Question 1

Ice reflects solar radiation (sunlight) very well,whereas water absorbs it.As the Arctic sea ice cover shrinks year after year,what effect will this have on the amount of heat retained in the Arctic?

Accepted Answer

A)   None
B)   The amount of heat retained will slowly decrease.
C)   The amount of heat retained will slowly increase.
D)   There is very little effect, because the steeply angled incoming solar radiation will evaporate seawater, resulting in an extensive cloud cover over the Arctic Ocean.

Question 2

A boulder that is found in an unlikely place and/or has a different composition than the underlying or nearby rock is possibly a(n) ___________.

Accepted Answer

A)   kame
B)   erratic
C)   arête
D)   ventifact

Question 3

Mars has polar ice caps that differ from the Earth's Antarctic ice cap in that ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   the Martian caps contain some frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice)  as well as ice water
B)   the Martian caps have a spiral fracture pattern not found in Antarctica
C)   Martian caps are ablated by sublimation only; there is currently no liquid water on Mars
D)   All of the above are correct.

Question 4

Which of these processes contributes the most to the formation of ice-margin lakes?

Accepted Answer

A)   glacial subsidence
B)   erosion of loess
C)   moraine retreat
D)   glacial rebound

Question 5

Firn consists of ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   ice crystals with approximately 25% air
B)   ice crystals with 20% or less air
C)   ice that has been buried deeply enough to flow ductilely, but is now shallow enough to behave brittlely
D)   ice with entrained sediment

Question 6

Keeping in mind that ice is a mineral,why can a glacier be considered a metamorphic rock?

Accepted Answer

A)   because it is formed by increased pressure and temperature
B)   because it is inorganic
C)   because it significantly changes in both shape and texture while in the solid state
D)   because it is formed by hydrothermal alteration of existing minerals

Question 7

The primary reason that glacial till is rarely bedded is that ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   waters flowing near glaciers moves chaotically rather than in laminar flow
B)   the irregular calving and breakup of glaciers disturbs waters and sediment layers and generally inhibits preservation of bedding that forms in between those events
C)   sediment tends not to form beds in cold waters
D)   glacial sediment is generally deposited by the melting of ice under and around it

Question 8

At the present,glaciers cover about ____________ of the surface of the continents.

Accepted Answer

A)   1%
B)   5%
C)   10%
D)   20%

Question 9

Silt-sized particles transported hundreds of km or more and deposited in sometimes thick layers during the ice ages are ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   firn
B)   loess
C)   outwash
D)   till

Question 10

A hanging valley exists where a ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   smaller glacially carved valley intersects a larger, deeper glacially carved valley
B)   smaller stream-cut valley intersects a larger stream-cut valley
C)   smaller stream-cut valley intersects a larger glacially carved valley
D)   stream-cut valley is on the upthrust side of a normal fault

Question 11

Which location is most likely the site of ablation,A or B?

Accepted Answer

A)   A
B)   B
C)   They are equally likely.
D)   The answer cannot be determined from the information given.

Question 12

The formal definition of an iceberg is ______________.

Accepted Answer

A)   a detached piece of continental ice sheet found floating in open water
B)   a free-floating piece of ice at least 15 m long and rising at least 6 m above the water surface
C)   a piece of any ice sheet floating in marine water
D)   All of the above are correct.

Question 13

The figure below shows the toe of a glacier.What is the gray feature that is between the two heavy black lines?

Accepted Answer

A)   the zone of accumulation
B)   an esker
C)   a moraine
D)   an arete

Question 14

A bowl-shaped depression formed by a mountain glacier is termed a(n) ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   arête
B)   cirque
C)   horn
D)   tarn

Question 15

In a glacier,which of the following decreases with increased depth into ice,and/or age of ice?

Accepted Answer

A)   the amount of sediment and rock particles found within it
B)   porosity
C)   loess content
D)   the oxygen-18 (18O)  content

Question 16

In the glacier below,approximately how deep is the transition from brittle to ductile deformation?

Accepted Answer

A)   10 m
B)   60 m
C)   100 m
D)   250 to 300 m

Question 17

An important long-term factor determining whether glacial ice will form on the continents may be the proportion of which gas in the atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

A)   oxygen
B)   nitrogen
C)   carbon dioxide
D)   carbon monoxide

Question 18

The winds that form loess deposits exist because of ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   the differences in how land and ice respond to the daily input of solar energy
B)   the winds that occur along cold fronts near glaciers
C)   the winds that blow from nearby lands onto colder glaciers
D)   the high absorbitivity of sunlight by ice

Question 19

A glacier will advance from its source area if the rate of accumulation is greater than the rate of ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   subsidence
B)   melting
C)   ablation
D)   abrution

Question 20

The first scientist to theorize the past presence of glaciers in Europe was ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   Isaac Newton
B)   Charles Darwin
C)   Walter Alvarez
D)   Louis Agassiz

Exam 18: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

The winds that form loess deposits exist because of ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The figure below shows the toe of a glacier.What is the gray feature that is between the two heavy black lines?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Ice reflects solar radiation (sunlight) very well,whereas water absorbs it.As the Arctic sea ice cover shrinks year after year,what effect will this have on the amount of heat retained in the Arctic?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The formal definition of an iceberg is ______________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

At the present,glaciers cover about ____________ of the surface of the continents.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Silt-sized particles transported hundreds of km or more and deposited in sometimes thick layers during the ice ages are ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of these processes contributes the most to the formation of ice-margin lakes?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The primary reason that glacial till is rarely bedded is that ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

An important long-term factor determining whether glacial ice will form on the continents may be the proportion of which gas in the atmosphere?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The first scientist to theorize the past presence of glaciers in Europe was ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In a glacier,which of the following decreases with increased depth into ice,and/or age of ice?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A bowl-shaped depression formed by a mountain glacier is termed a(n) ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Keeping in mind that ice is a mineral,why can a glacier be considered a metamorphic rock?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A hanging valley exists where a ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Firn consists of ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Mars has polar ice caps that differ from the Earth's Antarctic ice cap in that ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A boulder that is found in an unlikely place and/or has a different composition than the underlying or nearby rock is possibly a(n) ___________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In the glacier below,approximately how deep is the transition from brittle to ductile deformation?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which location is most likely the site of ablation,A or B?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A glacier will advance from its source area if the rate of accumulation is greater than the rate of ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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