CIV E 633-ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROLOGY
FALL 2017
MIDTERM EXAM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2017, 1900-2015

Name: _______________________ Red ID: ____________ Grade: ________

Instructions: Closed book, closed notes. Use engineering paper. Answer only 10 questions. When you are finished, staple your work in sequence, and return this sheet with your work.

  1. Describe the Hidrovia project and its effect on the hydrologic behavior of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso.

  2. Describe the four (4) geologic/geographic characteristics/hazards posing a high risk of contamination of groundwater in the case of the Campo regional landfill project.

  3. What property of water enables it to dissolve almost anything?

  4. Describe the four (4) processes constituting the nitrogen cycle.

  5. What natural process is responsible for the oxygen present in the atmosphere? What process is responsible for the nitrogen?

  6. Why is the ocean salty? How and why does sodium chloride accumulate in ocean waters?

  7. Why is the BOD5 used as a standard in assessing contamination with sewage discharges?

  8. Have humans solved the problem of handling their own wastes? Explain in detail.

  9. Why is it a fallacy to state that tropical rainforests such as the Amazon will help in sequestering excess carbon from fossil-fuel burning?

  10. Explain the concept of the 800-mm isohyet. How does it adhere to the principle of sustainability?

  11. How did the early inhabitants of the Llanos de Mojos manage to open the nitrogen cycle? How is crop harvesting tied to the opening of the nitrogen cycle?

  12. Why is the development of the Imperial valley in the early 1900s a showcase for the concept of time engineering? Explain.