Question | Answer |
the down-sloping movement of rock and soil under the influence of gravity | mass wasting |
driving force of mass wasting? | gravity |
straight down gravity | normal force |
shear force, tilted ground | downslope force |
friction usually, could be a planted rock | resisting force |
force created by attraction between sediment grains | cohesion |
angle of the steepest slope at which materials become unstable | angle of repose |
larger particles = higher angle of repose | unconsolidated materials |
what keeps the force of gravity from immediately flattening elevated portion of the earths surface? | friction between sediments, presence of small amount of water, formation of natural cement locking sediment grains together, interlocking mineral crystal in rock |
added mass, dissolved natural cements, "floats" sediments grains apart, lubricants clay-rich layers | water in excess |
earth materials, rock orientation, vegetation are factors that affect | slope stability |
what types of rock movement can occur from physical weather or erosion? | falls, slides, flows |
rock breaking off and falling, when rock hits and breaks it forms talus | rock fall |
rock slides, slumps (material curves as it goes down, oceans can cause) | slides |
avalanche, debris flows, earth flow, creeps | flows |
freezes, expands which moved upward, and when it thaws it drops downward a little further down the hill | creep |
earthquake, over-steeping of slope, removal of vegetation, introduction of water, ice wedging, biological activity | causes of change in earths surface |
prevention of rock slides? | screen mesh, vegetation, retaining wall/steel fencing, responsible forestry, improved surface drainage |
causes of subsidence? | melting permafrost, fluid withdraw |
2 types of sinkholes? | solution, collapse |
roof or top of cave falls in | collapse sinkhole |
carbonate rock gradually dissolves in naturally acidic water | solution sinkhole |
an area underlain with soluble limestone and riddled with caves, caverns, sinkholes, lakes and disappearing streams | karst topography |
what is the speed of a rock fall? | extremely rapid |
what is the speed of a rock slide? | very slow to extremely rapid |
what is the speed of a rock slump? | extremely slow to moderate |
what is the speed of a rock creep? | extremely slow to slow |
what is the speed of a avalanche? | very rapid to extremely rapid |
what are the causes of mass wasting? | naturally, construction, removal of vegetation, intro of water, ice wedging, biological activity |
river cutting into land mass wasting ? | naturally |
steep cuts or steep fill banks, cutting in or adding into a cut mass wasting? | construction |
deforestation accelerates weathering and erosion mass wasting? | removal of vegetation |
ways to prevent mass wasting? | decrease driving forces, increase resisting forces, selective cutting, surface drainage, sub surface drainage |
different kinds of subsidence? | ground sinking, melting permafrost, fluid withdraw, mining, chemical weathering |
layers of ground that are "permanently" frozen thaw out and create mushy hole under the surface and cause active layer to sink | permafrost subsidence |
rock that has been chemically weathered or dissolved | karst topography |
sinkhole that can get deep but takes a long time | solution sinkhole |
sinkhole underground water cave loses water and falls down | collapse sinkhole |
natural resources mined, products created and shipped to retailer, retailers sell to consumer, consumer throws away, trash | linear lifecycle |
designed to follow linear lifecycle and retire | "throw-away" products |
product made to be used and then thrown away for upgrade | planned obsolescence |
types of integrated waste management? | reduce, reuse, recycle, energy recovery, dispose |
economy in which there is zero waste due to the reuse or recycle of everything | zero waste economy |
creation of zero waste by reusing and recycling everything | closed loop system |
2 types of industrial ecology? | zero waste and closed loop system |
dissolved materials, minerals, and nutrients that seep down as water percolates through the landfill | leachate |
impermeable bottom with deep water table, no chance of leachate | class 1 landfill |
some possible leachate, possible high water table | class 2 landfill |
poor or no protection from leachate, may be former wetland, leachate enters groundwater easily | class 3 landfill |
gas produced from decomposing waste | methane |
burning of excess flammable gases such as methane in a controlled manner | flares |
monitoring of leachate and has levels to maintain a safety level declared by a state or gov. | monitoring wells |
keeps water out preventing leachate, keeps oxygen out | capping |
converts old landfill to pubic land for use of building of parks, schools, housing | reclamation |
burning at high heat to completely destroy trash | incineration |
waste created from nuclear activity such as a nuclear power plant, nuclear medicine, weapons | radioactive material |
radioactive material produced by nuclear power plants, medicine and weapons | radioactive waste |
items that have become contaminated with radioactive material | low-level radioactive waste |
highly radioactive materials produced as a byproduct of reactions that occur inside nuclear facilities | high-level radioactive waste |
residue remaining after the processing of natural ore to extract uranium and thorium | uranium mill tailings |
large particle, can be stopped by several sheets of paper | alpha radiant energy |
smaller particles, takes several mm of plastic to stop this particle | beta radiant energy |
very short wavelengths of radiation, takes several cm of lead to stop | gamma radiant energy |
revolving fund that pays for cleanup of worst hazardous waste areas, established by law in 1980 | superfund |
tank that stores material and partially breaks down solids and readies them for treatment | septic |
environmental absorption of organic materials coming from septic tank and effluent absorption of leachate | leachfield/drainage |
separates solides for disposal and chlorinate | primary urban facility |
extensive digestion of organic material and nutrients | secondary urban facility |
chemical treatment and chlorinate | tertiary urban facility |
used to treat water by natural processes | use of wetlands |
method of injecting hazardous material deep into earth | deep injection wells |
electronic waste, generally shipped overseas, years for decomposition, environmentally hazardous | e-waste |
equipment that yields more power from a given amount of energy | efficiency energy resources |
