Oceanography Quarterly Review

Which of the following conditions allows for calcareous ooze to exist beneath the CCD? Select only one answer.

A layer of clay buries the ooze before the sea floor subsides.

Based on this data, choose the statement that offers the best explanation for the differences in sediment abundance between the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins.

Abyssal clays are more abundant in the North Pacific than the North Atlantic because calcareous oozes dissolve before reaching the sea floor in the latter ocean basin.

The four principal ocean basins (plus an additional ocean) on Earth are the:

Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Arctic Oceans.

Consider an interdisciplinary study that is aimed at understanding how ocean currents affect the distribution of coral larvae. What two disciplines of oceanography would the researchers be focused on?

Biological and physical oceanography

The presence of what type of macroscopic sediment would provide evidence of a meteorite impact on Earth?

Chondrites

Which of the following statements regarding continental and oceanic crust is TRUE?

Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.

The tectonic forces called slab pull and slab suction may act in unison at which type of plate boundary?

Convergent

Iceland

Divergent boundary

Which statement accurately describes the thermostatic effect of water on climate moderation?

Evaporation in the tropics has a cooling effect on ocean temperature.

What piece of evidence supports Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?

Modern-day species that evolved in isolation share a common ancestor.

The largest of the ocean basins, which currently covers more than half of the ocean surface, is the:

Pacific Ocean.

What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

Seas are smaller and shallower bodies of saltwater, somewhat enclosed by land, but directly connected to the world ocean.

The sea floor of which of the following oceans has the simplest and most symmetric pattern of age distribution?

The Atlantic Ocean

What can you infer about the ocean environment from a core sample composed of the following layers: Siliceous ooze (youngest layer) Calcareous ooze Basalt rock (oldest layer)

The core was collected in a region of high surface productivity in water deeper than 4500 meters.

Which of the following best defines latent heat?

The energy needed to break the intermolecular bonds that hold molecules in place.

Which statement best describes the origin of Earth's oceans?

The water that fills our oceans was mostly derived from outgassing, with a minor component coming from ice comets.

What do all plate boundaries have in common? Select only one answer.

They are all associated with zones of earthquakes.

What statement correctly distinguishes an ocean trench from a submarine canyon?

Trenches descend deep beyond the abyssal plains. Submarine canyons are part of the shallower continental margins.

Of the following statements about turbidity currents, which is/are true? Choose all that apply.

Turbidity currents move sediment down the continental shelf and the continental slope to be deposited on the continental rise. Turbidity currents are episodic events (they don't occur all the time, but only every so often, like a flash flood). The material carried by turbidity currents is what builds deep-sea fans. Turbidity currents are highly erosive and carve submarine canyons.

Of the following items, which is/are associated with a passive continental margin? Choose all that apply.

a continental rise a wide continental shelf

Sediments deposited by the process of suspension settling produce the majority of sediment found on ___________. Select only one answer.

abyssal plains

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of ________ plate boundary.

an oceanic-oceanic divergent

The measurement of ocean depth and the charting of seafloor topography is called __________.

bathymetry

You take a sediment sample from the ocean floor at a depth of 5500 m. The area has low biological productivity and the CCD is at 4500 m depth. Your sample will probably consist of __________.

clay

Trenches are typically associated with ________.

convergent continental margins

Consider a continental margin that has a very broad, flat continental shelf and a slope that descends 1 km to the deep ocean basin. Based on this information, this margin is ___________________.

far from an oceanic ridge

The Big Island of Hawaii is an example of a volcanic island associated with volcanic activity at a ________.

hotspot

Many of the unusual properties of water are attributed to the fact that water:

is a polar molecule.

Climate distribution on Earth is primarily controlled by:

latitude

Calcium carbonate is most likely to dissolve in water with which characteristic?

low salinity

What type of plate boundary will result in the formation of a volcanic island chain or arc near a deep-sea trench?

oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries

The seafloor magnetic pattern is best described as:

parallel to and symmetric about mid-ocean ridges.

Marine sediments provide valuable clues about which of the following Earth history events? Choose all that apply.

past catastrophes, such as major extinction events movement of the ocean floor previous ocean circulation patterns the ancient geographical locations of ocean basins the climate on Earth millions of years ago

Earth's current atmosphere supports animal life because _________

plant photosynthesis provides oxygen that is critical for aerobic respiration

Identify the major feature of a slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge.

rift valley

Neritic sediments are most likely to be composed of __________.

sand, silt, and gravel

The correct order of seafloor features from the coast to the mid-ocean ridge is:

shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain.

A trench and a chain of volcanoes known generally as a volcanic arc are always present where there is __________.

subduction

Of the following sediments, which one(s) is/are considered biogenous? Choose all that apply.

tests of foraminifers radiolarian ooze

Sea floor spreading along the axis of an oceanic ridge results in symmetrical patterns of all of the following EXCEPT ______________.

the location of subduction zones

Where a mid-ocean ridge is offset, the linear feature connecting and between the crests of the ridge segments is called a __________.

transform fault