oce1001 chp7 fsu

As shown in NASA satellite data, in what years were the two most recent strong El Niño events?

1997-1998 and 2015

To produce a surface current of 1.6 knots in the open ocean, a steady wind of _____ knots would be required.

80

Which of the following is the only current that completely circumscribes Earth?

Antarctic Circumpolar

The arrangement of water masses in the southern Atlantic Ocean from the surface to the bottom is:

Antarctic Intermediate Water, North Atlantic Deep Water, Antarctic Bottom Water.

Which of the following is a western boundary current?

Brazil current

Which of the following currents contributes to the South Western United States being arid?

California current

The California Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Eastern Boundary Current

The Peru (Humboldt) Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Eastern Boundary Current

Coastal winds can cause upwelling or downwelling due to which of the following?

Ekman transport

The observation that ships and icebergs in the southern hemisphere float to the left of the wind direction is an example of which of the following?

Ekman transport

The false-color map of sea surface temperatures shown below is an example of which of the following features?

El Nino conditions

The North Equatorial Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Equatorial Current

Which of the following methods are used to measure deep ocean currents directly?

Free-drifting Argo floats

Which ocean current is the strongest and fastest ocean current in the world?

Gulf Stream

Which of the following currents contributes to the South Eastern United States being humid?

Gulf stream

Which of the following currents is responsible for Peru becoming the largest producer of fish, from the sea, in the world?

Humboldt Current

The Gulf Stream transports warm water into the

North Atlantic

The Sargasso Sea is the water that circulates around the rotation center of the ________ gyre.

North Atlantic

The North ATLANTIC & PACIFIC Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Northern Boundary Current

Which ocean condition(s) would result in downwelling?

Onshore Ekman transport

Between summer and winter, which of the following currents reverses its flow direction?

Somali Current

Indian Ocean currents that are generated by seasonal changes in weather patterns are the __________ and __________ Currents.

Somali/Southwest Monsoon

Which of the following statements is true of surface ocean currents?

Surface currents form circular patterns in the major ocean basins called "gyres."

About what percent of the wind's energy is transferred to the ocean surface?

Two

Which of the following is true of surface water circulation near Antarctica?

Two circumpolar currents dominate it, one current that moves water to the east and one current that moves water to the west.

The largest of the great ocean surface currents is the

West Wind drift

The Gulf Stream is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Western Boundary Current

The Kuroshio (Japan) Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Western Boundary Current

Which subtropical boundary current is faster, narrower and deeper than its counterparts?

Western Boundary Current

The thermocline is

a steep temperature gradient in the ocean that separates deeper cold water from warmer upper water

To what depth in the ocean does the Ekman spiral extend?

about 100 meters (330 feet)

Warm ocean currents

are warmer than the surrounding water

Compared to western boundary currents, eastern boundary currents are:

broad and slow

When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off into the warm water south of the current, the eddy is called a

cold-core eddy or ring

An increase in seawater density can be caused by a ________ in temperature or a/an ________ in salinity.

decrease; increase

The loss of heat from the ocean surface, resulting in a lowered temperature, causes ocean water to become __________.

denser

Deep ocean currents are driven primarily by

density differences

Converging surface waters are areas of ________ and ________ productivity.

downwelling; low

Equatorial currents that are part of the subtropical gyres flow ___. Equatorial counter currents between the gyres flow ___

east to west; west to east

Which direction do ocean currents in the South Pacific move under El Niño conditions?

eastward

Ocean frontal systems that spin off from currents such as the Gulf Stream, akin to atmospheric storms, are known as

eddies

During winter months, monsoon winds over the Indian Ocean:

flow from land to sea and are dry.

Cool ocean currents

generally flow from high latitudes towards the equator

Which type of current flow moves in a circular path around a subtropical convergence, reflecting Ekman transport, gravity, and the Coriolis effect?

geostrophic circulation

Which of the following two factors cause geostrophic circulation within a gyre?

gravity and the Coriolis effect.

Deep-water circulation brings oxygen from the surface to the deep ocean because of:

greater dissolution of oxygen in colder water than warmer water.

A large system of rotating ocean currents, usually driven by the major wind belts, is called a(n)

gyre

Which process causes downwelling off the coast of Antarctica?

ice formation

Why is Antarctic Bottom Water so dense?

it is cold and salty

Deep-water currents move ________ volumes of water and are much ________ than surface currents.

larger; slower

Fluctuations in the flow of the Gulf Stream current result in curving loops of water known as

meanders

Ocean surface currents transfer about ________ of the total amount of heat from the tropics to the poles.

one-third

The subtropical gyres

play a large role in climate

Warm currents flowing ________ on the ________ sides of continents produce warm, humid conditions.

poleward; eastern

Which of the following methods are used to measure ocean surface currents indirectly?

pressure gradients

Deep ocean currents

result from changes in water density (due to temperature and salt content)

Records indicate that the ocean is warming faster in the Arctic polar regions than elsewhere. If that continues, a possible consequence could be

slowing of deep ocean circulation, resulting in lower oxygen levels in deep water

Sources of deep water in the ocean include all of the following except:

subtropical convergences.

Thermohaline circulation in the ocean is driven primarily by differences in __________ and __________ among water masses.

temperature; salinity

In comparison to wind energy, ocean currents can generate more clean, renewable energy because

the density of water is greater than that of air

The El Niño Southern Oscillation can best be described as:

the relationship between sea surface temperature and changing atmospheric pressure.

The Ekman spiral is caused by:

the wind and the Coriolis effect.

Deep ocean current movement is also known as

thermohaline flow

In the southern hemisphere, the direction of Ekman transport is always:

to the left of the wind direction.

Cold currents flowing ________ on the ________ sides of continents produce arid conditions.

toward the equator; western

Equatorial currents are driven by the:

trade winds

Under which conditions are droughts and wildfires common in Australia?

under El Niño conditions

Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom water through:

upwelling

Diverging surface waters are areas of ________ and ________ productivity.

upwelling; high

Warm core rings and cold core rings are associated with

western boundary currents

Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by ________ and modified by ________.

wind; the Coriolis effect and land