Oceanography Chapter 1 Terms UTD 2019

Place the descriptions of Earth's mass extinction events in order with the oldest event at the top and the most recent event at the bottom.

1.) About 96% of all life on Earth went extinct during this extinction event. 2.) About 50% of Earth's species went extinct as a result of this event. 3.) This event killed off the dinosaurs as well as many other species.

The most probable (original) sources of the water in the Earth's ocean are ________.

1.) Continual addition of water from outer space 2.) the Earth's mantle, some of which is brought to the surface through volcanic activity

Using the North Star to determine latitude _________.

1.) Has been possible for the past 1000 years 2.) Will not work forever because Earth's axis of rotation changes slowly over time

Rank six planets in our solar system in order, beginning with the planet closest to the Sun at the top and working outward.

1.) Mercury 2.) Venus 3.) Earth 4.) Mars 5.) Jupiter 6.) Saturn

Rank the following water reservoirs from longest residence time at the top to shortest residence time at the bottom.

1.) Ocean 2.) Large lake 3.) Pond 4.) Atmosphere

Rank the locations or reservoirs of the Earth's water in order from largest quantity of water held at the top to least quantity of water held at the bottom.

1.) Oceans 2.) Ice caps 3.) Groundwater 4.) Freshwater lakes 5.) Atmosphere

Rank the five parts of the world's oceans from largest at the top to smallest at the bottom.

1.) Pacific 2.) Atlantic 3.) Indian 4.) Southern 5.) Arctic

Which of the following are necessary in order for you to find your position on Earth using GPS?

1.) Satellites to transmit a unique digital code to a ground receiver 2.) Precise measurements of distance between a receiver and four satellites

Which of the following pieces of evidence indicate that Mars possessed water?

1.) Sedimentary rocks with ripple marks 2.) Data from soil and ice samples analyzed on the planet

Which of the following geologic timescale periods are part of the Cenozoic or "Age of Mammals"?

1.) Tertiary 2.) Quaternary

The most probable (original) sources of water in the Earth's ocean are _________.

1.) The Earth's mantle, some of which is brought to the surface through volcanic activity 2.) continual addition of water from outer space

Which of the following are types of evidence that support the presence of oceans on two of Jupiter's moons?

1.) The surfaces of the moons are ice covered, but heat is generate by friction from Jupiter's strong gravitational force. 2.) There are induced magnetic fields around both moons, indicating that they both consist partly of strongly conducting material, such as seawater.

Greenwich Mean Time is also called _________ Time as well as __________ Time.

1.) Universal 2.) ZULU

Approximately ____________ years ago, the Big Bang initiated the formation of the universe.

13.8 billion

The time of sunrise changes about one hour for each ______ degrees of longitude on Earth.

15

The hypsographic curve indicates that only ________ percent of Earth's surface is above sea level.

29

The lunar month, whereby the Moon passes through all four phases, takes _________days.

29 and 1/2

Our solar system formed approximately __________ years ago.

5 billion

The North Pole is located one-quarter of a circle in degrees latitude from the equator; thus its latitude is _______ degrees north.

90

Any circle at Earth's surface with its center at Earth's center is called _________.

A great circle

Residence time is the average length of time that______.

A water molecule spends in any one reservoir.

Cenozoic

Age of Mammals

Paleozoic

Age of Marine Invertebrates, Fishes, and Amphibians

Mesozoic

Age of Reptiles

The _________ Ocean is the smallest.

Arctic

The ___________ Ocean is the smallest.

Arctic

If Earth's overall size was scaled to the size of a basketball, then the distance from Earth's highest elevations to its deepest ocean depths would best be compared to the thickness of a(n) _________.

Average human fingernail

In the eighteenth century, a _________ was used to help determine longitude more precisely on ships.

Chronometer

In terms of its size, the "new" Southern Ocean ranks as number _______ of the five oceans.

Four

A sidereal day is about _________ than the mean solar day.

Four minutes shorter

_________ are generally found in groups called clusters.

Galaxies

A(n) ______________ is composed of clumps of stars, and one example is the Milky Way.

Galaxy

The four eons: the Hadean, the Archean, the Proterozoic, and the Phanerozoic, collectively make up what scientists refer to as ________ time.

Geologic

GPS stands for

Global Positioning System

A _______ is the time over which one-half of the atoms of radioactive isotope decay.

Half-life

Most of the world's landmasses are located in the _________ Hemishphere.

Northern

What do the positions of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles at 66.5 degree N and 66.5 degree S, respectively represent?

On the summer solstice the Sun does not set above the Arctic Circle and does not rise above the Antarctic Circle.

A light-year is equal to the distance light travels in _________.

One year

Approximately 5 billion years ago, __________ was formed.

Our solar system

The evolution of photosynthetic organisms on the early Earth resulted in an increase in the levels of the gas _________ in its free or "pure" form.

Oxygen

The most important gaseous element to accumulate in Earth's atmosphere, which had to await the evolution of photosynthesis in order to exceed its loss to space is_________

Oxygen

The largest of the world's oceans is the _________ Ocean.

Pacific Ocean

Lines of latitude, also known as _________, are referenced to the equator.

Parallels

In the lunar month, the Moon __________.

Passes through its four phases.

The process of ____________ involves organisms converting carbon dioxide and water into organic matter and free oxygen.

Photosynthesis

If the central line of latitude is the equator, the central line of longitude is the ________ __________.

