Home Geography homework help. Instructions: Answer FOUR (4) questions for full credit. Each question is worth 25 points for a
total of 100 points. The work is worth 25 percent of the total course grade. Answers must be
typed, diagrams properly labeled, and any equations and their terms defined. Hand written
answers will not be graded. Hand drawn figures and equations are acceptable, provided they are
clearly scanned and inserted into your document.
So that your answers are concise and you don’t spend an inappropriate amount of time on this
work, each typed answer must fit within the confines of three (3) pages (8 ½ x 11 inches,
one-inch margins, single-spaced text, Times-Roman 12 point), including equations,
diagrams, and references cited (see below). A completed test will be at most 12 pages in length.
Diagrams are to be numbered with an explanatory caption and cited in the body of your text.
Aids allowed: It should be possible to answer all questions using the lecture notes and course text.
You are welcome to use other sources if they are published and can be cited. *** In any case you
must provide your own, unique answers in your own words. There is to be no direct quoting of
any amount of text from any source. Citations must be given for all sources that you use other the
lecture notes or the course text.
Questions (25 points each for a work total of 100 points):
1) Humans have populated regions in which the geomorphic settings pose hazards for construction
and engineering projects. Discuss the extent to which the potential hazards are caused by intrinsic
versus extrinsic thresholds. Build your discussion around comparing and contrasting humid, semiarid, glaciated, and periglacial environments.
2) The sedimentary record in rocks and surface deposits of unconsolidated materials give clues
about past environments (e.g., glacial, fluvial, subaerial, subaqueous). Describe the sorts of clues
one would look for and what these clues would indicate in terms of the climates in which the
materials were weathered, eroded, and deposited. Include a comparison and contrast of the above
environments. Use diagrams where appropriate.
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3) With aid of one or more diagrams describe the mechanics of glacial ice movement. Discuss
how several lines of evidence from (1) existing glaciers and (2) landforms aid in the reconstruction
of ice movement direction and rate, maximum glacial advance, intermediate stages of ice retreat,
and rates of ice ablation.
4) You have been asked to be an expert witness in a class-action case involving accelerated coastal
bluff erosion (e.g. along the Great Lakes). Lawyers representing home-owners (i.e., the plaintiffs)
claim that town planners and developers (i.e., the defendants) are at fault for allowing rapid
develop of residential sites in the area, while the town’s lawyers argue that unpredictable natural
causes are at fault. You can choose to be an expert witness for either the lawyers for plaintiffs or
the defendants. In either case you must provide documentation on the relevant geomorphic
processes and any external factors that might contribute to the erosion. Your presentation must
include labeled diagrams, use appropriate scientific terms, and not add speculation or editorial
commentary. Note that you will be cross-examined by the other lawyers.
5) Water at or beneath the water table influences numerous geomorphic processes that have direct
consequences for human activities. These include the effects of ground water on land subsidence,
groundwater discharge and submarine slope development, and seepage effects on sea-cliff
development. Briefly discuss how groundwater processes affect the development of these
landforms, how these processes create hazards for humans, and to what extent human activity
affects these processes. Support your discussion with examples or case studies.
6) Recent extreme events in cold environments, such as the release of water from ice-dammed
lakes, ice-rock avalanches, and de-stabilization of permafrost, implicate climate change along with
other factors. Discuss how such factors combine to produce complex geomorphic responses with
these events. Use examples or case studies to support your discussion.
à Did you remember to label diagrams and formulae?
