oceanography final

what is the middle layer of the ocean called?

Thermocline

What is the atmospheric pressure at sea level?

14.7 psi

As you descend what happens to the pressure?

pressure increases

What are the names of the major oceans from smallest to largest?

Arctic, Southern, Indian, Atlantic, Pacific (smallest to largest)

what 2 factors separate ocean water into different layers?

Temperature and Salinity

In ocean water the main ions are?

sodium and chloride

Where is new sea floor created?

mid-ocean ridge

How do oceanic crusts and continental crusts differ?

oceanic crust is thinner and more dense; the continental crust is thicker and less dense.

Which hemisphere has the most land?

Northern Hemisphere

What is the name of the theory that causes tectonic plates to want to snap back into place and relieve built up pressure?

Elastic rebound theory

What type of tectonic boundary produces tsunamis?

convergent plate boundaries

How do storm surges and tsunamis differ?

storm surges are produced through hurricanes while tsunamis are produced through underwater disturbances.

What is the major difference between a tropical storm and hurricane?

Wind speed

Why is the eye of a strong hurricane clear and what causes it to happen?

Sinking dry air nd high pressure.

Why do hurricanes get names?

avoid confusion and streamline communications

What does warm water do to a hurricane? Cold water?

warm water makes hurricanes stronger and cold water makes it weaker.

What do researchers call the height water reached onto land due to a tsunami?

run-up

What is a tidal wave?

an exceptionally large ocean wave, especially one caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption

How are air pressure and hurricanes related?

Lower air pressure intensifies hurricanes.

Where is the tsunami warning center(s)?

Hawaii and Alaska

What are the key factors needed for a hurricane to form?

high winds, warm air, and low pressure

What part of a hurricane causes most deaths? How to these people usually die?

storm surge; drowning

How are wavelength and tsunamis related?

the wavelength of tsunamis is long.

What is the eye wall of a hurricane?

the most powerful part of the hurricane with very fast winds surrounding the eye

What are other names used around the world for hurricanes and where are they used?

typhoons and cyclones

Where do most hurricanes that hit the U.S. start?

west coast of Africa

What is considered a major hurricane and what wind speed is needed?

category 3 or higher with wind speeds of 111 or higher.

What do meteorologists use to describe the projected path of a hurricane?

the cone of uncertainty

How fast can tsunamis move through the deep-water open ocean?

500-600 mph

How do we detect tsunamis and what are some warning signs?

DART buoys and receding water.

Define thermocline

a steep temperature gradient in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures.

Water has the ability to hold a lot of heat. What is this property called and how does it affect climates near large bodies of water?

High specific heat- moderates water temp.

How did we get water here on earth?

volcanic outgassing

Describe the best way to escape an undertow or riptide?

swim parallel to the beach.

how does sea water evaporate?

only the H2O evaporates when the water gets hot, leaving the salt behind.

what factors can increase salinity and is salinity the same all throughout the ocean.

Evaporation and freezing; No

What is the Challenger Deep

Deepest part of the Mariana Trench

What is the speed that sound waves travel through the ocean.

1500 m/s

Define what a gyre is and describe how east coasts of continents are affected compared to west coasts…

Circular currents; east coast gets warm currents while the west coast gets cold ones.

What is upwelling?

The rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water

What is down welling?

the sinking of surface water due to density differences.

define the fetch of a wave

distance over water that wind blows uninterrupted.

Deep water currents are moved due to what?

Difference in density and salinity

What current is found off of the west coast of the U.S.; the east coast of Africa?

• California current- cold

• Agulhas current- warm

Which way do gyres move for their respective hemisphere?

Northern- clockwise

Southern- counterclockwise

Where is the Great Garbage Patch and how big is it?

in the Pacific Ocean, specifically between Hawaii and California. approximately 1.6 million square kilometers

Define the term tides and know what the three types of tides you can have at a location on a daily basis.

Regular rising and falling of water levels. diurnal, semidiurnal, and mixed.

What is tidal range?

The difference between high and low tide

What causes tides?

the gravitational pull of the moon and sun

How long is a lunar/tidal day?

24 hours and 50 minutes

What term is given for when the moon is at its closest point to earth?

perigee

How are density currents caused?

They are caused by differences in the salinity and temperature of the water.

Why don't currents move in straight lines?

Because of the Coriolis effect which causes moving fluids to be defected due to earths rotation.

