ESC 3100 Exam 2

Snowball Earth events occurred in which Era(s)

Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic

The following reaction CO2 + H2O ----> CH2O + O2, is called

photosynthesis

The following reaction CH2O + O2 -------> CO2 + H2O, is called

respiration

Higher delta 13 C of CaCO3 is interpreted to reflect:

Higher rates of photosynthesis and organic carbon burial

Active margins have predominantly _________ deposition passive margins have predominantly ___________ deposition

siliciclastic; carbonate

Cross-bedding sandstones point bars and flood plain muds are all characteristics of what type of sedimentary environment

fluvial

Which of these increase the rate of chemical weathering (select all that apply)

a. building of high mountains
b. lower precipitation
c. higher precipitation
d. lower temperature
e. higher temperature

building of high mountains
higher precipitation
higher temperature

This sedimentary feature is found in lacustrine environments where fine- and coarse- grained sedimentary layers are repeated often seasonally:

varves

The endosymbiotic theory of evolution is based on the idea of single cell eukaryotes ingesting ________ and _________ to create eukaryotic animal and plant cells

Bacteria; chloroplasts

Glacial depositional environments are created as sediment is deposited by ice sheets which of these is not indicative of glacial movements?

ripple marks

Red beds or iron oxide-bearing sedimentary rocks are primarily found:

after 2 billion years ago

The pressure of forming mountain belt causes the down-warping of the lithosphere, creating foreland basin which is filled in with ________ (marine) and then __________ (non-marine) sediments

flysch; molasse

what conditions are thought to be required to form banded iron formations (BIFS)?

a. an anoxic ocean
b. production of oxygen in the water column by photosynthesis
c. precipitation of iron oxides on continentals
d. all of the above

all of the above

Plants preferentially assimilate carbon- ______ ; leaving the atmosphere and ocean enriched in carbon- _______

12; 13

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the devonian decreased because of:

widespread forest

When a significant amount of carbon was buried on land in swamps in the carboniferous the delta 13 C values of the atmosphere and oceans was _______

high

What kind of fish gave rise to all terrestrial vertebrates?

Lobe-finned fishes

Which of the following is potential explanation for the terminal permian mass extinction

eruption of siberian traps

The age of the Earth is about ________. This is known from the absolute dating of ________ using isotopes of uranium and lead.

4.6 billion yrs; meteorites

Which of these was not one of the orogenic events that led to the modern Appalachian Mountains?

sonoma

Higher delta 18 O of CaCO3 is interpreted to reflect:

more water in terrestrial ice sheets and thus colder temperatures

What was the first orogeny to reflect modern plate tectonic processes?

wopmay

Deep marine environments have slow deposition dominated by carbonate and silica ________ except near continental margins where rapid deposition may occasionally occur because of _________

oozes; turbidity flows

What is the primary mechanism by which proterozoic continents grew?

accretion of existing island arcs and micro-terranes.

Which two of the following are supercontinents that existed in the proterozoic?

Nuna
Rodinia

Which of these would NOT be considered evidence for the Snowball earth event?

none of these, theyre all indicative of snowball earth

Evidence of changing oxygen levels in atmosphere of early Earth includes:

a. absence of lamination in marine sediments
b. deposition of banded iron formations
c. presence of oxidized minerals in soils
d. all of the above

all of the above

Thawing of Snowball Earth conditions was likely due to continued volcanic outgassing and a lack of silicate weathering

True

Oxygen concentrations increased significantly from 2.4 billion yrs ago onward, likely leading to the Cambrian explosion. As oxygen concentrations increased, what percentage of oxygen ( in % of current atmospheric level - PAL) is required to support a small number of multicellular organisms?

1-7% PAL

Which kind of reef organisms were common in reefs in the later Paleozoic?

Brachiopod, crinoid, bryozoan reefs

When did jawed fish evolve?

mid-paleozoic

When did the acadian orogeny primarily occur?

Devonian

When did the Antler orogeny primarily occur?

Devonian

Existing evidence suggest complex predatory animals evolved:

in the late proterozoic ~560 million yrs ago

What contributed to the accumulation of trees as coal deposits during the Carboniferous?

absence of termites

Which reptile is thought to have given rise to therapsids and mammals?

Dimetredon

Geologic evidence for the cause of the terminal Permian mass extinction include:

a. widespread ash layer from burning of coal
b. enormous volume of basalt erupted in the siberian traps
c. negative carbon and oxygen isotope excursions in marine calcite shells at the end of the Permian
d. contemporary deposition of anoxic marine sediments later uplighted in Japan
e. all of the above

all of the above

The modern atmospheric CO2 reservoir is not in steady state on seasonal time scales because of:

co2 release in northern hemisphere

The atmospheric CO2 reservoir is not in steady state on inter-annual times scales because of:

fossil fuels combustion adding CO2 to the atmosphere

Why did stromatolites decline throughout the Cambrian?

evolution of grazers/predators

CO2 is: (mark all that apply)

a. a substrate for photosynthesis
b. a substrate for respiration
c. a product of photosynthesis
d. a product of respiration

a substrate for photosynthesis
a product of respiration

What is one reason Cambrian animals were better preserved than Proterozoic animals?

they developed hard parts to protect themselves from predators

Stromatolites, microbialites, and thrombolites are all fossilized microbial mats whose deposition depended on:

absence of predators

Thin but wide-spread coal deposits from the late permian were thought to originate from:

rising and falling sea levels with coal forming in marginal marine environments

How did food webs become more complexed in the Ordovician?

a. evolution of numerous predators
b. increased total # of taxa
c. burrowers occupying new habitats
d. all of the above

all of the above

What event was coincident with, and likely caused the end-ordovician mass extinction? (select all that apply)

glaciation

What is the major mountain building event on the east coast of Laurentia during the Ordovician called?

taconic

What type of ref was most common in the Devonian?

coral-strome

What events were coincident with, and likely caused the two end-Ordovician mass extinctions?

rapid cooling/glaciation

What was the name of the first orogeny occuring on the western side of Laurentia during the late Devonian?

Antler

Organisms from what kind of habitat were the first to suffer during the first phase of late Devonian glaciation?

warm-adapted, shallow marine, reef dwelling species

A key type of terrestrial animal that evovled during the late Paleozoic was:

a. ridiculously large winged insects
b. reptiles with amniote eggs
c. animals with advance jaws and teeth that could tear prey apart
d. ectothermic pelycosaurs that give rise to therapsids
e. all of the above

all of the above

Which type of terrestrial plant was responsible for the majority of carbon buried as coal during the Carboniferous?

seedless vascular plants and trees including lycopods

Which type of terrestrial plant expaned the range of terrestrial plants and dominated at the end of the Late Paleozoic/ during the Permian?

gymnosperms (seed-bearing plants) like conifers

What was the name of the supercontinent that resulted from the suturing of Euramerica onto Gondwanaland?

Pangaea

Which orogenies occurred during the Late PAleozoic and deformed the rocks in what was to become and expanded the size of future North America? (Mark all that apply)

a. Allegheny
b. Greenville
c. Sonoma
d. Taconic
e. Ouachita

Allegheny
Sonoma
Ouachita

A geographically restricted site of sediment accumulation with characteristics chemical physical and biological conditions is a

depositional environment