Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms

Particles of sand, gravels, and shells that move along the shore form the:

Beach drift

The energy of waves striking a headland that protrudes into the sea is ________ than that which strikes the beaches adjacent to it because ________ .

Greater; refraction concentrates energy into the headland

Brine water results from:

High evapotranspiration rates

Brackish water would most likely occur:

In a deltaic swamp

What is correct regarding worldwide sea level?

It was about 130m (430ft) lower 18,000 years ago, and about 10-20cm lower ~100 years ago.

The height of a tsunami grows as it approaches a coastline primarily because:

Its wavelength shortens

When the Sun, Earth and Moon are in conjunction, the arrangement of these three celestial bodies forms a ________and it results in the ________tidal range.

Line; largest

A general term for the coastal environment is:

Littoral zone

When people go swimming along a coast, they often find themselves, after a while, down the coast from where they first entered the water. They moved downshore because of:

Longshore currents

About 2 percent of the oceanic mass is made of the:

Mixing zone where solutes and temperatures blend quickly

What is the correct chemical content of Earth's oceans?

Salinity varies all over the world, but the ratio of individual salts to each other does not change

What would be found along a tectonically active shoreline?

Sea stacks, terraces, cliffs

What is correct regarding tides?

The Moon's gravitational pull on Earth is greater than that of the Sun's. Inertia produces a bulge on the side of Earth opposite that of the Moon. The tidal bulge located on the side of Earth opposite that of the Moon results from the fact that it is "left in position" while the water on the side facing the Moon is drawn toward the Moon. Most places on Earth experience two high tides and two low tides each day

A single groin can produce both sand erosion and deposition.

True

Barrier islands can migrate.

True

Determining mean sea level requires measurement of tidal levels hourly for at least a period of several years.

True

The salinity of seawater averages 3.5 percent, or 35 parts per thousand.

True

An earthquake, a submarine landslide, or an eruption of an undersea volcano is capable of producing a:

Tsunami

Wave action works to straighten a coast as wave energy focuses around headlands and tends to disperse energy in coves and bays in a process called:

Wave refraction

What is an example of a depositional coastal landform?

Wave-built terrace, barrier spit, and bay barrier

As a wave approaches the shoreline and enters shallower water, energy and water move forward causing the water to rise and cascade down from the wave crest as a breaker. These waves are called:

Waves of translation

A wave-cut platform is the erosional remnant of a:

Cliff

From inland to the ocean, what is the sequence of zones?

Coast, backshore, foreshore, nearshore

A longshore current involves all of the following:

Effective wind direction, effective wave direction, and transportation of large amounts of sand and coastal materials

Although many elements are dissolved in seawater, no gases are dissolved in it.

False