OCS 2008 Estuaries Quiz

Drowned river valley or coastal plain estuary

What type of estuary is the Cheseapeake Bay?

Drowned river valley

Another name for a coastal plain estuary is a ________

Bar-built

Estuaries along the northcentral Gulf of Mexico are typically of the _______________ type (geomorphological classification)

Fjords

Long, narrow estuaries carved out by glaciers are called _________

Tectonic

San Francisco Bay is an example of a __________________ estuary.

Blue crabs or brown shrimp or white shrimp

Give an example of a species of crustacean that utilizes Gulf Coast estuaries as nursery grounds. ___________________.

Coastal lagoon

An estuary that has a sand-bar across the mouth with limited freshwater inflow is called a ____________________.

Low, high

In terms of the types of animals found in estuaries, estuaries typically have ______ species richness and _______ animal abundances.

Delta

A broad, poorly-defined, fan shaped area of mud formed where a river enters the ocean is called a ______________. (1)

Seaward, Landward

The movement of water at the surface of an estuary is generally ________________ while the movement of the water near the bottom is generally _________________.

Small, large

In a well-mixed estuary there will be a ___________ change in salinity from the surface to the bottom and a ___________change in salinity from the river to the sea.

Large, small

. In a highly stratified estuary, there will be a ___________ change in salinity from the surface to the bottom and a ______________ change in salinity from the river to the sea.

More

Compared to coastal waters, the temperatures in an estuary within a temperate climate zone will be _____________ variable than those offshore.

Higher

In an estuary where there is a sharp gradient in turbidity, the clearer water generally has a _________ salinity.

Flocculation

Clumping together of sediment particles in presence of salt ions is termed ________________.

Detritus

Most primary production from emergent estuarine plants enters the water as _____________.

A semi-enclosed body of water, with a permanent or temporary connection to the sea, where fresh and saltwater mix

Define estuary