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111 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
greenhouse gases
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CO2 - carbon dioxide
CH4 - methane CFC - chlorofluorocarbons N2O - nitrous oxide |
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volume of gases, water vapor, and airborne particles enveloping earth.
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atmosphere
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state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place
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weather
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long-term average of weather in an area
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climate
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air becomes cooler when it
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expands
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air becomes warmers when it
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is compressed
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air descending from high altitude warms as it is compressed by the
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higher atmosphere pressure near earth's surface
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tilt of earth
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23.5 degrees
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how much light penetrates the ocean depends on several factors
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angle at which it approaches
the sea state (turbulence) presence of ice |
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near the poles, light filters through more atmosphere, and approaches at a low angle, so a lot of light is
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reflected
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water temperatures are regulated largely by
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air circulation
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as water evaporates and condenses to form rain, it moves between the pole and the tropics to
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regulate temperature
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caused by difference in air density resulting from the temp difference between different areas.
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convection currents
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air circulation on earth is governed by
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uneven solar heating and earth's rotation
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earth's eastward rotation deflects air and water or any moving body. this deflection is the
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coriolis effect
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as you go further north, the coriolis effect gets
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stronger
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large circuits of moving air. there are six.
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atmospheric circulation cells
polar ferrel hadley doldrums (itcz) hadley ferrel polar |
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an air current that creates the world's strongest oceanic current. ocean current continually flows eastward around the south pole
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west wind belt
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air at the boundaries between circulation cells (30 and equator) moves __, but within, a cell air move ___
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vertically; horizontally
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the calm air at the boundaries are called ___ or itcz ____
area known as the meteorological equator as opposed to the geographical equator because it typically varies about 5 degrees to the north. this is because there is proportionally more land in the northern hem. |
doldrums
intertropical convergence zone |
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move within hadley cells
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trade winds
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move within ferrel cells
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westerlies
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patterns of wind circulation that change with the seasons. the seasonal changes of the itcz affect weather greatly in areas like india and bangladesh
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monsoons
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large tropical cyclones. great masses of warm, humid, rotating air.
cannot sustain itself below 26 degrees C. typically start at itcz origin not well understood, but begin to form in areas of low pressure over a large, warm landmass air is heated as it travels over warm waters like the gulf, as circular winds begin to blow, air is forced upward where condensation begins get energy from water's high latent heat of vaporization as water vapor recondenses into a liquid where energy is released |
hurricanes
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mass of flow of water
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currents
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named for the land they border
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currents
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wind-driven and make up about 10% of the world's water
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surface currents
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slow and deep currents that affect the vast bulk of seawater beneath the thermocline
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thermohaline currents
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___ causes currents in the northern hemisphere to flow to the right and those of the southerm to flow to the left, creating ___
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coriolis effect
gyres |
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continents block continuous water flow and aid the coriolis so that water moves
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around an ocean basin
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the arrangement of water movement throughout the deepening layers of the ocean.
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eckman spiral
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___ moves as 45 degrees to wind, but each deeper layer moves to the right of the layer above it
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surface water
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creates a spiral until eventually water actually flows in the
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opposite direction of surface water
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net motion of water down to about 100 meters is known as
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eckman transport
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eckman transport explains why water in a ___ stays in a circular pattern and does not move east or west into the center.
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gyre
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because it would have to go against
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pressure gradient
defy gravity |
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those in balance with the coriolis efect and the pressure gradient. six of these currents, two in the northern hemisphere and four in the southern
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geostrophic gyres/currents
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____ or ______ flows around the south pole and is the world's strongest currents
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west wind belt
antarctic circumpolar current |
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fast, deep, warm. found off the east coast of continents and are narrow and move warm water to the pole. nutrients depleted in these currents.
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western boundary currents
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largest western boundary current
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gulf stream
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form when the current moves closer to the poles and water begins to loop and meander to form turbulent rinsg
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eddies
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they can be either ____ eddies which form within the gulf stream
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cold core
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or ___ eddies which form when warm water loops into cold polar waters
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warm core
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eastern boundary are opposite of those west. they are __ and ___
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broad and shallow
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explains why western boundary currents are so much stronger than their eastern counterparts, making gyres non-symmetrical. as you remember, the coriolis effect grows strongers as it moves away from th equators, so it quickly pushes water flowing eastward (western boundary currents) and it does nto push the waters flowing westward, near the equator (eastern) at all, allowing them to be wider
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westward intensification
PG 243!! |
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created by wind-driven horizontal movement of water
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vertical circulation
(upwelling/downwelling) |
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unexplained switch of high and low pressure areas in the pacific. this typically occurs in 3-8 years, pressure change also changes the direction of the winds that flow in these areas, such as _____.
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el nino
trade winds |
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this change in wind and pressure is also known as
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southern oscillation
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affects the environment becuase tade winds begin to move warmer waters over the areas of
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upwelling (cold, deep, nutrient-rich)
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fish and seabirds abandon this new nutrient depleted area. sea levels also rise and water gets warmer. this combination causes an increase in rainfall in some areas (___)
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monsoons
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and extreme drought in others as water evaporates and
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condenses
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movement of deeper waters due to density differences.
