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210 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Transport of water to the left or right of the wind direction
Ekman transport
Thermohaline circulation is driven by
density.
Strong upwelling occurs in all of the following except
where deep ocean water currents are formed.
The circular pattern of surface water currents is called a gyre.
True
When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off and isolates a body of water within the center of the North Atlantic gyre, the body of water is called a
cold core ring.
All deep water in ocean basins originates in the Atlantic Ocean.
True
In the southern hemisphere, the direction of Ekman transport is
to the left of the wind direction.
Which of the following is not an eastern boundary current
Gulf Stream
Geostrophic circulation within a gyre is driven by
gravity.
Compared to Antarctic Bottom Water, North Atlantic Deep Water is
lower in oxygen.
Replacement water coming from the bottom to the top of the water column
upwelling
The largest current by volume in the oceans is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
True
An eastern boundary current is narrow and swift.
False
The Gulf Stream moves water away from the equator; the Benguela Current moves some of this same water back toward the equator.
False
The Ekman spiral is driven by
wind.
In the northern hemisphere, Ekman transport pushes surface water to the right of the wind direction.
True
Deep ocean water masses have characteristic temperatures and salinities.
True
Driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
geostrophic flow
Downwelling may be the result of winds blowing parallel to a coastline.
True
The most dense ocean water is North Atlantic Deep Water.
False
The location where water flow is uninterrupted between the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Indian Oceans is
in the Southern Ocean.
Thermohaline circulation is wind-driven.
False
Equatorial currents are driven by the
trade winds.
Deep ocean currents often move cold, dense water away from the poles.
True
Surface ocean circulation is driven primarily by ________ and modified by ________
wind; the Coriolis effect and land
Which type of flow works in opposition to Ekman transport in a gyre
geostrophic circulation
Westward intensification causes
All of these statements are the result of westward intensification.
Replacement water coming from the top to the bottom of the water column
downwelling
Deep ocean water does not travel across the equator?.
False
Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom water through
upwelling.
Tides are examples of forced waves.
True
Swells are examples of free waves.
True
Match the type of wave with the generating force;tide
gravitational forces
The circular motion of water molecules extends to a depth that is equal to
wavelength/2.
A wave train is caused by wave energy moving more slowly than individual waves.
True
The vertical distance between the wave trough and the wave crest is the wavelength.
False
The height of a wave depends upon
fetch, wind duration, and wind speed.
A storm surge might form in association with a seafloor avalanche.
False
A tsunami might form in association with a low pressure system.
False
Match the type of wave with the generating force;internal wave
density
Standing waves may be caused by
wave reflection.
Waves that are breaking along the shore and are forming a curling crest over an air pocket are called
plunging breakers.
The vertical distance between the crest and the trough is called the
wave height.
A tsunami may result from
tectonic activity on the seafloor.
Wave energy is focused on headlands due to wave refraction.
True
Rogue waves tend to occur
where storm waves move against strong surface currents.
As a wave begins to feel bottom near a shoreline, its wave height
increases and wavelength decreases.
If a surfer wishes to have a really long ride, what type of wave should he or she look for?
spilling breakers
The lowest part of the wave is called the wave
trough
The orbital motion of water molecules in a wave goes down to a depth equal to the wavelength divided by two.
True
Match the type of wave with the generating force;capillary wave
wind
The horizontal distance between two successive troughs is called the wave height.
False
The highest portion of a wave is called the wave
crest
A wave will break when wave steepness is equal to 1/20.
False
The largest wind-generated waves tend to be associated with the
westerlies.
A shallow water wave must form in water depth less than 100 meters.
False
A wave will break when
steepness exceeds 1/7.
A tsunami is considered to be a
shallow water wave.
Match the type of wave with the generating force;swell
wind
Match the type of wave with the generating force;rogue wave
constructive interference
center of an open ocean tidal system
amphidromic point
Water flowing out of an enclosed basin due to the tides is called
ebb current.
highest tidal range in the lunar cycle
spring tide
smallest tidal range in the lunar cycle
neap tide
A seiche might be found
in a large lake.
Which of the following is a tidal current?
both ebb tides and flood tides
ebb
tidal current
Grunion depend upon the pattern of erosion and deposition of sand for the survival of their eggs.
True
The force that pulls an orbiting body toward the center of that orbit is called
centrifugal.
A seiche might occur along a river with a strong tidal influence.
False
Spring tide occurs about
twice per month.
A full tidal cycle is
24 hours and 50 minutes in duration.
The center of mass of the Earth-Moon system is called the
barycenter.
steep wave front surging up a river as a result of tides
tidal bore
Compared with a solar day, a lunar day is
longer than a solar day.
At high tide, the tidal current velocity is
nearly zero.
Tidal ranges will be greatest when the Earth and the Moon are at
perigee.
In the United States one can find mixed tides along the
Pacific coast.
