Oceanography Midterm

Name the World’s Ocean

1. Pacific

2. Atlantic

3. Indian

4. Artic

5. Southern/Antarctic

Which ocean is the largest and the deepest?

Pacific

Which one is 2nd largest and 2nd deepest?

Atlantic

Which one is the shallowest?

Artic

Which ocean surrounds the Antarctica?

The Southern

How much water is in the world’s oceans?

321,003,271 cubic miles

The deepest trench is

Mariana Trench

Where is Mariana Trench Located?

Pacific Ocean

How deep is the Mariana Trench?

11,022 m or 36,161 ft

The deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean is

Puerto Rico Trench

Where is the Peru Chile Trench located

Pacific Ocean

What are the two types of crust?

Continental and Oceanic

Which crust is denser?

A. Continental

B. Oceanic

Oceanic

Which crust is thicker?

A. Continental

B. Oceanic

Continental

Why are satellites used to map the ocean floor?

Ability to provide global coverage, high resolution imagery, and remote sensing capabilities

What is the origin of the oceans on Earth?

The first permanent oceans formed 4 billion years ago. Salinity developed from dissolved rock elements

How deep is Challenger Deep?

10,935 meters or 35,876 ft

What is continental drift?

Alfred Wegener’s Theory about the continents slowly drifting across the globe

Evidence for continental drift includes:

The continents collided to form a large landmass named Pangaea. There is also evidence with the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges

What are the main layers of the Earth from the point of view of the chemical properties?

Crust, Mantle, Core

Crust

low density, mainly silicate minerals

Mantle

mainly iron and magnesium silicate minerals

Core

high density, mainly iron and nickel

What are the main layers of the Earth from the point of view of the physical properties?

Lithosphere, Asthenosphere, Mesosphere, Outer core, Inner core

The only liquid part of the Earth is?

The Outer Core

What is the lithosphere?

tectonic plates that float on ductile asthenosphere

The tectonic plates sit on top of the

Asthenosphere

The 3 types of tectonic plate boundaries are

Divergent, Convergent, Transform

The Himalayas are an example of what type of plate boundaries?

Convergent Plate Boundary

The mid-ocean ridge is formed due to what type of plate boundaries

Divergent Plate Boundary

What is the mid-ocean ridge?

Spreading center

What is a subduction zone?

Oceanic trench sit of crust destruction

What is seafloor spreading?

The formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges

Describe the magnetic pattern at mid-ocean ridge

Alternating bands of normal and reversed polarity

The deep ocean trenches from in a process called _______

subduction

4 types of sediments

1. Lithogenous

2. Biogenous

3. Hydrogenous

4. Cosmogenous

Lithogenous

derived from Land

Biogenous

derived from Organisms

Hydrogenous

derived from Water

Cosmogenous

derived from outer space

What is the Ring of Fire?

A horseshoe-shaped zone of intense volcanic and seismic activity encircling the Pacific Ocean basin

What caused the formation of The Ring of Fire?

Due to the interactions of tectonic plates, particularly subduction zones that cause volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and the formation of deep ocean trenches

What process of change of state of water occur with absorption of heat?

1. Melting

2. Evaporation

3. Sublimation

What processes of change of state of water occur with the release of heat?

1. Freezing

2. Condensation

3. Deposition

What is temperature?

Average Kinetic Energy of molecules in a substance

What is Heat?

Transfer of both kinetic and potential energy from one object to another due to temperature differences

What is specific heat capacity?

How much heat energy a substance can absorb or release per unit mass for a given temperature change

How is water’s heat capacity comparable with other substances’ heat capacities?

Water has a high heat capacity. It can take in or lose much heat without changing temperature

What is the freezing/melting temperature of water?

0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit)

What is the boiling temperature of water?

100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit)

What is latent heat of melting?

Energy needed to break intermolecular bonds that hold water molecules rigidly in place in ice crystal

What is the latent heat of vaporization?

Amount of heat that must be added to a substance at its boiling point to break the intermolecular bonds and change state from liquid to vapor

What are several properties that make water unique and suitable for maintaining life on Earth?

1. High Specific Heat Capacity

2. Universal Solvent

3. Surface Tension

4. Cohesion & Adhesion

5. Expansion Upon Freezing

6. High Heat of Vaporization

7. Hydrogen Bonding

What happens with water when the temperature is decreasing from 4C to 0C?

The density of water decreases as temperature decreases

What is salinity?

Total amount of dissolved solids in water including dissolved gases

What is the average salinity of seawater?

35 grams per kilogram

How is the seawater different from pure water?

• Seawater (contains dissolved salts and minerals and denser)

• Pure Water (no contaminants and less dense)

What processes contribute to a decrease in salinity?

Freshwater influx from rivers, precipitation, and melting ice

What process contribute to an increase in salinity?

Evaporation, sea ice formation, high evaporation rates, isolation in enclosed seas, and ocean circulation patterns

Why is the salinity near and equator is low?

Salinity is low due to high precipitation, warm surface waters and ocean currents contribute by enhancing evaporation and transporting lower salinity water towards the equator

Compare the temperature and density behavior of ocean water at low and high latitudes

High latitudes- low salinity and abundant sea ice melting, precipitation, and runoff

Low latitudes- low salinity and high precipitation and runoff