The World Ocean (Ch. 5)

What conditions must be met in order for an air mass to create a high-pressure zone at ground level?

The air mass must be more dense than the air around it.

Ground level air movement (wind) always travels from a zone of _____ pressure to a zone of ____ pressure.

High, low

The movement of air from the ground level to the top of the atmosphere, and back again is called what?

A circulation cell

The three atmospheric circulation cells, from the poles to the equator, are the:

Polar, Ferrel, Hadley

Which of the boundary regions is located near the equator, and has warm, moist air that is rising?

Doldrums

Which one of the following is the best descriptor for the horse latitudes boundary region?

Warm, dry air, sinking

Which one of the following wind belts is located just north and south of the equator?

Trade Winds

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Warm, moist air rises and forms a low-pressure zone at ground level

The circulation cell situated between the horse latitudes and the polar front is called the:

Ferrel Cell

As a result of the Coriolis effect in the northern hemisphere, winds are deflected:

to the right of the original direction.

Westerlies is to Ferrel cell as _____ is to Hadley cell.

trade winds

Which northern hemisphere wind belt is located between the doldrums and horse latitudes?

northeast trade winds

The movement of air parallel or nearly parallel to lines of latitude is called:

zonal wind flow

The area of the globe (latitude) that is characterized by falling air masses and little precipitation is:

30 degrees latitude

In the southern hemisphere if the wind is blowing steadily to the east, the resulting Ekman transport in the ocean's Ekman layer is in which direction?

north

The wind belt in Lancaster county is:

westerlies

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Warm, moist air rises and forms a low pressure zone at ground level

The circulation cell situated between the doldrums and the horse latitudes is called the:

Hadley cell

How many subtropical gyres are there in the world ocean?

5

Which wind belt is responsible for creating the North and South Equatorial Currents?

Trade winds

Which wind belt is responsible for creating the North Pacific current?

Westerlies

In the northern hemisphere, Ekman transport moves a layer of ocean water _____ degrees to the ______ of the wind direction.

90/ right

The name given to the types of ocean currents moving water around the subtropical gyres is:

Coriolis

Geostrophic currents arise from a balance between what two forces?

Coriolis and Gravity

Where is the 'center' of all subtropical gyres located?

Near its western side

Western boundary currents are _____ than eastern boundary currents.

Deeper, faster, & warmer

Why are the subtropical gyres sites of downwelling?

Ekman transport is diverting surface waters to the center of the gyres where it piles up and sinks.

What type of wind is needed to produce upwelling along the coast of New Jersey? (note: winds are named for the direction they come from)

southerly

What tvpe of wind is needed to produce upwelling along the coast of California?

northerly

In the southern hemisphere if the wind is blowing steadily to the east, the resulting Ekman transport in the ocean's Ekman layer is in which direction?

north

Along some coastlines, surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by deep, nutrient-rich bottom water through which process?

upwelling

If you traveled in a boat from Cape May, New Jersey out into the Atlantic ocean, which of the major surface currents of the north Atlantic subtropical gyre would you first encounter?

Gulf Stream

The name of the eastern boundary current in the north Pacific ocean is:

California current

Surface ocean currents are driven by _____ while deep ocean currents are driven by _____.

winds/density differences

In the north Atlantic subtropical gyre, Ekman transport moves water in which direction?

inward, towards the center of the gyre

The north and south Equatorial currents are driven by which wind belt?

Trade winds

Another name for density-driven circulation is:

thermohaline circulation

The Gulf Stream hugs the continental shelf as far as _____ and then moves northeastward into the interior of the Atlantic Ocean

Cape Hatteras

Which sentence below best describes the shape of the surface of the ocean?

It is composed of broad mounds and depressions.

What is the ocean region in the center of the north Atlantic subtropical gyre referred to as?

Sargasso Sea

What type of Gulf Stream ring contains in its center ocean water from the Sargasso Sea?

warm core ring

The region of the central north Atlantic ocean is called the:

Sargasso Sea

You lost your surfboard while surfing some heavy waves off of the east coast of Madagascar. Which location below would your board mostly likely wash ashore on to?

west coast of Australia

If the wind over the surface ocean is blowing to the north, in the ocean below, in what direction is the flow at the bottom of the Ekman spiral?

south