OCN 150 Final Review
A full lunar tidal cycle is
24 hours and 50 minutes in duration
The average salinity of typical seawater is
3.5%
The density of sea water increases with _____________________ in temperature and ________________ in salinity.
A decrease; An Increase
Which of the following would you expect to find on a summertime beach?
A wide sandy berm
One major problem associated with the Chesapeake Bay due to increased human pressure is
An increase in nutrients resulting in more frequent kills of bottom dwelling or benthic animals
Sediment is supplied to the costal zone by
All of the above (Sources of sediment, local biological activity, costal erosion, rivers)
Which of the following is not an important control on oceanic sediment accumulation
All of the above factors are important
Sattelites are used to map the ocean floor because
All of the above statements are correct
Western intensification causes
All of the above statements are result of westward intensification
Which of the following statements about the pacific ocean is true
All of the continents could fit in the space occupied by the pacific ocean
Which of the following is designed to prevent or retard shoreline erosion?
All of these are used to prevent shoreline erosion
The point of zero tidal height in a tidal system is called
Amphidromic point
The arrangement of water masses of the southern Atlantic ocean from the surface to the bottom is
Antarctic intermediate water, north Atlantic deep water, antarctic bottom water
The High tide is considered which part of the wave
Crest
IF the side of the earth that faces the moon experiences a high tide then the side of the earth that is opposite of the moon will have a
High Tide
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
Maganese Nodules
Hydrogenous Sediment
Evaporation
Increases seawater salinity
Sea ice formation
Increases seawater salinity
The doldrums refer to the same region as the
Inter-tropical convergence zone
High energy environments are most likely to deposit which one of the following
Large particles such as gravel
Deep water currents move __________________________ volumes of water and much ______________________ surface currents.
Larger; slower
The strength of a hurricane stems from water's
Latent heat condensation
Abyssal Clay
Lithogenous sediment
Tetonic plates are pieces of the _____________ that float on the more fluid___________________________
Lithosphere; asthenosphere
Hurricanes are associated with ________ atmospheric pressure and spin ___________________ in the northern hemisphere.
Low; counterclockwise
The maximum tidal range at the northern end of the Bay Fundy is on the order of 17 meters. This tidal range is considered to be
Macrotidal
Which of the following features is characteristic of an emerging shoreline?
Marine Terrace
Transform faults have all of the following characteristic except
Movement occurs in the same direction
What is NOAA
National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency
What happens when two continental plates converge?
Neither subducts; instead, a mountain range forms.
Sediments found on continental margins are called
Neretic
Ekman Transport
Net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind
Gulf Stream
Northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes, warm current.
The most likely place for the basic building blocks of the basic development of life to interact and produce life is in earth's
Oceans
Which of the following statements regarding PH is true?
PH relates to relative acid base ion balance in a solution
Warm currents flowing __________ on the ______________ sides of continents produce warm and humid conditions.
Poleward; Eastern
Westerlies
Prevailing wind pattern at temperate latitudes
Trade winds
Prevailing wind pattern at tropical latitude
An area of the ocean where rapid change in ocean density occurs with a change in depth
Pycnocline
The correct order of the wilson cycle is
Red sea, Atlantic ocean, pacific ocean, Mediterranean sea, himalayan mtns
The difference between centripetal forces and gravitational forces is called
Resultant force
Estuarine circulation associated with a deep high river volume system where no horizontal salinity gradient exists at the surface is called a
Salt Wedge Estuary
What happens when an oceanic and a continental plate converge?
The oceanic plate will be subducted.
Hydrogen bonds form between neighboring water molecules because of
The polarity of water molecules
Relatively few abyssal planes are located in the pacific ocean due to
The presence of convergent active margins
The El Nino Southern Oscillation can be best described as
The relationship between sea surface temperatures and changing atmospheric pressure
THe time between two successive waves is called
Tidal Period
The Vertical difference between constructive high and low tides is called the
Tidal Range
The oceanic climate region where the majority of strong tropical cyclonic storms are produced is
Tropical
A rift valley may be associated with divergent plate boundaries.
True
Abyssal planes are more extensive on the sea floor of the Atlantic ocean basin and is compared to those on the sea floor of the pacific ocean basin.
