Individual Part (50 points)
Instructions:
A.) You may use any source of information except human resources (you are to complete Part I of the exam without consulting any other person). Textbook, web sources, library sources, etc. are fine. Please list all sources that you have used at the end of each question.
B.) Please type if possible. Feel free to write in figures, drawings, and equations if necessary by hand.
C.) As a rule of thumb, you are not expected to spend more than 1.5 hours per question. This means that you might spend ~1 hour researching the question and 30 minutes writing your answers.
D.) Please provide detailed support for any of your statements or answers. In other words, a simple “yes” or “no”, “agree” or “disagree”, or “I think it is clean”, is not a complete answer and will not receive credit. A complete answer takes the form of “Yes, because … and therefore…” or “I think it is clean because …. “.
E.) There is not necessarily any right or wrong answers to these questions. You will be graded on your ability to think and write critically in addressing these environmental issues. More detailed, supportive responses will be more valued than generalizations.
F.) Please staple all answers together and write your name on each page.
Once you have completed the exam,
Please sign the following statement: “I have not consulted any other person in completing this INDIVIDUAL Part I of the exam.”
___________________________
For information purposes only (this will not affect your grade), how much time (hours) did you spend on this exam?
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1.) BIODIVERSITY
a.) In order to study local biodiversity, place a hula hoop (real or imagined) (a hula hoop is a 1 m diameter circle) around a vegetated area in your backyard (park, school). [This is a real assignment, not an imaginary one. Do it! Spend at least 5 minutes examining your area. Examine it carefully.] How many species do you count? Describe each species that you see. Is there evidence that species was once there? (2 points)
b.) Select one of the species in the hula hoop. Describe its ecological niche. (3 points)
c.) If you were to increase the temperature of your plot by 3 degrees Celsius for a month (using automatic heaters; making your plot 3C warmer than the surrounding area at all times), how would the species distribution (and abundance) change? Explain your reasoning. (2 points)
d.) Pick one species that you found in your hula hoop (could be the same or different from the one in (b), could be plant or animal). How can you alter abiotic or biotic conditions to promote the success of that one species at the expense of the others? (3 points)
- CLIMATE
a.) The figure above shows the average monthly temperatures for 2016 (in red) and the 120-year average (in black). These data are from the Great Blue Hill (located in Canton, MA, 6 miles southwest of Boston). What factors control the temperature and seasonal variations in temperature? (3 points)
b.) Is the 2016 temperature record at Great Blue Hill an indication of global warming? Why or why not? What else would you need to know in order to answer this question better?
(3 points)
c.) For comparison, plot the average monthly temperatures (you can estimate) for Miami (Florida) and Anchorage (Alaska). (4 points)
3.) OZONE
Total Global Ozone began to decrease around 1980. The Global Ozone Change % (red line) is compared with a 15-year average (straight black line) taken from 1964-1980.
- What role did Dupont (Chemical Company) play in determining the shape of this graph? Specifically, why did Total Global Ozone start decreasing around 1980? Why did it level off in the early 1990s? (4 points)
b.) There is a maximum of ozone at the South Pole (Antarctica) around 15 km in the October average from 1967-1971 (before the recent depletion). Explain the processes that produce and destroy ozone in the stratosphere and why is there a maximum in the blue line at 15 km? (3 points)
- c) What processes led to decreased values at 15 km in the 1986 (green) and 2001 (red) curves?
(3 points)
4.) PLATE TECTONICS
The Hypsographic Curve (above) shows the % of Earth’s surface at different elevations.
a.) Why is there a bimodal distribution of elevations on the surface of the earth? (4 points)
b.) Why is there so much of the earth’s surface at or near sea-level? (3 points)
c.) Why hasn’t Mt. Everest eroded down to sea-level? Why hasn’t the Mariana Trench filled up with sediment? (3 points)
5.) COASTAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
(A) (B)
a.) Identify the coastal features in the photo on the left (A). What processes formed these features? Explain. (3 points)
b.) Identify the coastal features in the photo on the right (B). What processes formed these features? Explain. (3 points)
c.) What might be the future of (A) and (B) in 1, 10, and 100 years? Why? (4 points)
