Oceanography Unit 3
What primary product is formed during nitrogen fixation?
Ammonium
What type of beach is likely to exist on a coastline is covered with sea caves?
An erosional beach
What is a heterotroph?
An organism that consumes food from other organisms
Upwelling and iron (suspended in glacial runoff) make these waters among the most productive on Earth.
Antartica Ocean
Which group are known to have members that are extremophiles?
Archaea
Which of the following is a ring-shaped island of coral?
Atoll
Which of the following is a domain of living things?
Bacteria
What type of feature of depositional coasts migrates slowly landward as sea level rises?
Barrier island
In the water column, where does respiration exceed photosynthesis?
Below the compensation depth
What is usually the highest point on a beach?
Berm crest
How much of the ocean's primary productivity is generated by seaweeds?
Between 1% and 5%
Phytoplankton are responsible for how much of the surface ocean's carbohydrate production?
Between 90 and 96%
What is required in the quantitative analysis of plankton?
Both a count of the organisms and an estimate of the sampled volume of water
What is the end product of carbon respiration?
Carbon dioxide
Which are primary nitrogen-fixing organisms in the ocean?
Cyanobacteria
What is the name for a coast in which the dominant processes are those that remove coastal material?
Erosional coasts
What is the global, long-term change in sea level?
Eustatic change
Which genus of dinoflagellate is known for producing a particularly harmful algal bloom called a red tide?
Karenia
How have parts of Florida's coast been extended?
Mangroves
When do tidal currents reach their maximum velocity?
Midway between high and low tide
Where are deltas common?
Near broad continental shelves
How much of the light that reaches Earth's surface is captured by organisms?
One part in 2,000
Which reaction occurs during photosynthesis?
Oxygen is produced
Where do most of the atolls on Earth exist?
Pacific Ocean
Who proposed the dynamic theory of tides?
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Who was the first to recognize the connection of the moon's position to the tides?
Pytheas
What type of estuary is characterized by rapid river flow and low tidal range?
Salt-wedge estuary
Which of the following are formed when the longshore current slows?
Sand spits
What are dolos?
Structures used to dissipate wave energy at high-energy shorelines to protect harbors.
What is Earth's greatest distance from the sun?
aphelion
What is the name for tides caused by inertia and the gravitational force of both the sun and the moon?
astronomical tides
What term is used to describe the exclusive microecosystem picoplankton have been discovered to operate in?
"black market economy"
Planktonic organisms are classified by size. What is the range of plankton size categories?
0.02 micrometers to 2.0 meters
Approximately what percentage of surface light penetration corresponds to the compensation depth?
1%
How deep is the photic layer in typical coastal waters?
100 meters
A tsunami can occur as a series of waves following at regular intervals. What is the typical interval between crests?
15 minutes
What is the maximum wave steepness (ratio of wave height to wavelength) a wind wave can exhibit?
1:7
If you are a diver and a wave passed over you with a wavelength of 50 meters, what is the deepest depth you can descend to still be able to notice the wave?
25 meters
How much of the United States coastline is considered to be depositional?
30%
A wave breaks against shore when the ratio of wave height to water depth is about ____.
3:4
How many elements comprise 99% of all the mass of all living things on Earth?
4
What is the average pH of seawater?
8.0
What is a tombolo?
A bridge of sediment that connects a sea island to the mainland
What is a fjord?
A deep, narrow bay
What is a coastal cell?
A section of coastline that has a balanced input and output of sand
What is the group velocity of a wave train?
A wave train travels at 1/2 the speed of any individual wave.
One disadvantage of using tidal power is that it ____.
cannot sustain the world's needs.