True
Calcareous shells will not accumulate on the ocean floor when the water depth exceeds about 4500 meters
True
Deep ocean currents often move cold dense water away from the poles
True
Deep water waves move faster than shallow water waves because they are not slowed by friction with the ocean bottom
True
Earth developed the first ocean about 4 billion years ago
True
Independent of the actual salinity the ratio or porportions of the constitutents of seawater such as chloride, sodium, and magnesium are relatively constant
True
Layers of the earth separate based on density differences
True
Oceans with passive plate margins have continental slopes with more gradual slopes than oceans with active plate margins
True
Satellite measurements of the ocean's surface can be used to make maps of the sea floor
True
The Coriolis effect describes how moving objects on earth appear to follow curved paths due to earth's rotation
True
The angle at which direct sunlight strikes the ocean's surface is important in determining the amount of solar energy that is absorbed
True
The main current in Antarctic Waters is the antarctic circumpolar current also called the West Wind Drift
True
The palmico sound body of water between coastal North Carolina and the barrier islands of Cape Hatteras in Croix islands is an example barbell estuary
True
The relatively young age of the sea floor supports the idea that subduction must take place
True
The seaward flow of water through an inlet such as a bay or river due to tidal forces is called an ebb current
True
Water is the only naturally occurring substance on earth that readily exists in all three states of matter simultaneously
True
When spring tides coincide with lunar perigee the tidal range is increased
True
Wind speed duration and fetch are the three conditions necessary to produce a fully developed
True
a Sediment-laden current that flows off the continental shelf is called a turbidity current
True
Spring tide occurs about ____
Twice per month
Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient rich bottom water through
Upwelling
Divergent surface waters are areas of ____________ and _____________ productivity.
Upwelling; high
The scientific method includes all of the following except
Validation of a theory
Which of the following is characteristic of oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundaries
Volcanic island arcs
All of the following are true of the movement of Earth's atmosphere except
Warm air is less dense than cool air
Waves in the surf zone begin to behave like shallow water waves when
Water depth= WL/20
Geostrophic current
Water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
What was the main reason scientists objected to Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift?
Wegener's proposed mechanism for movement was thought to violate the laws of physics.
Which US Coast would most likely experience the least amount of shoreline retreat related to a 1M rise in sealevel?
West Coast
The largest wind generated waves tend to be associated with the _________________
West Wind Drift
Neap tides occur
When the lunar bulge is in destructive interference with the solar bulge
Most ocean waves form as a result of
Wind blowing across the ocean surface
Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by __________________ and modified by ____________________________.
Wind; Coriolis Effect and land.
Sediments that are poorly sorted are most likely deposited by
a River delta
A beach is
a deposit of the shore area
Continental Shelf
a generally flat zone extending from the shore to the shelf break
radioactive materials can sometimes be used to determine the
age of rocks
evidence for continental drift includes
all of the above
Oceanic crust is primarily
basalt
Our world ocean can be divided into principal oceans plus an additional ocean based on the ________________ of the ocean basins and the ____________________ of the continents.
depth; elevation
The dissoultion of the thick test of formanifers below the CCD is an example of the _____________________ biogenous sediment.
destruction
The deposition of coarse grained lithogenous materials in neretic environments along continental margins is an example of the _____________________ biogenous sediment
dillution
Plate boundaries where new oceanic crust is being added are called _____________.
divergent boundaries
The Mid Atlantic Ridge is an example of
divergent plate boundary
A geostrophic current is one that ideally flows
in a circular path around the central hill of a gyre
Which of the following is true concerning the deepest part of the ocean
the depth of this trench exceeds the height of mount everest
The fetch refers to _________________
The distance over which the wind blows without interruption
Ocean acidification refers to
The inability to buffer pH changes by the ocean
How is it that the floor of the ocean is so much younger than the ocean itself?
The ocean floor keeps regenerating itself.
the average depth of the world's oceans is approximately
3682 M
When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off and isolates a body of water within the North Atlantic Gyre, the body of water is called
A cold core ring
Fossil remains of organisms on land and in sediments can be used to
All of the above
The movement of sand parallel to the shoreline _____________________
All of the above
Tektites are an example of which of the following sediment types
Cosmogenous sediments
In the US, semi-diurnal tides occur along the
Atlantic Coast
Which of the following estuaries forms when wave action creates a barrier island that separates the estuary from the ocean?
