Oceanography Quiz Questins – Flashcards
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What types of questions do geological oceanographers ask?
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studies the topography, structure, and geological processes of the ocean floor to discover how the Earth and oceans were formed and how ongoing processes may change them in the future.
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How much of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean water?
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71%
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Ocean water comprises what percentage of the hydrosphere?
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97.5% of Earth's near-surface water
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What is physical oceanography?
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is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Ex: Waves, Tides, Beaches,Coasts, and Coastal Zone's
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What is chemical oceanography?
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Chemical Oceanography is fundamentally interdisciplinary. The chemistry of the ocean is closely tied to ocean circulation, climate, the plants and animals that live in the ocean, and the exchange of material with the atmosphere, cryosphere, continents, and mantle.
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Why are oceanographic studies important?
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- The ocean moderates global climate -Health and well-being of the ocean is critical to the stability of life on earth. -We all impact the ocean
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What are some of the impacts of humans on the ocean and atmosphere?
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(Green House effect).trapping of heat by greenhouse gases ( carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor)
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What is the biosphere?
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-Consist of all life on earth. - From viruses to whales
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What is the hydrosphere?
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-Consists of all the water on, above or below the earth's surface - It interacts closely with the atmosphere & geosphere -Largest habit on Earth
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what is the geosphere?
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Is the Solid Earth - It's motions cause earthquakes -Its volcanoes release gases, partials, and melted rock
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Compare and contrast early and modern oceanographic studies
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Why are oceanographic studies so difficult?
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What are some methods of determining seafloor topography?
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Seafloor topography influences ocean circulation in two basic ways. First, it steers ocean flows. Second, it provides barriers that prevent deep waters from mixing, except within deep passageways that connect ocean basins or in hydraulically controlled overflow regions
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Understand the echosound method. Be able to do simple calculations. what is the formula to calculate echo time?
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Dept= 0.5 * ( Echo time) * speed of sound in seawater (~1500ms`1)
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What have satellite-imaging techniques done for oceanographic research?
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They can give us
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The deep sea is best explored via what means?
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ROV, AUV or manned submersibles
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What is the distribution of topography relative to sea level? What is this graph called?
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The term bathymetry is defined as the depth of water relative to sea level. Thus bathymetric measurements can determine the topography of the ocean floor, and have shown that the sea floor is varied, complex, and ever-changing, containing plains, canyons, active and extinct volcanoes, mountain ranges, and hot springs. Some features, such as mid-ocean ridges (where oceanic crust is constantly produced) and subduction zones, also called deep-sea trenches (where it is constantly destroyed), are unique to the ocean floor. *
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What is phytoplankton?
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- tiny photosynthetic creatures living in the surface waters of the upper ocean
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What is a Lead Line?
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a weighted rope or line used for determining depth of the seafloor
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What does ROV stand for?
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Remotely operated vehicle
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What are manned submersibles?
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One of the most complex and sophisticated technologies for exploring the world ocean
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What does AUV stand for and what do they do?
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Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ( they roam the ocean collecting data) -they require smart programming to help them navigate through the kelp in the ocean
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Slocum glider....
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-Can be deployed for longer periods of time than an AUV. -They can track sea lions -Use less energy
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what is CTD? and what does it do?
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conductivity, temperature, depth. a CTD is the standard workhorse of oceanographers for acquiring water column profiles
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What are Argon floats ? How deep do they sink? How long do they stay down? How man are out there?
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Argons are deployed by aircraft and dropped into the ocean to give us tempature & current readings of the ocean. they sink 2000 m drift for 9 days with ocean currents, rises to the surface for 12 hours to transmit data and then sinks again. 3,000 argo floats have been deployed
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What is the average depth of the oceans? maximum depths of the oceans ?
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3.8 km (3800 meters) 11 km (11000 meters)
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Oceanic Crust is made of what? Density?
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Basalt Density= 2.9 gm/cm 3
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Continental Crust is made of what? Density?
