mexico City, 1985 B) San Francisco, CA, 1906 C) Kobe, Japan, 1995 D) Anchorage, Alaska, 1964
8) A tsunami devastated the coastal region. A) Mexico City, 1985 B) San Francisco, CA, 1906 C) Kobe, Japan, 1995 D) Anchorage, Alaska, 1964
9) Current newspaper reports of earthquake size generally refer to the __________ scale A) amplitude B) Mercalli Intensity C) Richter Magnitude D) moment magnitude E) none of the above
10) The Mercalli scale is used to measure A) the lengths of Mercallies, a species of snakes found in southern Italy. B) weight. C) volume. D) the absolute energy of an earthquake. E) the amount of damage done by an earthquake.
11) Liquefaction occurs A) when unconsolidated, water-saturated sediment looses its strength. B) when a thick, mobile, mud-like material forms. C) during an earthquake. D) all of the above E) none of the above
12) Earthquakes over Richter magnitude 8 increase in __________, but not in __________. A) duration; acceleration B) acceleration; frequency C) acceleration; duration D) amplitude; duration E) frequency; amplitude
13) Two seismic zones that could affect the east coast of the United States are A) New Madrid and Charleston. B) San Andreas and Jacksonville. C) Yellowstone and New Madrid. D) Canary Islands and Cuba. E) Charleston Rio Grande.
14) Which of the following descriptions would most likely be for an earthquake of intensity XII? A) felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings B) felt by all, many frightened and run outdoors C) camage considerable in specially designed structures D) few, if any, masonry structures remain standing E) damage total
15) The most hazardous volcanic event to humans are associated with A) convergent margins. B) plumes. C) hot spots. D) divergent margins. E) transform margins.
16) Which of these is an immediate but secondary (indirect) effect of volcanism? A) ash fall B) lahars C) pyroclastic flow D) lava flow E) volcanic blast
17) A rising volcanic lava dome indicates A) low internal pressures. B) that the volcano is stable. C) that rain is coming. D) that the price of running shoes will increase. E) that an eruption is coming.
Match the specific volcanic events with their most devastating effect on humans.
18) Pompeii, Italy, AD 79 A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
19) St. Pierre, Martinique, 1902 A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
20) Mt. Pinatubo, the Philippines, 1991 A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
21) Armero, Columbia, 1985 A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
22) Laki Volcano, 17th Century, Iceland A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
23) Kilauea eruption, Wahalua, 1989 A) lahars B) poisonous gases C) pyroclastic flows D) lava flows
24) Urbanization affects streams by causing A) decreased infiltration. B) increased runoff. C) higher flood stage. D) lower low-stage flow. E) all of the above
25) After earthquakes, the most financially devastating geohazard world wide is A) flooding. B) pyroclastic flows. C) surface subsidence. D) ash falls. E) landslides.
26) Ground subsidence at Long Beach, CA, was halted through A) petroleum production. B) fluid injection. C) halting of petroleum production. D) groundwater withdrawal. E) use of shallower wells.
27) Sinkholes and cave collapse are hazards associated with __________ bedrock. A) weak B) pyroclastic C) mudstone D) limestone E) sandstone
28) Which type of mass wasting would be likely to occur after a volcanic eruption melted glacial ice near the summit of a volcano? A) soil creep B) mudflow C) slump D) rockfall E) solifluction 29) The least harmful aspect or component of oil spill is A) to surface life. B) volatiles. C) the oil itself. D) tar. E) "chocolate mousse."
30) Our ground water supply may be polluted by A) salt water. B) nuclear waste. C) human waste. D) all of the above E) none of the above
31) Which environment would be most vulnerable to the long term effects of an oil spill? A) high latitude salt marsh B) Alaskan beach C) tropical open ocean D) low latitude beach E) low latitude estuary
32) The length of an antenna needed to transmit radio waves for station AM120 is A) 360 m B) 250 m C) 1200 m D) 300 m E) 250 ft
33) Most heat is transmitted by __________ wave. A) violet B) ultraviolet C) radio D) visible light E) infrared
34) "Greenhouse" gases in Earth's atmosphere are primarily A) water vapor, carbon dioxide. B) water vapor, nitrogen. C) carbon dioxide, hydrogen. D) water vapor, chlorine. E) oxygen, carbon dioxide.
35) This atmospheric gas absorbs more radiation than all others combined. A) hydrogen B) carbon dioxide C) water vapor D) oxygen E) nitrogen
36) The atmospheric gas on Venus which has caused the extreme greenhouse effect there is A) hydrogen. B) carbon dioxide. C) water vapor. D) oxygen. E) nitrogen.
37) Which of these atmospheric components absorb rather than reflects solar radiation? A) pollen B) meteorite dust C) water vapor D) volcanic ash E) water droplets
38) The warming trend which has occurred on Earth since 1860 may have as its cause A) increased solar output. B) increased ocean evaporation. C) industrial carbon dioxide. D) increased volcanism. E) all of the above
39) Which factor tends to increase atmospheric carbon dioxide? A) increase in plant life B) weathering C) carbonate precipitation D) volcanic degassing E) all of the above
40) The chemical composition of ozone is A) O. B) _elementsubscript_element. C) _elementsubscript_element. D) (Cl _elementsubscript_element)-. E) _elementsubscript_element _elementsubscript_element.
