Geology 15 & 18 – Flashcards
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The main drawback of composting as a waste reduction strategy is?
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separating organic from nonorganic waste
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What is the most important consideration in site selection for a sanitary landfill?
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Geological and climatic conditions that will limit water flow through the landfill
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Why is it necessary to rethink strategies of solid waste management?
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Waste generation from urban areas is increasing rapidly
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Deep-well disposal of hazardous wastes can result in?
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Earthquakes
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Why has integrated waste management been criticized?
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Overemphasis on recycling
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A mineralized liquid generated by water flow through landfills is called what?
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Leachate
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Waste from one part of a society is used as a resource for another is called what?
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Industrial ecology
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Anomalously rapid movement of glacial ice is termed what?
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Surging
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What is largely responsible forkeeping northern Europe relatively warm
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The ocean's conveyor belt
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The dominant form of anthropogenic climate forcing is the emission of what?
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Carbon Dioxide
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Hydrothermal mineral deposits would be least expected to form in what type of plate tectonic setting?
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Transform Boundary
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If surface mines tend to cause greater environmental impacts, why are they used?
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They are more economical
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How is biotechnology helping to reduce the environmental impacts of mining?
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Through efficient treatment of mine wastes and contaminated water
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Why is steel recycled at such a high rate?
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The market is large and widespread
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Why is cyanide heap leaching used to extract gold from some deposits?
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The gold concentration is too low to be extracted using traditional methods
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Most water pollution associated with mining operations has to do with what?
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Water passing through mine wastes
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What phase of mining generally causes the least environmental degradation?
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Exploration and testing
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Biotechnology may help to reduce the use of what hazardous chemical in ore processing?
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Cyanide
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What element represents the greatest amount of recycling by volume?
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Iron
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A measure of mineral concentration that is necessary for profitable mining.
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concentration factor
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A collection of a naturally occurring material
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Resource
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The portion of a resource that is currently available to be legally extracted at a profit
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Reserve
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What is the difference between recources and reserves?
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based on current geologic, economic, and legal factors
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Caused by the heat, pressure, and chemically active fluids of the cooling magma interacting with the surrounding rock, called country rock, or host rock.
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Contact metamorphism
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As evaporation progresses, dissolved materials precipitate, forming a wide variety of compounds, minerals, and rocks.
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Evaporite
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Mineralizing fluids migrate through a host rock, crystallizing as veins or small dikes.
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Hydrothermal (hot-water) deposits
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Natural occurring minerals that can be extracted for a profit.
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Ore
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Heavy metals that collect in open crevices or fractures at the bottoms of pools, or at the inside curves of bends
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Placer deposit
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Results from an increase of temperature and pressure associated with deep burial of rocks or tectonic activity.
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Regional metamorphism
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The major types of mineral deposits are?
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Elements for metal production and technology, building materials, minerals for the chemical industry and minerals for agriculture.
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What are the major environmental impacts associated with mining?
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waste from mines, water pollution, air pollution, impacts on the biological environment, and social impacts.
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Why is iron recycled so much?
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The market is large, and the environmental impacts of disposal would be so great if it was not recycled.
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A natural climatic event that causes high surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and droughts and high-intensity rainstorms in various places on Earth.
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El Nino
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What are Preston Cloud's central goals for the Earth sciences?
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Understand how Earth works and how it has evolved; apply that understanding to better manage our environment.
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What is earth system science?
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The study of Earth as a system, comprised of several interacting subsystems.
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What are the major tools and methods of studying climate change?
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Geologic record, real-time monitoring, and mathematical models, as well as instrumental records, historical records, and paleo-proxy records.
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What are the three main factors that determine the temperature of Earth?
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The amount of solar energy received, the amount reflected by Earth's surface, and the amount of heat retained by the atmosphere.
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What categories are mineral resources broken down into based on how they are formed? (5) BSWIM
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Igneous Processes Metamorphic Processes Sedimentary Processes Biological processes Weathering Processes
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A kimberlite pipe is an example of what? What do they produce?
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Igneous resources. Diamonds.
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What are the two types of methamorphic resources? What elements does each produce?
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Contact metamorphism. Lead and Silver. Regional Metamorphism. Asbestos and copper
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What can sedimentary resources supply us with?
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Sand and gravel after it has been sorted in an esker. Oil and natural gas
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Black smokers contain what resources?
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Zinc, copper, iron, and silver
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Deep-ocean floor deposits contain what recources?
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Sulfide deposits Manganese nodules Cobalt
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What are the subsystems in earth system science? BOLA
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atmosphere, oceans, land, and biosphere
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Humans are responsible for the emission of what greenhouse gases?
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Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrogen oxides Chlorofluorocarbons
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What pattern is the ocean's conveyor belt?
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Thermohaline Circulation
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Flat, nearly featureless plain deposits are called what?
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Ground moraine (till plains)
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Material such as silt, sand, and gravel that is carried away from glaciers by melt water is called what?
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Outwash
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What is Carbon Sequestration?
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Capture carbon dioxide from power plants and injecting that carbon into the subsurface geologic environment.