OCEANOGS FINAL

CH2
TRUE - FALSE
1. The planets all have approximately the same chemical composition since they formed from a single
original gas cloud.
2. Heating of the planet has removed any record of the earliest history of the solid Earth.
3. The rotational axis of Earth is perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the Sun.
4. Earth is deformed as a result of its rotation so it bulges at the poles and is flattened at the equator.
5. Contour lines on maps trace lines of equal elevation or depth.
6. You can determine your latitude by looking at the stars.
7. Roughly half of the surface of Earth is covered with water.
8. Residence times of water in different reservoirs can vary depending on the size of the reservoir.
9. Most of the land on Earth is in the Northern Hemisphere.
10. Small changes in the average depth of the oceans can result in large changes in the relative amount
of land and water on the surface.
11. Our solar system is thought to be about 4.6 billion years old.
12. The planets closest to the Sun are generally smaller than those further away.
13. Earth’s oceans and atmosphere probably formed from light gases and water trapped from an initial
dust cloud by gravitational attraction.
14. The principal divisions of geologic time are the epochs.
15. Earth is an active planet and its original surface rocks no longer exist.
16. Earth completes one orbit around the Sun in exactly 365 days, hence the length of one year.
17. The Sun stands directly above the equator twice each year.
18. Despite the height of mountains and the depth of ocean trenches, the surface of Earth is quite
smooth.
19. Meridians are parallel to each other.
20. The prime meridian runs through New York.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The currently accepted age of Earth is based heavily on
d. dating of meteorites thought to have formed at roughly the same time as Earth.
2. The first dinosaurs appeared on Earth roughly ______ years ago.
c. 225 million
3. Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at _____ degrees from the vertical.
a. 23.5
4. The beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere is called the.
b. winter solstice.
5. The moon orbits Earth in _____ days.
a. 29.5
6. The international date line corresponds with
c. 180 degrees longitude.
7. One nautical mile is equivalent to
b. 1 minute of latitude.
8. Ocean depths can be shown on a map by using
a. contours.
b. isobaths.
c. color or shading.
OCEANOGS FINAL
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
9. Earth rotates through _____ degrees of _____ each hour.
b. 15, longitude
10. Water exists at Earth’s surface in all three phases, liquid, solid, and gas, because of
a. the distance between Earth and the Sun.
b. the rate of rotation of Earth on its axis.
c. the presence of an atmosphere.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
11. What percent of Earth’s surface is covered with water?
b. 71
12. The reservoir that holds the largest volume of water is the
c. oceans and sea ice.
13. The Pacific Ocean has the
a. largest surface area.
b. greatest mean depth.
c. largest volume.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
14. The first land plants on Earth appeared
a. before the first reptiles.
b. after the first fish.
c. during the Paleozoic era.
d. during the Silurian period.
e. all of the above.
15. The early Earth probably did not have an atmosphere because
b. Earth was too small and its gravity too weak.
16. The Sun stands directly above the equator at the
a. vernal equinox.
17. Meridians.
c. converge at the poles.
18. In the open ocean, modern navigation relies on
c. satellite navigation.
19. All of the water in Earth’s rivers and lakes would cover a uniform sphere the size of the planet to a
depth of
d. 1 m.
20. Earth is protected from extreme temperature changes by
a. its distance from the Sun.
b. its rate of rotation.
c. the water in the oceans.
d. a and c above.
e. all of the above.

TRUE - FALSE
1.F 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.T 7.F 8.T 9.T 10.T 11.T 12.T 13.F 14.F 15.T 16.F 17.T 18.T 19.F
OCEANOGS FINAL
20.F

CH3
TRUE - FALSE
1. The asthenosphere behaves in a plastic fashion when forces are applied to it.
2. Continental crust is thicker and denser than oceanic crust.
3. When two continental margins collide, one will be subducted deep into the mantle.
4. Slow spreading centers tend to have steep, rugged sides compared to fast spreading centers.
5. Geologists have been able to directly sample sediments and the underlying oceanic crust by drilling.
6. Earth’s magnetic field periodically reverses its polarity.
7. The mantle is composed of dense, rigid material that does not deform over geologic time.
8. The largest plate on the globe is the North American plate.
9. The entire Atlantic Ocean basin is one major plate.
10. The plates are outlined by the earthquakes that occur along their boundaries.
11. The oceans are the ultimate disposal area for human wastes.
12. There are no organisms that can survive without the sun to provide energy for plant life, and therefore, organic matter
as a food source for them.
