GLGY 301 Midterm 3 Questions with
complete solution
What is hydrogeology? - correct answer ✔- Study of groundwater
Rocky Mountains as a water tower - correct answer ✔- To the left, moist air
mass from the Pacific Ocean comes over the mountains and as the air cools,
it forms into clouds and precipitates. By the time the air mass reaches the
prairies, it becomes very dry and doesn't have enough water for precipitation.
As a result, the mountains get more precipitation than the prairies
What is the water source for the prairies? - correct answer ✔- The snow that
accumulates in the mountains stores a lot of water. This snowmelt is the water
source
How is river water from the mountains used? - correct answer ✔- Irrigation to
grow crops
- Drinking water supply
- Hydropower generation
- Extraction of oil sands
What is annual average runoff? - correct answer ✔- Amount of water that is
generated by a part of land every year
- Highest amount of runoff in coastal areas and mountains
- Least amount of runoff in prairies and heavily populated regions
In prairie cities, mountain rivers are considered ________ that carry water
from _________ to _________. - correct answer ✔- Canals, mountains,
wherever its needed
,Why is there variability in river flow during the summer months? - correct
answer ✔- Flow is originating from snow mountain and rain, and the amount
of snow in mountains and rain varies each year
- From October to April the flow is very stable
What is causing water flow in October to April? - correct answer ✔-
Groundwater that is coming out in high regions of mountains (i.e. there is
groundwater discharge)
Groundwater discharge - correct answer ✔- Sustains year-long stream flow,
which is important for aquatic animals, human purposes, and the fragile
mountain groundwater ecosystem
- Used in micro-hydropower systems to provide electricity to villages in Nepal
- Provides moisture to support vegetation in China
- Groundwater in alpines is very important, but not much is known
Gogg group - correct answer ✔- Quartzite rocks
Lake O'Hara hydrogeological observatory - correct answer ✔- Interested in
finding out where water to the lake comes from and how it gets to the lake
- Set up water balance study of lake to understand how water reaches the
lake
Lake water balance - correct answer ✔- If no groundwater flows in or out of a
lake, then stream in + rain = stream out + evaporation
Lake O'Hara water balance - correct answer ✔- 30-70% water input is by
groundwater
,- There is much more output from lake than input
- Gave hint that groundwater is important in alpine water sheds of Canadian
Rockies
Opabin creek - correct answer ✔- Stream that brings in water to Lake O'Hara
- Source of this creek is a big spring coming out at the tow of a glacial deposit
(a moraine)
How was ground water studied in the Opabin plateau? - correct answer ✔-
First step was to look at relationship between water level in Opabin lake and
source spring of the creek
- One side of the lake has a solid bedrock that acts as a natural dam,
indicating the water is flowing through the moraine
Why did spring water flow stabilize after the snowmelt period? - correct
answer ✔- Snowmelt was stored as groundwater, which was coming out in
summer months
There is a strong correlation between __________ and _________. What did
this correlation indicate? - correct answer ✔- Lake water level, groundwater
discharge
- Correlation showed there is a hydraulic connection between Opabin lake and
the source spring passing through the moraine. Also, that there are multiple
other groundwater pathways under the moraine
Drilling in hydrogeology - correct answer ✔- Drill rig is used to make a hole
and see what is coming out and place a groundwater monitoring well, which
will indicate the contents of the groundwater
- Very helpful method
, What are two reasons for which drilling for hydrogeological research shouldn't
be used in national parks? - correct answer ✔- Considered crown jewels of
provinces
- Bringing a drill rig in a mountainous area by helicopter is costly
What are the geophysical methods used for hydrogeological research? -
correct answer ✔- Electrical resistivity chromatography
- Seismic refraction
Electrical resistivity chromatography - correct answer ✔- Involves putting
multiple spikes between rocks, then inject current through one spike (i.e.
electrode) so that it travels to another spike. Monitor distribution of generated
electric field
- By analyzing this data we can make diagrams of electrical resistivity
- High resistivity: material doesn't transmit electrical current easily. Indicates
dry or frozen material.
- Low resistivity: indicates early transmission of electrical current. Indicates
wet material
- Method has low resolution, so it was impossible to tell whether the wet zone
is 2 or 20 m thick, despite images making them look much more thick
Seismic refraction - correct answer ✔- Involves hitting plastic plate with
hammer to generate micro seismic activity. We monitor the propagation of
seismic waves using geophones. Then create tomographic images to see the
distribution of seismic velocity
- Low velocity: soft material
- High velocity: bedrock
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging - correct answer ✔- Done at large
scale
complete solution
What is hydrogeology? - correct answer ✔- Study of groundwater
Rocky Mountains as a water tower - correct answer ✔- To the left, moist air
mass from the Pacific Ocean comes over the mountains and as the air cools,
it forms into clouds and precipitates. By the time the air mass reaches the
prairies, it becomes very dry and doesn't have enough water for precipitation.