41) The main products injected into the atmosphere by volcanoes are __________ and __________. A) sulfuric acid; chlorine B) ash; sulfuric acid C) carbon dioxide; oxygen D) ash; chlorine E) oxygen; chlorine
42) Volcanic pollution of the atmosphere may contribute to A) ozone depletion. B) global cooling. C) global warming. D) acid rain. E) all of the above
43) 100,000 year average ice age cycles in the Pleistocene roughly coincide with variation in A) the Earth's axial tilt. B) the amount of glacial ice. C) the Earth's precession. D) the shape of Earth's orbit. E) atmospheric C _elementsubscript_element concentration.
I) What are the 2 most important proxy records when it comes to paleoclimate reconstruction? A)banded corals and loess B)ice cores and loess C)marine sediments and ice cores D)marine sediments and tree rings E)tree rings and loess
II) This is the orbital forcing mechanism that has to do with the EarthÕs tilt A)eccentricity B)revolution C)insolation D)obliquity E)precession
III) What are the 2 most important factors influencing thermohaline cycle circulation? A)temperature and obliquity B)temperature and salinity C)gravity and carbon dioxide D)salinity and precession E)carbon dioxide and salinity
IV) Which of the following is a point source of groundwater pollution? A) leaking storage tank, B) intrusion of saltwater, C) leaching and seepage from mine tailings and D) seepage from agricultural feedlots.
44) Destructive resonance of buildings occurs when seismic waves have the same frequency as the building.
45) Vertical shaking is less damaging to buildings than side-to-side movement.
46) Building a completely earthquake-resistant structure is impossible.
47) During an earthquake, brick structures are more prone to failure than wood frame ones.
48) The Richter scale measures earthquake size at they hypocenter, whereas the Mercalli scale reflects earthquake size at the epicenter.
49) Seismogram readings of the New Madrid earthquake showed a Richter magnitude of 8.6.
50) For earthquakes above Richter magnitude 8.0, the moment magnitudes are larger than the Richter measurement.
51) The Richter scale does not accurately measure earthquakes above 8.0 magnitude.
52) Lava flows are generally slow, and may even be halted or diverted by human effort.
53) The Italian city of Pompeii was buried in a lava flow in AD 79.
54) Caldera-forming eruptions are catastrophic, but rare events.
55) Volcanic eruptions may alter the global climate.
56) Large rainfall events such as a 50- or 100-year flood recur with predictable and regularity.
57) Urbanization will cause the groundwater table to drop.
58) Treated sewage may promote algae growth in streams and lakes.
59) Straightening a stream course will cause sediment to deposit in the stream's upper reaches.
60) Building a concrete channel establishes a new base level for a stream.
61) Municipalities generally suffer more total damage from one 50-year flood than from five 10-year floods.
62) Landslides cause major loss of life on a global scale.
63) Impervious retaining walls may actually promote slope failure.
64) Confined fluids in sediment contribute to surface weakness.
65) Petroleum production in coastal areas may lead to flooding.
66) Treated sewage is generally depleted in harmful "trace metals."
67) Oil spills are most likely to occur in high latitudes.
68) Petroleum is not degraded by natural mechanisms in the environment.
69) Evaporations of hydrocarbons is the primary natural mechanism for reducing the volume of marine petroleum spill.
70) The response time of oil-degrading bacteria is slower in areas of frequent spills.
71) In a vacuum, wavelength and frequency of electromagnetic radiation are dependent variables.
72) The longest wavelength of visible light is in the violet end of the spectrum.
73) The sky looks blue because the atmosphere reflects the blue portion of the visible spectrum.
74) Most solar energy that reaches Earth is emitted back into space as infrared radiation.
75) Incoming solar radiation does not heat the atmosphere.
76) Earth's atmosphere absorbs more visible than infrared radiation.
77) The stratosphere is sometimes called the 'weather-sphere.'
78) In the troposphere, atmospheric gases are well mixed by convection.
79) Data on C _elementsubscript_element concentration in the atmosphere are limited by historical records since 1860.
80) The Earth's atmosphere contains 50 times as much carbon dioxide as the ocean.
81) Carbon dioxide concentration in Earth's atmosphere is now at the highest level in 160,000 year.
82) Ozone in the upper atmosphere absorbs infrared radiation from the Sun.
83) Free chlorine in the Arctic atmosphere is 1/20 the concentration over Antarctica.
84) Large volcanic eruptions contribute to short-term warming of the atmosphere.
85) Both volcanic ash and aerosol S _elementsubscript_element contribute to global cooling.
86) Milankovitch cycles account for Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Cenozoic ice ages.
87) Cultural eutrophication is a human-caused decrease in plant productivity.