oceanography test 2
Which way would wind travel in the region between 30 and 60 degrees latitude if Earth stopped rotating
South in the Southern Hemisphere and north in the northern hemisphere
Air has _______ electrical conductivity and metal keys has ________ electrical conductivity
low, high
Which of the following locations have the potential to reliably harness wind power as a renewable energy source
-Between 5 and 60 degrees
Why does wind between the equator and 30 degrees south come out of the southeast
-Cooled air moves north toward the equator and deflected west by the Coriolis effect
Tropical disturbance
-Disorganized clouds and thunderstorms with little or no rotation
Why does air tend to rise in equatorial regions
-Equatorial regions receive more direct sunlight than other areas
The trade winds blow from which direction in the Southern hemisphere
-From Southeast to northwest
The trade winds blow in which of the following directions in the Northern Hemisphere
-From northeast to southwest
One of the worlds most powerful currents, located off the east coast of the US is the
-Gulf stream
Biggest threat from Gaston
-Heavy rain -Flooding
Pressure gradient
-Higher on Spetmeber 5th at 7 am -The eye traveled approximately 400 miles at 17 mph
Which of the following decrease salinity
-Precipitation -River run off -Sea ice melting
Why does rain occur near a warm front
-Rising warm air cools resulting in cloud formation and rain
Salinity location
-Sample A: Bahamas -Sample B: Off the west coast of Africa -Sample C: Red Sea -Sample D: Baltic
Which of the following processes increase seawater salinity
-Sea ice formation -Evaporation
Which of the following are true of sea ice
-Sea ice formation increases the salinity of seawater -When sea ice forms, the water molecules preferentially exclude salt in the water, resulting in ice that is mostly fresh
Of the following statements about seawater salinity which are true
-Seawater salinity averages 35 ppt -Seawater salinity averages 3.5% -The most common dissolved components in seawater are sodium and chloride
Between summer and winter, which of the following currents reverse its Flow?
-Somali
The deepest and densest water mass in the world ocean is formed in the
-Southern ocean
On a west coast in the Northern Hemishphere, what happens to surface waters when winds blow from the north
-Surface waters move offshore -Upwelling
On a west coast in the northern hemisphere, what happens to surface waters when winds blow from the south
-Surface waters move onshore -Downwelling occurs
Why are water molecules in a gas phase able to move rapidly and independently of each other
-There are no hydrogen bonds between water molecules in a gas phase so each water molecule acts as an individual
Of the following statements about the doldrums, which are true
-This is known as the Intertropical Convergences Zone -The doldrums are an area of low atmospheric pressure -There is usually little wind but a lot of rain associated with the doldrums -The doldrums are the boundary between the northeast trade winds and the southeast trade winds
About what percent of the wind's energy is transferred to the oceans surface
-Two
The coriolis effect is due to changes in the _____ of Earth with latitude
-Velocity
Water
-Water is densest in liquid form -Water molecules are most energetic, compressible and form steam in gas form -Water vibrate around in a fixed location and form frost when solid
Which is/are caused by unusual geometry of water molecules?
-Water molecules have polarity -Water molecules form hydrogen bonds -Water has the ability to dissolve just about anything -Water cohesion and surface tension
OF the following statements about the transfer of heat on earth, which are true
-Water vapor in the air carries latent heat with it, which is released in other areas -Ocean currents move warm water from the tropics to higher latitudes -Air currents move warmer air from the tropics to higher latitudes
The observation that one subtropical current is faster, narrower, and deeper than its counterparts is an example of which of the following?
-Western intensification
Which of the following statement are true regarding acidic and alkaline substances
-pH stands for power of hydrogen -pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution -Blood, eggs, and seawater have a similar pH, adding support to the theory that life original evolved in the ocean
At what latitude on Earth is the speed of rotation the greatest
0 degrees
The trade winds are one type of prevailing wind pattern, how many other are there
2
The average salinity of seawater is
3.5%
Examine the accompanying tables. Calculate how much less water is contained in saturated air at a polar location with a temp of -10C compared to a tropical location with a temp of 40C.
45 grams
Trade winds occur in which of the following regions
5 to 30 degrees
How deep you would need to dive to reach a water temp of 19 C
550 meters
How do hydrogen bonds define the three state of matter in water?
???
