NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

GE2229: WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

SEMESTER 2: 2015/2016
EXAMINER: DR PAUL F PASSY
5 MAY 2016 (1 3 pm)

TIME ALLOWED: 2 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1.

Please write your matriculation/registration number only.

Do not write your name.

2.

This examination paper contains FORTY-TWO questions and

comprises fourteen printed pages.

3.

Answer ALL questions in the answer booklet provided.

Start each Section on a new page.

4.

Scientific calculator is allowed for this examination.

5.

This examination question paper will be collected at the end of exam

hour.

6.

This is a CLOSED BOOK examination.

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Page 2 of 14

SECTION A : Multiple Choice Questions (40 questions; 20 marks)

Write your answers in the answer booklet against the question number. E.g. write 1-a if
the answer to Q1 is a.

1.

Deserts such as the Great Basin, Gobi, and Takla Makan are examples of
________.
(a)
Chinook deserts
(b)
Subtropical deserts
(c)
Rainshadow deserts
(d)
Monsoon deserts

2.

What are the patterns observed on the following diagrams?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

3.

A:
A:
A:
A:

Trellis; B: Dendritic; C: Rectangular; D: Radial

Dendritic; B: Rectangular; C: Radial; D: Trellis
Rectangular; B: Trellis; C: Radial; D: Dendritic
Dendritic; B: Radial; C: Rectangular; D: Trellis

Why are there no hurricanes above the equatorial zone?

(a)
it is too cloudy
(b)
the air is too warm
(c)
the sunlight is too strong
(d)
the Coriolis effect is too weak
(e)
the water is too warm

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4.

In a false colour composite image, blue channel is coloured in green, the

green channel in red and the infrared channel in red. What will be the
colour of the vegetation be in this false colour composite?
(a)
green
(b)
blue
(c)
red
(d)
yellow
(e)
white

5.

The suspended load of a stream ________.

a)
is deposited before the bed load
b)
contains highly soluble substances
c)
moves along the bottom
d)
usually consists of fine particles

6.

When
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

7.

According to the following table, what is the nature of an aquifer with a

hydraulic conductivity of 0.12 m d-1.

an active cold front overtakes a warm front __________.

the fronts cancel each other out
cloud formation ceases
an occluded front forms
a stationary front is created

Gravel
Sand
Silt
Clay
Granite
(a)
sand
(b)
granite
(c)
clay
(d)
gravel
(e)
silt

8.

What
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Media

Hydraulic conductivity (cm s-1)

0.1 to 1
10-3 to 0.1
10-5 to 10-3
10-9 to 10-5
10-10 to 10-9

is the cause of coastal eutrophication?

an excess of phytoplankton
an algal bloom
an imbalance between nitrogen, phosphorus and silica
an excess of silica in regard of nitrogen and phosphorus
phaeocystis

GE2229

9.

Page 4 of 14

According to the meteorological data in the first table and information

provided in the second table, classify these cities from driest to the
wettest.
City
Singapore
Istanbul
Ouagadougou
Yakutsk
Iquitos
T (C)
H (g kg-1)

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

1:
1:
1:
1:
1:

-40
0.1

30
15
35
-30
25
-30
0.3

-20
0.75

Temperature (C)

-10
2

0
3.5

5
5

10
7

Relative humidity (%)

79
12
10
62
94
15
10

20
14

25
20

30
26.5

35
35

40
47

Yakutsk; 2: Ouagadougou; 3: Istanbul; 4: Singapore; 5: Iquitos

Ouagadougou; 2: Istanbul; 3: Yakutsk; 4: Singapore; 5: Iquitos
Singapore; 2: Iquitos; 3: Ouagadougou; 4: Istanbul; 5: Yakutsk
Yakutsk; 2: Istanbul; 3: Ouagadougou; 4: Iquitos; 5: Singapore
Ouagadougou; 2: Yakutsk; 3: Istanbul; 4: Singapore; 5: Iquitos

10.

If a watershed is used for intensive agriculture, which nutrient may we

expect to find in high quantity at its outlet?
(a)
magnesium
(b)
carbon
(c)
phosphorus
(d)
silica
(e)
nitrogen

11.

Which of the following is associated with ocean ridges?

(a)
rifts zones
(b)
mountainous topography
(c)
volcanic structures
(d)
all of the above

12.

The tropopause is the boundary between ________.

