Deck 16: Oceans and Coastlines

Question 1

Plankton that conduct photosynthesis are called _______________.

Answer 1

phytoplankton

Question 2

A(n) ____ sea level change occurs when the growth or melting of glaciers alters the global sea level.

A) eustatic
B) isostatic
C) thermohaline
D) Ekman

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A pillar of rock let when a sea arch collapses or when the inshore portion of a headland erodes faster than the tip is called a(n) _______________.

Answer 3

sea stack

Question 4

The bending of a wave that occurs when it approaches the shore at an angle and the end of the wave in shallow water slows down is called _______________.

Question 5

A(n) _______________ is a wave-resistant ridge or mound built by corals, oysters, algae, or other marine organisms.

Question 6

The relatively small tides that occur when the Moon is 90 degrees out of alignment with the Sun and Earth are called _______________.

Question 7

A(n) _______________ coastline is one that was previously above sea level but has been drowned, because either the land has sunk or sea level has risen.

Question 8

When the flow of water caused by the rise and fall of the tides is channeled by a bay with a narrow entrance or by closely spaced islands, a(n) _______________ results.

Question 9

The upward flow of water that carries cold water from the ocean depths to the surface is called _______________.

Question 10

Any strip of shoreline washed by waves and tides is called a(n) _______________.

Question 11

The layer of ocean water in which temperature drops rapidly with depth is called the ____.

A) thermocline
B) halocline
C) pycnocline
D) tempicline

Question 12

A spring tide is a ____ tide that occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are ____.

A) small; 90° out of alignment
B) large; 90° out of alignment
C) small; aligned
D) large; aligned

Question 13

A wave steepens and crashes when it enters waters shallower than its _______________.

Question 14

The circular motion of water caused by a passing wave diminishes with depth until it becomes negligible at the _______________.

Question 15

The two most common ions dissolved in seawater are ____.

A) magnesium and carbonate
B) sodium and chloride
C) calcium and sulfate
D) potassium and gold

Question 16

Circular or elliptical currents in either water or air are called _______________.

Question 17

A sheltered body of water separated from the sea by a reef or barrier island is a(n) _______________.

Question 18

____ is the process by which surface water moved by wind drags the layer of ocean water below it, which in turn drags the layer below it, and so forth, with the direction of movement in each layer deflected by the Coriolis effect.

A) Tidal bulge
B) Wave base
C) Thermohaline circulation
D) Ekman transport

Question 19

The deflection of currents caused by Earth's rotation is called the _______________.

Question 20

The _______________ is the distance between successive wave crests (or troughs).

Question 21

Spits form from sand or gravel deposited by ____ currents.

A) thermohaline
B) upwelling
C) longshore
D) turbidity

Question 22

How does refraction affect wave erosion along irregular coasts?

A) Waves refract away from headlands and focus erosion in adjacent bays.
B) Headlands erode more quickly and adjacent bays fill with sand.
C) Refraction causes headlands and bays to erode at the same rate.
D) Refraction protects irregular coasts from erosion.

Question 23

Longshore currents transport sediment ____.

A) perpendicular to the coast
B) always toward the north
C) parallel to the shore
D) in circular patterns

Question 24

An emergent coastline forms where sea level ____ or coastal land ____.

A) falls; sinks
B) falls; rises
C) rises; sinks
D) rises; rises

Question 25

Why does upwelling occur along the equator?

A) Surface water along the equator is high in salinity, causing it to sink and be replaced by deep water.
B) Water in the equatorial currents is deflected poleward by the Coriolis effect, causing deep water to rise and replace the surface water.
C) Deep water near the equator is warmed by the Sun and rises to the surface as its density decreases.
D) Currents on either side of the equator flow in opposite directions, causing eddies between them that bring deep water to the surface.

Question 26

What term describes the gradual movement of sediment (usually sand) along a beach, parallel to the shoreline, when waves strike the beach obliquely but return to the sea directly?

A) beach drift
B) Ekman transport
C) wave push
D) downshore current

Question 27

One factor that controls the size of a wave is the distance that the wind has traveled, called ____.

A) surf
B) wavelength
C) wave base
D) fetch

Question 28

What is a narrow barrier or wall built on a beach, perpendicular to the shoreline, to trap sand transported by currents and waves?

A) beach drift
B) wave base
C) spit
D) groin

Question 29

A wavelength is the ____.

A) highest part of a wave
B) distance between successive crests
C) fetch of a wave
D) vertical distance between the crest and the trough of a wave

Question 30

Deep-sea currents are driven by ____.

A) wind
B) the Coriolis effect
C) differences in water density
D) the Gulf Stream

Question 31

The ____ portion of a beach lies between mean high and low tides.

A) foreshore
B) backshore
C) shoreface
D) longshore

Question 32

Due to the Coriolis effect, currents in the Northern Hemisphere ____.

A) are deflected to the left
B) are deflected to the right
C) flow in straight lines
D) end up flowing to the south

Question 33

In the mid-1700s, Benjamin Franklin helped chart a surface current called the ____, which carried ships from North America to England more quickly.

