Oceanography Final

Which of the following statements regarding continental and oceanic crust is TRUE?

Selected:
a. Continental crust is thinner and less dense than oceanic crust.
This answer is incorrect.
b. Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.
This is the correct answer.
c. Continental crust is thicker and denser than oceanic crust.
d. Continental crust and oceanic crust have equivalent densities.

Tectonic plates are pieces of the ________ that float on the more fluid ________ below.

a. crust; lithosphere
b. lithosphere; asthenosphere
This is the correct answer.
c. mantle; crust
Selected:
d. asthenosphere; lithosphere

Which of the following is characteristic of oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundaries?

Selected:
a. Volcanic island arcs
This answer is correct.
b. Hot spots
c. Mid-ocean ridges
d. Fracture zones

Deep ocean trenches are associated with ________.

a. transform faults
b. turbidity currents
Selected:
c. submarine canyons
This answer is incorrect.
d. subduction zones

Active continental margins are characterized by which of the following?

Selected:
a. Broad continental shelves
This answer is incorrect.
b. Deep-sea trenches
This is the correct answer.
c. Sparse earthquake activity
d. Shallow coastal waters

Characteristics of passive continental margins include which of the following?

Selected:
a. Thin sediment accumulation
This answer is incorrect.
b. Broad continental shelves
This is the correct answer.
c. Deep-sea trenches
d. Volcanic and earthquake activity

Which of the following contains silica (SiO₂)?

a. Phosphorites
Selected:
b. Radiolarians
This answer is correct.
c. Foraminiferans
d. Coccolithophores

Which of the following contains calcium carbonate (CaCO₃)?

Selected:
a. Foraminiferans
This answer is correct.
b. Phosphorites
c. Diatoms
d. Radiolarians

Calcium carbonate is most likely to dissolve in water with which characteristics?

a. Low carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures
b. Low pressure and warmer temperatures
c. Lots of carbon dioxide and colder temperatures
This is the correct answer.
Selected:
d. Lots of carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures

Sediments produced because of chemical reactions in seawater are called ________.

a. biogenous
Selected:
b. cosmogenous
This answer is incorrect.
c. hydrogenous
This is the correct answer.
d. volcanogenic

Manganese nodules are an example of ________.

a. cosmogenous sediments
b. biogenous sediments
c. terrigenous sediments
Selected:
d. hydrogenous sediments

Sediments found on continental margins are called ________.

Selected:
a. neritic
This answer is correct.
b. oceanic
c. continental
d. pelagic

Pelagic clays contain lots of material that settles to the seafloor through the water column and are ________.

Selected:
a. less than 30% biogenous material
This answer is correct.
b. more than 30% hydrogenous material
c. more than 30% neritic material
d. more than 30% biogenous material

Latent heat is the quantity of heat gained or lost as a substance undergoes a ________.

Selected:
a. change in state
This answer is correct.
b. change in chemical composition
c. change in subatomic structure
d. change in atomic mass

As the salinity of seawater increases, its ________.

Selected:
a. density decreases
This answer is incorrect.
b. residence time decreases
c. density increases
This is the correct answer.
d. residence time increases

A layer of rapidly changing salinity with depth is called a ________.

Selected:
a. halocline
This answer is correct.
b. lysocline
c. pycnocline
d. thermocline

An area of the ocean where rapid change in ocean density occurs with a change in depth is the ________.

Selected:
a. pycnocline
This answer is correct.
b. halocline
c. thermocline
d. isocline

Winds blowing out of the north toward the south in the southern hemisphere will appear to ________.

a. circulate clockwise
b. be deflected toward the west
c. circulate counterclockwise
Selected:
d. be deflected toward the east

Low-pressure regions in the northern hemisphere rotate ________.

a. at a 45° angle from the prevailing wind direction
b. to the left
c. clockwise
Selected:
d. counterclockwise

Question 78

Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by ________ and modified by ________.

a. latitude; differences in salinity and land
b. density differences; differences in salinity and temperature
Selected:
c. wind; the Coriolis effect and land
This answer is correct.
d. wind; gravity and density

Which of the following statements is true of surface ocean currents?

a. Surface currents occur within and below the pycnocline.
b. Surface currents transport warm water toward the equator.
Selected:
c. Surface currents transport cold water toward the poles.
This answer is incorrect.
d. Surface currents form circular patterns in the major ocean basins called "gyres."

Question 80

Which of the following is NOT an eastern boundary current?

a. Peru Current
Selected:
b. Gulf Stream
This answer is correct.
c. Canary Current
d. California Current

Compared to an eastern boundary current in a gyre, which of the following statements is true for a western boundary current?

a. Deeper current
b. Warmer water
c. Narrower current
Selected:
d. Deeper currents, increased current velocity, warmer water, and narrower current are all true of western boundary currents

Refraction causes headlands to be areas of ________ surfing and sites of ________.

a. poor; deposition
b. good; deposition
Selected:
c. poor; erosion
This answer is incorrect.
d. good; erosion

Which of the following would you expect to find on a summertime beach?

Selected:
a. A wide, sandy berm
This answer is correct.
b. Prominent longshore bars
c. A narrow berm
d. Larger, high-energy waves

Question 116

Winter beaches ________.

a. are wider than summer beaches due to low-energy waves during the winter
b. contain less sediment than summer beaches due to low-energy waves during the winter
Selected:
c. are narrower than summer beaches due to high-energy waves during the winter
This answer is correct.
d. contain more sediment than summer beaches due to high-energy waves during the winter