Oceanography Quiz Final

Some species are brightly bioluminescent.

dinoflagellate

Would you agree that the position of the true geological edge of a continent is almost always the same as the position of its shoreline?

disagree (no)

Submarine canyons occur:

Near the edges of ocean basins associated with continental shelves and slopes.

Carbonate sediments are rare in deep sea sediments because:

The carbonate shells dissolve in deep water.

Which of the following statements accurately describes continental margins?

They are areas of frequent earthquakes and volcanoes, where crustal plates are converging or are in collision.

Which of the following statements applies to resources from the sea?

They are more dilute, harder to reach, and more difficult to recover.

Which of the following statements does not correctly describe subduction zones?

They are sites where crustal plates are diverging or pulling apart.

The speed of sound in water is ____________ the speed of sound in air.

greater than

The wavelengths of light that penetrate deepest into the ocean are:

green and blue

The continental shelf

is a gently sloping platform with a variable landscape.

What is the name of the outermost solid layer of Earth?

lithosphere

Active continental margins are located

on the west coasts of both North and South America

The trailing edge of a moving continental crustal plate is most likely to exhibit features associated with

passive continental margins.

The transition between the shelf and the deep seafloor is

the continental slope and rise.

Most of the world ocean has the temperature properties of

the deep and bottom waters

Which is greater, the height of the world's tallest mountain or the depth of the world's greatest trench?

the depth of the trench (Challenger Deep).

The zone of lighted ocean in which marine autotrophs tap more energy than they use to stay alive is called:

the euphotic zone

The ultimate source of most of the energy for ocean currents is:

the sun

When waves approach the shore a series of changes takes place. One change is that the

wave crest forms a steep peak.

Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are:

western boundary currents.

The immediate source of most of the energy for ocean currents is:

wind

Which of these lists is arranged in order from smallest wavelength to longest wavelength?

wind waves, seiches, tsunami, tides.

Animals.

zooplankton

About ____% of the crude oil used by humans is derived from the seabed.

35%

Rogue waves are best described as:

a single massive wave that develops in the open ocean

When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, the water becomes slightly more

acidic, its pH is lower.

In photosynthesis, the energy of sunlight ultimately rests in

carbohydrates

What is produced in primary productivity?

carbohydrates

Primary productivity can be measured from satellites by sensors that detect

chlorophyll concentrations.

Select the finest particles in this list:

clay (out of: sand. silt. clay. granules.)

The more efficient photosynthesizer of the two plants listed.

diatom

Two valves, or shells, of glass-like substance.

diatom

Flexible outer covering.

dinoflagellate

HABs or "red tides" are usually caused by these.

dinoflagellate

In order to survive, every organism must have a continuous external source of:

energy

A spring tide is higher than a neap tide, and only occurs during the spring and summer months in each hemisphere.

false

Fishing is a growth industry, but the fishing consortia are, for the most part, careful to conserve this resource and not to exceed the maximum sustainable yield.

false

Seaweeds are of great interest to marine biologists, but have no commercial value.

false

The concept of "Law of the Sea" is a modern one, having evolved after the First World War.

false

The deep-sea floors probably contain even more oil and natural gas than the continental shelves. These zones have not been exploited only because of the difficulty in drilling in these areas.

false

The rigid outermost layer of Earth is called:

lithosphere

The youngest seafloor rocks are found:

near the rift valleys of the mid-ocean ridges

Plant-like organisms.

phytoplankton

Drifting with the currents.

plankton

The organisms that produce food are called:

primary producers

The only marine energy source being successfully exploited on a large scale is:

tidal currents

About ____% of human food comes from the sea.

4%

The average width of the continental shelves is about ____ kilometers (____ miles).

67 (42)

The worldwide fish catch is presently valued at about ____.

90-100 billion dollars.

The only ocean current that continues in an uninterrupted circle around the circumference of the Earth without encountering land is the:

Antartic Circumpolar Current.

In general, continental shelves tend to be wider in the

Atlantic ocean, because its margins tend to be passive.

Comprises the actual seafloor (beneath the sediments).

Basaltic rock (sima)

Of organic origin; i.e., made by organisms.

Biogenous sediments.

Oozes

Biogenous sediments.

The sediment that covers the greatest area of seabed

Biogenous sediments.

Kelp, or common seaweed, is in this group:

Brown Algae (Phaeophyta)

A "mystery" in our understanding of plate tectonics has been, until recently, the nature of the power source capable of moving the plates and the continents embedded within them. Recent evidence indicates the power source to be:

Convection currents within Earth's mantle is moving the plates.

The Earth's rotation influences currents by a force [or acceleration, to be correct] known as:

Coriolis effect.

Of extraterrestrial origin.

Cosmogenous sediments.

Generated in place, on the spot where we find them.

Hydrogenous (or authigenic) sediments.

New crust is being generated:

In the rift valleys of the mid-ocean ridges.

