EV 12

It takes about _____ years for Arctic surface waters to transit the Atlantic to Antarctica.

250

Currents are influenced by different factors on the surface than at the bottom. A factor in common to both, however, is _____.

Coriolis force

True or False. At depth, the ocean is essentially stagnant and free of currents.

False

True or False. The thermohaline circulation pattern is not important to climate.

False

True or False. Wind stress and bottom friction affect deep ocean currents.

False

True or False. Both temperature and salinity affect the density of sea water.

True

True or False. Coral can be used to estimate previous sea water temperature.

True

True or False. Currents transport water, nutrients and heat.

True

True or False. Foraminifera shells can be used to estimate previous sea water temperature.

True

The freefall profiler was developed by _____ to measure _____.

Woods Hole, turbulence

It may take up to _____ for a water parcel to complete a cycle of thermohaline circulation.

a thousand years

Global warming and melting of ice at high latitudes could create a layer of _____ that would _____ thermohaline "conveyor belt" circulation.

buoyant fresh water, shut down

"Profiling floats" are able to rise and fall through the sea water column by _____.

changing their density

The movement of _____ by circulating water masses is important for plankton growth.

chemicals

Which is denser in equal volumes?

cold, sea water

After a water mass delivers heat to a region, it _____.

cools , sinks and recirculates

For deep ocean currents, the primary driving force is _____.

gravity

Water masses are similar to air masses, except they have a _____ in regards to their characteristics.

longer lifetime scale

If the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic were slowed down or stopped by ice melting at the poles, Europe would probably have _____.

much cooler temperatures

Which of the following is not used to trace ocean currents around the ocean?

oxygen isotope ratios

The mid-Atlantic ridge has a _____ bottom and _____ turbulence.

rough, high

Cold, salty water _____, while warm, less salty water _____.

sinks, rises

Deep sea current circulation is a _____ process than surface current circulation.

slower

Water masses can have very different salinities and temperatures. They mix very _____ as they circulate.

slowly

The abyssal plain has a _____ bottom and _____ turbulence.

smooth, low

Water masses can have different temperatures. Strong differences between water layer temperatures are called _____.

thermoclines

The process of movement of water due to differences in density is called _____ circulation.

thermohaline

Turbulence in the deep sea, around mid-ocean ridges, is associated with _____.

tides

Deep/thermohaline circulation can be thought of a conveyor belt, because it carries _____ waters to the poles where they _____ and then eventually return to point of origin.

warm surface, sink

For surface ocean currents, the primary driving force is _____.

wind