13. Scientists can drill into the ocean crust to decipher the history and movement of the ocean basins.
14. Geologists cannot predict future movements of Earth’s crustal plates.
15. Most of Earth’s continents were widely separated from one another 550 million years ago.
16. There are many places on Earth that have remained in the same spot over the last 2.5 billion years.
17. The core of the North American craton, was formed by plate tectonic-like collisions between even older pieces of
continental crust some 1.8 billion years ago.
18. We can't decipher ancient convergent margins or plate collisions by looking at old mountain ranges in the interior of
continents.
19. Earth’s rotational pole/axis has wobbled slightly but never moved very far from its present location.
20. Hot spots and their volcanic island chains can be used to trace the movement of oceanic lithosphere.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Our current models of the interior of Earth are based on
a. observations of earthquake waves.
b. examination of meteorites.
c. measurements of gravity.
d. the shape of Earth.
e. all of the above.
2. The largest internal subdivision of Earth is the
b. mantle..
3. Mantle convection cells
c. carry mantle material upwards beneath ridges.
4. Oceanic crust
a. cools as it moves away from ridges.
b. thickens away from ridges.
c. increases in age towards ridges.
d. a and b above.
5. The oldest oceanic crust is roughly
c. 200 million years old.
6. Old oceanic lithosphere is destroyed at
a. convergent plate boundaries.
7. Active volcanism occurs in association with
a. trenches.
b. hot spots.
c. ridges.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
8. The plates typically move at velocities of
OCEANOGS FINAL
b. a few centimeters/yr.
9. Pangaea began to break apart approximately _______ years ago
d. 200 million.
10. Evidence of the positions of the continents before Pangaea formed comes from
a. fossils on land.
b. magnetic data from the continents.
c. the locations of old mountain ranges.
d. the locations of old continental rock bodies.
e. all of the above.
11. Project FAMOUS conducted detailed studies of
a. a portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
12. Hydrothermal vents at ridge crests
a. expel hot water that has circulated through the crust.
b. are often sites of dense biological communities.
c. are areas where chemical deposits rich in metals precipitate on the sea floor.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
13. Earth's outer core is
a. solid.
b. liquid.
c. gas.
d. iron and nickel.
e. b and d.
14. The two seismic waves discussed in the text are body waves that travel rapidly through Earth. These two wave types
are called
c. P– and S–waves.
15. Continental crust has a density of _______ g/cm3 and is about _________ km thick on the average.
d. 2.8, 55
16. Areas where new crust is formed above rising plumes of magma are called
a. spreading centers.
17. Plate tectonics is the theory of moving plates on Earth's surface. The main interactions between plates tend to be at
their boundaries. The three main boundary types are
c. transform, divergent, and convergent.
18. When two continental plates collide
a. one plate is subducted deep into the mantle.
b. they are crumpled and deformed.
c. one plate may override the other.
d. oceanic sediments between them are squeezed up into the deformed zone.
e. b, c, and d above.
19. Volcanoes at subduction zones are violent and have a composition of
d. andesites.
20. Hot spots produce
a. seamounts.
b. plateaus.
c. guyots.
d. a, b, and c above.
e. none of the above.
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T 6.T 7.F 8.F 9.F 10.T 11.T 12.F 13.T 14.F 15.T 16.F 17.T 18.F 19.T
20.T

CH4
TRUE-FALSE
1. It was not until the 1950s that we were truly able to sample the sea floor with ease.
OCEANOGS FINAL
2. The profile of topography of the sea floor across the Atlantic shows more relief than a similar profile drawn
anywhere across North America.