The tonnage of fish caught has changed in what way?

It has increased somewhat since about 1980 due to better fishing boats, the application of high technology, and increased demand.

The per capita world fish catch has changed in what way?

It increased steadily to about 1970, then declined.

The transmission of sound by water can best be described by which of the following statements:

It is more efficient than transmission by air.

Which of the following statements relates to mariculture as it has developed in the United States?

It is used primarily for raising lobsters, abalone, and other high-priced food products.

The world's catch of seafood is made up of what kinds of organisms?

Mostly herring, anchovies, and sardines.

Although 99% of the ocean floor is unexplored, have people reached essentially the deepest spot in the ocean and returned safely to the surface?

Yes, but it was some while ago, in the 1950s.

If two oceanic plates collide at a relatively fast speed, and one is much older and cooler (therefore denser) than the other, what will probably happen?

a and c (A trench will form. Large earthquakes will occur.)

A system of four currents completing a flow circuit around the periphery of an ocean basin is collectively called:

a gyre

A zone in which the ocean's salinity increases rapidly with increasing depth is called:

a halocline.

Hydrothermal springs seem to be located near:

active areas of seafloor spreading

Can be used to learn about seabed age and history.

all of the above (Terrigenous sediments. Biogenous sediments. Hydrogenous (or authigenic) sediments. Cosmogenous sediments.)

The depth to which light can penetrate the ocean depends on:

all of the above (The dust, cloud cover, and gases in the atmosphere. The angle of the sun above the horizon. The smoothness or roughness of the sea surface. The amount of suspended material in the water.)

Scientists can derive information about __________ from observing deep ocean cores:

all of the above (basin age mineral resources water temperature in years past the history of life in the upper layers of water)

The formation of crude oil will occur in an environment that provides

all of the above (quiet basins for the accumulation of organic material. little oxygen and the presence of anaerobic bacteria. heat and pressure. deep burial by sediments.)

The ocean's deep sound channel (sofar layer) is characterized as a zone in which:

all of the above (sound is horizontally concentrated rather than diffused as it moves through the water. acoustical energy losses are relatively small. sound waves travel great horizontal distances. sound velocity is at a minimum.)

The ultimate height of a wind wave will depend on

all of the above (the fetch. the length of time the wind blows. the velocity of the wind.)

The ocean is stratified with respect to

all of the above (density, temp, and salinity)

Land-based evidence for plate tectonics can be seen in:

all of these (the distribution of Glossopteris flora and fauna. evidence of ancient glaciations. the alignment of mountain ranges. the correlation of rocks in now widely separated continents.)

Which current within a Northern Hemisphere gyre would you expect to have the lowest salinity and temperature?

an eastern boundary current.

The islands bordering the deep-sea trenches

are explosive volcanoes that emit andesite lavas

Earth's oldest rocks are found:

at the cores of the continents

Which is greater, the average height of the continents or the average depth of the ocean?

average depth of ocean

Currents tend to move in great _______________ patterns in the northern hemisphere.

clockwise

San Francisco's characteristic cold and foggy weather is caused by a:

cold eastern boundary current.

The densest seawater is the:

coldest and saltiest

The most dense water in ocean currents is the

coldest and saltiest

Propelled by twin whip-like projections.

dinoflagellate

The organisms that consume autotrophs are called:

heterotrophs

The side of Earth facing the moon will experience a high tide, while the opposite side of Earth will have a

high tide also

When the sun and moon are in a line with Earth, the

highest high and lowest low tides will occur

The best fishing grounds are located

in temperate waters over continental shelves

Where, through a year, is the greatest total oceanic primary productivity?

in the temperate zones

A tide pattern with two high tides (one higher than the other) and two low tides (one lower than the other) each day is called a

mixed tide.

If our planet were without its ocean, but otherwise the same as it is today, would surface temperatures be more extreme than they are now (that is, higher high temperatures in summer, and lower low temperatures in winter), of less extreme, or what?

more extreme.

Water particles in a deep-water wave

move in circular orbits

The main inorganic nutrients necessary for the success of marine autotrophs are:

nitrates and phosphates.

The group of marine algae best adapted to deep water is:

red algae, the Rhodophyta.

Waves tend to be parallel to the shore when they break due to the process of

refraction

The origin of deltas is related to:

river deposition of sediments eroded from continents

The greatest amount of marine energy is theoretically available from

salinity differences

Arrive in the ocean from continents via rivers.

terrigenous sediments

The distance measured from trough to trough of a wave is

the wavelength

When waves approach the shore, if the bottom is a steep slope,

the waves will plunge

It is used primarily for raising lobsters, abalone, and other high-priced food products.

thermal gradient

The characteristics of deep trenches indicate

they are elongated subduction-related creases in the oceanic crust.

Marine algae are non-vascular plants.

true

The ocean tends to become more dense with increasing depth:

true