(a)
the troposphere and stratosphere
(b)
tropical and polar air masses
(c)
the troposphere and mesosphere
(d)
two layers of high-ozone concentration

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13.

If an observer sees cirrus clouds, followed later by cirrostratus, and then

altostratus, he or she is witnessing the approach of a ________ front.
(a)
warm
(b)
cold
(c)
warm or cold
(d)
none of the above

14.

You are swimming in the open ocean near the equator. The thermocline in
this location is about 1C per 50 meters of depth. If the sea surface
temperature is 24C, how deep must you dive before you encounter a
water temperature of 19C?
(a)
100 m
(b)
150 m
(c)
200 m
(d)
250 m
(e)
300 m

15.

During an El Nino event, we can observe:

(a)
fires in Peru
(b)
heavy rainfall on the coast of Peru
(c)
many anchovies on the Indonesian coasts
(d)
drought in Europe
(e)
heavy rainfall in Indonesia

16.

Which one of the following curves is the pycnocline found in low latitudes?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

pycnocline a
pycnocline b
pycnocline c
none of these pycnoclines

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17.

Which of the following rivers is an endorheic river?

(a)
Mekong River
(b)
Volga River
(c)
Congo River
(d)
Orinoco River
(e)
Mississippi River

18.

Lets imagine a cumulonimbus cloud which is roughly 12 km tall, 8 km

wide and 8 km long. Assume that the droplets in every cubic meter of the
cloud total 0.5 cubic centimetres. How much liquid does the cloud contain
(in cubic meter)?
(a)
14 m3
(b)
384 m3
(c)
10,084 m3
(d)
100,384 m3
(e)
384,000 m3

19.

As stream discharge increases ________.

(a)
velocity, width, and depth increase
(b)
only velocity increases
(c)
velocity, width, and depth decrease
(d)
only depth increases

20.

What
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

21.

Which one of the following is an important, mechanical weathering

process for enlarging fractures and extending them deeper into large
boulders and bedrock?
(a)
Oxidation
(b)
Eluviation
(c)
Hydrologic cycling
(d)
Frost wedging

is the correct equation for photosynthesis?

6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + photons C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2
CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + photons C 6 H 6 O 6 + 6 O 2
6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + photons C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2
6 CO 2 + H 2 O + photons C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2
CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + photons C 6 H 12 O 6 + 12 O 2

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22.

A hydrological survey was carried out over a 3000 km2 wide watershed.
The watershed receives 1500 mm of precipitation per year and the mean
annual discharge at its outlet is 50 m3 s-1. What is the runoff coefficient of
this watershed?
(a)
0.15
(b)
0.25
(c)
0.35
(d)
0.40
(e)
0.65

23.

If a catchment has a high Gravelius index, what does it mean?

(a)
the geology is impermeable
(b)
its shape is more like a square
(c)
the rivers are meandering
(d)
it is an elongated catchment
(e)
its shape is more like a circle

24.

Among the following spectral signatures, which one is the spectral

signature of the water?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

spectral
spectral
spectral
spectral
spectral

signature
signature
signature
signature
signature

1
2
3
4
5

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Page 8 of 14

25.

Salinity in the ocean is highest in regions where _________ is high and

________ is low.
(a)
evaporation; precipitation
(b)
precipitation; evaporation
(c)
temperature; evaporation
(d)
precipitation; temperature
(e)
none of the above

26.

The bed load of a stream is best described as:

(a)
material dissolved in the water
(b)
material suspended in the water
(c)
material sliding or rolling along the bottom
(d)
all of the above

27.

Life needs nutrients, light, and water. The limiting factor in the tropical
ocean is _______.
(a)
light
(b)
nutrients
(c)
water
(d)
both light and nutrients

28.

A confined aquifer has a source of recharge. The hydraulic conductivity

(K) for this aquifer is 40 m day-1, and the porosity (n) is 0.3. The
piezometric head in two wells 1 km apart is 55 m (well A) and 50 m (well
B). The average thickness of the aquifer is 30 m and the average width of
the aquifer is 5 km. What is the discharge of the aquifer (in m3 per day)?
(a)
5,000 m3 day-1
(b)
10,000 m3 day-1
(c)
20,000 m3 day-1
(d)
25,000 m3 day-1
(e)
30,000 m3 day-1

GE2229

29.

According to the following DEM, which of the three outlines (A, B, C)

describes the watershed of the selected pixel?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

30.

