NAME: _____________________________ SSN____________________________
Please note that this exam consists of a series of short answer questions. It is shorter than previous examinations; nonetheless you have two hours to complete the examination. Please read each question thoroughly and take your time. Note!!! Use sketches (labeled) where appropriate. After that, have a rewarding break. As you take this, I am at a professional conference in San Francisco. I’ll be back on Friday and will finish my component of the grading. Final grades should be posted Saturday morning; at the latest Monday morning, the 17th.
I. This is a very open-ended question; please show me what you know!!!. On the
“political” map of the world, on the following page, briefly sketch
(and label) as many types of features associated with current plate tectonic
processes as you possibly can. For example, the Andes mountains are a product
of convergence of …… under ……. Ok, show where the Andes
Mountains are, label them, and briefly (few words), describe what they represent.
(30 points).
2. Describe the depositional environment of a relatively low-energy (low grade)
river system, like the Rio Grande at the latitude of Albuquerque. Where is the
coarsest sediment transported? What happens during flood stage (assuming the
Cochiti Dam breaks!). What happens to the sediment load at the point where water
is diverted for irrigation? How do you think an increase in the activity of
normal faulting at the front of the Sandia Mountains would affect the Rio Grande?
(5 points).
3. What is the San Andreas fault? What kind of plate boundary does it represent? Why is this feature of such great societal concern? (4 points)
4. Over the past decade or so, geoscientists have begun to learn more and more
about cause/effect associations between numerous different processes affecting
our planet. We know that we are pumping far too much carbon dioxide into our
atmosphere (CO2), resulting in an increase in global temperatures. On the other
hand, certain processes may lead to a cooling of our home. Using the Sandia
Mountains as a microcosm of the surface of our planet, what would you predict
to happen if the climate became, overall, colder and moister, for a prolonged
period of time? Explain. (4 points).
5. What are the three general types of rocks? For each general type, give a specific example and describe very briefly how it formed. (9 points).
6. What is Pangea? When did it form? What are the two subdivisions of Pangea called? (4 points).
7. The WIPP “site” in southeast New Mexico is located in Permian
(upper Paleozoic) sedimentary rocks, principally a thick sequence of salt several
thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. What does the presence of
a thick sequence of salt deposits imply? What could you imagine to be a seemingly
positive attribute (geologic in character!!!!, of course) of the WIPP site as
a location for storage of low-level nuclear waste? What would you consider a
negative attribute? (5 points).
8. Afghanistan and its immediate surroundings are part of a long mountainous
belt stretching from where to where? What is this mountainous belt referred
to? How did this long mountainous belt form, and, approximately, when did it
form? (5 points)
9. Food for thought. Why are important accumulations of base (such as the Questa molybdenum deposit) and precious metals often associated with intrusive igneous rocks? (4 points).
10. Briefly describe the magnetic field of the Earth. In other words, what pattern do the magnetic lines of flux make with respect to the planet? What happens to these flux lines when the geomagnetic field of the planet reverses its polarity? Note that I am NOT asking you to discuss how the field reverses its polarity. (5 points)
11. What is the geomagnetic polarity time scale? What two kinds of information are needed to construct such a time scale? (5 points)
12. The hypothesis of continental drift was proposed over a century ago; Alfred Wegener gets much of the credit for his work in the 1910’s to 1920’s to develop this hypothesis. On what was it based, and why was it not accepted at that time? (4 points)
13. How was the geomagnetic polarity time scale used to define the fundamental process happening at mid-ocean ridges? (8 points)
14. What did you like to learn about the most in this course? WHY? (8 points)
15. An aquifer is usually a material with high porosity and permeability. What
kinds of geologic materials make good aquifers? What is an artesian well? What
is meant by a “recharge” area for an aquifer? Why are these important?
(8 points)
16. Natural disasters, unfortunately, take many forms. Here is a real-life, geosociopolitical issue for you to contemplate and respond to. In some states, there have been bills introduced to ban natural disaster insurance. In the context of what you know about your HOME, planet Earth, how do you feel about such efforts?
17. Describe the overall geology of the Albuquerque-Belen “basin”. In this description, try to answer the following concerns: of what larger feature is the basin a part?; when did the basin form?; what kinds of sedimentary rocks are associated with basin development?; what kinds of structures are associated with the basin?; why MUST we be concerned with the manner in which the area obtains its water supply? (6 points)
18. Yucca Mountain has been designated as the proposed high-level nuclear waste
repository for our country. Based on your limited knowledge of Yucca Mountain
(thick stack of young ash-flow tuffs currently well above the water table),
can you think of or propose some geologic materials that you think would be
more suitable for such a repository? Remember that high-level nuclear waste
will, with time, give off considerable thermal energy as a result of radioactive
decay. (4 points)
HAVE A GREAT (AND SAFE) CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS BREAK !!!!!!!!!!