A measurement of the amount of empty or void space between grains in a sediment or rock, often expressed as a percentage, is the:
Porosity
What category of minerals most often causes problems with metalloid pollution and acid mine drainage associated with the oxidative weathering of mine tailings around mining sites.
Sulfides
Large areas of the deep sea floor are covered with nodules composed of __________, representing a large and currently unexploited source of these elements.
Iron and manganese
Which of the following may result when the water table intersects the ground surface?
-Spring
-Stream
-Pond
Parallel linear features that are scraped into underlying bedrock during movement of a glacier are called:
Striations
A "pile" or bulge of water in the ocean that is pushed ahead of an incoming storm by winds and which raises ocean levels during coastal storms is called a:
Storm surge
Which of the following applications is the largest consumer of freshwater in the United States?
Irrigation
The mineral gypsum, a primary component of drywall construction material, is a member of what mineral group?
Sulfate
The brackish water embayment that occurs behind barrier islands (between the island and the mainland) is called a:
Estuary
The periodicity with which the eccentricity of the earth's orbit around the sun varies between its most circular and most elliptical path is approximately:
100,000 years
A landform made of till which is pushed in front of an advancing glacier, and which may mark the extent of the glacier's advance, is called a:
Moraine
A stream that intersects the local water table and is partially supplied with water from the ground water aquifer is called a(n) ____________ stream.
Gaining
The type of landscape that develops in areas where sinkholes are common is called ___________ topography.
Karst
Desert pavement" in arid environments results from which process of wind erosion?
Deflation
Which of the following sediment types would typically have the lowest permeability?
Clay