GES 120 Exam 3 Questions and
Answers9
How is precipitation changing? - ANSWERS -some regions receiving more rain than snow, heavy
rains cause flooding in dry regions, precipitation will increase at high latitudes and decrease at
low and middle latitudes. Where we live will determine how we experience the impacts of
climate change
Kyoto Protocol - ANSWERS -an international agreement lined to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) which commits parties by setting internationally legally
biding emission reduction targets
Conference of Parties - ANSWERS -meaning the countries that ratified the UN Framework
Convention
COP21 - ANSWERS -legally binding agreement to limit global warming by 2015. All participating
195 countries agreed by consensus to the Paris Agreement. U.S. and China commit to signing
Paris Agreement on Earth Day 2016
Fresh Water - ANSWERS -water that is relatively pure, with few dissolved salts- only 2.5% of
total water. Most is not drinkable bc used as glaciers, ice caps, and aquifers
Confinded (artesian) aquifer - ANSWERS -water-bearing, porous rocks are trapped between less
permeable substrate (clay) layers
Unconfined aquifer - ANSWERS -no upper layer to confine it
, The Ogallala Aquifer - ANSWERS -world's largest known aquifer. Current water use for irrigation
is not sustainable.
Watershed (drainage basin) - ANSWERS -the area of land drained by a river system (river and its
tributaries). Surface water becomes groundwater thru infiltration, and groundwater becomes
surface water thru springs or human drilled wells
Groundwater - ANSWERS -water beneath surface held in pores in soil or rock
Aquifers - ANSWERS -porous, spongelike formations of rock, sand, or gravel that holds water
Recharge zone - ANSWERS -any area where water infiltrates Earth's surface and reaches aquifers
Floodplain - ANSWERS -areas nearest to a river's course that are flooded periodically. Good
areas for agriculture, silt makes soils fertile.
Riparian - ANSWERS -describing riverside areas that are productive and species-rich. Rivers and
streams hose diverse ecological communities- algae, insects, birds, etc.
Oligotrophic - ANSWERS -lakes and ponds how low-nutrient and high-oxygen conditions
Eutrophic - ANSWERS -lakes and ponds have high-nutrient and low-oxygen conditions. May
result from human pollution
Wetlands - ANSWERS -systems in which the soil is saturated with shallow standing water with
vegetation. (freshwater marshes, swamps, bogs, and vernal pools are all examples of wetlands)
Freshwater marshes - ANSWERS -shallow water with plants that grow above the surface
Answers9
How is precipitation changing? - ANSWERS -some regions receiving more rain than snow, heavy
rains cause flooding in dry regions, precipitation will increase at high latitudes and decrease at
low and middle latitudes. Where we live will determine how we experience the impacts of
climate change
Kyoto Protocol - ANSWERS -an international agreement lined to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) which commits parties by setting internationally legally
biding emission reduction targets
Conference of Parties - ANSWERS -meaning the countries that ratified the UN Framework
Convention
COP21 - ANSWERS -legally binding agreement to limit global warming by 2015. All participating
195 countries agreed by consensus to the Paris Agreement. U.S. and China commit to signing
Paris Agreement on Earth Day 2016
Fresh Water - ANSWERS -water that is relatively pure, with few dissolved salts- only 2.5% of
total water. Most is not drinkable bc used as glaciers, ice caps, and aquifers
Confinded (artesian) aquifer - ANSWERS -water-bearing, porous rocks are trapped between less
permeable substrate (clay) layers
Unconfined aquifer - ANSWERS -no upper layer to confine it
, The Ogallala Aquifer - ANSWERS -world's largest known aquifer. Current water use for irrigation
is not sustainable.
Watershed (drainage basin) - ANSWERS -the area of land drained by a river system (river and its
tributaries). Surface water becomes groundwater thru infiltration, and groundwater becomes
surface water thru springs or human drilled wells
Groundwater - ANSWERS -water beneath surface held in pores in soil or rock
Aquifers - ANSWERS -porous, spongelike formations of rock, sand, or gravel that holds water
Recharge zone - ANSWERS -any area where water infiltrates Earth's surface and reaches aquifers
Floodplain - ANSWERS -areas nearest to a river's course that are flooded periodically. Good
areas for agriculture, silt makes soils fertile.
Riparian - ANSWERS -describing riverside areas that are productive and species-rich. Rivers and
streams hose diverse ecological communities- algae, insects, birds, etc.
Oligotrophic - ANSWERS -lakes and ponds how low-nutrient and high-oxygen conditions
Eutrophic - ANSWERS -lakes and ponds have high-nutrient and low-oxygen conditions. May
result from human pollution
Wetlands - ANSWERS -systems in which the soil is saturated with shallow standing water with
vegetation. (freshwater marshes, swamps, bogs, and vernal pools are all examples of wetlands)
Freshwater marshes - ANSWERS -shallow water with plants that grow above the surface
