Environmental Geology Final Study Guide

What is the largest reservoir of water in the hydrosphere?

ice

What is the largest reservoir of unfrozen fresh water?

Groundwater

Between shale, granite, slate, and sandstone, which one has both high porosity and high permeability?

Sandstone

Where is soil moisture found?

Within the vadose zone

In an unconfined aquifer, what is the top of the zone of saturation called?

water table

How many feet of water will be in an unconfined aquifer where the water table is 30 feet and the well is 50 feet?

20 ft

What formation will result if there are lenses of low-permeability rocks within permeable ones?

a perched water table

How high will the water rise in an artesian well?

potentiometric surface

What results occur when you lower the water table?

cone of depression

What has happened as a result of excessive groundwater withdrawal in Chicago?

a significant lowering of the potentiometric surface

How do scientists distinguish soil from regolith?

ability to support plant life

Where would chemical weathering be most evident?

in tropical climates

Which soil horizon would consist of the most intensively weathered rock? A, B, C, R?

A horizon

Which soil horizon is known as the zone of leaching?

A horizon

Why are clay soils not the most desirable agricultural soil?

often slow to drain due to their low permeability

What are pedalfer soils?

characteristic of humid climates

What are lateritic soils?

are severely leached soils

Histosols are…?

bog-type soils

What is the single greatest cause of soil degradation in North America?

agricultural activities

What caused the Dust Bowl in the 1930s?

clearing/grazing of natural vegetation, sustained drought, poor farming practices

What are oil, natural gas, and coal all examples of?

fossil fuels, hydrocarbon fuel, nonrenewable resources

What has happened to energy consumption associated with agriculture as societies have evolved from primitive to technological?

it has increased

What happens when heat and pressure act upon petroleum?

natural gas

How many gallons does one barrel of oil equal?

42 gallons

What nation has the largest proven reserves of crude oil?

Saudi Arabia

What percent of energy used in the US does petroleum account for?

40%

How much natural gas is used in the US?

25%

What is an oil well gusher an example of?

primary recovery

What could geo-pressurized zones one day become an important source of?

natural gas

What is believed to contain the largest amount of carbon?

gas hydrates

What is the fissionable isotope of uranium in most nuclear power reactors?

uranium-235

What type of rock are most uranium deposits found?

sandstone

Breeder reactors constitute what percentage of nuclear power in the US?

0%

What caused the Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown?

partial loss of coolant

What are all of the reasons why a nuclear power plant has not been built in the US since 1978?

costly to build compared to coal plants, require a long time to plan, build, license, concerns over reactor safety

Why would a Chernobyl style accident not happen in the US?

American nuclear reactors are designed differently than Soviet ones

How much of the total energy will be supplied by nuclear fission by the year 2020?

1/3

What fuel is used by fusion reactors?

hydrogen

What is the technological problem that needs to be solved before fusion reactors become a reality?

concentrating fuel nuclei at high temps, containment of fusing nuclei, achieving sustained containment time

What are the advantages of solar energy?

inexhaustible resource, available at no cost, essentially pollution-free

What produces the largest volume of toxic waste?

industry

What materials make up the largest amount of municipal waste?

paper

What are the disadvantages of using old landfill sites for cropland/pastureland?

possible incorporation of toxic chemicals into plant tissues

What is an advantage of incinerating waste disposal?

reduction of waste volume

What are the methods of reducing waste volume?

compaction, composting, recycling

What is the estimated number of hazardous-waste sites in the US?

2000

What are Superfund monies intended to pay for?

emergency cleanup of abandoned toxic waste sites

What determines the size of a septic system leaching field?

soil permeability, number of people served

What do radioactive particles never release?

cosmic rays

What is the radiation source responsible for the highest percentage of average radiation exposure for person in the US?

medical x-rays

What is an important reservoir of calcium?

the atmosphere

What element has the longest oceanic residence time?

sodium

What are examples of a point source?

storm sewer outflow, septic tank, waste produced by paper mill

How many of the millions of industrial chemicals have had complete toxicity assessments?

relatively few of them

What toxic heavy metal accumulates in high concentrations in marine fishes at the top of the food chain?

mercury

What toxic metal causes itai-itai disease?

cadmium

What are PCB’s side effects?

impairment of reproduction

What organic compound is responsible for impairing calcium metabolism in birds, resulting in thin-shelled eggs?

DDT

What is the presence of hydrogen sulfide and methane associated with in the aquatic system?

oxygen depletion

What happens to the higher BOD in a sample of water?

the higher the organic matter load of the sample

What is the most abundant gaseous element in the atmosphere?

nitrogen

What element has the longest estimated residence time in the atmosphere?

helium

What oxides are the principal gaseous pollutants?

carbon, nitrogen, sulfur

What is the greatest source of pollutants in the United States?

transportation

What is the atmospheric gas that enhances the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere?

carbon dioxide

What is the single largest source of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere?

automobile

What are the principal factors in the formation of photochemical smog other than nitrogen oxide?

strong sunlight

In the atmosphere, what does sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and oxygen form?

sulfuric acid

What substance in the upper atmosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation?

ozone

Where did the first “ozone hole” appear in the atmosphere?

Antarctica