Oceanography Final

What is the largest ocean?

What is the largest ocean?

Pacific

Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been assembles in a single super continent based on evidence from all the following except…

A. Glacial striations

B. Fossil locations

C. Seafloor magnetic anomalies

D. Coastline shape

E. Salinity of the Ocean

C

What does bathymetry measure?

ocean depths and shape of the seafloor

According to the Wilson Cycle, which basin is in its terminal phase?

Mediterranean Sea

Which of the following is an example of an active subduction zone?

Mariana Trench

What is the average composition of continental crust?

Granite

Which of the following is NOT a boundary between tectonic plates?

A. Transform Fault

B. Mid-Ocean ridge

C. Fracture Zone

D. Deep Sea trench

A

Which of the following statements about hotspots is/are TRUE?

A. They create island arcs.

B. They originate from plumes of unusually hot mantle that remain fixed as the plates move over them.

C. They are only found in the Pacific Ocean

D. they are always associated with seafloor spreading.

E. All of the above

B

Continent-continent collisions

A. Result when the ocean basin between them is consumed by subduction

B. Cause the crust to thicken locally, creating mountains

C. Occur because continental crust is too thick and buoyant to subduct

D. Lead to the creation of supercontinents

E. All of the above

E

Plate tectonics are driven primarily by what?

Mantle convection and slab pull

The Hawaiian islands are a long linear chain of volcanoes formed due to a

hotspot

Relative to each other, North America and Africa are

moving away from each other

The ring of fire is created by

volcanism related to convergent plate boundaries

Which of the following statements is TRUE for mid-ocean ridges?

A. The oldest seafloor rocks are found nearest the MOR

B. The magnetic fields of the earth reverses each time magma erupts at the MOR

C. Basaltic lava is erupted at the MOR

D. They are examples of convergent plate boundaries

C

What is the correct order from the center outward, of the layers of the Earth?

inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

Most of the world’s volcanoes and earthquakes occur…

At plate boundaries

A turbidity current

A. Is a mixture of seawater and sediments

B. Erodes submarine canyons

C. Moves under the influence of gravity

D. Creates a graded deposit at the bottom of the slope

E. All of the above

E

Which of the following is NOT part of the recipe for hurricane formation?

A. Warm surface waters

B. Dry, cold air

C. Coriolis effect

D. Warm, moist air

B

Barrier islands are of great importance because they provide…

protection for mainland coastal structures from storm surge waves

The diagram shows the magneticc polarity reserved by minerals in oceanic crust near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The most recently formed seafloor is found at which location?

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

C

In the diagram, how many magnetic polarity reversals are recorded on the seafloor?

5

True or False: Alfred Wegener proposed the hypothesis of seafloor spreading

False

True or False: The outer core is the ONLY layer of the earth that is liquid

True

True or False: Eratosthenes accurately determined the circumference of the earth using basic geometry and trigonometry 200 years ago

False

True or False: Coral is a plant

False

Seafloor mapping is made possible based on the principle that _______ travels large distances through water

sound

Tsunamis are most often related to what type of plate boundary?

Convergent

Along a continental margin the ______ is geologically part of the continent

shelf

What are the 4 main branches of Oceanography?

Physical, chemical, geological, biological

What is the age of the oldest seafloor rocks?

200 million years

What is the age of the Earth?

4.6 billion years

Name two hazards associated with hurricanes

flooding and high winds causing structural damage

What are the two major causes of global sea level rise?

climate change and ice melting

Name one of the advances in technology developed during WWII that helped provide evidence for plate tectonics

Sonar

Name two modern seafloor mapping techniques

Altimetry and side scan

Based on the image, what color represents the YOUNGEST ocean crust?

red

Based on the image, what color represents the OLDEST?

yellow

What stage of the Wilson cycle is the Atlantic Ocean basin in?

Mature

Explain the image. What is it showing? What scientist is it associated with? What is the significance?

It is showing Pangea which is the supercontinent. Alfred Wegener is the one who figured it out. We can conclude that it onece existed based on fossils found today and continental drift.

How much of the seafloor has been mapped in detail?

less than 20%

Name one of the three ways to create magma

heating basalt

Which of the following is NOT a major ocean province?

A. Deep Ocean Basins

B. Mid-ocean ridges

C. Continental rise

C

Which of the following statements is TRUE for Mid- Ocean ridges?

A. The oldest seafloor rocks are found in the rift valley

B. Basaltic lava is erupted at the MOR

C. The magnetic field of the earth reverses each time magma erupts at the MOR

D. They are examples of convergent plate boundaries

B

Which of the following is an example of a divergent plate boundary?

A. East African Rift Basin

B. Molokai fracture zone

C. Mariana Trench

D. San Andreas Fault

E. Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan mountain

A

What causes offsets along a mid-ocean ridge? (What is the name of the feature that gives an MOR its characteristic shape?)