The cohesion of water molecules is the restoring force for what type of wave?
capillary wave
What can be categorized as a deep-water wave?
capillary wave
Wind waves grow from which of the following types of waves?
capillary waves
What is the largest biogeochemical cycle?
carbon cycle
What dissolved gases are required by nearly all marine organisms?
carbon dioxide and oxygen
Researchers are able to directly measure the rate of productivity in experiments using a radioactively "tagged" atom. Which isotope is commonly used?
carbon-14
What absorbs sunlight in primary producers?
chlorophyll
During times of high productivity which plankton are notable for making the surface water appear milky or chalky?
coccolithophores
What describes the merging of two waves that results in a wave exceeding the size of each individual wave?
constructive interference
What is the primary need for living matter to function?
energy
Which zone in the ocean contains enough light for photosynthesis?
euphotic zone
A shoreline with little tidal variation can erode slower than a more active shoreline because the wave action is less damaging.
false
A tidal wave is a very large wave
false
A tide wave moves north in the Northern Hemisphere and south in the Southern Hemisphere.
false
Although ectotherms can tolerate large ranges in external temperature, they are unable to sustain large fluctuations in their internal temperatures.
false
Chemosynthesis is the dominant method of binding energy into carbohydrates on this planet.
false
Coccolithophores need less light to photosynthesize and can go deeper into the euphotic zone.
false
Deltas are present at every river mouth that brings sediment to a broad continental shelf.
false
Dinoflagellates have a deeper compensation depth than diatoms.
false
Fetch is the movement of wind in relation to wave crests for continued energy transfer from air to sea.
false
Fjord estuaries tend to be well mixed with high surface area.
false
Generally, the longer the wavelength of an ocean wave, the slower its speed.
false
High tides are associated with the area between bulges.
false
Large, enclosed bodies of water like the Mediterranean and Baltic seas are subject to large tidal ranges.
false
Linnaeus was the first to start classifying organisms.
false
Low-energy coastlines are commonly found in areas along eastern edges of continents.
false
Most biological productivity in the ocean occurs in the aphotic zone.
false
Nonconservative nutrients will be enriched after a plankton bloom.
false
Nutrients and carbon dioxide are limiting factors for the success of phytoplankton.
false
Once living organisms reach a balance with their environment, they do not undergo any more natural selection.
false
Photosynthetic and chemosynthetic organisms can be called either primary producers or heterotrophs because they make their own food.
false
Plankton are categorized by their visibility or by the methods used to collect them.
false
Primary production is greatest right at the ocean surface.
false
Seawalls protect property and decrease beach erosion.
false
Spring tides are seasonal tidal events.
false
The amphidromic point is an area where tides are especially pronounced.
false
The beach scarp is at the low tide mark and signifies the beginning of the offshore zone.
false
The compensation depth marks the depth of greatest productivity.
false
The photic zone in coastal ocean water is deeper than the photic zone in open ocean water.
false
Tidal currents become simpler when they are in the open ocean.
false
Tidal energy is not as successful as other marine energy sources.
false
Water in a wave moves along with the wave.
false
Waves refract when they approach a shore straight on.
false
Fringing reefs are separated from land by a lagoon.
false
Tides are free waves because they are not maintained by a disturbing force.
false
What is the smallest size class of plankton?
femtoplankton
Which characteristic distinguishes most dinoflagellates from diatoms and coccolithophores?
flagella
What type of current occurs as a tide crest approaches?
flood current
Tides are dependent on the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon. What type of wave are tides?
forced wave
What type of waves are tides?
forced waves
A tsunami is an example of what type of wave?
free
What are the units used to express primary production?
gC/m2/yr
What organism uses the tides, specifically high spring tides, to time their breeding behaviors?
grunion
What can be dangerous to underwater craft and oil platforms?
internal waves
What factor is rarely a difficulty for marine organisms?
iron availability
Charles Darwin suggested that a driving force of evolution was ____.
isolation
What characteristic of a tsunami allows it to pass unnoticed beneath ships at sea?
lack of steepness
What physical factor is considered most important for the success of a marine organism?
light
What are the potential limiting factors for primary productivity?
light and nutrients
What is the tidal datum in reference to in regions with semidiurnal tides?
mean low water
What is a source of energy for chemosynthesis?
methane
What type of tide will result from the sun and moon forming a right angle with Earth?
neap tide
Which are the primary molecules of heredity?
nucleic acids
What determines the velocity of a tidal crest?
ocean depth
When a wave train moves toward shore, the swell "feels" bottom when the water is shallower than ____ the wavelength.
one-half
What type of waves occurs at the boundary between two fluid media?
orbital waves
Barrier islands are ____.
parallel but separate from land
Phytoplankton are primarily classified as what type of organism?
