Marine Science Final
The smallest unit of an element that contains all the chemical properties if the element is an
atom
Earth's oldest rocks are found at the
cores of the continents
Water has a an unusually high heat capacity. True or False.
True
List the dates for: formation of the Earth, first life form, first human (Homo sapiens)
Universe- 14 Billion Earth- 4.6 Billion Ocean- 4.2 billion Life- 3.5 billion
Winds blowing from the south along the eastern side of Florida would produce
Upwelled, cooler, more nutrient-rich waters.
The only ocean current that continues in an uninterrupted circle around the circumference of the Earth without encountering land is the:
West Wind Drift
Which ocean circulation is not interrupted by a land mass?
West wind drift.
Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are
Western boundary currents
Which of the following is true concerning the formation of the oceans:
Which of the following is true concerning the formation of the oceans:
The boundary between two air masses is called the
front
The main driving force of thermohaline circulation is
gravity
the youngest seafloor are found
near the rift valleys of the mid ocean ridges
The gases in our third atmosphere are thought to have been produced by
photosynthesis
Many of the unique properties of water are attributed to the fact that water is a
polar molecule
The surface tension of water is
relatively high
The amount of energy that is necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree C is called
the Calorie
The great heaps of unconsolidated sediment at the base of the Continental slope are known as
the Continental rise
The western boundary current found in the Atlantic is called
the Gulf Stream
El Nino is caused by Lower than normal trade winds in
the Pacific.
Active continental margins are located on
the West Coasts of both North and South America
In volume and quantity, most marine sediments are associated with
the deep sea floor away from the continental slopes
The Earth separated into layers as it formed because of
the density of the Earth material
The West Wind Drift carries
the greatest volume of water
Heat results from
the physical vibrations of atoms and molecules
When water evaporates from the ocean surface
the remaining water is cooled
Covalent form between hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule as a result of
the sharing of electrons between atoms
The average salinity of the world ocean is closest to
35 ppm
The earth is about
4.6 billion
During an El Niño event,
Less nutrients are upwelled in the central eastern Pacific ocean.
Areas of vertical air movement with very little surface wind motion are found on earth at latitudes
0 and 30
The oldest ocean floor sediments are approximately
200,000,000 years old
In the northern hemisphere, in what direction is the "net" theoretical flow of water with respect to the prevailing wind direction?
90 degrees to the right of the winds.
Which current within a Northern Hemisphere gyre would you expect to have the lowest salinity and temperature?
An eastern boundary current.
Most deep bottom water forms near the ocean floor in the
Antarctic
What is meant by "Geostrophic Flow?"
Balance between pressure gradient and Coriolis.
Geostrophic flow is a balance between what 2 forces?
Coriolis and Pressure gradient.
The Earth's rotation influences currents by a force [or acceleration, to be correct] known as:
Coriolis effect
What are Countercurrents and Undercurrents?
Countercurrents: A current flowing in an opposite direction to another. Undercurrents: A current of water below the surface, moving in a different direction from any surface current
A northerly wind off the Florida's east coast world produce
Downwelling.
the current within a northern hemisphere gyre that you would expect to have the lowest salinity and temperature is an
Eastern boundary current
Know the differences between eddies and gyres.
Eddies: small circulations from main flow Gyres: surface currents circulating around ocean basins.
What is meant by "Ekman Spiral" and "Ekman Transport?"
Ekman Spiral: circular motion caused by geostrophic flow. Hill pushes mixed layer deeper. Ekman Transport: Water turns clockwise (inward) to form the dome, then descends, depressing the thermocline. Coriolis Effects felt increasingly smaller below sea level.
The Southern Oscillation Detects the onset of an
El Nino.
El Niño results due to an interruption of flow of the ______ in the Pacific..
Equatorial Current(s)
Assuming this world spins opposite that of the Earth, in what direction would you expect the ocean currents to flow at the equator?
Flowing to the East.
Gulf Stream
It brings warmer waters northward.
Kuroshio Current
It is a western boundary current.
Hydrogen bonds form between neighboring water molecules because of the
Polarity of water molecules
Which of the following statements regarding eastern boundary currents is true?
They are usually very wide.
Roughly how fast do most lithospheric plates move
about 3 cm per year
In general, continental shelves tend to be wider in the Atlantic Ocean
because its margins tend to be passive
The wavelengths of light that penetrates deep is in the ocean are
blue and green
Currents tend to move in great _____ patterns in the northern hemisphere
clockwise
The densest seawater is the
coldest and the saltiest
A system of four currents completing a flow circuit around the periphery of an ocean basin is collectively called a
gyre
A zone in which the ocean salinity increases rapidly with increasing depth is called a
halocline
In comparison to most other liquids, the heat capacity of water is
higher than other liquids
The weak chemical bond that forms between bipolar molecules is called
hydrogen bond
Which of the following would increase the density of ocean water?
increase salinity.
Basaltic rock
is made largely of Silicon, Magnesium, and Iron
The first life forms on earth arose
more than 3.5 billion years ago
In the scientific method, scientific theories
must be tested and verified by observations
Submarine canyons occur
near the edges of the ocean basins associated with continental shelves and slopes
Countercurrents and undercurrents generally move _____ than the surface current above, and in the _______.
slower , opposite direction.
The property of water that accounts for the ability of liquid water to absorb heat and change only very little in temperature is called
specific heat or heat capacity
Some insects can glide across the surface of water due to water's
surface tension
The immediate source of most of the energy for surface ocean currents is
the wind
the most pronounced thermocline exists in the
tropics