Describing tides by assuming that Earth is completely water-covered and friction-free is called the
Equilibrium Tide Theory.
mixed
tidal pattern
The vertical difference between high and low tides is called the
tidal range.
The Sun and the Moon have relatively equal tide-generating forces on Earth.
False
A semidiurnal tide is common along the Pacific coast of the United States.
False
Due to the shape of the North Sea, it develops two amphidromic points.
True
An area that experiences semidiurnal tides will have
two high tides and two low tides of nearly equal height daily.
The center of an open ocean tidal system is called a(n)
amphidromic center.
At low tide, the tidal current velocity is
nearly zero.
Neap tides occur
when the moon is at quadrature.
The side of the Earth that faces the moon experiences a high tide, the side of the Earth that is opposite from the Moon will have a
high tide.
An area that experiences diurnal tides will have
one high tide and one low tide daily.
Sea caves and sea stacks are more likely to occur in an area with very hard bedrock.
True
Which of the following landforms shows the least amount of erosion along US coasts?
crystalline rocks of New England
The longshore current is caused by waves striking the beach at an angle.
True
Nor'easters affect which area of the US coastline during the fall and winter?
northern Atlantic coast
Which characteristic would be found along a secondary coast?
All of these might be found along a secondary coast.
The most common barriers constructed along a coastline are
jetties at harbor entrances.
The section of the coast that extends from normal high tide level to the highest elevation on land that is affected by storm waves is called the
backshore.
Colonized by grasses; very productive
low marsh
Which of the following will decrease the velocity of the longshore current?
increased wave period
An increase in the spreading rate at a mid-ocean ridge will cause a decrease in sea level.
False
The nearshore is equivalent to the intertidal zone.
False
Eustatic changes in sealevel refer to changes in the volume of seawater or changes in the volume of the ocean basin.
True
Waves will cause much more erosion in an area that has a large tidal range when compared to an area with a small tidal range.
False
Which US coastline has the greatest average loss due to erosion?
Gulf
In terms of erosion protection from wave action, seawalls
are ineffective.
Which US coast is being most starved for sediments due to the damming of rivers?
Pacific
Exposed at low tide and covered at high tide
foreshore
Which of the following landforms shows the greatest erosion rate along US coasts?
mud flats
The backshore is found between the normal high tide mark and the coastline.
True
Groins are constructed for the purpose of maintaining or widening beaches that are losing sand.
True
Moves water from swash zone out to sea
rip current
The area of the barrier island complex that would contain thickets and woodlands would be the
barrier flat.
The section of the coast that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide is called the
foreshore.
All of the following are examples of features found along primary coasts except
coasts with extensive coral reefs.
Submergent coasts might have all of the following characteristics except
marine terraces.
Large deposits of sediment at the mouths of rivers are called
deltas.
Eustatic changes in sea level might include
increase glacial and sea ice melting due to global warming.
Narrow currents flowing across the surf zone toward the open ocean are called
rip currents.
Emergent coasts might have all of the following characteristics except
drowned beaches.
a very deep river mouth with a large volume of freshwater flow beneath which a wedge of salt water from the ocean invades
Salt wedge estuary
An estuary formed from a flooded glacial valley is called a
fjord.
Lagoons that form behind barrier islands are examples of
bar-built estuaries.
Mangrove swamps are protective buffer areas in temperate latitude coastal ecosystems.
False
Chesapeake Bay estuary
coastal plain estuary
equal temperature
isothermal
Which of the following is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean?
Bering Sea
Salt marshes serve as nurseries for over half of the commercially important fish in the southeastern United States.
True
coastal wetland that occurs at latitudes devoid of killing frosts
mangrove swamp
Prevailing offshore winds tend to decrease surface water salinity in a coastal plain estuary.
False
Hydrothermal vents exist in which of the following marginal seas?
Gulf of California
An example of a coastal plain estuary is the
Chesapeake Bay.
Mediterranean Sea water has little impact on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
False
San Francisco Bay is a classic tectonic estuary.
True
Mangrove swamps are located
All of the above.
The Coriolis effect is evident in the surface circulation of Chesapeake Bay.
True
An estuary produced by faulting or folding of rocks that creates a dropped-down section into which a river flows is called a
tectonic estuary.
Chesapeake Bay is a classic bar-built estuary.
False
Seasonal changes in coastal water temperature is most easily observed
in the tropics.
a layer of water in which the salinity changes rapidly with changes in depth
Halocline
The percentage of the original area of wetlands currently left in the United States is approximately
50%.
When the runoff rate from the continental shelf is relatively high, coastal waters
have decreased salinities.
The continental shelf of which marginal sea is divided into three domains with significantly different circulation patterns that strongly affect biological populations?
Bering Sea
The fact that phytoplankton and zooplankton populations in shelf waters peak at the same time indicates that
both populations developed in estuaries and were flushed out into shelf waters.
The first hydrothermal vents were discovered in the
Pacific Ocean.
