Introduction to Oceanography Exam 2 Quizzes and Answers

Quiz 5 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Quiz 6 1. 2. What is true of the intertropical convergence zone? (it is subject to seasonal variations) How many atmospheric cells are present in each hemisphere? (3) What occurs at the boundaries of circulation cells? (winds move vertically where the boundaries meet) Why is the air never completely dry? (water vapor makes up as much as 4% of the atmosphere; clouds and fog are actually liquid droplets of water; water’s very presence in the atmosphere accounts for dew, rain, and snow) Why does the heat budget vary with latitude? (the angle of the sun at varying latitudes) Which is not an example of a tropical cyclone? (nor’easter) If a ship is trying to sail from the eastern United states to Europe, what route would be the most ecient to take? (a northern route to take advantage of the westerlies) Why are east-west variation patterns more pronounced in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere? (there is almost equal ratio of land and water in the northern hemisphere) What causes most of the dierences in winds in comparison to normal surface wind directions? (geographical distribution of land masses; the dierent responses of land and ocean to solar heating; chaotic flow) Where do tropical cyclones come from? (within a single warm and humid air mass) What is not a factor in the amount of light penetrating the ocean? (the amount of light absorbed by clouds) Horse latitudes at sea correspond to __ on land. (great deserts) Why are there multiple atmospheric cells as air moves from the equator to the poles instead of one single cell? (there are intermediate precipitation events which break up the air into circulation cells) What is the term for a pattern of wind circulation that changes with season? (monsoon) What is the residence time of water vapor in the lower atmosphere? (10 days) What is the name given by sailors to the area where hadley cells are covered? (doldrums) What is a storm surge? (movement of water due to the low atmospheric pressure creates a dome of water) What is the tendency of pausing air masses over land? (they take on the characteristics of the land below them) What is the cause of atmospheric circulation? (the coriolis eect) The lower atmosphere is a homogenous mixtuer of gasses with nitrogen and oxygen being the most abundant? (true) What thrusts water masses that are engaged in the thermocline flow of the world’s ocean? (gravity) Which water mass is not produced by caballing? (mediterranean deep water) 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What is the name for slow, deep currents beneath the pycnocline? (thermocline currents) What is considered to be the largest western boundary current? (gulf stream) What does not aect surface currents? (density) What is not a characteristic of western boundary currents? (they are broad currents) What is a characteristic of Antarctic bottom water? (extreme density) What influences contour currents? (topography) 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. What is responsible for the large-scale global ocean circulation? (thermohaline circulation) What is the ekman spiral? (the decreasingly slower movement of water as it gets further away from the wind sources) What is a gyre? (a circular flow of water around the periphery of ocean basins) What water mass is the most saline? (mediterranean deep water) What direction would a gyre in the southern hemisphere flow towards? (left) Where is density stratification the least pronounced? (polar latitude) What prevents north atlantic deep water from moving on a large scale like the Antarctic bottom water? (the topography of the basin) Where does the largest amount of upwelling occur? (equatorial upwelling) Why is the wet wind drift not considered a gyre? (it does not flow around the margins of an ocean basin) The global conveyor belt transports juvenile organisms, mixes nutrients, and distributes gases and solids (true) Researchers believe the catalyst for the 1982-83 el nino event was actually the volcanic eruption of el chichon (true) The horizontal movement of water by wind can lead to vertical movement in surface water (true) 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Quiz 7 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. What is the forchhammer’s principle? (the constant proportion of solids in seawater) What is a solute? (a substance that dissolves into another substance) What is not a factor on the salinity of a particular region of ocean? (saturation levels) What type of water mass dissolves the most amounts of gases? (polar water masses) What enhances the ocean’s buering capacity? (the amount of dissolved inorganic carbon present) What is the greatest source of oxygen in deep water? (polar waters that have sunk from the surface) The ocean is becoming more acidic as it absorbs additional ___ from the atmosphere (carbon dioxide) What is the source of high carbon dioxide levels at middle depths in the ocean? (the decay of the remains of organisms) Which essential gas is often in an unstable form in the ocean and atmosphere? (nitrogen)) The level of ___ increases with depth which is a factor in the calcium carbonate compensation depth. (carbon dioxide) What happens to ph levels in regions where there is more carbon dioxide present? (the ph levels decrease in these regions) Why is the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater much less than the theoretical maximum saturation level? (carbon dioxide is quickly used by photosynthetic organisms) 13. What does carbon dioxide break down into once it is in the ocean? (carbonic acid; bicarbonate; carbonate) 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. How do salinometers measure salinity? (it measures the electrical conductivity of seawater samples) Why are some tropical waters unable to sustain life? (there is a low level of dissolved oxygen due to temperature) What causes a decrease in oxygen levels beyond the sunlit layer? (the respiration from marine animals and bacteria) What is the average pH of the ocean? (8.0) Carbon dioxide is abundant near the surface due to the photosynthesis activities of plants (false) Rapid amounts of photosynthesis can create variations in the alkalinity of seawater (true) A higher level of ph is associated with more hydrogen ions (false) Quix 8 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. What is the main reason for the stratification in the north polar waters? (salinity) What is true of heat capacity? (it is the measure of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram 1 degree celsius) Why is iron not abundant in the ocean? (it is nearly insoluble in oxygenated water) As pure water approaches its freezing point, the density decreases. Why does this happen? (the hydrogen bonds become rigid, allowing it to expand slightly) Why is sensible heat detectable while heat that is not sensible cannot be measured? (a thermometer measures the decrease in temperature, but as liquid changes to solid, the loss of heat is not measurable) What is the structure of carbon dioxide an example of? (a compound) Which water mass is characterized by increasing density with deeper depths? (pycnocline zone) ___ connects atoms by sharing the energy of paired electrons. (covalent bond) Why does the ocean not boil or freeze solid in dierent regions of the world? (heat is transported by oceanic and atmospheric circulation) Which does not have an eect on water’s density? (viscosity) The pycnocline isolates the majority of the world ocean from: (heating and cooling brought on by solar energy fluctuations; wind drive circulations; light) Why does the latent heat of vaporization require so much heat energy? (the energy is needed to break the strong covalent bonds; the energy is required to stabilize bond variations; the energy is used to break the hydrogen bonds) Which is not a characteristic of thermoclines? (thermoclines are more abrupt in the high latitudes) What layer is permanently devoid of light? (aphotic zone) What is rarely a limiting factor for marine organisms? (hydrostatic pressure) What is the largest biogeochemical cycle? (global carbon cycle) What organism usually fixes nitrogen into usable chemical forms? (cyanobacteria) What biological chemical is important in heredity of traits? (nucleic acid) What element is used to link nucleic acids in all organisms? (phosphorus) Phytoplankton is responsible for the synthesis of 90% to 96% of the surface ocean’s carbohydrates (true)