Bar-built estuary
The center of mass of the earth-moon system is called the
Baricenter
Winds blowing out of the north towards the south in the southern hemisphere will appear to
Be deflected towards the east
If one were to walk from the ocean landward across a barrier island complex, in which order would one encounter the following environments
Beach, dune, barrier flat, high marsh, low marsh
Coccolithphores
Biogenous Sediment
Siloceous Ooze
Biogenous Sediment
Which of the following can be used to produce electricity
Both ebb tides and flood tides
Latent heat is the quantity of heat gained or lost as a substance undergoes a
Change in state
California current
Cold Current, Northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes
Mantle
Contains minerals rich in iron and magnesium, between the crust and the core, and has the second largest volume according to the chemical classification
Which of the following statements regarding continental and oceanic crust is true?
Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust
An ocean trench is associated with which type of plate boundary?
Convergent
The ___________ of the moon determines the position of the tidal bulges on earth
Declination
Precipitation
Decreases seawater salinity
River input
Decreases seawater salinity
Older lithosphere is destroyed in association with
Deep sea trenches
Large deposits of sediments at the mouths of rivers are called
Deltas
Thermocline circulation is driven by
Density differences
Deep Ocean Currents are driven primarily by ___________________ and modified by ___________________________.
Density differences; differences in salinity and temperature
The ion in seawater that serves as a buffer is
HCO3-
Idealized pressure belts and wind systems are significantly modified by Earth's tilted axis and rotation
Differences in heat capacities of ocean and land
The separation of earth into layers while it was molten was the result of:
Different densities of the elements
The low tide of the tidal cycle occurs at 6 AM while the following low tide occurs at 6:50 AM at the next day, what is the tidal period?
Diurnal
The East Pacific Rise is associated with which type of plate boundary?
Divergent
Which of the following features is characteristic of a submerging shoreline
Drowned beach
Water flowing out of an enclosed basin due to the tides is called a ________________
Ebb current
Coastal winds can cause upwelling or downwelling due to which of the following
Ekman transport
Refraction causes headlands to be sites of
Erosion
Greater temperature fluctuation are seen in coastal areas due to the marine effect
False
Magnetic North pole has remained very close to the geographic north pole throughout of all geological time
False
Rouge waves are generated by destructive interference patterns of ocean swells
False
The sun and the moon have relatively equal tide generating forces on earth
False
Wind is initiated by thermal heating from the sun and cooling by the ocean creating a thermal convection cell
False
During winter months, monsoon winds over the Indian ocean
Flow from land to sea and are dry.
The section of the coast that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide is called
Foreshore
Which of the following contains calcium carbonate
Forminferans
The tidal pattern for the Wilmington North Carolina area is
Semi-Diurnal, Micro tidal
Deep ocean trenches are associated with
Subduction zones
Sources of deep water in the ocean include all of the following except
Subtropical convergences
Surface ocean currents are caused by __________________________ whereas deep currents are the result of _____________________________________.
Surface wind belts; density differences
Hawaii has an ocean bottom with an abrupt slope? Which type of breaker forms there
Surging Breaker
Waves that are moving out of a storm area in the ocean are sorted out by wave length are called
Swell
Tsunami may result from
Tetonic activity on the seafloor
Core
composed mostly of iron and nickel with a liquefied metallic outer layer.
Your job is to locate the world's plate boundaries. To do this, you may use only one map. The best map to choose for this job is a map that shows the worldwide locations of ___________________.
earthquakes
The height of a wave depends upon
fetch, wind duration, and wind speed
in general, polar neretic sediment tends to have more ________________________
gravel than in tropical waters
Overall, the Atlantic Ocean basin is ________, and the Pacific Ocean basin is ________.
growing; shrinking
A spring tide ______________
has very high, high tides- and very low, low tides.
The san andreas fault
is a contiental transform fault
The hawiian islands are located where the pacific plate is
moving over a hot spot or mantle plume
Submarine Canyon
narrow and deep valleys on continental slopes
The Hawaiian Islands are associated with which type of plate boundary?
none of the above (The Hawaiian Islands are not associated with any plate boundary.)
Crust
outermost portion of the Earth composed largely of the igneous rocks basalt and granite
Sea floor magnetic pattern is best described as
parallel to and symmetric about mid ocean ridges
Cape fear river estuary is a
partially mixed drowned river valley
Continental Margin
shallow-water areas close to continents
The correct order of sea floor features from the coast to the mid ocean ridge is
shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plane
Constructive interference results in larger waves whereas destructive interference produces
smaller waves
What best describes the tectonic setting of the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest?
subduction zone
plate tetonics and evolution which are held with a high degree of confidence because of rigorous testing and verification are examples of
theory
