Physical Geography and Processes Quiz

Answer: Convergence

Convergence boundaries occur where two continental plates collide into one another, and one begins to force the other underneath it, causing the crust of the earth to buckle and produce mountains. This process occurs under the Himalayas, where the Indian and Eurasian plates are converging. Conversely, mountains may also form from the collision of a continental plate and a oceanic plate, where similar folding of the earth's crust occurs, however, the mountain range does not appear directly above the point of collision.

The Rocky Mountains in central USA are an example of this.

Answer: Deposition

Although erosion is often presented as a destructive and unwanted process, it is actually a balanced system. While one part of the earth is gradually removed (weathering), another part of the earth is gradually being built up through the accumulation of eroded materials (deposition). Erosion is usually caused by wind or water movement.

Answer: Water table

Dryland salinity is a serious problem in the world's arid zones, and is a prime contributor to desertification. When an increase in rainfall suddenly occurs, or an overwatering of the land due to excessive irrigation, the water table underneath the land surface begins to rise and this brings dissolved salts dormant within the bedrock to the surface with it.

When this surface water evaporates, it deposits these salts, which can kill vegetation and reduce arable land to desert.

Answer: Stratosphere

Whilst the Troposphere is the layer closest to the earth's surface, where the majority of our weather occurs and where our planes fly, it is the Stratosphere that constitutes the highest percentage of ozone (the ozone layer), protecting biological systems from harmful Ultra-Violet light. Because of this abundance, it is here that chemical air pollution freely destroys ozone molecules, creating holes in the ozone layer, such as that above Antarctica.

Answer: Monsoon

The monsoon is the 'wet-season' that hits the regions within approximately 30 degrees north and south of the equator. This 3-6 month downpour is a result of a large portion of saturated, cold air reaching the equator from the polar regions each year. The monsoon is vital to the sustenance of agriculture that occurs all over the equatorial and tropical zones.

Answer: Tornado

Tornadoes, or twisters, form when a parcel of cold air collides with a parcel of warm air over land and begins to rotate due to the pressure differences between the two parcels. If the pressure difference is great enough, and provided there is sufficient energy from a parent storm cell, a tornado may reach the ground where it will destroy virtually everything in its path as it travels across the land with wind speeds of up to 300km per hour.

Answer: Eutrophication

Eutrophication results in algal blooms (or blue-green algae) forming on the surface of streams, lakes and rivers. Algal blooms are a type of plant matter that feed off nitrates and phosphates from agricultural runoff (fertilisers, pesticides, animal dung, machinery fluids) and grow to cover the entire surface of the water body.

This prevents light and oxygen from entering the water, which can kill aquatic plants and animals.

Answer: Rural-Urban Drift

Rural-Urban Drift is the phenomena which sees a large portion of young people move away from rural areas to large cities, where there are more job opportunities, more services, and more social inter-activities. This exodus of labour and knowledge leads to large-scale unemployment, a depletion of services and often the 'death' of rural towns and their way of life.

Answer: Polar ice caps

Man-made Global Warming, if the hypothesis is accurate, would/will result in an increase of global sea-surface temperatures. While these changes (1-2 degrees in 10 years) do not seem much, this change is enough to drastically alter global climate patterns and begin to melt the polar ice caps in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. The melting will further result in sea-level rises which could flood low-lying coastal cities such as Sydney or Los Angeles.

There is an assumption that the melting of the floating ice in the Arctic will not raise sea levels. Due to the salinity of sea water, and the relative non-salinity of the floating ice, that assumption is incorrect.

Answer: All of these

The over-exploitation of the earth's natural resources, particularly non-renewable fossil fuels, is fraught with environmental cost despite the economic benefits it produces. Coal mining can destroy arable land for decades to come and lead to habitat loss and species extinction.

The combustion of coal and oil releases sulphurous compounds into the atmosphere which creates acid rain. And to top it off, the world is forced to listen to the Dixie Chicks whinge about the environment everyday. Are these prices worth the profits any one generation makes?