3. The continental shelves are underlain by oceanic crust, and are not geologically similar to the continents.
4. Submarine canyons are never related to existing river systems on land.
5. In terms of the percent of Earth’s total surface area covered, abyssal hills are Earth’s most common feature.
6. Mid-ocean ridges can effectively separate deep ocean water in one basin from another, and can control the flow of
bottom currents.
7. Continental shelves are often narrow along mountainous coasts.
8. Modern instruments that measure ocean depth use pulses of sound.
9. Neritic sediments are deposited far from land.
10. The majority of oceanic trenches are associated with volcanic island arcs or chains of land volcanoes.
11. By far, the largest volume of terrigenous or lithogenous sediments are deposited on the continental margins.
12. Manganese nodules develop very rapidly on the deep sea floor, growing 1–10 mm per year.
13. Coarse sediments are usually found far offshore from high-energy river mouths and beaches.
14. Calcite is more soluble in cold water than in warm.
15. Seabed resources do not have to be competitive with onshore markets and other sources.
16. Rift valleys along mid-ocean ridges may be as much as 1500 m deep.
17. The deep oceans can be divided into about 20 separate basins by bathymetric features.
18. Hydrogenous sediments are the most plentiful sediment type in the oceans.
19. Tektites are produced by organisms in cold, deep water.
20. Calcite solubility depends on temperature.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The steepest part of the continental margin is the
d. slope.
2. The continental rise is often absent along Pacific margins because
b. there are many deep trenches.
3. Submarine canyons
a. provide pathways for terrigenous sediment to reach the deep sea floor.
b. are eroded by turbidity currents.
c. may be as large as the Grand Canyon of Arizona.
d. cut across the continental margin.
e. all of the above.
4. Abyssal hills are less than _______ meters high.
a. 1000
5. The abyssal plain is extremely flat because
c. sediment covers the irregular sea floor beneath it.
6. Which of the following describes a sediment composed of particles that have been eroded from pre-existing rocks?
e. lithogenous
7. If oceanic sediment is composed of more than ______ % biogenous material by weight, it is called an ooze.
a. 30
8. Which of the following is an animal?
a. radiolarian
b. foraminifera
c. pteropods
d. all of the above
9. The smallest sediment particles are called
c. clays.
10. Sediments that have been laid down on the continental shelf by processes that no longer exist at that location are called
e. relict.
11. Continental shelves are
c. flatland borders at the edge of continents.
12. Turbidity currents may be caused or triggered by
a. high velocity winds.
b. earthquakes.
c. overloading of sediments on steep slopes.
OCEANOGS FINAL
d. b and c above.
13. Guyots are
d. flat-topped submarine volcanoes.
14. The mid-ocean ridge system extends for
e. 65,000 km.
15. The deepest oceanic trench, the Mariana, is
d. 11 km deep.
16. Sediments that precipitate directly from seawater are called
b. hydrogenous.
17. In the Atlantic Ocean, water is saturated with respect to calcite to depths of
d. 4000 m.
18. Layers in oceanic sediment are recognized by
a. color.
b. particle size.
c. kind or composition of particles.
d. all of the above.
19. Ridge systems are about _______________ km wide.
a. 1000
20. Sedimentary particles are transported by
a. wind.
b. ice.
c. moving water.
d. gravity.
e. all of the above.
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.T 7.T 8.T 9.F 10.T 11.T 12.F 13.F 14.T 15.F 16.T 17.F 18.F 19.F 20.T
CH5
TRUE - FALSE
1. Heat and temperature are two ways of measuring the same physical property of a material.
2. In order to change the state of water from a solid to a liquid, you must raise its temperature.
3. Like nearly all substances, the density of fresh water increases as it freezes.
4. Water has a relatively high specific heat.
5. The coldest water in the oceans naturally sinks to the greatest depths.
6. Most of the light that reaches the sea surface penetrates to depths of about 50 meters.
7. Light is refracted when it passes from the atmosphere into water because the velocity of light in water is slower than in
air.
