Ocean

The Universe has been expanding about _____.

14 billion years

. America first appeared by name on a map in ______.

1507

The Earth's atmosphere is now about _____% oxygen.

21

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

250

Earth is covered by about _____ water.

70%

_____ is a common feature of organisms living in the complete darkness of the bathypelagic

Bioluminescence

. The _____ were the first civilization to go beyond the sight of land and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Greeks

Satellite altimeters collect very accurate measurements of the _____ of the sea surface.

Height

James Cook discovered _____.

New Zealand and Hawaii

Which color of light is least absorbed by seawater?

Red

The continental rise is formed by _____ moving down the slope or through submarine canyons.

Sediments

Our solar system was formed by _____.

coalescing of dust grains into larger and larger pieces

The "conveyor belt" theory of oceanic circulation states that a major driver is _____.

cooling at the poles

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

cools, sinks and recirculates

. If the Earth's magnetic field reached zero, we would be at greater risk from _____.

cosmic rays

The presence of salt _____ the freezing point of water.

decreases

the second strongest currents in the oceans are _____ currents.

equatorial

The speed of sound in water is about _____ that of in air.

five times

The prevailing winds in the continental United States are typically _____.

from west to east

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

gravity

Climatic scientists think that the _____, caused by Man, may be an important part of climate change.

increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide

According to the climatic record in sediments, right now we are in a climatic regime that _____.

is in a set of values never seen before

The origin of the most abundant marine sediments is ______.

land

The main factor controlling seasonal productivity in the Antarctic is _____.

light

The deep ocean floor comprises _____ of the Earth's surface area.

more than half

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

. Ocean currents are important for delivering _____, especially along coastlines.

nutrients

When there is subduction, one plate sinks under another, creating _____.

only earthquakes, volcanism, a trench and high mountains

What caused the depletion of iron from the oceans 2 billion years ago?

oxygen production by plants

Active deformation of the Earth's crust takes place at _____.

plate boundaries

The theory of plate tectonics proposes that the _____ float on the Earth's _____.

plates, asthenosphere

The presence of abundant liquid water on other planets in our solar system _____.

remains in question

Corals are very similar to _____.

sea anemones

The most common location for hydrothermal vents is near areas of _____.

seafloor spreading

What climatic zone is typified by higher solar radiation and warmer ocean temperatures?

the tropics

New satellites allow the measurement of sea surface _____ with _____.

topography, radar

Recent measurements shown the European and North American plates to be moving apart at about ____ per year.

two centimeters

Another important factor explaining high productivity in Polar Regions is _____.

upwelling of nutrients

Hurricanes get their energy from _____.

warm water

Which of these is the most important constituent of the atmosphere, in terms of climate regulation?

water vapor

The strongest currents in the oceans are _____ currents.

western boundary

What is the name of the effect that causes air masses to appear to turn from their initial course?

Coriolis

. Water circulation driven by differences in temperature and salinity is called _____ circulation.

Thermohaline

There are basically _____ types of earthquakes.

Two

Earth holds the solar system record as the _____ planet.

Wettest

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

Wind

A big push for oceanographic research after World War Two was due to our wartime lack of knowledge to support _____.

amphibious landings

. When two pieces of lithosphere collide and grind against each other at a subduction zone, pent up strain energy can be suddenly released as ____.

an earthquake

Atmospheric circulation comes from _____ of heat at the equator and _____ at the poles.

an excess, a deficit

Oceans are _____ of years old.

billions