As a result, the mountains get more precipitation than the prairies
What is the water source for the prairies? - correct answer ✔- The snow that
accumulates in the mountains stores a lot of water. This snowmelt is the water
source
How is river water from the mountains used? - correct answer ✔- Irrigation to
grow crops
- Drinking water supply
- Hydropower generation
- Extraction of oil sands
What is annual average runoff? - correct answer ✔- Amount of water that is
generated by a part of land every year
- Highest amount of runoff in coastal areas and mountains
- Least amount of runoff in prairies and heavily populated regions
In prairie cities, mountain rivers are considered ________ that carry water
from _________ to _________. - correct answer ✔- Canals, mountains,
wherever its needed
,Why is there variability in river flow during the summer months? - correct
answer ✔- Flow is originating from snow mountain and rain, and the amount
of snow in mountains and rain varies each year
- From October to April the flow is very stable
What is causing water flow in October to April? - correct answer ✔-
Groundwater that is coming out in high regions of mountains (i.e. there is
groundwater discharge)
Groundwater discharge - correct answer ✔- Sustains year-long stream flow,
which is important for aquatic animals, human purposes, and the fragile
mountain groundwater ecosystem
- Used in micro-hydropower systems to provide electricity to villages in Nepal
- Provides moisture to support vegetation in China
- Groundwater in alpines is very important, but not much is known
Gogg group - correct answer ✔- Quartzite rocks
Lake O'Hara hydrogeological observatory - correct answer ✔- Interested in
finding out where water to the lake comes from and how it gets to the lake
- Set up water balance study of lake to understand how water reaches the
lake
Lake water balance - correct answer ✔- If no groundwater flows in or out of a
lake, then stream in + rain = stream out + evaporation
Lake O'Hara water balance - correct answer ✔- 30-70% water input is by
groundwater
,- There is much more output from lake than input
- Gave hint that groundwater is important in alpine water sheds of Canadian
Rockies
Opabin creek - correct answer ✔- Stream that brings in water to Lake O'Hara
- Source of this creek is a big spring coming out at the tow of a glacial deposit
(a moraine)
How was ground water studied in the Opabin plateau? - correct answer ✔-
First step was to look at relationship between water level in Opabin lake and
source spring of the creek
- One side of the lake has a solid bedrock that acts as a natural dam,
indicating the water is flowing through the moraine
Why did spring water flow stabilize after the snowmelt period? - correct
answer ✔- Snowmelt was stored as groundwater, which was coming out in
summer months
There is a strong correlation between __________ and _________. What did
this correlation indicate? - correct answer ✔- Lake water level, groundwater
discharge
- Correlation showed there is a hydraulic connection between Opabin lake and
the source spring passing through the moraine. Also, that there are multiple
other groundwater pathways under the moraine
Drilling in hydrogeology - correct answer ✔- Drill rig is used to make a hole
and see what is coming out and place a groundwater monitoring well, which
will indicate the contents of the groundwater
- Very helpful method
, What are two reasons for which drilling for hydrogeological research shouldn't
be used in national parks? - correct answer ✔- Considered crown jewels of
provinces
- Bringing a drill rig in a mountainous area by helicopter is costly
What are the geophysical methods used for hydrogeological research? -
correct answer ✔- Electrical resistivity chromatography
- Seismic refraction
Electrical resistivity chromatography - correct answer ✔- Involves putting
multiple spikes between rocks, then inject current through one spike (i.e.
electrode) so that it travels to another spike. Monitor distribution of generated
electric field
- By analyzing this data we can make diagrams of electrical resistivity
- High resistivity: material doesn't transmit electrical current easily. Indicates
dry or frozen material.
- Low resistivity: indicates early transmission of electrical current. Indicates
wet material
- Method has low resolution, so it was impossible to tell whether the wet zone
is 2 or 20 m thick, despite images making them look much more thick
Seismic refraction - correct answer ✔- Involves hitting plastic plate with
hammer to generate micro seismic activity. We monitor the propagation of
seismic waves using geophones. Then create tomographic images to see the
distribution of seismic velocity
- Low velocity: soft material
- High velocity: bedrock
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging - correct answer ✔- Done at large
scale
