Marine Science Final

The smallest unit of an element that contains all the chemical properties if the element is an

atom

Earth's oldest rocks are found at the

cores of the continents

Water has a an unusually high heat capacity. True or False.

True

List the dates for: formation of the Earth, first life form, first human (Homo sapiens)

Universe- 14 Billion Earth- 4.6 Billion Ocean- 4.2 billion Life- 3.5 billion

Winds blowing from the south along the eastern side of Florida would produce

Upwelled, cooler, more nutrient-rich waters.

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

West Wind Drift

Which ocean circulation is not interrupted by a land mass?

West wind drift.

Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are

Western boundary currents

Which of the following is true concerning the formation of the oceans:

Which of the following is true concerning the formation of the oceans:

The boundary between two air masses is called the

front

The main driving force of thermohaline circulation is

gravity

the youngest seafloor are found

near the rift valleys of the mid ocean ridges

The gases in our third atmosphere are thought to have been produced by

photosynthesis

Many of the unique properties of water are attributed to the fact that water is a

polar molecule

The surface tension of water is

relatively high

The amount of energy that is necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree C is called

the Calorie

The great heaps of unconsolidated sediment at the base of the Continental slope are known as

the Continental rise

The western boundary current found in the Atlantic is called

the Gulf Stream

El Nino is caused by Lower than normal trade winds in

the Pacific.

Active continental margins are located on

the West Coasts of both North and South America

In volume and quantity, most marine sediments are associated with

the deep sea floor away from the continental slopes

The Earth separated into layers as it formed because of

the density of the Earth material

The West Wind Drift carries

the greatest volume of water

Heat results from

the physical vibrations of atoms and molecules

When water evaporates from the ocean surface

the remaining water is cooled

Covalent form between hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule as a result of

the sharing of electrons between atoms

The average salinity of the world ocean is closest to

35 ppm

The earth is about

4.6 billion

During an El Niño event,

Less nutrients are upwelled in the central eastern Pacific ocean.

Areas of vertical air movement with very little surface wind motion are found on earth at latitudes

0 and 30

The oldest ocean floor sediments are approximately

200,000,000 years old

In the northern hemisphere, in what direction is the "net" theoretical flow of water with respect to the prevailing wind direction?

90 degrees to the right of the winds.

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

An eastern boundary current.

Most deep bottom water forms near the ocean floor in the

Antarctic

What is meant by "Geostrophic Flow?"

Balance between pressure gradient and Coriolis.

Geostrophic flow is a balance between what 2 forces?

Coriolis and Pressure gradient.

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

Coriolis effect

What are Countercurrents and Undercurrents?

Countercurrents: A current flowing in an opposite direction to another. Undercurrents: A current of water below the surface, moving in a different direction from any surface current

A northerly wind off the Florida's east coast world produce

Downwelling.

the current within a northern hemisphere gyre that you would expect to have the lowest salinity and temperature is an

Eastern boundary current

Know the differences between eddies and gyres.

Eddies: small circulations from main flow Gyres: surface currents circulating around ocean basins.

What is meant by "Ekman Spiral" and "Ekman Transport?"

Ekman Spiral: circular motion caused by geostrophic flow. Hill pushes mixed layer deeper. Ekman Transport: Water turns clockwise (inward) to form the dome, then descends, depressing the thermocline. Coriolis Effects felt increasingly smaller below sea level.

The Southern Oscillation Detects the onset of an

El Nino.

El Niño results due to an interruption of flow of the ______ in the Pacific..

Equatorial Current(s)

Assuming this world spins opposite that of the Earth, in what direction would you expect the ocean currents to flow at the equator?

Flowing to the East.

Gulf Stream

It brings warmer waters northward.

Kuroshio Current

It is a western boundary current.

Hydrogen bonds form between neighboring water molecules because of the

Polarity of water molecules

Which of the following statements regarding eastern boundary currents is true?

They are usually very wide.

Roughly how fast do most lithospheric plates move

about 3 cm per year

In general, continental shelves tend to be wider in the Atlantic Ocean

because its margins tend to be passive

The wavelengths of light that penetrates deep is in the ocean are

blue and green

Currents tend to move in great _____ patterns in the northern hemisphere

clockwise

The densest seawater is the

coldest and the saltiest

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 salinity increases rapidly with increasing depth is called a

halocline

In comparison to most other liquids, the heat capacity of water is

higher than other liquids

The weak chemical bond that forms between bipolar molecules is called

hydrogen bond

Which of the following would increase the density of ocean water?

increase salinity.

Basaltic rock

is made largely of Silicon, Magnesium, and Iron

The first life forms on earth arose

more than 3.5 billion years ago

In the scientific method, scientific theories

must be tested and verified by observations

Submarine canyons occur

near the edges of the ocean basins associated with continental shelves and slopes

Countercurrents and undercurrents generally move _____ than the surface current above, and in the _______.

slower , opposite direction.

The property of water that accounts for the ability of liquid water to absorb heat and change only very little in temperature is called

specific heat or heat capacity

Some insects can glide across the surface of water due to water's

surface tension

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

the wind

the most pronounced thermocline exists in the

tropics