Which of the following will cause the highest pressure at the surface
A column of cool, dense air
Which of the following will cause the lowest air pressure surface
A column of warm, less dense air
Which of the following best describes the Electrolysis Method for desalination
A current is run through positive.....
The thermocline is
A steep temperature gradient in the ocean that spearers deeper cold water from warmer upper water
Lowest Salinity
AAIW
The percentage of solar radiation reflected from the surface of Earth back into space is known as the
Albedo
Of the following statements about subtropical gyres, which are true
All BUT all subtropical gyres flow in a clockwise direction
Where does rain occur in a cold front
Along and behind
Which of the following best defines heat capacity
Amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1 degree celsius
Of the following statements about the tilt of Earths axis, which one is true?
An increase in Earth's tilt would cause colder winters and warmer summers
Lowest Temp
Antarctic Bottom Water
Which has the highest density
Antarctic Bottom Water
Which of the following is the only current to completely circumscribe Earth
Antarctic Circumpolar
Earths polar regions are classified as deserts because
Cold, dry sinking air in the polar high regions produce little precipitation
When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off into the warm water south of the current, the eddy is called
Cold-core eddy or ring
On an annual basis which of the following fluxes between reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle is the smallest?
Continent to ocea
Downing can result from
Converging surface currents
What is the air that sinks at latitudes of 30 degrees north and south like?
Cool and dry
The air in the center of the eye of the hurrican is ____ air moving ______
Cool dry; downward
What term is used to describe the effect on air movement produced by earths rotation
Coriolis effect
An increase in seawater density can be caused by a ______ in temperature or an _______ in salinity
Decrease, increase
Idealized pressure belts and wind systems are significantly modified by Earth's tilted axis of rotation and
Differences in the heat capacities of ocean and land
Converging surface waters are areas of ________ and _______ productivity
Downwelling, low
Weather (short term-conditions of air temp, wind speed/direction, precipitation, and atmospheric pressure) occurs because
Earths surface is heated unevenly by the sun
The observation that ships and icebergs in the southern hemishphere float to the left of the wind direction is an example of which of the following?
Ekman transport
The doldrums occur in which of the following regions
Equatorial
Which statement accurately describes the thermostatic effect of water on climate moderation?
Evaporation in the tropics has a cooling effect on ocean temperature
The prevailing westerly winds blow in which of the following directions in the Southern Hemisphere
From northwest to southeast
Which of the following two factors cause geostrophic circulation with a gyre?
Gravity and the Coriolis Effect
Deep water circulation brings oxygen from the surface to the deep ocean because of
Greater dissolution of oxygen in colder water than warmer water
Tropical depressions
Have wind speeds below 38 mph
Tropical Storms
Have wind speeds between 38-74 mph Given names Half or more become hurri
Hurricanes
Have wind speeds in excess of 74 mph
Which property of water causes coastal communities to have only moderate differences in highs and lows when compared to inland communities?
High heat capacity
Which of the following currents is responsible for Peru becoming the largest producer of fish, from the sea, in the world
Humboldt Current
Covalent bonds of water molecule
In-between hydrogen and oxygen
Human consumption of which of the following components of seawater help prevent a goiter
Iodine
Atoms that have lost or gained one or more electrons
Ions
What makes water a polar molecule
It has a positie hydrogen side and a negative oxygen side
When does Brazil experience the longest night of the year
June 21st
Which of the following substance releases the most hydrogen ions when dissolved in water
Lemon juice
What common household item
Lightbulb
Why does the west coast of Africa have high biological productivity
Lots of coastal upwelling High concentration of nutrients
What is the overall effect of the stronger than normal trade winds typical of La Nina Conditions
Lowering of the South Pacific ocean temperature from normal conditions
Highest temp
NACSW
The gulf stream transport water into
North Atlantic
On an annual basis which of the following fluxes between reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle is the largest?
Ocean to atmosphere
Polar high pressure occurs in which of the following regions
Poles
Which of the following substances are there equal number of hydrogen and hyrdoxide atoms
Pure water
Layer of rapidly changing density with depth is called a: (DENSITY)
Pycnocline
Where does rain occur in a warm front
Rain occurs along and in front of a warm front
Why does rain occur near a cold front
Rising warm air cools, resulting in cloud formation and rain
Which type of ice found in the marine envirnoment does not form from freezing seawater
Shelf ic
Records indicate that the ocean is warming faster in the Arctic polar regions than elsewhere. If that continues a possible consequence could be
Slowing of deep ocean circulation, resulting in lower oxygen levels in deep water
Which of the following releases the most hydroxide ions
Sodium hydroxide
The largest loss of life from a hurricane is usually due to
Storm Surge
The observation of a hill of water within all subtropical gyres is an example of which of the following?