capture and use of waste heat released in industrial processes | cogeneration energy resources |
cannot be replaced, oil, natural gas, coal, radioactive material | non-renewable energy resources |
carbon rich remains of plant material preserved and altered by heat and pressure | coal |
2 things that can reduce emissions from coal burning plants from 98-99.9% | scrubber and other filter devices |
cheap, abundant domestic supplies, infrastructure in place, reduces air emissions, new research | pros of clean coal |
extraction process dirty and dangerous, strip mining, trace emissions, storage of CO2 emissions, raises price, unsustainable | cons of clean coal |
consists of hydrogen and carbon, petroleum (crude oil) | hydrocarbon compounds |
plankton and clay floating in water sinks and accumulates, more sediments accumulate over plankton layer, compress it, rich mud turns to clay to black shale, temp increases | formation of oil and natural gases |
fraction of large chemical aggregates in sedimentary organic matter that is insoluble in solvents | karogens |
organic material is chemically converted to oil and natural gas. permeable enough to allow the hydrocarbons to migrate upward | source rock |
oil and natural gas are trapped due to impermeable caprock | reservoir rock |
use of injections wells to recover oil that remains in reservoir rock, replacement of oil with water | secondary recovery |
tar sands and oil shale are types of ? | extreme oil |
combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen, heavy black viscous oil | tar sands |
(tight oil) sedimentary rock that contains kerogen, did not complete transformation to oil | oil shale |
how many tons of tar does it take to produce 1 barrel of oil? | 2 tons of tar |
infrastructure in place, used to create a variety or products | pros of petroleum (crude oil) |
extraction process can be complex/risky, oil spills and runoff, GHH emissions, unsustainable, less than 3% domestic reserves, peak-oil passed | cons of petroleum (crude oil) |
fewer harmful emissions than gas/diesel, domestic and commercial available, rise in natural gas reserves, infrastructure development can facilitate transition to fuel cell technology | pros of natural gas |
unsustainable, risks, degradation associated with extract and transport, storage, escapes during oil mining, hydraulic fracturing | cons of natural gas |
fuse of nuclei or atoms together, splitting of nucleus by neutron bombardment, releases neutrons and heat energy, uranium enrichment | nuclear fission |
free atmospheric pollution, generates more power than coal by weight/volume, less needs to be mined, safe for workers, breeder reactors, more power, less waste | pros of nuclear power |
potential for catastrophic accidents, safe disposal of radioactive waste, expensive, non renewable, danger of weapons, breeder reactors use liquid sodium raising risk of explosions, more expensive plutonium supply for weapons | cons of nuclear power |
can be replaced at a rate equal to or faster than they are consumed, solar, water, biomass, wind, total forces, geothermal | renewable energy sources |
directly captured from sun, photovoltaic (conversion of light to electricity), passive solar power, active solar power | solar energy |
energy that may require additional materials, technology and energy inputs | active solar energy |
energy that requires no mechanical power | passive solar energy |
renewable, no fuel or emissions, quiet, few moving parts, requires little maintenance, local decentralized power, reduced deforestation, sell, new jobs | pros of solar energy |
location must be sunny, expensive up-front, little economic incentive, pollutant byproduct in manufacturing, costs associated with tech development | cons of solar energy |
moderate to high net energy, high efficiency, moderate cost, cheap electricity, low env. impact, no CO2, easy to build, multiple land uses, can be put at sea | pros of wind energy |
need steady winds, need backup system, occupy large areas, visual pollution, noisy, danger to birds/bats | cons of wind energy |
renewable energy derived from organic materials, includes wood, biofuel, and methane gas from landfill, resist rural economies, low fuel cost | pros of biomass |
auto engine modifications, added maintenance, food resources used, unsustainable practice can offset benefits, monoculture issues, biofuels require energy, tech development costs | cons of biomass |
renewable, reduced emissions, used for heating, cooling, electricity, new tech. may make widely available | pros of geothermal energy |
not always sustainable, water can be corrosive, limited access with current tech. | cons of geothermal energy |
falling water turns turbine, requires construction of dams, 10% electricity in US | hydroelectric power |
ocean turns turbines to generate electricity, open ocean or estuaries | tidal power |
how much has average global temperature raised since 1980? | about 1.4 degrees higher |
forces which influence earths climate include: | changes in solar output, volcanic eruptions, increase in GHG |
changes in solar output, volcanic tectonics and milankovic cycles | natural climate variation |
shape of earths tilt and wobble | milankovic cycle |
contain foraminifera, coiling patterns that depend on water temp, initial drivers of climate shift, processes that change as a result of a change in forcing, cause additional climate change | ocean sediment cores |
melting ice, increase frequency of natural fires, increase ocean temp. decrease CO2 solubility | positive feedback of ocean sediment cores |
will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system | continued emissions of GHG |
expanding ocean water, melting alpine glaciers and small ice caps, causing portions of the coastal section of greenland and antarctica ice sheets to melt or slide into the ocean | high temperatures that are expected to raise in sea level b/c of this |
international agreement, set binding targets for developed nations to reduce GHG emissions | kyoto protocol |
goal is to create a framework for legally binding treaty that would follow up kyoto protocol | copenhagen accord |
non-binding agreement, lack of overall targets to curb GHG, launch new commitment period, further progress toward establishing financial and technical support to enable clean energy and sustainable growth in developing countries | climate change conference |
keep gov. on track, provide most vulnerable populations with better protection, cutting emissions from deforestation,further progress in help for developing nations | warsaw climate change conference |