GEOG 1 - Midterm 2 Study Guide

How does RADAR work, what are its limitations, and how does it relate to weather?

RAdio Detection And Ranging

• Sends electromagnetic radio waves in pulses (at the speed of light)

• Hits water particles > Reflects waves back

• How long it takes == determines distance

• Strength of return signal == determines type of precipitation

Limitations: Curvature of Earth, Cone of silence

What causes wind to occur? How does elevation (or locality) impact local windiness?

Warm air rises (creates low pressure beneath it)

Cool air rushes in to fill its empty space

How does wind influence the climate on both sides of a mountain range?

What are the characteristics of a cold front and a warm front?

cold front: cold air moving over warm air

• bull-dozer shaped collision

warm front: warm air moving over cold air

• ramp-shaped collision

What is responsible for both lightning and the sound of thunder?

Where do most tornadoes occur and how large do they get? How do we measure them?

How do tornado and tropical cyclone wind speeds differ? Which is faster?

What are the differences between hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones? What makes them spin?

What are the conditions that cause these storms to form?

Which part of the storm is strongest/weakest?

Describe the main components of the Earth’s interior.

crust

mantle

core

What was each eon/era like (you do no need to memorize the names of the eons/eras, only their attributes)?

What is happening to the Magnetic North Pole?

How are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks formed?

1-2 examples of each rock type from lecture.

What types of boundaries/faults create tsunamis and how?

What is happening along the San Andreas Fault?

Convergent boundaries

Divergent boundaries

Transform boundaries

Where do volcanic eruptions occur?

Rank the causes of death from highest to lowest.

Know the two types of lava and how they differ.

Cinder cone volcano

Shield volcano

Composite volcano

ice wedging

mechanical weathering

breaking rocks apart through freezing (expanding) and thawing (contracting) —> frost action!

water/wind abrasion

mechanical weathering

rocks are picked up and scraped across other surfaces (rubbed against other rocks)

• Combination of water, wind, and gravity

plant growth

mechanical weathering: when rocks are broken into smaller pieces without changing their chemical composition

growing roots make cracks in rocks, splitting them

oxidation

chemical weathering

when oxygen/water combine with metallic elements to create oxides

• ex: iron + oxygen = RUST

acid precipitation

chemical weathering

weathering from acid rain/snow, both natural and anthropogenic (human-made)

• natural: forest fires, volcanoes

• anthropogenic: burning fossil fuels

What are Karst topographical regions like? Name the features inside a cave.

• have features influenced by underground drainage (Caves, streams)

• limestone as bedrock

What are the conditions required for cave and sinkhole formation?

What are the differences between natural and anthropogenic sinkholes? Where do they each occur?

Natural Sinkhole:

1. Sedimentary (carbonate) rocks like limestone are easily dissolved by groundwater

2. dissolved limestone creates underground voids and open tunnels (this is how caves are formed)

3. Soil above begins to wash away into voids (eroding)

4. erosion beyond a certain point

Occurs:

Anthropogenic Sinkhole:

• humans cause it

• Crack or opening from a pipe triggers internal erosion

Occurs: anywhere, underdeveloped countries