8. Icebergs float with only about 12% of their mass above water.
9. Icebergs in the North Atlantic rarely drift further south than the Arctic Circle.
10. Fog formation plays an important role in transferring water and heat between the atmosphere and the ocean surface.
11. Sound is transmitted poorly in water; it travels much slower and over shorter distances than in air.
12. Shorter wavelengths of light are attenuated very rapidly with depth in the ocean.
13. More substances dissolve in water than in any other common liquid.
14. As seawater freezes, salts are excluded from the crystal lattice.
15. The heat capacity of water is nearly five times that of aluminum.
16. The addition of salt to water changes its boiling and freezing points.
17. Hydrogen and oxygen bond to form the water molecule with an angular separation between the hydrogens of 105
degrees.
18. Under certain conditions, it is possible to cool water below zero degrees centigrade and have it remain a liquid.
19. The oceans are primarily heated from below by heat from the core.
20. The center of the SOFAR channel is at a depth of about 200 m.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The heat necessary to change the state of water between a solid and a liquid is called the
c. latent heat of fusion.
2. The property of a substance that describes its resistance to motion or internal friction is its
OCEANOGS FINAL
e. viscosity.
3. The three atoms in a water molecule are held together by
b. covalent bonds.
4. The density of seawater
a. is greater than fresh water.
b. increases with increasing depth in the oceans.
c. changes with changing temperature.
d. increases with increasing salinity.
e. all of the above.
5. The density of fresh water
a. reaches a maximum at 4°C.
b. decreases with decreasing temperature below 4°C.
c. increases with decreasing temperature down to 4°C.
d. all of the above.
6. Heat is added to the oceans by the sun in a process called
a. radiation.
7. A Secchi disk is used to measure
b. attenuation of light in water.
8. Sound travels in seawater at a nearly constant velocity of approximately
b. 1500 meters per second.
9. Sound in seawater
a. travels in curved paths because of small changes in velocity.
b. is affected by changes in water temperature.
c. is unaffected by changes in pressure.
d. a and b above.
10. The deep scattering layer (DSL)
a. can be detected with PDR’s.
b. is a chemical boundary in the water.
c. is a biological phenomena.
d. a and c above.
11. Water molecules, even in flowing water, can link together by
a. hydrogen bonds.
12. The heat necessary to change water from a liquid to water vapor is called the
b. latent heat of vaporization.
13. When ice changes directly to a gas, the process is termed
d. sublimation.
14. The addition of salt to water changes its
b. salinity.
c. boiling point.
d. freezing point.
e. b, c, and d above.
15. Seawater of average salinity freezes at about
c. -2°C.
16. The density of pure water at 4°C is
a. 1 g/cm3.
17. The three ways in which heat energy is transmitted are
b. conduction, convection, and radiation.
18. As water freezes
a. water molecules become more widely spaced.
b. the ice becomes less dense.
c. ice floats on water.
d. all of the above.
19. The light that penetrates deepest in the ocean is
c. blue.
20. The attenuation of light commonly involves
OCEANOGS FINAL
c. scattering and absorption.
TRUE - FALSE
1.F 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.T 9.F 10.T 11.F 12.F 13.T 14.T 15.T 16.T 17.T 18.T 19.F
20.F

CH6
TRUE - FALSE
1. The salinity of surface seawater is associated with latitude.
2. An ion with a negative charge is called a cation.
3. The most abundant salts in today’s rivers are the least abundant ones in ocean water.
4. Iron has one of the longest residence times of ions in the oceans.
5. Chloride has a residence time of about 80 million years.
6. The ratios between minor constituents in seawater are constant.
7. Animals produce oxygen and use carbon dioxide in the process known as photosynthesis.
8. Oxygen-using or anaerobic bacteria are often found at depth in deep, stagnant ocean basins.
9. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans is controlled only by the biologically governed
interactions of photosynthesis, respiration, and decay.