What causes waves to break?

friction

What is a diurnal tide?

one high tide and one low tide each day

What is a semidiurnal tide?

two high tides and two low tides (same height) each day

What is a mixed tide?

Two unequal high and low tides daily

In the open ocean, describe the movement of a water molecule as a wave goes by. What happens when it is a breaking wave close to shore?

In a circular motion as waves roll over them. They return almost to the same spot they were in.

What is the relationship between wavelength and breaking waves?

a wave will break when the wave height gets to high compared to the wavelength.

At what fraction will a wave break due to steepness?

1/7 the wavelength

Gulf Stream: know when and who discovered it, what it does, what would happen if it stopped moving.

• Ben Franklin

• A current that brings warm water from the gulf of mexico to the eastern US.

• If it stopped it would majorly change the climate of Europe.

what are the zones based on depth of the ocean?

• epipelagic

• mesopelagic

• bathypelagic

• abyssopelagic

• hadalpelagic

Where and why does most ocean life occur?

epipelagic zone because it allows for photosynthesis

Define cetacean

whales and dolphins

What gives dolphins and whales an advantage when hunting?

Echolocation

Know how echolocation is used and the "clicks" are sent and received.

dolphins and whales emit clicks through their foreheads which bounce off objects.

What will happen to sea level over the next 30 years?

sea level will heighten.

What happens to the ocean as it absorbs more CO2?

it becomes more acidic

Is the ocean becoming more or less acidic?

more

How do we affect the ocean here in Indiana even though we aren't close any of them?

run-off from farming eventually enters the ocean.

Where do the salts that are found in the ocean come from?

weathering rocks

Describe the two types of plankton:

Phytoplankton are plants and zooplankton are animals

Where in the ocean is the greatest variety of life found?

places where nutrients are dense and shallow waters.

Where does coral grow (in general) that can lead them to build what large structure over time?

typically in warm, shallow, tropical water

When did turtles first appear?

100 million years ago

What is the shell of a turtle called?

carapace

What determines the sex of a turtle?

Temperature of the sand during incubation

What percentage of hatchlings will survive to be adults?

1%

Describe what the follow features do for a shark: a. Nictitating membrane: b. Lateral line: c. Ampule of Lorenzini:

• Nictitating membrane: A protective eyelid that covers the eye during attacks.

• Lateral line: A sensory system that detects vibrations and movements in the water.

• Ampullae of Lorenzini: Special sensing organs that detect the electric fields of living things.

What sickness do sharks rarely have?

cancer

What are baby sharks called?

pups

What can researchers determine by looking at the shape of a shark's tail, the shape of its teeth?

• Tail shape indicates swimming style and speed.

• Teeth shape reveals diet and feeding behavior (e.g., sharp for tearing meat, flat for crushing shells).

List different ways researchers identify individual sharks and whales?

Fin shapes, scars, pigmentation patterns, photo-ID, satellite tagging, and DNA analysis.

What is the process called where different organisms take on a similar shape due to the environment they live in?

convergent evolution

What are the two classifications of whales?

• Baleen whales (Mysticeti): Filter feeders with baleen plates.

• Toothed whales (Odontoceti): Have teeth and use echolocation.

What are differences between dolphins and porpoises?

• Dolphins have a longer, beak-like snout, are generally larger, have cone-shaped teeth, and curved dorsal fins.

• Porpoises have shorter, blunt snouts, are smaller, have spade-shaped teeth, and more triangular dorsal fins.

What makes a rorqual whale unique?

ventral pleats (throat grooves)

What are two different ways that rorqual whales feed?

• lunge feeding

• bubble net feeding

Define bioluminescence and understand what causes it

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms, caused by a chemical reaction involving the enzyme luciferase

What are the 3 main types of ocean pollution?

plastic pollution, chemical pollution, and nutrient pollution.

What happens when raw sewage or excessive runoff from fertilizers reaches the ocean?

run-off introduces excess nutrients to algae and makes it grow too much.

Explain how Biomagnification works

As producers absorb toxins they begin to build in each trophic level of the food chain because the concentration in the tissue increases as you go up to the apex predator.

What is causing coral reefs to die off?

Increased CO2 absorption in the water is causing the pH of the to decrease and become more acidic. Also, the increase in water temperature is causing the coral to bleach in areas around the world.

Why is plastic such a problem with the health of the ocean?

marine animals eat plastic and cant digest it causing many deaths. Also microplastic is entering the food chain and could harm humans.