Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Chorophyl
|
the photosynthetic pigment common to all phytoplankton species.
|
|
|
What is the source of nitrogen for producing chemical fertilizer via the Haber process?
|
N2 (dinitrogen, air)
|
|
|
Melting of continental glaciers at the end of the last ice age (about 18,000 years ago) caused sea level to rise by
|
120 meters (100 to 140 meters; 300 to 450 feet)
|
|
|
What term refers to marine life that is passively transported by ocean currents?
|
plankton
|
|
|
The biological pump is a mechanism for transporting ______ from the surface ocean into the deep ocean.
|
CO2
|
|
|
Which nutrient generally limits primary productivity in estuarine and coastal waters?
|
Nitrogen (N, nitrate)
|
|
|
In clear open-ocean waters, sufficient light to fuel phytoplankton growth exists to depths of about ______ . In an estuary like the Neuse, phytoplankton become light limited at depths greater than about ______
|
100 meters (50 to 150 meters)
2 meters (1 to 3 meters). |
|
|
Four symptoms that suggest an estuary is suffering from nutrient over-enrichment?
|
Hypoxia/anoxia (decreased oxygen supply), (harmful) algal blooms, fish kills, habitat loss
|
|
|
Why do many beaches have a longshore current? What controls the direction of a longshore current?
|
Many beaches have a longshore current because the waves approach at an oblique angle. When this happens, the swash flows at an angle to the beachface while the backwash flows downhill, which is often normal to the beach face. Thus, the swash and backwash flows do not cancel and there is net flow (current) parallel to the shoreline.
|
|
|
Four different phytoplankton groups that make their structural components from unique materials?
|
Diatoms, coccolithophores, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria
|
|
|
Which group of phytoplankton is likely to dominate in waters that are depleted in nitrogen and rich in phosphate?
|
Cyanobacteria
|
|
|
Which group of phytoplankton contributes to deposits that can be processed and used in a filtration device?
|
Diatoms
|
|
|
Which group of phytoplankton is a source of limestone
|
Coccolithophores
|
|
|
What are the “Redfield” ratios?
|
106 C:16 N:1 P
|
|
|
What causes a rip current?
|
A rip current is caused by convergent longshore currents. Convergent longshore currents results from variations in wave height along a wave crest. Variations in wave height occur when one section of the crest encounters shallow water before another.
Essential elements of answer for full credit: convergent longshore currents, variations in wave height, variations in bottom topography. |
|
|
What should you do if you get caught in a rip current?
|
Swim parallel to the shore.
|
|
|
Four types of hard structures that have been used to stabilize the coastline?
|
Groin, breakwater, jetty, seawall
|
|
|
Why is the volume of swash generally greater than the volume of backwash?
|
Some of the swash percolates into the sand and flows seaward as “groundwater”.
|
|
|
Why is the summertime beach is different from the wintertime beach?
|
Increased storm activity during the winter results in larger waves that bring more water to the beach, thereby saturating the sand with seawater. As a result, little swash soaks into the sand, backwash flow increases, and the sand berm is transported offshore (forming a sandbar). During the summer, the smaller waves allow a larger portion of the swash to soak into the sand. The result is reduced backwash, allowing a net movement of sand up the beach face
|
|
|
How did Alfred Redfield figure out the "Redfield" ratios?
|
Redfield filtered plankton from ocean water. He then separated the plankton into zooplankton and phytoplankton and analyzed both fractions for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous content. He found that the ratio of C to N to P was nearly identical in both types of plankton. Redfield also noted that the atomic N:P ratio in plankton was very similar the molar nitrate:phosphate ratio in seawater
|
