Oceanography hw and quiz

From smallest to largest sort sediment particle size

Clay, silt, sand, gravel

CO2+ H2O=?

H2CO3 (carbonic acid)

Ion in sea water that serves as a buffer is:

HCO3

Tectonic plates are pieces of _____ that float on the more fluid ________ below

Lithosphere; asthenosphere

True or False: relatively young age of the seafloor supports the idea that subduction must take place

True

Underwater avalanches of muddy water mixed with rocks and debris are called:

Turbidity currents

pH of surface waters of ocean are slightly __________

alkaline

what characterizes ocean-continental convergent plate boundaries

andesitic volcanoes

Hot water above 350C hydrothermal vents form:

black smokers

Passive continental margins are characterized by all of the following:

broad continental shelf, shallow coastal water, thick sediment accumulation, little volcano and earthquake activity

What would happen if the depth of the CCD were above the top of the MOR

calcareous ooze would not be found below the CCD

Depth at which calcite dissolves rapidly in the ocean is called:

calcite compensation depth or CCD

Latent heat is the quantity of heat gained or lost as a substance undergoes a:

change in state

What are microscopic, single-celled floating algae that accumulate to form biogenous sediment

coccolithoophores, diatoms

Calcite-secreting organisms such as _________ and __________ live in the ocean's sunlit surface waters and form the basis of most marine food webs

coccolithophores; foraminifers

San Andreas Fault:

continental transform fault

Continents fit the best when they are fit along

contours around 2,000m deep

Tektites:

cosmogenous sediment

Hypsographic curve:

cumulative plot of area versus depth or elevation

What are turbidity currents?

dense mixtures of sand, mud, and other debris that move at high speeds down submarine canyons

What three steps are required for calcareous ooze to exist below the CCD

deposition of calcite shells above the CCD, cover of these shells by a non-calcareous material and movement of the sea floor over millions of years

CCD:

depth at which all calcium carbonate is in a solution

MOR is an example of what kind of boundary:

divergent plate boundary

Calcareous ooze?

fine-grained, deep ocean sediment containing the skeletal remains of calcite-secreting microbes

What contains calcium carbonate

foraminiferans

What type of deposits do turbidity currents leave in alluvial fans

graded bedding that begins as coarse material and becomes finer upward

pH scale measure of __________ ion concentration of solution

hydrogen

Manganese nodules are an example of:

hydrogenous sediments

How often do turbidity currents occur?

infrequently

What is the CCD

ocean depth below which calcite is unstable and will dissolve quickly

Why don't oil and water mix

oil molecules are nonpolar when water is polar

Layer in the ocean where a rapid change in ocean density occurs with a change in depth is called:

pycnocline

Which of the following organisms are responsible for the creation of siliceous ooze

radiolarians and diatoms

What would you look for as evidence that a rock layer formed from materials deposited by ancient turbidity currents

repeated sequences of graded bedding that begin finer upward

All of the processes decrease seawater salinity:

sea ice melting, river runoff, iceberg melting, precipitation

Volcanic peaks with conical tops that rise up from the deep-ocean floor yet stay below the ocean surface are called

seamounts

True or False: coastal sand dunes are usually well sorted due to winds

true

True or false: latent heat of vaporization of water is larger than the latent heat of melting

true

How do turbidity currents affect canyons

turbidity currents erode material from canyons as currents move downslope

what characterizes oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundaries

volcanic island arcs

Correct order of seafloor features from coast to MOR:

shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain

Correct order of seafloor features from coast to MOR

shelf, slope, rise, plain

The method is used most frequently to investigate sediment and rock layers of the sea floor:

sound waves (seismic reflecting profiling)