When ocean water enters a marginal sea above a return flow of saltier water, the circulation pattern is called
Mediterranean circulation.
coastal wetland occurring at temperate latitudes that experience seasonal frosts
salt marsh
Prevailing offshore winds produce coastal waters that
have higher salinities.
An example of a bar-built estuary is
Laguna Madre.
One major problem associated with Chesapeake Bay and increased human pressure is
an increase in nutrients resulting in more frequent kills of bottom-dwelling animals.
A summer beach typically has more sediment on it than a winter beach.
True
Theoretically, the greatest potential source of energy in the marine environment is derived from the
thermocline.
The distance from shore that could be protected by cannons was called the
territorial sea.
How much of the world ocean area is under the jurisdiction of coastal nations according to the Law of the Sea Treaty?
42%
The area of the ocean that produces the largest standing stock of commercial fish is in the
coastal areas.
Purse seines are nets that
surround and trap fishes.
The desalination process which has the greatest large-scale potential is
reverse osmosis.
Marine Mammals Act of 1992
Dolphin protection
Ocean currents are being utilized to generate electricity in Europe.
False
Catches above the maximum sustainable yield
result in overfishing.
The United Nations Law of the Sea treaty was signed by the United States in
1994.
by-catch
incidental catch
The Law of the Sea Convention was quickly adopted by the United States.
False
The production of electricity from ocean currents has been proposed for
Florida and Gulf Stream Currents.
Harnessing wave energy might be practical if
it were used as a power supplement rather than the sole power source.
Dolphins were often caught with tuna because
All of these are reasons why dolphins were accidentally caught with tuna.
In some regions of the United States, sand and gravel supplies come almost exclusively from the seafloor.
True
The greatest potential source of energy in the ocean is thermal energy resulting from thermally stratified water masses.
True
Birds, turtles, dolphins, and sharks caught accidentally by commercial fisher account for about ________ percent of the catch.
25
The percentage of primary productivity consumed by tropical shelf fisheries is approximately
24.2%.
The method of desalination with the greatest commercial potential is reverse osmosis.
True
Manganese nodules are often found in placer deposits.
False
Significant production of fish via mariculture can be found
only in Japan and Norway.
The Law of the Sea Convention went into effect in November 1994.
True
The term by-catch refers to
non-target species that are caught along with commercial species.
Offshore oil is drilled from the
continental shelf.
The Law of the Sea puts about 20 percent of the world ocean under the jurisdiction of coastal nations.
False
Farming of commercial shellfish and finfish
mariculture
The most valuable commodity produced by mariculture is
shrimp and prawns.
The greatest regulatory failure of fisheries management has been the failure to
provide government subsidies for the fishing industry.
Available biomass of target species
standing stock
No oil actually came ashore as a result of the spill associated with the
Argo Merchant.
Point sources of municipal and industrial wastes in the United States are governed by
Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Biomagnification is a result of the inefficiency of trophic transfer in the food web.
True
The biological response level with the most immediate response to marine pollution is the
biochemical-cellular level.
Bioremediation has been particularly effective in marine ecosystems in the clean-up of
hydrocarbons.
A significant problem with non-native species is that they may
All of these are problems with introduced species.
Bioremediation involves the use of microorganisms to degrade pollutants such as crude oil.
True
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is believed to have arrived from Europe to the Great Lakes by way of
ballast water.
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Spartina alterniflora
temperate marine
Match the pollutant with its general category; ammonium nitrate
nutrient
Which of the following organisms are expected to show the highest concentrations of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons in its tissues?
sea otters
Match the pollutant with its general category; PCBs
toxin
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Caulerpa taxiflora
tropical marine
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Mnemiopsis leidyi
temperate marine
The biological response level that is impacted for the longest time period by pollutants in the marine environment is the
community dynamics and structure level.
National Marine Sanctuaries such as Gray's Reef were established with the enactment of the Oceans Act of 2000.
False
The proportion of the world's population that lives within 50 miles of a coastline is currently about
50%.
The most likely source for thermal pollution in marine environments is
power plants.
Match the pollutant with its general category; mercury
toxin
Match the pollutant with its general category; calcium phosphate
nutrient
The dumping of garbage and plastics in international waters is regulated under agreements enacted at MARPOL.
True
Plastics cause significant biological damage in oceans when
netting strangles seals and birds.
Match the introduced species with its habitat; European green crab
temperate marine
Match the pollutant with its general category; DDT
toxin
In North America, offshore petroleum exploration has been focused on
deepwater Gulf of Mexico and near Eastern Canada.
Pollutants are any substance that has a negative effect on the environment.
True
Secondary sewage treatment is distinguished from primary sewage treatment by the
chlorination of the liquid effluent.
The toxicity of marine pollutants is estimated by
calculating the concentration at which 50% of the test organisms die.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons in the marine environment are a result of
urban run-off and rivers
Dumping of wastes at sea and the establishment of marine sanctuaries are controlled by
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.