Geology 300 Preparation Questions

I will handout in class and list on the course web page a few questions for each lecture. These will serve as preparation for each class and be drawn from lectures and links. Please come to class with written answers to these questions, I may collect these on occasion as a quiz.

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I will handout in class and list on the course web page a few questions for each lecture. These will serve as preparation for each class and be drawn from lectures and links. Please come to class with written answers to these questions, I may collect these on occasion as a quiz.

17 January 2007 (Wednesday)
The following questions are based on the reading in Bloom GSA – your text.
1 – What is special about Cenozoic tectonics? And the Cenozoic (Cz) in general?
2 – What is the pace of the Quaternary, in terms of climate variability?
3 – What are some of the potential causes of the Glacial – Interglacial cycles?
4 – What are some of the ideas that forced Cz cooling?

We will have a quick quiz on Friday.
For 19 January 2007 (Friday)
1 – Below are two diagrams that set the stage climate of the Quaternary. How are they constructed and what is their relevance to discussion in geomorphology? Read Ruddiman and Raymo for some insights.

Click here and here for the diagrams.

For 24 January 2007 (Wednesday)

1 – Based on the diagram below (also in your text) what drives weathering with respect to latitude? Why is the thickness of the weathered mantle greatest in the tropics and why is there a secondary peak at about our latitude (Ohio). What is the latitude of Wooster – go to GoogleEarth and find out.

For 26 January 2007 (Friday)

We will have a quiz Friday:

1 – How do chemical and physical and biological WX interact? Give some examples.

2 – What is congruent and noncongruent dissolution?

3 – What are the general products of chemical weathering?

4 – What are the indicators used to determine severity of WX on the diagram below?

Read the chapter about soils in Bloom and the Retallack article attached.

1 – Why does Retallack talk about soils as Engines of change?

2 – What is a paleosol and how can they be used to tell us about the past?

For 31 January 2007 (Monday)

1 – How are weathering rates measured?

2 – What are the five soil-forming factors?

3 – Explain the diagram below. What is a soil and a soil profile?

For 2 February 2007 (Friday)

1 – We will have a quick quiz on Friday.

2 – Why does the Mississippi River yield so much sediment – even though it is a relatively low-relief basin?

3 – What is the difference between congruent and incongruent solution?

Preparation Questions for 9 February 2007   Name ________________________

Go to Ruddiman’s talk this evening it will be a good one and we will draw on his ideas in future classes.

Below is the most practical mass movement classification scheme. You can place most of our discussions within this framework. Let’ have a quick quiz on Friday.

Soils erosion and the development of slopes

1 – What is the role of raindrop impacts on soils?

2 – What are badlands and how do they form?

Why are some slopes convex and some concave?