photoheterotroph
What is the primary method of energy acquisition for phytoplankton?
photosynthesis
How are seaweeds classified?
photosynthetic accessory pigments
What planktonic group may account for up to 80% of all the photosynthetic activity in some parts of the open ocean?
picoplankton
The forward movement of orbital waves classifies them as ____ waves.
progressive
What physical factor can damage cell membranes and alter protein structure?
salinity
What feature marks the shoreward limit of marine erosion on a rocky coast?
sea cliffs
What type of wave has a disturbing force of changes in atmospheric pressure?
seiche wave
Which wave is confined and "sloshes" back and forth in a basin?
seiche wave
Modern tsunami warning systems depend on which of the following?
seisometers
Most of the world's ocean coasts have a(n) _____ tidal pattern.
semidiurnal
What type of tidal pattern exists on the east coast of the United States, which experiences two high tides and two low tides of similar heights every day?
semidiurnal
What is a characteristic of a tsunami?
shallow-water wave
High or low tidal currents that change direction result in ____.
slack water
What is a major source of nitrate to coastal waters?
soil runoff
Where in the open ocean are phytoplankton the most productive?
temperate continental shelves
What is the main body structure of seaweed?
thallus
What is an example of a true tidal wave?
tidal bore
Tidal height is compared to what reference level?
tidal datum
Tides are capable of slowing Earth's rotation by which of the following forces?
tidal friction
What is the net force of inertia and gravitational attraction combined?
tractive forces
What does a food web illustrate?
trophic relationships
What part of the world ocean is considered an "oceanic desert"?
tropical open ocean
A beach slope in equilibrium will grow at slower rates than heavy depositional beaches.
true
A change in salinity change can affect the buoyancy of an organism.
true
A diurnal tidal pattern is easily explained by the natural tendency for water to rock at a specific frequency when in an enclosed basin.
true
A rogue wave is an example of constructive interference.
true
A strong wind must blow continuously in one direction for nearly three days for the largest waves to develop and form a fully developed sea.
true
All life on Earth is fundamentally the same.
true
Basin configuration can cause variations in tidal ranges.
true
Coastal cells in southern California are smaller due to the location on an active, leading edge of a continent.
true
Coastal water tends to support greater plankton populations than oceanic water does due to nitrate runoff from soil.
true
Coastlines have not come into equilibrium with modern sea levels.
true
Coasts refer to an entire area that is affected by biological processes in addition to tectonic activity.
true
Diatoms have one of the most efficient energy conversion rates known, using approximately 55% of absorbed sunlight.
true
Gravity provides the restoring force for most waves.
true
It has been suggested that Archaea may be more closely related to Eukarya than Bacteria.
true
Measuring biomass is not an efficient way to calculate primary productivity because productivity may be low in densely populated areas and high in sparsely populated areas.
true
Membranes are considered selectively permeable when they allow only certain kinds of small molecules to pass through.
true
Newton knew his equilibrium theory of tides was incomplete because the maximum theoretical range was significantly lower than actual tidal ranges.
true
Picoplankton number 100 million individuals in a liter of seawater, at all depths in the ocean.
true
Seaweed-derived materials are found in a large variety of commercial materials including adhesives, salad dressing, and ice cream.
true
Some shallow-water waves have energy that moves at upwards of 760 km per hour.
true
Taxonomy is the study of biological classification.
true
The accumulation and distribution of a layer of sediment protects depositional beaches from rapid erosion.
true
The highest wave ever measured was 34 meters (112 feet).
true
The moon and Earth remain in a stable orbit due to their mutual gravitational attraction being offset by inertia.
true
The trace metal iron is required for photosynthesis, in certain nitrogen fixation enzymes, and in the structure of proteins.
true
There are planktonic forms of every major group of animals.
true
Tidal friction is gradually slowing Earth's rotation.
true
Tides can be predicted years in advance to an accuracy of approximately 3 centimeters.
true
Tides can have a wavelength equal to half of Earth's circumference.
true
Tsunami waves can only be shallow-water waves.
true
Wave frequency is the number of waves passing a fixed point per second.
true
What distinguishes life from non-life is the ability of living things to capture, store, and transmit energy, as well as reproduce.