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Granite Density= 2.7 gm/cm 3
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What is isostasy? Be able to explain its importance
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The equilibrium that exists between parts of the earth's crust, It is simply a natural adjustment or balance maintained by blocks of crust of different mass or density Example of isostacy: Greenland is an example of isostasy in action. The Greenland land mass is mostly below sea level because of the weight of the ice cap that covers the island. If the ice cap melted, the water would run off and raise sea level. The land mass would also begin to rise, with its load removed, but it would rise more slowly than the sea level. Long after the ice melted, the land would eventually rise to a level where its surface is well above sea level; the isostatic balance would be reached again, but in a far different environment than the balance that exists with the ice cap weighing down the land. -
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What two seafloor features are found within the Continental margins?
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Continental Shelf Continental slope
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What seafloor features are found within the Deep Ocean Basin?
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-Continental Rise -Abyssal Plain -Subduction Zone -Oceanic Ridges -Hydrothermal Vents -Intraplate Features
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What are continental margins?
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the edges of the continents
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What processes are responsible for the formation of the continental rise?
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The formation of the continental rise is a constant and very slow process. As rivers and streams travel over land, they pick up sediment, silt, and an assortment of other material, which is gradually carried out to sea. Some of these sediments settle on the continental shelf, but others drift down the continental slope to form the continental rise. The continental rise is often very nutrient rich, because of the sediments that it contains, and it may attract an assortment of undersea creatures looking for snacks. These sea creatures, in turn, contribute more sediments. Over millennia, the continental rise takes on the shape of a dense wedge of material which has settled at the bottom of the continental slope, much like detritus which piles up at the base of a cliff.
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What is the continental shelf?
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shelf like coastal zone that extends from the shore to where there is a marked increase in slope.
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What is the continental shelf?
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area that extends from shelf break to Continental rise ( Mountainous area)
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How do submarine canyons form? Where are they found? What are their characteristics?
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How are they formed? powerful turbidity currents, Earthquakes, or movements on a continental slope. Found: sea floor of the continental slope, sometimes extending well onto the continental shelf Characterists:
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Turbidity Currents. What are they? Why are they important in the ocean? What do turbidite deposits look like? What is an example of a well-documented turbidity current? What are the details of that event?
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...is a current of rapidly moving, sediment-laden water moving down a slope through water, or another fluid. The current moves because it has a higher density than the fluid through which it flows—the driving force of a turbidity current derives from its sediment, which renders the turbid water denser than the clear water above.
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What are three compositional layers of the Earth?
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crust, mantle, core
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How do we know the internal structure of the Earth?
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...on observations of topography and bathymetry
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What are P and S waves? Why are they important?
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Earthquakes generate several kinds of seismic waves including P, for "Primary" (Compressional ) and S, for "Secondary" waves (Seismic Wave)
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What are the 5 rheological layers of the Earth? What are they characteristics of each of these layers?
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1. Lithosphere 2. Asthenosphere 3. Mesosphere 4. Outer Core 5. Inner Core
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What is the composition of ocean crust? Of continental crust?
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How did the Earth obtains its structure?
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How are plate margins defined?
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The meeting place of one plate (plates make up the top layer of the Earth's structure) with another plate. Four Types destructive constructive collision conservative
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What is continental drift? What evidence is used to support continental drift?
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movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other by appearing to drift across the ocean bed
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What evidence is used to support the theory of plate tectonics?
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In the 1950's, a scientific expedition was made to map the ocean floor. The exploration revealed a more or less continuous seismically active ridge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Later, it was discovered, with the use of a magnetometer mounted in an airplane, that rock on either side of the ridge was chronologically a mirror image of the rock on the other side. This was due to the magnetic orientation of the Earth, which can abruptly change, being recorded in the rock at the time of its formation. This creation of new crust at the mic-ocean ridges was the mechanism for plate movement that had previously been undiscovered, leading to the understanding of lithospheric plate tectonics that we know today.
