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ISCI1A24 > EarthSci (Winter Exam 2024) > Flashcards

EarthSci (Winter Exam 2024) Flashcards

(66 cards)

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1
Q

What is the difference between absolute and relative geological dating?

A

absolute: when events happened
relative: when events happened in respect to each each

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2
Q

Describe the principle of superposition. Who created it? When?

A

In any undisturbed series of sedimentary rocks, the oldest if at the bottom and youngest at the top. Nicholas Steno, 1669.

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3
Q

What is the principle of original horizontality? who created it?

A

beds of sediment laid down in WATER form horizontal (or near-horizontal) layers. Nicholas Steno.

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4
Q

Describe the principle of cross-cutting relationships. Name the three geologists responsible.

A

A geological feature that cuts across (penetrates) another must be younger than the rock penetrated. Steno, Hutton, Lyell.

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5
Q

Describe the principle of inclusions. Who created it? When?

A

Fragment included in a host rock are OLDER than the host rock. Lyell, 1830.

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6
Q

What is the principle of faunal successions?

A

Fossils species succeed one another in a recognizable order. Index fossils relate to specific time periods.

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7
Q

What is an unconformity?

A

A gap in geological record (often an erosion surface)

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8
Q

What are the three types of unconformities?

A

Angular: young beds over tilted/folded beds

Nonconformity: younger beds over older metamorphic rocks

Disconformity: layers above and below are parallel

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9
Q

Why do rocks fold and fault?

A

stress (force per unit area) and strain (change in size/shape in response to stress)

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10
Q

name three types of stress

A

compressional: pushing
tensional: pulling
shear: parallel + opposing

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11
Q

how do rocks respond to stress? (3 types)

A

elastic: deform but snaps back
plastic: bends, doesn’t snap back
brittle: breaks/fractures

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12
Q

what are the two main types of folds?

A

anticline: upwards
syncline: downwards

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13
Q

describe the basic structure of a fold.

A

hinge line: axis of the fold
axial plane: plane containing hinge lines
limb: section of fold moving up or down

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14
Q

what are the two types of fractures?

A

joints: no displacement
fault: displacement (active when movement occurs <11,000 years)

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15
Q

describe the basic anatomy of a fault

A

hanging wall block: over
footwall block: under

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16
Q

what happens in the four types of faults? name them.

A

normal: hanging block down
reverse: hanging block up
thrust: reverse (<45 deg)
strike-slip: horizontal/parallel

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17
Q

what is firn?

A

snow that has survived a summer melt and changes into ice. can further transform into glacier ice.

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18
Q

how do glaciers move?

A

basal sliding: water at base, ‘warm’ ice
internal deformation: plastic deformation

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19
Q

where in a glacier does ice move fastest?

A

ogives: dirt bands in ice (shows movement)

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20
Q

what is a glacier budget?

A

relationship between gain and loss of mass

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21
Q

what is the terminus of a glacier? what does it show?

A

‘toe’ or ‘snout’. shows pos. or neg. budget

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22
Q

where is mass gained/lost/equal in a glacier?

A

gain: accumulation
lost: ablation (wastage)
equal: equilibrium line

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23
Q

how does ice ‘flow’?

A

ALWAYS FORWARDS: from accumulation to ablation.

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24
Q

what is a moraine?