Subtropical convergence
Sources of deep water in the ocean include all of the following except
Subtropical convergences
The two factors that are most important in determining the density of air are:
Temp and water vapor content
The state of matter in which water exists in primarily determined by
Temperature
Two controlling factors that affect water density
Temperature and salinity
What is a front
The boundary between two air masses of different temperatures
In comparision to wind energy, ocean currents can generate more clean, renewable energy because
The density of water is greater than that of air
Which of the following best defines temperature
The direct measure of the average kinetic energy of a substances molecule
What would you expect weather to be like on the eastern coast of Australia if the western coast of South America were experience unusually warm, wet weather?
The eastern coast of Australia would be experiencing unusually dry weather
Why do ionic compounds dissolve readily in water
The electrostatic attraction between ions is weakened by the polarity of water
Which attributes of the water molecule arise from the unique bend in its geometry?
The hydrogen end has a positive charge and the oxygen end has a negative
Which of the following statements about the Coriolis effect is correct
The magnitude of the Coriolis effect depends on how long the object is in motion
Which statement accurately describes the interaction between a water molecule and sodium chloride as it dissolves?
The negative oxygen end of the water molecule is attracted to the positive sodium ion
What is the Walker Circulation Cell
The path that air takes as it moves from high to low pressure, and aback to high pressure, in the South Pacific, under normal conditions
Hydrogen bonds form between neighboring water molecules because of
The polarity of water molecules
Layer of rapid changing temperature with depth: (TEMPERATURE)
Thermocline
Cold currents flowing _______ on the ________ sides of the continents produce arid conditions
Toward the equator; western
Under which conditions are droughts and wildfires common in Australia
Under El Nino conditions
Why does the water molecule have polarity
Water is geometrically bent to give one side, or pole, a positive charge and the opposite side a negative charge
Why is water able to dissolve salt?
Water molecules are polar and are attracted to the electrically charged ions that form salt
Which of the following best describes reverse osmosis
Water on the salty side of a semipermeable membrane....
The largest of the great ocean surface currents is the
West Wind drift
Which of the following current goes all the way around the world without being interrupted by land
West wind drift
The temperate regions are characterized by
Westerly Winds
Why are tropical cyclones not likely to occur in the mid-latitude regions
Westerly winds steer cyclones into cooler ocean water
Why is it colder in winter than in summer
When the Northern or Southern hemisphere of Earth is tilted away from the sun it is winter because that part of Earthrecieves less direct sunlight
Which of the following reasons is not one of the reasons why water is considered a universal solvent
When the ions separate, they become attracted to identically charged water molecules
What determines whether a front is cold or warm
Which air mass is moving
IN which direction would trade winds move at the poles if Earth rotated in the opposite direction
Wind near the north pole would move to the north east and the wind near the south pole would move southeast
Why does upwelling occur along the west coast of South America under normal conditions?
Winds moving westward in the South Pacific drive ocean current toward the west; deep water rises to replace water drive westward
Compared to western boundary current, eastern boundary currents are
broad and slow
What type of force is the Coriolis effect
fictitious
The prevailing westerly winds blow from which of the following directions in the Northern hemisphere
from Southwest to Northeast
The intensity of solar radiation received at lower latitudes compared to higher latitudes is
greater
The salinity curve for low latitudes shows _______ salinity at the surface and _________ salinity at depth
increased, decreased
The surface tension of water
is relatively high
Earths atmosphere is heated primarily by
re-radiation of solar energy from earths surface back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation
Air warmed by the land that rises and is replaced by cooler air from the ocean may produce a
seabreeze
The thickness of sea ice is limited primarily by
the insulating nature of ice
Hurricanes frequently make landfall on the US atlantic and Gulf coast, but rarely, if ever, occur on the Pacific coast. The primary reason for the rarity of west coast hurricanes is that
the ocean water does not get warm enough to supply the need
Equatorial currents are driven by the_______
trade winds
Diverging surface waters are areas of _______ and _______ productivity
upwelling, high
Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by __________ and modified by _________
wind; Coriolis effect and land
Of the following conditions, which are related to strong El Nino events?
