Marine Science Unit 4 Quiz

1. There are 4 distinct layers of the Atmosphere:

Troposphere (closest to the Earth’s Surface), Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Thermosphere (furthest from the Earth’s Surface).

2. These layers are separated by 3 boundaries:

Tropopause, Stratopause, and Mesopause.

3. The Sun’s rays are most concentrated when they are

perpendicular to the Earth’s surface (at the equator).

4. Greenhouse gases block heat from transmitting back to space. Four important greenhouse gases are

water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide

On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of

cyclonic weather systems.

6. Winds form partly because of

air along the equator absorbing solar radiation and rising.

7. Wind is the movement of the molecules in the air. Winds in our atmosphere are driven by

heat energy from the Sun.

8. The names given to the three distinct convection cells that form over each hemisphere include the .

trade winds, easterlies, and polar easterlies

9. As wind passes over the water’s surface the top layer moves away from the wind at a 45 degree angle, the microlayers below continue to move at a 45 degree angle resulting in a spiral effect called .

Ekman Spiral

what contributes to the Ekman spiral?

Global winds and the Coriolis effect

10. When winds blow along the coast surface waters (Ekman layer) are moved offshore. This layer moves at ... from the wind. This is known as

90 degrees. Ekman Transport.

11. This makes room for water to move from the bottom to the surface, this is known as

upwelling

12. Upwelling cycles nutrients from ... along the ocean floor to ... in surface waters.

decomposers & producers

13. There are three types of upwelling ... upwelling, ... upwelling, and ... upwelling. Equatorial upwelling is greater in the ... Ocean.

coastal, Antarctic & equatorial. Pacific

14. ... occurs if surface water gets cold enough during the winter, it becomes ... than the deeper water and sinks.

Downwelling. denser

15. ... follows a regular seasonal pattern in ... & ... regions, usually occurring in the winter when surface water cools.

Overturn. temperate & polar

16. Under the influence of the Coriolis effect, the wind-driven surface currents combine into huge, circular systems called ...

gyres

17. The currents on the ... side of the gyre are ... because the water is leaving the equator going towards the poles

western. warmer.

18. The currents on the ... of the gyre are ... because the water is leaving the poles and headed towards the lower latitudes.

eastern side. colder

19. In terms of density, the ... layer of the ocean is the least dense and the ...layer is the densest.

top. bottom

20. The surface layer is known as the ... layer, this is also known as the ... layer because it is mixed by wind, waves, and current.

Epipelagic. mixed

21. The permanent ... exists in the ... layer.

thermocline. intermediate

22. ... circulation is the name given to the concept of ocean circulation driven by difference in ...

Thermohaline. density, temperature, & salinity

23. The ... plays a major role in Earth’s climate and weather.

Great Ocean Conveyor

influences the Coriolis effect.

Uneven heating & rotational pattern