Jamison Brizendine
Senior Comprehensive Essay
Questions
Questions for the 2006 Senior Comprehensive Essay:
Structural Geology:
1. Why is Yucca Mountain so important?
2. Why do geologists choose Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste?
3. What are the major concerns about storing nuclear waste?
4. How was Yucca Mountain formed?
5. Where can nuclear energy be stored should Yucca Mountain prove to be inadequate?
6. Is Yucca Mountain still tectonically active?
Geochemistry:
1. Where is Chernobyl? When did the accident take place?
2. How did the accident happen?
3. Could the accident been prevented? If yes, what should have been the correct steps
needed to shut down the reactor safely?
4. What was released as a result of the accident?
5. How far did the fallout spread?
6. What are the soil consequences to radioactive decay?
7. Why is Cumbria so important?
Hydrogeology:
1. What formed the Cuyahoga River?
2. What chemicals were deposited in the river as a result of industries growing their?
3. Why is the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire so significant?
4. Explain how the fire started.
5. What are hydrogeologists doing to clean up the Cuyahoga River?
Mineralogy:
1. Explain the basic geology of the Tsumeb Ore Body
2. What minerals have been collected from the Tsumeb Mine?
3. What minerals have newly discovered from the Tsumeb Mine?
4. Explain the history of the Tsumeb Mine?
5. Why was the mine shutdown?
6. Explain the processes in restoring production in the Tsumeb Mine?
Sedimentology:
1. What paleo-enviroments were the Devonian-Mississippian Shales?
2. Are the Shales economically important?
3. What is the basic mineralogy of the shale?
4. Why is the Bedford Shale unique?
5. How are the Shale units measured?
Petrology:
1. Where is Stromboli?
2. What is its tectonic environment?
3. “Stromboli has a unique volcanic eruption style called a Strombolian eruption style.”
Why is it a reference volcano and what is it’s eruption style?
4. Explain how the eruption style changed over time?
5. Will the eruption style change again?
6. How is the interior of the volcano mapped? Can petrologists detect changes in the
caldera?
7. What rock types have been formed out of Stromboli? Did these rock types change
since the change in eruption style?