-Increased abundance of hurricanes in the easter Pacific -Increase in sea surface temperature and destruction of coral reefs in the eastern Pacific -Higher sea levels in the eastern Pacific Ocean associated with warmer water
Which of the following statements is true of water in a solid state?
-It is rigid and forms a three dimensional crystalline shape -Water molecules in ice remain in a relatively fixed position....
Of the following surface current, which one transport large volumes of warm water to higher latitudes
-Kurishio Current -The Gulf Strem -Brazil Current KGB
Of the following physical properties of the atmosphere, which are true?
-Low pressure at the surface is associated with rising air -Warm air holds more water vapor than cool air -Air always moves from high-pressure regions toward low-pressure regions -The air temperature is warmer near Earth's surface than in the upper part of the troposphere
Which of the following methods are used to measure ocean surface currents indirectly
-NOT free-drifting argo floats
Which of the following methods are used to measure ocean surface currents directly?
-Not* doppler flow meters
Which factors below drive and shape the pattern of surface currents
-Shape of ocean basin -Coriolis Effect -Wind
Of the following statements about the density of freshwater and formation of ice, which are true?
-Waters maximum density is at 4 degree celsius -Water at 2 degree celsius is less dense than at 4 degrees -Ice is less dense than liquid water, which is why it floats -As the temp of water decreases from 4 to 0 degrees celsius, its density decreases
The average albedo of Earth's Surface is about
30%
The principal reason that oil and water do not mix, even when shaken, is that oil molecules
Are non polar whereas water molecules are polar
There is a general trend of decreasing pH with increasing water depth in the Ocean. What is the cause of this pattern?
Deeper, colder ocean water contains more dissolved carbon dioxide, which causes the pH to be lower
Deep Ocean Currents are primarily driven by
Density Differences
Thermohaline circulation is driven by
Density difference
Deep Ocean currents are drive primarily by
Density differences
As salinity increase, its
Density increases
On what days do all locations on Earth experience 12 hours of daylight and night
Equinox's
Which of the following processes cause sea surface salinity to increase near the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn
Evaporation
Which process in the hydrologic cycle is most effective at increasing ocean salinity on a global scale
Evaporation
Which of the following statements regarding water density is correct?
Increasing the pressure decreases the temperature of maximum density for freshwater because the formation of bulky ice crystals is inhibited
Deep-water currents move _______ volumes of water and are much ________ than surface currents
Larger, slower
Highest Salinity
MIW
A group of two or more atoms held together by mutually shared electrons are called
Molecules
The higher the salinity of fluid, the _______ the light lit up
More
Lowest density
NACSW
Warm currents flowing ________ on the ________ sides of continents produce warm, humid conditions
Polewards, eastern
The strength of a hurricane is ranked from 1 to 5 on the
Saffir-Simpson Scale
Which of the following best describes the Distillation Method for desalination
Saltwater is boiled and the water vapor is passed through a cooling condenser where it condenses as Freshwater
In which beaker did the light shine the brightest
Seawater
Freeze seperation
Seawater is frozen and thawed multiple times
The El Nino Southern Oscillation can best be described as
The relationship between sea surface temperature and changing atmospheric pressure
Which of the following is true of surface water circulation near Antartica
Two circumpolar currents dominate it, one current that moves to the east and the the other to the west
Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient rich bottom water through
Upwelling
All of the following are true of the movement of Earth's atmosphere except:
Warm air is less dense than cool air so it tends to sink to ward the earths surface
The air surrounding the eye of the hurricane
Warm moist; upward
The density curve for high latitudes shows ______ density at the surface and ________ density at the depth
decreased, increased
Which direction do ocean currents in the South Pacific move under El Nino conditions
eastward
Ocean frontal systems that spin off from currents such as the Gulf Stream, akin to atmospheric storms, are known as
eddies
If all the water in the ocean evaporated and only the solid salt was left behind how much salt would there be
enough to form a layer 1-inch thick coating on the ocean floor
Fluctuations in the flow of the Gulf stream currents result in curving loops of water known as
meanders
As a result of the Coriolis effect in the northern hemisphere, wind always are deflected
to the right of their original direction
The lowermost portion of the atmosphere where most weather occurs is called the
troposphere