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thermohaline currents
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the whole ocean is involved in a slow thermohalin currents that takes about ___ years to complete
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1000
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as water loses heat to the atmosphere, it sinks to become cold water
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downwelling
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examples of thermohaline currents
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antarctic bottom water AABW
north atlantic deep water NADW |
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vertical distance between the wave length and adjacent trough
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wave height
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horizontal distance between two successive crests
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wave length
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time it takes for a wave to move a distance of one wavelength
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wave period
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particles of a sea wave move in circular motions called
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orbits
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these orbits move particles _ and _ then down and back.
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up and forward
for waves in water, the actual water is not moving, but energy is being passed through it to create a wave |
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generally found on western boundaries. created when win waves of various wavelengths and heights collide. crests of these wind waves comes form different directions and combine to form on huge super wave
wave height is 1/7 of wavelength |
rogue waves
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shallow waves
depth of the ocean < |
1/2 wavelength
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deep waves
depth of ocean > |
1/2 wavelength
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shallow waves equation
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C= sqrt (GD)
C=3.31 sqrt (D) |
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deep waves equation
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C= L/T
C=1.25 sqrt (L) |
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deep water waves change to ____ as they approach shore
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shallow
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also, wave bending occurs as waves approach shore and become shallower because the waves are breaking at different depths. called
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wave refraction
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eventually, a __________ will occur as water moves back out to sea and form a rip current
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long shore drift
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gravity waves formed by the transfer of wind energy to water.
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wind waves
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they grow from small __ __ which are always present in the ocean
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capillary waves (wind waves)
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three factors determine how energy is imparted to the sea for wind waves
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wave speed
duration fetch (expanse of water) |
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waves are weaked by a restoring force like
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gravity
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a restoring force returns a wave to ___ after a wave
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flatness
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for very small waves, ___ is the restoring force.
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cohesion
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the __ of the crest pulling downward creates a trough instead of a flat area
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inertia
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materual waves from a storm sort themselves into groups with similar wavelengths and speeds is known as
____ and produces the familiar undulation of the ocean surface called a ____ |
wave dispersion
swell |
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these swells often announce
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a storm's arrival
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waves travel in groups called ______ and as the leading wave moves forward, it transfer half of its energy to the wave behind. this moves at half the speed of the lead wave; therefore, the leading wave disappears as new waves form behind, creating ___ ___
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wave trains
wave groups |
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when waves of different sizes meet in the ocean
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interference
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cancellation effect of subtraction on waves
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destructive interference
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additive formation of large crests and deep troughs
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constructive interference
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breaking waves
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plunging
spilling surging collapsing |
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upper section topples forward and away from the bottom, forming an air-filled tube
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plunging
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crest slides down the face of the wave
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spilling
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moves ashore without breaking
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surging
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shallow water wave with a long wavelength. caused by seismic activity
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tsunami
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form beneath the ocean's surface and they move slower than regular waves. occur at the base of the topmost layer of the ocean
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internal waves
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relatively harmless waves associated with tides
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tidal waves
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rogue generated by
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wind
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wind waves generated by
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wind
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tsunami waves generated by
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tectonics
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tidal waves generated by
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forced waves (created by a force)
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seiche waves generated by
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wind
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periodic, short-term changes in the height of the ocean surface at a particular place caused by a combination of the gravitational force of the moon and sun and the motion of the earth (its tilt and elliptical orbit)
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tides
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longest of all waves and considered shallow
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tides
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the moon has more affect on the sun because it is
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closer
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it takes the moon ____ to orbit around earth
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24 hours and 50 minutes
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three main determining factors in tidal shape
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land
water depth shape of the coast |
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1 high and 1 low tide per day
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diurnal tides
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2 high and 2 low tides per day
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semi-diurnal tides
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when the sun and moon overlap one another, either at a full moon or when there is no moon in the sky, it is called
occurs at ____ week intervals |
spring tide
2 |
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when the sun and moon are in opposition, at the half moon, it is called
created right angle between earth, sun, and moon - occurs at __ week intervals |
neap tide
2 |
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the speed of tidal wave is based on
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ocean depth
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tidal waves act as
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shallow water waves
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high, often breaking wave generated by a tide crest that advances rapidly up an estuary river. bay of fundy. where the tide rushes in.
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tidal bore
true tidal wave |
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high water to low water difference is known a
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tidal range
about 1.5 feet in gulf |
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fixed point in the ocean around which a tide rotates. there is no tide in this area, and tide is highest near the shoreline
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amphidromic point
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place where fresh and salt water mix. dominated by river flow, the tide, and wind movement
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estuary
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four types of estuaries
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1. Coastal Plain Estuaries are formed by the sea level rising and filling an existing river valley.
2. Tectonic Estuaries are caused by the folding or faulting of land surfaces. These estuaries are found along major fault lines 3. Bar-built Estuaries form when a shallow lagoon or bay is protected from the ocean by a sand bar or barrier island. 4. Fjords are U-shaped valleys formed by glacial action. |
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animal that live in estuaries much be ___ meaning they thrive in brackish waters
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stenohaline
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are created when fresh water from a river combines with saltier sea water
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salt wedges
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