Text: Marshak, S., 2007. Essentials of Geology 2nd edition. W. W. Norton pub.

The best way to study for an exam is to study continuously throughout the semester by re-writing the notes you take in class. While you are re-writing them, you can use the textbook to fill in any gaps in your notes. By gaps, I mean concepts you did not understand, or maybe could not take notes on because the professor was going too fast. (If you have questions on the material after doing that, then by all means come in and ask me or e-mail your question to me: gleasong@cortland.edu.)

The test will be based on both lecture notes and on the textbook.

To study for this final, you must go over your lecture notes.

The final will be cummulative, so go over your past study guides and your past exams.

This study guide covers the material that we have done in class since the last exam.
 

Chap 16: A Hidden reserve: Groundwater

Figures: 16.2, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, 16.7, 16.9, 16.10, 16.11, 16.13, 16.14, 16.15, 16.20, 16.21, 16.22 (1st ed.)
16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, 16.8, 16.9, 16.11, 16.12, 16.13, 16.17, 16.18, 16.19 (2nd ed.)

Terms: aquifer, aquitard, artesian well, cone of depression, confined aquifer, contaminant plume, Darcy's law, flow lines, groundwater, hydraulic head, hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, infiltration, porosity, permeability, potentiometric surface, gaining stream, losing stream, recharge, saturated zone, spring, well, unconfined aquifer, water table, zone of aeration (unsaturated zone)

Review Questions: 

In a region with temperate climate, like Central New York, how does topography affect the shape of the water table?

 What geologic materials make the best aquifers? the best aquitards?

Chap 14: Streams and floods: The geology of running water

Pages: 376-405 (1st ed.)

391-417 (2nd ed.) 

Figures: 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6, 14.7, 14.11, 14.12, 14.13, 14.16, 14.18, 14.19, 14.23, 14.24, 14.25, 14.26, 14.30, 14.33 (1st ed.)
14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6, 14.10, 14.11, 14.12, 14.13, 14.20, 14.21, 14.22, 14.23, 14.26, 14.30, 14.33, 14.34 (2nd ed.)

Terms: abrasion, alluvial fan, bed load, bird's foot delta, braided stream, capacity, competence, cut bank, delta, discharge, dissolved load, drainage basin, drainage divide, flash flood, flood, flood plain, flood stage, gaining stream,  losing stream, meander, meandering stream, natural levee, oxbow lake, point bar, residence time, saltation, scouring, sand bar, solution, stream channel, stream gradient, stream velocity, suspended load, traction, tributary, flooding, ten-year flood, 100-year flood, hydrograph

Review Questions: 

What are the three components of sediment load in a stream?

How does  braided stream differ from a meandering stream?

Describe how meanders form, develop, are cut off, and then abandoned.

How is the velocity of a stream related to: its ability to erode, and its ability to transport sediment?

Explain the difference between a flashflood and a lowland flood.  Using a hydrograph. Draw two hydrographs, one for a flash flood and one for a lowland flood (aka floodplain flood).

How is the velocity of a stream related to its discharge, and its cross-sectional area?

In the Northeastern U.S., when are floods most likely to occur?

What is the probability, each year, of a 100-year flood. What are the weaknesses of such statistical forecasts?

Draw two hydrographs for one river at two different times. One time before urbanization and one after urbanization. (Urbanization is just the building of buildings and roads and such.)

Chap 15: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts 

Pages: 418-449

Figures: 15.2, 15.4, 15.5, 15.13, 15.14, 15.15, 15.16, 15.18, 15.21, 15.22, 15.23, 15.25, 15.26, 15.29, 15.30, 15.31, 15.34, 15.35

Terms: abyssal plain, active margin, bathymetry, beach, breaker, breakwater, continental rise, contienetal slope, continental shelf, estuary, fetch, fjord, groin, headlands, jetty, longshore current, longshore drift, mid-ocean ridge, passive margin, sand spit, sea arch, sea stack, seawall, tidal flat, trench, waves, wave base, wave-cut bench, wave-cut notch, wave-cut terrace, wave refraction

Review Questions:

Describe the typical topography of a passive continental margin, from the shoreline to the abyssal plain.

How do the shelf and slope of an active continental margin differ from those of a passive margin?

Know examples of passive margins and active margins.

How do longshore currents originate?

How does beach sand migrate as a result of longshore currents?

How do plate tectonics, sea-level changes, and sediment supply affect the shape of a coastline?

How does human interference wtih longshore drift cause problems?

What three factors control ocean wave size?

What three structures do humans build to try to stop or control longshore drift?

What is the pattern of sand deposition and erosion around these structures in relation to the longshore current direction? Hint this can be answered with a diagram.

 

Chap 18: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Watch for more!

Useful links:

Syllabus

Physical Geology web page