Oceans, Coasts, and Climate (Ch. 15 & 19)

How would the Coriolis effect affect the space station?

The space station would curve to the left because it is above the Southern Hemisphere.

Identify the FALSE statement. a. Constructive interference of comparable-sized swells tends to cancel them out and produce smooth water. b. The character of waves in open seas depends on the strength and fetch of the wind. c. Submarines traveling deeper than about half the prevailing wavelength in an area (the wave base) would experience smooth water. d. A particle of water in a wave moves in a circular motion when viewed in cross section.

a. Constructive interference of comparable-sized swells tends to cancel them out and produce smooth water.

Identify the FALSE statement. a. Saltier water generally floats above fresher water. b. If all ocean water evaporated, a 60-m-thick layer of salt would form on the ocean floor. c. Warmer water can hold more salt in solution than cold water. d. Oceans are less salty near the mouths of large rivers. Feedback

a. Saltier water generally floats above fresher water.

Which of the following changes is NOT a unidirectional change? a. Small continents merged to become a supercontinent. b. The frozen mantle crust changed to continental crust and oceanic crust. c. Life on Earth evolves. d. Liquid iron alloy sank into Earth's interior.

a. Small continents merged to become a supercontinent.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has ruled that all future research use the one computer climate model they have concluded is the best. b. The worst-case scenario predicts that if global warming continues at its present rate, by 2050 the average annual temperature will have increased 1.5-2°C. c. Carbon-dioxide concentration of the atmosphere has increased in the last century. d. Few climate scientists believe current temperature increases are entirely due to natural cycles of short-term climate change.

a. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has ruled that all future research use the one computer climate model they have concluded is the best.

Identify the FALSE statement. The abyssal plains a. are dissected by submarine canyons. b. are covered by microscopic plankton shells and fine flakes of clay. c. of the western Atlantic Ocean stretch from the base of the continental rise to the base of the mid-ocean ridge. d. are underlain by cool oceanic lithosphere.

a. are dissected by submarine canyons.

Identify the FALSE statement. Ocean water a. salinity decreases as seawater evaporates. b. contains dissolved salts, like halite and gypsum. c. is more dense than freshwater. d. has an average salinity of 3.5%.

a. salinity decreases as seawater evaporates.

A continental margin that coincides with a plate boundary is called

an active margin.

Seamounts

are hot-spot volcanoes whose peaks lie below sea level.

Surface currents

are influenced by Earth's rotation.

Major oceanic surface currents travel ________.

at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect

Identify the FALSE statement. a. Coral reefs are classified on the basis of their shapes- fringing, barrier, or atoll. b. Coral animals are tiny invertebrates that secrete silicic shells. c. Coral reefs are complex environments consisting of colonies of tiny invertebrates, algae, shell debris, and associated organisms. d. Corals grow only in clear, well-lit, warm water with normal oceanic salinity.

b. Coral animals are tiny invertebrates that secrete silicic shells.

Identify the FALSE statement. a. Sea-surface temperature has greater seasonal variation in the temperate latitudes than in the tropics. b. The thermocline occurs at a depth of 300 m in the tropics but only 100 m in the polar regions. c. Sea-surface temperature varies much less than seasonal temperature changes on land. d. The thermocline is the level below which water temperature drops sharply.

b. The thermocline occurs at a depth of 300 m in the tropics but only 100 m in the polar regions.

Which of the following statements have NOT been asserted by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports? Select one: a. Earth's climate system is warming. b. The warming trends observed in the past 50 years can be explained by natural forcing such as cosmic ray flux. c. It is extremely likely that human activity has contributed significantly to global climate change. d. Sea level is rising.

b. The warming trends observed in the past 50 years can be explained by natural forcing such as cosmic ray flux.

Identify the FALSE statement. Estuaries a. that are quiet can develop stratified water columns. b. originated as glacial valleys. c. are valleys flooded by seawater. d. have brackish water in them.

b. originated as glacial valleys.

Trenches

border continental and island volcanic arcs.

Pick out the appropriate pair of terms to match this statement- a surfer loves these; a swimmer hates these.

breakers, rip currents

Which of the following statements is FALSE? If significant global warming happens, the consequences would be a. an interruption of ocean currents and the heat transfer they accomplish. b. stronger storms and increased flooding. c. a shift in climate belts, with temperate climates moving to lower latitudes. d. a rise in sea level due to melting ice.

c. a shift in climate belts, with temperate climates moving to lower latitudes.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? Anthropogenic (human induced) changes in the Earth system a. include global warming, which is greatly enhanced by society's production of greenhouse gases. b. include landscape modifications resulting from construction, mining, and farming. c. are decreasing as human population grows and urbanization leads to more environmentally friendly practices. d. have affected the ecosystems of regions by deforestation, overgrazing, agriculture, and urbanization.

c. are decreasing as human population grows and urbanization leads to more environmentally friendly practices.

Identify the FALSE statement. Sea-level changes a. have been as great as 300 m during the Phanerozoic Eon. b. have been recorded on the sedimentary cycle chart. c. are termed eustatic if they are local changes. d. are reflected by blankets of sediment called sedimentary sequences.

c. are termed eustatic if they are local changes.

Identify the FALSE statement. Hurricanes a. wreak havoc in coastal regions due to excessive winds, strong waves, and storm surges. b. can have winds exceeding 155 mph. c. have a central zone of relatively calm weather called a typhoon. d. are huge storms that develop over warm tropical ocean water.

c. have a central zone of relatively calm weather called a typhoon.

Identify the FALSE statement. Human population a. has become a significant agent of global change. b. is currently a little over 7 billion. c. reached 1 billion in 1950. d. is doubling every 44 years.

c. reached 1 billion in 1950.

Identify the FALSE statement. Upwelling zones a. occur near the equator to replace water displaced by winds blowing steadily from east to west. b. are areas where water flows in a vertical direction. c. result when water deflected in toward the coast creates an oversupply there. d. bring nutrients up from depth.

c. result when water deflected in toward the coast creates an oversupply there.

Which of the following elements is released into the atmosphere by all of these processes- volcanic outgassing, animal respiration and flatulence, burning of fossil fuels, and metamorphism of limestone?

carbon

What type of material would you expect to find on the continental slope?

carbonate-rich sediments and shells

Identify the FALSE statement. The Coriolis effect a. is a phenomenon created by the rotation of Earth. b. causes opposite directions of deflection in the northern and southern hemispheres. c. is a deflection of wind or water flowing over Earth's surface. d. causes north-flowing currents in the northern hemisphere to curve to the west.

d. causes north-flowing currents in the northern hemisphere to curve to the west.

Ozone

depletion happens in high-latitude regions, particularly the Antarctic.

All seas

have salinity ranging between 1 and 4.1%.

The hydrologic cycle

is a biogeochemical cycle, involving both physical and biological phenomena.

Identify the FALSE statement. This image shows the ocean "conveyor belt," which a. forms due to changes in the density of seawater. b. exhibits thermohaline circulation of the ocean basins. c. sinks in polar latitudes, forming deep, cold salty water masses. d. mixes the entire oceans every 1.5 million years.

mixes the entire oceans every 1.5 million years.

Which of the following does NOT contribute to long-term climate change? a. the evolution of certain life-forms, such as photosynthetic organisms b. tectonic uplift c. sunspot activity d. position of the continents

sunspot activity

What force causes the tidal bulge on the side of the Earth opposite the Moon (the secondary bulge)?

the centrifugal force caused by the orbiting of the Earth-Moon system around its center of mass