Page 9 of 14

watershed A
watershed B
watershed C
none of these watersheds

The polar ice caps have a volume of 2.4 107 km3 and an area of 1.6
107 km2. The total annual volume of precipitations over the polar ice caps
is 2000 km3 yr-1. According to these data, what is the residence time of
water within polar ice caps?
(a)
2 years
(b)
400 years
(c)
12,000 years
(d)
25,000 years
(e)
100,000 years

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Page 10 of 14

31.

If you were to examine the profile of a typical river, you would probably
find that the gradient is ________.
(a)
steepest near the mouth
(b)
steepest near the head
(c)
the same at both the head and mouth
(d)
none of the above

32.

The following graphs show lag times between rainfall and peak flow
(flooding) for an urban area and rural area. Which graph represents a
rural area, which graph represents an urban area?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

A represents urban area and B represents rural area

A represents rural area and B represents urban area
B represents urban area and A represents rural area
none of the above

33.

Relative humidity increases as air temperature _______.

(a)
decreases
(b)
increases
(c)
stays about the same as time of day changes
(d)
stays about the same as long as the sun is out

34.

The most abundant salt in seawater is ________.

(a)
KCI
(b)
MgCl 2
(c)
NaCl
(d)
none of the above

GE2229

35.

Page 11 of 14

Which one the following curves is the thermocline for high latitudes?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

thermocline a
thermocline b
thermocline c
none of the above

36.

You are looking at a river which has flooded its banks and looks very
muddy. The muddy appearance is the result of the _______.
(a)
bed load
(b)
dissolved load
(c)
suspended load
(d)
high settling velocity

37.

What
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

38.

For which religion is the Zamzam well sacred?

(a)
Judaism
(b)
Islam
(c)
Buddhism
(d)
Hinduism
(e)
Animism

is the name of the organ through which plants transpire?

Cell guard
Phytolithe
Stoma
Plagioclase
Aperture

GE2229

Page 12 of 14

39.

Which instrument do we use to calculate evapotranspiration?

(a)
Spectrometer
(b)
Piezometer
(c)
Radar
(d)
Lysimeter
(e)
Evapometer

40.

What do you call the property of a rock to allow the passage of fluids
through it?
(a)
erodability
(b)
porosity
(c)
transmissivity
(d)
conductivity
(e)
permeability

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Page 13 of 14

SECTION B: CALCULATIONS (Total: 10 marks)

Please write your answers in the answer booklet provided.

41.

Calculation of discharge
Using a pygmy current-meter, you measured water velocities in a small
river along a 1.45 m wide profile. You measured these velocities at three
different points of the profile. At each point, you measured velocities at
different depths. You obtained the following table.
Measures

M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
M8
M9
M10
M11

a)

Horizontal
distance (m
from left
bank)
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.8
0.8
0.8
1.28
1.28
1.28
1.28
1.28

Depth of
water
column (m)
0.28
0.28
0.28
0.31
0.31
0.31
0.27
0.27
0.27
0.27
0.27

Depth of
measurement (m
from the surface)
0.24
0.13
0.01
0.27
0.13
0.05
0.23
0.21
0.15
0.12
0.02

Count of
revolutions
per second
5.93
6.87
8.13
5.53
10.23
11.50
0.93
2.00
5.60
7.47
7.90

The velocities can be calculated from the measured revolutions per

second. The relationships between the numbers of revolutions per
second and the velocities are given in the following equations:
v = 0.0620n + 0.015 (if n <= 1.92)
v = 0.0568n + 0.025 (if 1.92 < n <= 7.14)
v = 0.0533n + 0.050 (if 7.14 < n <= 17.83)
where n is the number of revolutions per second
Calculate the water velocities at each measurement point. What is
the shape of this channel? Why?

b)

Draw a diagram of the cross-section of the river. On this diagram

show all the relevant information which can help you to calculate
the total discharge of the river.

c)

Calculate the total discharge of the river.

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Page 14 of 14

SECTION C: Essay (10 marks)

Please write your answers in the answer booklet provided.

42.

The following picture shows an algal bloom along a stretch of coast in

China. The sea is entirely covered by a layer of green algae.

Figure 1: Algal bloom in China (Credit: New York Times)

In a short essay (no more than 1 page), explain why algal blooms are an
environmental issue and describe the main mechanisms leading to this
phenomenon.

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