Lands that border the ocean tend to have
moderate temperatures
Going from land to the deep ocean basin, the ocean's topography consists of the _______.
continental margin - shelf, slope, and rise, the abyssal plains, and the mid-ocean ridge
Salinity varies in different parts of the ocean. In general, salinity increases where _______.
sea ice forms
When a wave approaches the shoreline, wave speed _______.
slows as water depth decreases
In the troposphere and mesosphere, air density and air temperature decrease with altitude. But in the stratosphere and thermosphere, air temperature increases with altitude due to _______.
a greater absorption of solar radiation
Earth's varying surface temperatures and corresponding seasons are a result of _______.
Earth's tilt and the angle at which the Sun's rays strike Earth's surface
The increased concentration of greenhouse gases - water vapor, CO2, CH4, O3, N2O, and CFCs - in Earth's atmosphere acts to increase the _______.
absorption of outgoing terrestrial radiation, which increases the warming of Earth's lower atmosphere
The underlying driving force of wind - air with horizontal movement - is from the _______.
unequal heating of Earth's surface
The global circulation of the atmosphere results from which two factors?
Unequal heating of Earth's surface and Earth's rotation
Compared with San Francisco, California, winter air temperatures and air density in Denver, Colorado, are
cooler and thinner.
Earth's earliest atmosphere was lacking in
free oxygen
Earth's first atmosphere was composed of
hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of ammonia and methane
The Earth's largest ocean is the
Pacific
Fresh water enters the ocean by runoff from streams and rivers,
precipitation, and melting of glacial ice.
The two most abundant elements that make up the salinity of seawater are
chlorine and sodium.
When evaporation at the ocean surface exceeds precipitation, the salinity of seawater
increases
Features of the deep ocean basins include abyssal plains, ocean trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and seamounts—all of which are composed of
basalt.
The extent of the continental shelf, an underwater extension of the continental crust, varies due to fluctuations in sea level. When sea level is higher, the continental shelf
wider because some of the continental land would be submerged.
Waves are altered when they enter shallow water. They change
direction by refraction, they steepen and break.
Water movement in a wave in the surf zone is characterized by
steepened wave height and shorter wavelength.
At what water depth is an ocean wave affected by the ocean floor?
At the depth equal to one-half the wave's wavelength.
The most common depositional shoreline feature is a
beach
Common erosional shoreline features include sea stacks,
wave-cut platforms, sea caves, and sea arches.
The main reason ocean tides exist is that the pull of the Moon
is greater on oceans closer to the Moon and less on oceans farther from the Moon
Suppose the Moon had twice as much mass as it does now and still orbits Earth at the same distance. In that case, the ocean bulges on Earth would be
larger
As the Moon and Earth pull on one another, the oceans bulge about 1m on opposite sides of the Earth. In Earth's daily rotation, the area that passes the bulge experiences high tide. The time of the high tides fluctuates because
while Earth spins on its axis, the Moon orbits the Earth—the timing is a bit off.
As you ascend in elevation, the air generally becomes
cool and less dense
The ionosphere
is produced by the action of solar radiation and atmospheric atoms.
Temperature increases with altitude in the
thermosphere
The temperature of the mesosphere decreases from 0°C at the bottom to -90°C at the top. This change in temperature is a result of
low absorption of solar radiation—air molecules emit more energy than they absorb
The tilt of Earth's axis greatly affects the
distribution of heat energy, hours of daylight, and the change in seasons
Earth's lower atmosphere is warm because of
terrestrial radiation.
At the end of December, all of the Southern Hemisphere is in
summer
If the composition of the atmosphere changed so that less terrestrial radiation was allowed to escape, the Earth would experience
higher average temperatures.
The Earth's lower atmosphere is kept warm by
\n terrestrial radiation.
If Earth is closest to the Sun in January, why is much of the Northern Hemisphere cold in January?
The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun in January.
The increase of atmospheric CO2 levels to 400 ppm has tipped Earth's natural greenhouse effect toward global warming. The rise of CO2 is due to
human activity—the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) and deforestation.
Efforts to curb climate change need to be done on a global scale. There is no "one-size fits all", but efforts must include
education, mitigation—preventative measures of reducing CO2 and the shift to cleaner energy sources, and adaptation—reducing society's vulnerability to climate change.
The wind blows in response to
pressure and temperature differences.
Air moves toward a low-pressure region where it
rises
In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force causes all free-moving objects in the air to curve
to the left of their intended path.
Which of the following is not a major influence on atmospheric circulation?
the local variations in gravitational acceleration
The flow of air in the upper atmosphere is predominantly from
west to east
Cold days are associated with
high surface pressure
What is responsible for causing weather on Earth?
the unequal heating of Earth's surface
What causes the jet streams to form?
pressure and temperature gradients
Although desert environments can occur for many reasons, a factor that has little to do with their occurrence is
the proximity of deserts to cold ocean currents
A high-pressure zone girdles Earth at the 30°N and 30°S latitudes, causing
A belt of hot and dry surface air,
hot weak winds in the horse latitudes,
and great deserts, such as the Sahara and Arabia Desert in Africa, the Mojave Desert in the United States, and the great Victoria Desert in Australia.
Air that flows southward from the horse latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere produces the
trade winds
Air that flows northward from the horse latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere produces the
westerlies
As a scuba diver descends into the open ocean, pressure
increases and temperatures decrease.
Circulation of the ocean's surface water results from
frictional force from winds, along with the pressure gradient and Coriolis forces.
Water that is denser than surrounding water sinks. With respect to the densities of deeper water, how far does it sink?
until it encounters water of the same density
Water evaporated from over the oceans produces precipitation of fresh water because
only water vapor molecules, and not salt molecules, evaporate.
Most surface ocean currents are due to
winds.
Deep ocean currents flow in a circulation pattern that is
north to south.
Large icebergs in the Arctic and Antarctic form as
glaciers calve into the sea.
The Ekman transport spiral is driven
by the wind.
The process where surface waters are pushed away from the land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom waters is called
upwelling
Which of the following occurs during an El Niño year?
Storms increase on the western side of the Pacific.