Ch 14 -16 Quiz Review Key

Ch 14 -16 Quiz Review – Key

1. What are the main producers of food in the ocean? Photosynthetic organisms like plants, algae, bacteria

2. What does the steep continental slope merge into where there are no trenches? The continental rise

3. Define thermocline and pycnocline. Thermocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of temperature with depth (it gets colder). Pycnocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of density with depth (it gets more dense).

4. What is turbulence? What does it do? Irregular movement of water, churning; it allows the longshore current to move larger sand and gravel particles along the ocean bottom near the shore

5. Where do you find the lowest density seawater? Surface mixed zone

6. Describe the deepest parts of the ocean floor (include temperature, density, animal/plant life). Low temperatures a few degrees above freezing, constant high-density water, animals live in constant darkness

7. What term describes organisms that live on or in the ocean floor? benthos

8. What happens to waves when there is refraction in bays? They erode headlands.

9. Describe the characteristics of a deep ocean trench. They are long narrow depressions; they form the deepest parts of the ocean; they are sites where plates plunge back into the mantle.

10. Most ocean water is located in which zone? Deep zone

11. What is an upwelling? The rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water

12. List the Earth’s four main oceans from largest to smallest. Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic

13. What is plankton? Give an example. Organisms that drift with the ocean currents; algae

14. Are the ocean currents move toward the poles warm or cold? Or both? warm

15. What factors are used to divide the ocean into distinct marine life zones? Availability of sunlight, distance from shore, and water depth

16. Which ocean has the greatest average depth? Pacific

17. What factors affect the density of seawater? Salinity and temperature

18. Which ocean zone is characterized by high water pressure, low temperatures, and no sunlight? Abyssal zone

19. What is wave erosion? What landforms can be created by wave erosion? Erosion by waves; sea arches and sea stacks 20. What part of the ocean are important mineral deposits associated with? Continental shelves

21. What is nekton? Give an example. Organisms capable of moving independently of the ocean currents; fishies

22. What technology do scientists use to measure ocean depth? sonar

23. Deep, steep-sided valleys that originate on the continental slope and may extend to the ocean basin floor are called _____. Submarine canyons

24. Which part of the ocean is deepest? trenches

25. Which force is involved in the development of surface currents? friction

26. Describe the different types of ocean sediments. Terrigenous sediments originate on land from eroded rocks. Biogenous sediments are shells and skeletons of marine animals and algae. Hydrogenous sediments are minerals that crystallize directly from ocean water.

27. How do most gas hydrates form? Bacteria break down organic matter trapped in ocean-floor sediments.

28. What does circular orbital motion refer to? Water particles and the transfer of energy

29. What are hydrothermal vents? Mineral-rich water, heated by newly formed ocean crust, that escapes through cracks in the ocean floor

30. What processes decrease the salinity of seawater? Increase the salinity? Answer the same two questions for density. Salinity will decrease because of precipitation, sea ice melting, icebergs melting, and runoff. It will increase from evaporation and formation of sea ice. Density increases with an increase in salinity and a decrease in temperature. It decreases with a decrease in salinity and an increase in temperature.

31. What are submersibles and what can they do? They are small underwater crafts used for deep-sea research; they collect data about areas of the ocean that were previously unreachable by humans, and they can remain underwater for long periods of time.

32. When do waves begin to “feel bottom”? when water depth is equal to half the wavelength

33. What ocean currents are associated with downslope movements of dense sediments-rich water? Turbidity currents

34. What factors affect ocean waves? They greater the wind speed is, the higher the wave; they can travel long distances; they get their energy from the wind.

35. The vertical distance between trough and crest is called the _____. Wave height

36. What factors influence a region’s photosynthetic productivity? Nutrients and sunlight

37. What causes surface ocean currents to be deflected? The Coriolis Effect