Prime meridian

The length of time that a given water molecule spends in any one of the Earth's water reservoirs is called _________.

Residence time

Outer planets

Rich in ices of water, ammonia, and methane.

Inner planets

Rich in metals and rocket materials.

Old maps are accurate in their north and south depictions of Earth's surface, but many are badly distorted by their east and west dimensions of geographic forms. This is because _________.

Sailors have been able to calculate latitude since ancient times.

The Global Positioning System uses a group of __________ as reference points for calculating positions on Earth's surface with an accuracy of a few meters.

Satellites

Earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the Sun is responsible for the __________, which occur in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at opposite times of the solar year.

Seasons

The three states of water _______,_________,and ________ are possible on Earth's surface because Earth's mean surface temperature is about 61 degree F.

Solid, Liquid, Gas

The Sun is directly over the two tropics, Cancer and Capricorn, at two times during the solar year. These two dates are called __________.

Solstices

The __________ Ocean is considered the "newest" ocean because its concept was only adopted by the International Holographic Organisation in the year 2000.

Southern

The major changes in the state of the universe that occured immediately after the Big Bang were in ________ and _________.

Temperature; size

Summer solstice

The Sun stands above the Tropic of Cancer

Winter solstice

The Sun stands above the Tropic of Capricorn

Autumnal equinox

The Sun stands above the equator

The boundaries of geologic time unites were first established by ________, and now a more accurate method, _________ is common.

The appearance and disappearance of fossil types; radiometric dating

The boundaries of the various units of geologic time were established mainly by which two methods?

The appearance or disappearance of certain fossils and radiometric dating

Solar day

The average time for Earth to make one rotation relative to the Sun

Which of the following of Earth's radii is greater?

The equatorial radius is greater than the polar radius

What is the primary force that causes the Earth to have a greater equatorial radius than the polar radius?

The force of rotation causes the Earth to have a greater equatorial radius than the polar radius.

During the first few hundred million years after Earth was formed, its interior reached the melting point of iron and nickel. How did this process lead to even hotter temperatures occurring in Earth's interior?

The iron and nickel melted and migrated toward the center of the planet and frictional heat was generated.

It is necessary to know the time of day and the position of the Sun or the stars relative to one's longitude line because ________.

The longitude line rotates with Earth, 360 degrees in twenty-four hours.

Sidereal day

The measurement of a day on Earth based on making a complete rotation with respect to a far-distant point in space

Which of the following reservoirs would likely show a marked increase decades after an ice age (during a warming period)?

The oceans

If Earth's axis were not tilted, what would happen to the seasons?

There would be no perceived seasons on Earth and global day lengths and temperatures would be uniform.

Dark matter

This is thought to make up about 24% of all energy in the universe and does not interact with light

Dark energy

This is thought to make up about 71% of all energy in the universe and to be causing the expansion of the universe.

Normal matter

This kind of matter is found in atoms and the world around us making up only about 5% of the energy in the universe.

There have been __________ massive extinction events on Earth that led to the reign of dinosaurs as well as their demise.

Three

The release of water to the atmosphere by plants is called ___________.

Transpiration

During the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is directly overhead at which of the following locations?

Tropic of Capricorn

True or False: The Phoenix Probe landed on Mars and collected soil and ice samples that confirmed the presence of water on Mars.

True

The Big Bang is the currently accepted theory about the origin of the _________.

Universe

To determine the age of Earth using radiometric dating, one must __________.

Use radioactive isotopes

The Southern Hemisphere is sometimes called the _______ hemisphere because it contains so much more than the Northern Hemisphere.

Water

Two potential sources of __________on Earth Include the mantle and continual addition from outer space by icy comets

Water

Latitude can be calculated by measuring ___________.

Your angle in reference to the bright star, Polaris.

When the Sun is at its _______, it is at the highest elevation above a reference longitude.

Zenith

Earth has been divided into time ______ that are 15 degrees of longitude wide, although some adjustments have been made when necessary to follow political boundaries for the convenience of people living in those areas.

Zones

The most widely accepted age of Earth is between 4.5 and 4.6 __________ years.

billion

Approximately 5 billion years ago, _______ was formed

our solar system

A galaxy is composed of clumps of _____.

stars

It is necessary to know the time of day and the position of the Sun or the stars relative to one's longitude line because ________.

the longitude line rotates with Earth, 360 degrees in twenty-four hours.

The two natural periods of time caused by the movement of Earth are the ________ and the _________.

year; day

The 180 degree longitude line approximates the __________.

International date line

A scientific method used for determining the age of the is based upon the radioactive decay of _________

Isotopes

The Sun is at ______ when it is at its highest elevation above a reference longitude.

Its Zenith

The hypsographic curve compares which of the following?

Land and water elevation relationships

Because the __________ lines rotate with Earth, 360 degrees in twenty-four hours, it is necessary to know the time of day and the position of the Sun or the stars relative to one's longitude line.

Longitude

Which of the following are the four closest planets to the Sun

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

The topographic relief of Earth's highest elevations and greatest depths is _________ compared to the overall size of the planet.

Minor

Which of the following time periods is based upon the lunar cycle?

Month

A(n) ________ is equal to one minute of arc length of latitude or longitude at the equator.

Nautical Mile

A rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust is referred to as a ________.

Nebula

The origin of our solar system is attributed to the collapse of a single rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust known as a(n) __________.

Nebula