Transform Faults

Which of the following is NOT a marine organism classification/lifestyle?

A. Planton

B. Pelagic

C. Nekton

D. Benthos

B

Which of the following habitats is not intertidal?

A. Coral reefs

B. Rocky shore

C. Salt marsh

D. Sandy beach

e. All are intertidal

A

Which of the following is an adaptation of bathypelagic (midnight zone) fishes?

A. Attachment

B. Bioluminescence

C. Microscopic size

D. Negative buoyancy

E. Photosynthesis

B

Which of the following statements about plankton is false?

A. Plankton are the base of most ocean food webs

B. Fish eggs may be part of plankton

C. Some plankton are temporary and are benthic or nektonic as adults

D. The main predators of plankton are top pelagic predators

D

The section of the coast that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide is called the

foreshore

Longshore currents that transport sediments along a beach are caused mostly by

wave refraction

Using the photo to the right, determine the primary direction of longshore transport in this region

A. Northwest

B. Northeast

C. Southeast

D. West

E. East

C

Sea level rise worldwide can be attributed to all of the following except:

A. Melting of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets

B. Melting of land-based glaciers and mountain ice caps

C. Melting icebergs

D. Thermal expansion of ocean water

C

Which of the following is not a consequence of global warming?

A. Sea level rise

B. Increasing hurricane strength

C. Melting of glacial ice

D. Shifts in animal/plant habitats

E. All of the above are consequences of global warming

E

Which of the following word pairs correctly links a descriptor with the way in which the organism lives in the ocean?

A. Benthos - drift

B. Benthos- swim

C. Nekton - bottom-dwelling

D. Nekton - swim

E. Plankton - bottom-dwelling

D

The average salinity of the ocean is

35ppt

Which of the following leads to a decrease in the density of seawater?

A. Increasing temperature

B. Decreasing salinity

C. Increasing pressure

D. A and B

E. Band C

B

Thermohaline circulation is driven by….

Density

A rapid change in ocean temperature with change is depth is the

thermocline

The principle inorganic energy source for hydrothermal vent communities is

hydrogen sulfide

Which of the following statements is true about the hydrothermal vent communities?

A. They are only found in the Pacific

B. There are only a few here and there

C. They are complex ecosystems that thrive on vent emissions

D. They make chimneys out of calcium carbonate

C

Primary producers in hydrothermal vent communities are

sulfur-oxidizing bacteria

An example of a coastal plain/drowned valley estuary is the

Chesapeake Bay

Which of the following is FALSE about coastal wetlands?

A. They can absorb excess storm water

B. They are nurseries and feeding grounds for some fish

C. They can efficiently cleanse polluted water

D. They protect shores from wave erosion

E. They are growing rapidly due to sea level rise

E

Why are abyssal plains flat?

Marine snow and fine-grains sediments from turbidity currents cover the abyssal hills

Using the figure, which end of the profile crosses an active continental margin?

A. A

B. B

C. Both

D. Neither

D

Using the figure, relative to each other, North America and Africa are

A. moving away from each other

B. moving closer together

C. Both moving eastward

D. Bot moving westward

E. Not moving

A

True or False: Thermohaline currents are generally faster than surface currents

False

True or False: The polar oceans are the most stratifies regions of the ocean

False

True or False: Near the poles, more energy is reflected back into space than is absorbed

True

True or False: The “smoke” that is vented from black smokers is extremely poisonous

True

True or False: The deep ocean layer receives most of its oxygen, CO2, and nutrients from hydrothermal vents

False

True or False: The water in estuaries is brackish

True

True or False: Seawalls are quite effective at controlling shoreline erosion

True

What marine lifestyle best classifies oysters?

Benthic

Wallops Island, Chincoteague Island, and Assateague Island are what type of coastal feature?

Barrier islands

Define pycnocline

a layer in an ocean or other body of water in which water density increases rapidly with depth.

The white sand on mainland beaches like Wallops Island is primarily composed of what mineral?

Quartz

What is the ultimate cause of all circulation on our planet?

Our planet is unevenly heated by the sun

The deposition of what element causes the yellowing of sediments and chimneys around hydrothermal vents?

Sulfur

Name two impacts of sea level rise on coastal and estuarine zones

coastal erosion and habitat displacement

What is whale fall?

When a whale dies and ends up at the bottom of the ocean

Why is whale fall important?

Because it is a great source of food for benthic organisms

What is sand budget?

concept that compares the amount of sediment added to and removed from a coastal system

What is the diagram showing the formation of?

hydrothermal vent

Use the photo, what is the structure in the picture?

groin

What is oceanography?

branch of science that deals with physical and biological properties of the sea

What are the five ocean basins?

Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Artic

What is the age of Earth?

4.6 billion years