A) Labrador Current
B) Falkland Current
C) Humboldt Current
D) Gulf Stream

Question 34

Ocean water density depends on ____.

A) temperature only
B) salinity only
C) temperature and salinity
D) water color

Question 35

Why does upwelling occur along the west coast of South America, where the Humboldt current flows to the north?

A) The Coriolis effect and Ekman transport deflect the current away from shore, bringing deep water to the surface.
B) The current is high in salinity, causing it to sink and be replaced by deep water.
C) Waves beating against the shore stir up deep water.
D) The surface current is colder than the deep water in that region.

Question 36

A long, low-lying sandy island that extends parallel to the shoreline is called a(n) ____.

A) oceanic island
B) atoll
C) groin
D) barrier island

Question 37

During an interval of 24 hours and 53 minutes, most coastlines experience ____ high tide(s) and ____ low tide(s).

A) one; one
B) two; two
C) three; two
D) four; four

Question 38

A tidal bulge can always be found ____.

A) on both sides of Earth facing 90 degrees from the Moon
B) on the side of Earth facing the Moon as well as on the opposite side
C) only on the side of the Earth facing the Moon
D) only on the side of the Earth opposite from the Moon

Question 39

A spit that extends partially or completely across the entrance to a bay is called a ____.

A) headland
B) longshore platform
C) groin
D) baymouth bar

Question 40

Tiny marine animals that live mostly within a few meters of the sea surface and feed on photosynthetic plankton are called ____.

A) predaplankton
B) phytoplankton
C) pycnoplankton
D) zooplankton

Question 41

The difference between high and low tide in an area is strongly affected by ____.

A) the shape of the coastline
B) the temperature of the water
C) whether it's in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere
D) upwelling

Question 42

Sea levels has risen and fallen repeatedly in the geologic past, and coastlines have emerged and submerged throughout Earth's history.

Question 43

In recent years, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide has caused seawater to become more acidic.

Question 44

High and low tides occur at the same time every day.

Question 45

When the Gulf Stream reaches the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, it sinks to the ocean floor and deflects to become the North Atlantic Deep Water.

Question 46

Some coastlines are rising isostatically because the lithosphere was depressed by thick ice sheets during the Pleistocene glaciation that have since melted away.

Question 47

Because Earth's circumference is greatest at the equator and Earth rotates once each day, a point on the equator rotates much faster than a point near the North Pole.

Question 48

The salinity of the oceans has been relatively constant throughout much of geologic time because salt has been removed from seawater at roughly the same rate at which it has been added.

Question 49

Coral reefs thrive over a wide temperature range.

Question 50

Storms are not responsible for much coastal erosion.

Question 51

Sea stacks form when large rocks are piled on top of one another by powerful waves during storms.

Question 52

All of Earth's oceans are connected and water flows from one to another.

Question 53

The depth of the wave base is roughly ____ a single wavelength.

A) four times
B) twice
C) one quarter of
D) one half of

Question 54

Most of the photosynthesis and nutrient consumption in the ocean is conducted by ____.

A) corals
B) deep dwelling organisms
C) bacteria
D) plankton

Question 55

An ocean wave moves along the sea surface, but the water in the wave travels in circular paths.

Question 56

Most wave erosion occurs by abrasion with the silt, sand, and gravel that waves carry.

Question 57

Most beach sand is formed by weathering and erosion at the beach itself.

Question 58

As you move downward from the surface of the ocean, the movement of water becomes less affected by wind and more affected by the Coriolis effect.

Question 59

As waves erode a headland into a steep cliff, a flat or gently sloping ____ forms at the base.

A) wave-cut platform
B) baymouth bar
C) groin
D) sea stack

Question 60

The backshore is the ____.

A) region below the low tide mark
B) low tide mark
C) region between the high and low tide lines
D) region above the normal high tide line that is washed by waves only during storms

Question 61

How does microplastic debris move through the ocean?

Question 62

Define crest, trough, wavelength and wave height.

Question 63

What is the definition of salinity?

Question 64

Describe the process of ocean acidification.

Question 65

What is the depth for the thermocline?

Question 66

When and where was the human garbage patch discovered in the ocean?

Question 67

Which organisms in the ocean make hard body parts out of calcium carbonate?

Question 68

Define wave-cut cliff, wave-cut platform, sea arch, and sea stack.

Question 69

What causes the tides?

Question 70

Describe the Gulf Stream.

Question 71

What are the highest and lowest parts of the wave called?

Question 72

Describe the negative effects of ocean acidification on carbonate reefs and the Great Barrier Reef.

Question 73

Explain how longshore current and beach drift are related.

Question 74

Define a spit and baymouth bar - how are they related?

Question 75

Many coastlines experience how many tides during a 24 hour and 53 minute period?

Question 76

Describe an emergent and a submergent coastline, what do they look like?

Question 77

Describe the zones of a beach.

Question 78

Global sea level change can occur three ways, explain each.

Question 79

Describe upwelling in terms of where it happens and what happens during the process.

Question 80

What are surface currents driven by?