Oceanography Exam 2

The most common tidal pattern around the world are:

Mixed

A neap tide has:

Very low tidal ranges

Water flowing out of an enclosed Basin due to the tides is called a/an:

Ebb current

All of the following processes decrease the salinity of water except:

Evaporation

Geostrophic circulation within a gyre driven by

Gravity and Coriolis effect

El Nino southern isolation can be described as:

The relationship in sea surface temperature changing and atmospheric pressure.

The principles of constant proportions states that

The relative concentrations of major ions in seawater does not change.

Spring tide occurs about :

Twice per month

The average albedo of earth's surface is about:

30%

Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom water through

Upwelling

A cold air mass moving into an area occupied by relatively warm air is called:

Cold front

Earth's axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of:

23.5¤

A full lunar tidal cycle is:

24 hours and 50 minutes

The average salinity of typical seawater is:

3.5%

Compared to an eastern boundary current in a gyre, which of the following statements is true for a western boundary current?

All of the above statements are true of Western boundary currents.

The internal wave might form:

At a density boundary within the ocean

What is the ion in seawater that serves as a buffer?

Bycarbinate

The intensity of solar radiation received at lower latitudes (near the equator) compared to higher latitudes (near the poles) is:

Coriolis effect

As salinity of seawater increases, its:

Density decreases

Thermohaline circulation is driven by:

Density differences.

Deep ocean currents are driven primarily by _____ and modified by_____.

Density differences; differences in salinity and temperature

The height of a wave depends upon:

Fetch, wind duration, and wind speed

A spring tide

Has a higher than normal high tide and lower than normal low tides

Which property of water causes coastal communities to have only moderate differences in daily highs and lows when compared to inland communities?

High heat capacity

Water can pile up a short distance above a containers rim due to:

High surface tension

If the side of the earth that faces the moon experiences a high tide, then the side of the earth that is opposite from the moon will have a/an:

High tide also

The transfer of water between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the continents is known as the:

Hydrologic cycle

As a wave begins to feel bottom near a shoreline, it's wave height

Increases and it's wavelength decreases

Many of the unique properties of water are attributed to the fact that water:

Is a polar molecule

An area that experiences diurnal tides will have :

One high tide, and one low tide daily

Water waves are

Orbital waves

The time between two successive waves is called that

Period

El Nino and LA nina

Produce changes of opposite direction global temperature and precipitation patterns

Air warmed by the land that rises and is replaced by cooler air from the ocean may produce a:

Sea breeze

Which of the following, form earliest to latest, represents the typical wave formation?

Sea,swell,surf

The largest loss of life from a hurricane is usually due to:

Storm surge

Which of the following statements is true of surface ocean currents?

Surface currents form circular patterns in the major ocean basins called "gyres".

The states of matter in which water exist is primarily determine by:

TEMPERATURE

A tsunami may result from:

Tectonic activity on the seafloor

The two factors that are most important in determining the density of air are:

Temperature and water vapor content

The fetch refers to:

The distance Ober which the wind blows without interruption

The ekman spiral is caused by:

The wind ; and the coriolis effect

A rapid change in Ocean temperature with a change in depth occurs in the:

Thermocline

This wave formed on a river by a flood current is called a/an:

Tidal bore

A vertical difference between high and low tides is called the:

Tidal range

In the south hemisphere, the direction of ekman transport is always:

To the left of the wind direction

The lowermost portion of the atmosphere where most weather occurs is called the:

Troposphere

A wave will begin to break when:

Waves reach critical steepness >1:7 (wave height/ wave length )

A tropical maritime air mass is likely to be:

Wet and warm

Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by ____and modified by_____.

Wind, the coriolis effect and land

Most ocean waves form as a result of :

Winds blowing across ocean surface