Chapter 16 Study Guide
Describe the three types of breakers.
1. surging breaker- steep, water hits it and goes up. 2. plunging breaker, moderately steep, water goes right over. 3. spilling breaker- gentle slope, water touches in the middle towards the top.
Name the 5 main gyres on a map.
1. the North Pacific Gyre 2. the South Pacific Gyre 3. the North Atlantic Gyre 4. the South Atlantic Gyre 5. the Indian Ocean Gyre
What three characteristics determine the size of a wave?
1. wind speed 2. length of time the wind has blown 3. fetch (the distance that the wind has travelled across open water)
Most places on Earth experience ___________ high tides and __________ low tides per day.
2 high tides and 2 low tides per day.
Define waves.
An ocean wave is a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.
How is beach nourishment beneficial and not beneficial?
Beneficial- it adds sand and helps prevent/protect buildings from being destroyed
Which Gyres move clockwise and which move counterclockwise?
Clockwise: North Atlantic North Pacific Counterclockwise: South Atlantic South Pacific Indian Ocean
How do density, high latitudes, and evaporation affect deep-ocean circulation?
Density affects deep-ocean circulation because denser water sinks and slowly spreads out beneath the surface. An increase in seawater density can be caused by a decrease in temperature or an increase in salinity. High latitudes affect it because when water becomes dense enough, it sinks, initiating deep-ocean density currents. Evaporation affects it because density currents can also result from increased salinity of ocean water due to evaporation. When seawater evaporated, salt is left behind, and the salinity of the remaining water increases.
What are the three tidal patterns?
Diurnal- 1H 1L Semidiurnal- 2H 2L Mixed Semidiurnal- no set pattern
How do water particles move in an ocean wave?
In an ocean wave, water particles move in circles.
Ocean waves are what type of wave?
Ocean waves are a mixture of the longitudinal and transverse waves (Orbital Waves).
Which tidal pattern does San Diego display? Which one does the New Jersey shore display?
San Diego- Mixed Semidiurnal New Jersey shore- Semidiurnal
What causes ocean tides?
The tides are caused by the gravitational attraction in the Earth from the moon and the sun.
What is the difference between a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave?
The vibration of a transverse wave moves perpendicular while the vibration of a longitudinal wave moves parallel.
Define gyre.
They are huge circular-moving current systems that dominate the surface of the oceans. They're large whirls of water within an ocean basin.
Why do deep ocean currents act like a conveyor belt?
They do so because warm water in the ocean's upper layers flows toward the poles. When the water reaches the poles, it's temperature drops and salinity increases, making it more dense. Because the water is dense, it sinks and moves toward the equator. It returns as cold, deep water that eventually upwells to complete the circuit.
What is upwelling and why is it important?
Upwelling is the rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water. Upwelling brings greater concentrations of dissolved nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, to the ocean surface. These nutrients promote the growth of microscopic plankton which supports large populations of fish and other marine organisms.
How do ocean currents transfer heat from one place to another?
When currents from low-latitude regions move into higher latitudes, they transfer heat from warmer to cooler areas on Earth.
What is a longshore current?
a near-shore current that flows parallel to the shore
What does erosion occur from?
concentrated wave energy on headlands
List and describe groins, breakwaters, and sea walls.
groins-perpendicular to shore & supposed to trap water breakwaters- parallel to shore and supposed to trap sand sea walls- parallel to shore (or perpendicular??) and supposed the trap water
What is a spring tide?
high tidal range, full moon and new moon
STUDY TRANSVERSE WAVE DIAGRAM ON CLASS NOTES
know how to label the crest, trough, wavelength, and wave height!
What is a neap tide?
low tidal range, 1st quarter moon and 3rd quarter moon
Define ocean current.
mass of ocean water that flows from one place to another
Define surface currents.
movement of water that flows horizontally in the upper part of the ocean's surface
Which type of breaker is the best type for surfers?
plunging breaker
Define wave refraction.
the bending of waves
What is the Coriolis effect?
the deflection of currents away from the their original course as a result of Earth's rotation. because of Earth's rotation, currents are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. as a consequence, gyres flow in opposite directions in the two different hemispheres.
What does deposition occur from?
weakened wave action in the bays
What is the leading cause of surface currents and waves?
wind
