Marine Biology Review Questions (CHAPTER 2)

Why is the ocean crust about the same age on opposite sides of an oceanic ridge?

What process causes the formation of trenches?

Why is the ocean salty?

Why are the relative concentrations of some elements constant throughout the open ocean?

How is salinity measured, and how is one method of measurement related to the us of practical salinty units as a measure of seawater content?

Why are ocean surface currents stronger and narrower on the west sides of oceans relative to the east sides?

Why does wind cause erosion of bottom sediments?

What is the main driving force of the ocean’s surface currents? Of the deep circulation?

What processes cause the addition of oxygen to the ocean? Subtraction?

In what type of oceanic environment is ultraviolet light a problem for organisms?

What is the cause of upwelling along the western coasts of continents in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?

What two factors play the largest role in determining seawater density?

Why is wave erosive action usually concentrated on headlands on the shore?

Suppose an oceanic wave is 50 m long and the time between the passing of two wave crests is 25 seconds. What is the wave velocity?

Suppose the wave length of ocean waves in a strong Pacific storm off the coast of California is 1 km. How deep will you expect bottom erosion to occur?

Why is the tidal range maximal two times each lunar month?

What is the principal cause of the gravitational pull that causes tides?

What is the major cause of vertical water stratification in an estuary?

Suppose surface circulation of the ocean ceased to take place. How would climate and near-shore oceanic life be affected?

How might recent ocean history, especially the rise and fall of sea level caused by glaciation, have affected the current biogeography of the ocean?

It has been argued that estuaries are not very old geologically and that the resident species therefore immigrated and adapted to them recently. Does this make estuaries unworthy of protection? Why or why not?

Seafloor spreading resulted in India moving northward toward the Asian continent and merging with it, producing a mountain chain. If India began moving 71 million years ago and moved a distance of 6,100 km before crashing into Asia 10 million years ago, what was the average rate of seafloor spreading?