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Be able to explain the evidence that supports plate tectonics.
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Where is the oldest seafloor found in a given ocean basin? The youngest?
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Describe sediment thickness across an ocean basin.
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What are the three types of plate boundaries? Give an example of each.
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divergent, transform and convergent > divergent plate boundaries move away from each other > convergent plate boundaries move toward each other > transform plate bounties slide past each other.
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What processes are active at each of these types of plate boundaries?
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Where is ocean crust created? What type of plate boundary?
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Where is crust destroyed? What type of plate boundary?
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...Oceanic crust is destroyed at a convergent boundary where subduction occurs.
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What is the main driver of plate tectonics?
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What are the 7 stages of the ocean basin cycle?
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Be able to give examples of each step in the ocean basin cycle
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How long do ocean basins typically persist?
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Be able to describe each stage of the ocean basin cycle.
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What is a passive continental margin? What are its characteristics? Give an example.
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Passive continental margins are found along the remaining coastlines. Because there is no collision or subduction taking place, tectonic activity is minimal and the earth's weathering and erosional processes are winning. This leads to lots of low-relief (flat) land extending both directions from the beach, long river systems, and the accumulation of thick piles of sedimentary debris on the relatively wide continental shelves. Again South America provides a great example. The Amazon River, whose source is in the Andes Mountains (the active margin) drains east across the interior of South America to the coast, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean and deposits the tremendous volume of sedimentary materials it eroded from the continent.
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What are the characteristics of an active tectonic margin? Give an example
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An active continental margin is found on the leading edge of the continent where it is crashing into an oceanic plate. An excellent example is the west coast of South America. Active margins are commonly the sites of tectonic activity: earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and the formation of new igneous rock. Because of the mountainous terrain, most of the rivers are fairly short, and the continental shelf is narrow to non-existent, dropping off quickly into the depths of the subduction trench.
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What is the principle of original horizontality?
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The principle of original horizontality states that most sedimentary layers of rock are deposited in a horizontal position.
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What is the principle of superposition?
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In the rock layer, the layer at the bottom is the oldest... the one on top of it is youngest rock
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What is the principle of original lateral continuity?
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The principle of original lateral continuity states that a rock layer extends continuously in all directions until it thins out or counters a barrier
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What is the principle of fossil succession?
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The Law of Fossil Succession states that fossil organisms originate, coexist, and disappear from the geologic record in a definite sequential order.
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What are detrital sediments and how are they formed?
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Detrital sedimentary rocks are formed from solid particles of pre-existing rocks or organic debris. This is the type of sedimentary rock in which you might discover a fossil. They are formed....from particles of pre-existing rocks and organic debris, collectively called sediment. This sediment is transported in water and deposited, burying all of the previously deposited layers.
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What are the different types of physical weathering?
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- crystal formation, - thermal expansion - contraction, - frost wedging.
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What is chemical weathering? What are the two types of chemical weathering? Give an example of each.
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Chemical Weathering - Chemical alteration of the parent material in rocks -Oxidation (example of oxidation is rusting iron. Also, we see oxidation when we observe apples turning brown after peeling the skin off) -Hydrolysis
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How are sediments classified?
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Sedimentary rocks are classified by the source of their sediments and how they are made (clastic, biochemical or chemical precipitate.)
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Know the relative sizes of different sediments sizes (clay, silt, sand, ...etc.).
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smallest to biggest - Clay - Silt - Sand - Gravel
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Describe the variation in thickness of sediments from the mid-ocean ridges to the ocean basin margins?
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Describe the distribution of different sediment types in the ocean?
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What controls the distribution of carbonates in the world ocean? Where are carbonates most common?
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What is the lysocline?
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The lysocline is the depth in the ocean below which the rate of dissolution of calcite increases dramatically.
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What is the carbonate compensation depth (CCD)? What controls its depth? Describe the relative depths of the CCD in low latitude vs. polar regions.
