No topic required - Assignment Example

14 November a) List at least 4 general causes of floods. (2pts) b) What type of flood typically causes few deaths but extensive damage? (0.5 pt.)
a) local thunderstorms, extended rainfall, tropical cyclone, snow melt
b) regional floods

2. a) List four reasons why we build levees. (1pt) b) List four reasons for why the levees can be detrimental or deceiving? (1pt)
a) keep a river in its bed, keep an ocean from flooding land near or below sea level, avoid
spill into floodplains, serve as flood gates for controlled flooding
b) higher levees eventually raise river above floodplain, levees create false sense of security,
encouraging more development, building cost of levees may exceed value of structures to
protect
3. a) What is the difference between climate and weather? (1pt) b) Why does the earth have seasons? (1 pt.) c) Are seasons the same at all points on earth at the same time? (0.5 pt.)
d) What are the six geographic factors affecting climate? (1.5 pt.)
a) Climate is an average long-term condition; controlled by location; regional- to global-
scale; Weather, on the other hand, is a short-term condition; controlled by atmospheric
anomalies; local- to regional-scale
b) We have seasons because of the fact that the Earth orbits around Sun (once a year), thereby
changing the relative position of the tilted spin axis with respect to the Sun; ; this changes
the local rate of insolation throughout the year
c) No
d) latitude, altitude, proximity to water, proximity to ocean currents, proximity to orographic
barriers, and proximity to high- or low-pressure zones

4. a) What did the regional court find the scientist guilty of ? (0.5 pt) b) What was the magnitude of the earthquake? (0.5 pt) c) Are earthquakes predictable (Y/N)? (0.5 pt) d) How might this sentencing set a damaging precedent? (0.5 pt)
a) multiple manslaughter after failing to warn people of an incoming earthquake in L’Aquila
in April 06, 2009, in which 297 people are known to have died.
b) 6.3
c) No
d) There is no reliable way to predict earthquakes so far. This sentencing could be used in
deciding future cases that involve earthquakes and failure to predict it
5) a)What type of fault was responsible for the earthquake in central Italy (.5 pt)?
b) What was the location of the earthquake (Latitude and Longitude, with units!) (.5 pt)?
c) What are the Apennines and how were they formed (1 pt)?
a) normal fault
b) 42.334°N, 13.334°E
c) largely an accretionary wedge formed as a consequence of subduction
6. a) What is the average slope, as gradient AND in degrees, of Mt. Vesuvius and Erta Ale? (4 pts) b) Comparing slope angles, which type of volcano are Mt. Vesuvius and Erta Ale? (1 pts) c) Which type of volcano likely shoots ash and pumice miles into the atmosphere? (0.5 pt) d) Which type of volcano likely releases large volumes of lava over long time periods? (0.5 pt)
a) Mt. Vesuvius: ~ 11.80 degrees; 13.11 grad; Erta Ale: ~2.00 degrees; 2.22 grad
b) Mt. Vesuvius is a stratovolcano; Erta Ale is a shield volcano.
c) stratovolcano
d) shield volcano

Bonus: What weather pattern did we just experience on the weekend before last in the San
Diego area (0.25 pt)? What is the greatest risk associated with it and why (0.75)?
High amplitude weather patterns; unexpected changes in weather conditions: sunny to rainy to stormy.
It increases the unpredictability of the weather. Read More