A

landform generated at glacial margin

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25
name three key features of a latero-frontal moraine
- prone to slope failure (steep) -form barriers to drainage (can break, form glacial lake outburst floods or GLOFs) -ice cored
26
how does ice erode?
abrasion, 'plucking' (debris released and frozen)
27
name three landforms caused by glacial erosion
-corries (hollows) -horns (remnant peak of mountain) -fjords (flooded u-shaped valleys)
28
what is a drumlin?
half egg-shaped hills made of till, formed at the base of ice.
29
what is a flute?
long narrow ridge made of till
30
what is till?
debris (material) left by glacial deposits
31
what is permafrost?
rock/soil that has remained below 0 deg. for two or more years. Upper surface thaws during summer (active layer).
32
what is ground ice?
frozen moisture beneath earth's surface
33
name three ground ice forms
pingo ice: relatively clear permafrost, occurs in lens-shaped masses ice wedges: permafrost in large wedge shapes polygonal ground: micro relief (depressions) forms on the ground
34
what is thermokarst?
disturbance of ground ice: erosional process unique to permafrost (thawing of ice-rich permafrost)
35
what can thermokarst cause?
road disturbance, house collapse (damage to urban development). also freeze-thaw processes!
36
what is ice growth? how does it occur?
preferentially below stones in soil. forms pipraker (needle ice)
37
what is a permafrost 'creep'?
movement (<5 mm/year) that can affect stability of built structures
38
what is groundwater?
water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface
39
name ways groundwater pertains to the UN sustainable development goals
water scarcity, the right to water, clean water/sanitation,
40
how do permeability/porosity affect the movement of groundwater?
measures of how readily fluids can pass through - the more porous, the easier groundwater can move.
41
how do we learn about groundwater? name 3 ways.
1. looking for exposures (eg. quarries) 2. coring 3. ground penetrating radar (GPR)
42
how does coring help us understand groundwater?
taking samples of subsurface sediment, shows logs of sediment layering
43
name one societal use for GPR
searching for mass graves in residential schools
44
what are the two types of aquifers?
unconfined: no impermeable layers above confined: impermeable surface above, no direct vertical connection to surface
45
what is the definition of water pollution?
the water is unusable for a purpose.
46
what are two types of water contamination?
point source pollution: identifiable location of pollutant (eg. sewer) nonpoint source pollution: broad, diffuse sources. hard to identify/quantify.
47
how is diffuse pollution a 'layered' problem?
environmental degradation. ecosystem integrity. human health, beliefs, attitudes.
48
what is the main source of groundwater contamination?
agriculture: fertilizers, pesticides. 80% of rural wells in S. Ont. contaminated by pesticides.
49
what is the best site for a landfill to avoid groundwater contamination?
on top of thick, fine-grained sediment. no fractures. slow rate of groundwater movement.
50
what is the oak ridges moraine? why is it important?
1900 square km moraine, largest glacial landform in southern ontario. stands in the path of major urban development, as crucial aquifers for groundwater beneath the moraine
51
what is surface exposure dating (SED)?
a method of dating which using nuclides (eg. beryllium-10) that accumulate when the sun's rays hit exposed rock
52
how does surface exposure dating give us information about glacier movement?
helps reconstruct when glacial began retreating/moving post-ice age
53
definition of a horst
block pushed up relative to other blocks on either side of a fault
54
define a groben
a block pushed down by blocks on either side during a fault
55
name six ways in which mars' surface was shaped
-volcanism -impact cratering -past tectonics -polar ice caps -past water activity -erosions
56
describe outlet glaciers
glaciers on the edge of an ice cap
57
describe slope processes
active layer has high pressure, prone to movement (solifluction)
58
what are the six types of glaciers?
1. ice sheet 2. ice caps 3. outlet 4. valley 5. cirque 6. piedmont
59
define valley glaciers
flow in (bedrock) valleys, carve out valleys as they move
59
ice sheet vs ice cap vs ice shelf
sheet: more than 5000 km^2 caps: less than 50,000 km^2 shelf: floating
60
define cirque glaciers
small, semi-circular hollows in mountains
61
define piedmont glaciers
valley glaciers that SPILL into the LOWLANDS
62
six factors affecting glacier movement
-slope -ice thickness -temp. -valley geometry -bedrock -subglacial hydrology
63
define periglacial environments
area where landforms/geomorphic processes are influenced by freeze/thaw cycles (often also permafrost)
64
glaciolacustrine deposits
glacial lakes made by meltwater
65
glaciofluvial deposits
braided streams with sand and gravel deposits

ISCI1A24 (9 decks)

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