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is the depth in the oceans below which the rate of supply of calcite (calcium carbonate) lags behind the rate of solvation, such that no calcite is preserved
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Sediments and paleoclimate. Be aware of the use of sediments to decipher paleoclimates.
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Know the composition of water.
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Water is made up of hydrogen ions (H+) linked to hydroxyl ions (OH-) to form H2O. The molecular formula for water is H2O.
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How the properties of solids, liquids and gases.
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Know the properties and characteristics of water. What makes it so unique?
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At what temperature is water most dense? Why is this important?
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3.98 degrees Celsius (39.164 degrees Fahrenheit)
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Understand the differences between latent and sensible heat.
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Sensible heat When an object is heated, its temperature rises as heat is added. The increase in heat is called sensible heat. Similarly, when heat is removed from an object and its temperature falls, the heat removed is also called sensible heat. Heat that causes a change in temperature in an object is called sensible heat. Latent heat All pure substances in nature are able to change their state. Solids can become liquids (ice to water) and liquids can become gases (water to vapor) but changes such as these require the addition or removal of heat. The heat that causes these changes is called latent heat. Latent heat however, does not affect the temperature of a substance - for example, water remains at 100°C while boiling. The heat added to keep the water boiling is latent heat. Heat that causes a change of state with no change in temperature is called latent heat.
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Understand the residual charge distribution on a water molecule and know why this is important.
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Know the H-O-H angle.
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What are the major elements in seawater?
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What is the salinity of seawater?
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Why do major elements maintain constant proportions in the open ocean? What is the rule of constant proportions?
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78. What processes are responsible for delivering salts to the ocean?
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What is residence time? Why do some elements have long residence times and others short residence time? Which elements have long residence times? In general, which elements have short residence times?
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What is the difference between conservative and nonconservative elements?
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Gases in the ocean - oxygen and carbon dioxide. Be able to graph the distribution of oxygen with depth in the ocean. Be able to explain that graph?
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What happens to carbon dioxide in the ocean?
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What controls the distribution of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the ocean?
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What is pH? Which end of the scale is acidic? Which end of the scale is basic?
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What is the pH of the ocean? Why is it getting more acidic? What are some of the impacts of ocean acidification?
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What is the photic zone?
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What controls seawater density?
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What controls layering in the ocean?
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What are the three layers of the ocean?
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Where is the ocean best stratified (layered)?
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Where does the ocean consist of a single layer?
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Describe temperature and salinity profiles through the ocean.
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What is the atmosphere?
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What is the composition of the atmosphere?
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Why have carbon dioxide contributions increased since the mid-1800s?
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What are the impacts of the increase in carbon dioxide?
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How thick is the atmosphere?
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What are the layers of the atmosphere? What are their characteristics?
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What defines layering in the atmosphere?
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How does pressure vary with elevation in the atmosphere?
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How does temperature vary with elevation in the atmosphere?
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Atmospheric and sea surface temperatures are controlled by the incidence of incoming solar radiation and the efficiency of heating - understand these principles and be able to make some generalized statements about earth surface conditions based on these observations.
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Which has a higher heat capacity - land or water? How does this impact the oceanatmosphere system?
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Why do we experience seasons?
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Describe atmospheric circulation on a non-rotating, water-covered body.
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Describe atmospheric circulation cells on a rotating, water-covered body. Be able to label circulation cells on an image.
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What surface winds are associated with the atmospheric circulation cells?
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What latitudes are associated with low pressure and what latitudes are associated with high pressure?
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Describe the moisture associated with low- and high-pressure zones? Explain this.
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What is the Coriolis Effect? Know the equation that describes this effect. Know the direction of deflection in each hemisphere associated with the Coriolis Effect.
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How does the Coriolis Effect impact the world ocean?
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Describe the rotation around low- and high-pressure storms in the northern and southern hemispheres.
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Be able to explain monsoonal winds and rains.
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Understand conditions associated with the ITCZ and its movement seasonally.
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