Why do desert streams rarely reach an ocean? What makes rivers such as the Nile, Colorado, and Rio Grande exceptions to the rule?
Desert streams do not flow regularly. They may rage for a while after a heavy rain, but because the water table is so low, they cannot use groundwater to replace water that is eventually lost via evaporation.
Major rivers like the Nile, Colorado and Rio Grande can flow because their headwaters originate in regions outside of the desert and water is plentiful enough to offset losses from evaporation and infiltration.
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Evaporation of seawater produces clouds that precipitate freshwater because
A. salts are left behind when water evaporates. B. salts convert to atmospheric gas after seawater evaporates. C. the clouds retain the salt from the evaporated seawater. D. dissolved salt prevents evaporation.
What effect do the chemical reactions of ground water have on the porosity and permeability of aquifers?
A) Chemical reactions both increase and decrease the permeability and porosity. B) Chemical reactions neither increase nor decrease the permeability and porosity. C) Chemical reactions increase the permeability and porosity. D) Chemical reactions decrease the permeability and porosity.
When the center of circulation of a midlatitude cyclone just passes to your south, you expect ________
A) winds shifting from the south or southeast to the west or northwest with abrupt cooling at the passage of a cold front B) warming conditions during light to moderate rain with a falling barometer followed by a northwest wind and rising barometer C) a constantly rising barometer until the cyclone passes then falling barometer D) winds shifting from the east or northeast to northwest during rainy (or snowy) weather
Which of the following is the main concern of neoclassical economics?
a. Waste b. ecosystem services c. Production d. ecosystem goods