true
When a wind wave gets higher than its maximum wave steepness, it will break, and excess energy from the wind will be dissipated as turbulence, which may be seen as whitecaps or combers.
true
Wind provides the disturbing force for capillary waves.
true
Winds and currents can create variations in local sea level changes.
true
seaweeds are not plants
true
Despite their instability, over 70 barrier islands off the United States have been commercially developed.
true
Nearshore productivity is almost always more productive than open ocean productivity.
true
Salt wedge estuaries form their circulation pattern due to the rapid river outflow mixing with ocean water.
true
There are over 140 factors that affect the generation and alteration of tides in the ocean.
true
What can change the compensation depth?
turbidity
Generally, the greater the speed, the greater the ____.
water depth
The propagation of a wave around an obstacle is called ____.
wave diffraction
What term describes the time it takes for a wave to move a distance of one wavelength?
wave frequency
Standing waves are a result of ____.
wave reflection
What occurs when waves hit an obstacle straight on?
wave reflection
What marks the submerged limit of rapid marine erosion?
wave-cut platforms
A tidal bore may occur under which condition?
A confining river mouth that forces the tide wave to move toward land at high speeds
What is an amphidromic point?
A node in the center of an ocean basin
What is true of the backshore?
It can include dunes and grasses.
Why is a storm surge not considered a progressive wave?
It is only a crest rather than a whole wave.
What is the rate of shore erosion dependent upon?
Local range of tides
What is convergent evolution?
Organisms that evolve to look similar due to environmental conditions
What is fetch?
The uninterrupted distance over which wind blows without a change in direction
What type of transport is able to move against normal concentration gradients?
active transport
An erosional coast that has little tidal variation ____.
can erode quickly because wave action is concentrated near one level for longer times
What is the primary cause of oxygen depletion in the disphotic zone?
heterotrophic respiration
In freshwater, a marine animal would be ____.
hypertonic to its surroundings
What elemental compound comprises up to 95% of the mass of a diatom's cell wall?
silica (SiO2)
How do entirely new genetic traits arise?
spontaneous mutation
Which organisms are mainly classified as picoplankton?
cyanobacteria
Most phytoplankton stay near the surface to absorb red light.
true
What is one of the newest techniques employed to measure tides?
satellites to measure Earth's magnetic field
What type of tidal patterns exists on the west coast of the United States, which receives two high tides and two low tides of varying heights per day?
semidiurnal mixed tides
Which coasts is a depositional coast?
Florida
What creates a moraine?
Glaciers
Which is a factor that determines the location of a coast?
Global tectonic activity
Where does most of the sediment on the Pacific coast originate from?
Granite rock
What is the relationship between the heights of tides and the amphidromic point?
Heights increase with distance from the amphidromic point.
Which event is thought to have been a cause for past mass extinctions?
The collision with an asteroid or comet
Where was the first tidal powered energy station positioned?
The estuary in the Rance River, France
What is an ebb current?
The fall in sea level as a tide trough approaches
Why does the moon have more of an impact on tides than the sun?
The moon is closer to Earth
What does Newton's gravitational model fail to consider when determining influences on tides?
The position of continental landmasses
What is a frustule?
The rigid cell wall of a diatom
What is responsible for increasing a beach's slope?
The swash
Why is the same side of the moon always facing Earth?
The tidal forces locked the moon's rotation to that of Earth
Why is photosynthesis inhibited at the very top layer of the ocean surface?
There is too much light.
What is the eventual fate of erosional beaches?
They become a depositional beach.
Why do large, broad beaches have gradual slopes?
They have a large area for wave energy to dissipate.
Where is the greatest potential for the formation of a great fully developed sea?
West Wind Drift
Where is the seaward limit of a beach?
Where the sediment movement onshore and offshore ceases
What has a large impact on the heights and patterns of tides?
basin topography
Which plankton group are the most productive photosynthetic organisms (apart from cyanobacteria)?
diatoms
Which plankton group operates at one of the most efficient energy conversion rates known?
diatoms
Which type of plankton is the most common source of surface bioluminescence?
dinoflagellates
What produces swells?
dispersion
What maintains a forced wave?
disturbing force