10. Oxygen acts as a buffer of pH in the oceans.
11. Gold and silver can be economically retrieved from seawater today.
12. The oxygen minimum zone is at a depth of about 800 m.
13. The pH of seawater varies by only about 1 pH unit.
14. Decomposition is more important than respiration for removing oxygen from the water at shallow depths.
15. In cold climates, salt can be extracted from seawater by freezing in shallow ponds.
16. Tests have been conducted to mine uranium from seawater.
17. Electrodialysis works best in high salinity water.
18. The saturation value of gases in seawater generally increases with decreasing temperature.
19. The practicality of desalination is determined by cost and need.
20. Reverse osmosis can produce fresh water.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Salts commercially extracted from seawater today are
c. sodium chloride, magnesium, and bromine.
2. The salinity of average open ocean seawater is
b. 35 ppt.
3. Trace elements are present in seawater at concentrations less than:
c. 1 ppm
4. The salt in the oceans comes from
a. rainfall.
b. rivers.
c. volcanic eruptions.
d. all of the above.
5. Which of the following has the shortest residence time in the oceans?
e. iron
6. We can compute salinity if we measure
b. chlorinity.
7. The oxygen minimum depth occurs at about
a. 800 meters.

8. Normal pH of seawater is approximately

c. 8.
9. Which of the following nutrients has the highest concentration in seawater?
b. silicon
10. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane is called
e. osmosis.
11. Which of these ions is not a major constituent of seawater?
OCEANOGS FINAL
d. nitrite
12. Salts can be removed from seawater by
a. the formation of evaporites.
b. adherence of ions onto sediment particles.
c. chemical reactions that form insoluble precipitates.
d. removal by organisms to build hard parts.
e. all of the above.
13. The most common ion dissolved in river water is
b. carbonate.
14. Which of the following is/are true of respiration
a. it consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide and energy.
15. About _____ % of the world’s supply of salt is extracted from seawater.
c. 30
16. About _____ % of the world’s supply of magnesium is extracted from seawater.
b. 60
17. About _____ % of the world’s supply of bromine is extracted from seawater.
d. 70
18. Which of the following organic substances is found in seawater?
a. proteins
b. carbohydrates
c. lipids
d. fats
e. all of the above and more
19. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the upper 1000 m of seawater
b. increases with increasing depth.
20. Salinity can be calculated from chlorinity by multiplying by about
c. 1.81.
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.F 3.T 4.F 5.T 6.F 7.F 8.F 9.F 10.F 11.F 12.T 13.T 14.F 15.T 16.T 17.F 18.T 19.T
20.T
CH 7
TRUE - FALSE
1. Ultimately, winds are the result of unequal heating of Earth’s atmosphere.
2. The density of a parcel of air will increase if the water vapor content increases.
3. The largest component by volume of dry air is oxygen.
4. Atmospheric pressure is a measure of the force per unit area exerted at some location by the overlying air.
5. The name of a wind indicates the direction it is blowing.
6. Points on Earth's surface at high latitudes rotate eastward faster than points at low latitudes because they are closer to
Earth’s axis of rotation.
7. The Coriolis effect results in a deflection of moving objects to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
8. The direction of atmospheric circulation at 60° of latitude is primarily vertically upwards.
9. There are two major atmospheric circulation cells in each hemisphere.
10. The atmosphere is heated from below.
11. The term monsoon refers to unusually wet and rainy seasons in tropical regions.
12. Strong onshore winds typically develop at night to cool coastal regions.
13. The pattern of large scale oceanic surface currents remains nearly constant.
14. There are four major layers in the atmosphere.
15. Temperature increases with altitude in the stratosphere.
16. The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 1013 millibars.
17. Offshore winds generally form during the day.
18. Increase levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to global cooling.
19. Ozone high in the atmosphere blocks incoming ultraviolet light.
20. Dimethyl sulfide helps to regulate ocean salinity.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
OCEANOGS FINAL
1. The temperature increases with increasing altitude in the
b. stratosphere.
2. The highest ozone concentration is in the
d. stratosphere.
3. Air masses move because
a. of density variations in the atmosphere.
b. of unequal heating of the atmosphere.
c. of frictional drag with ocean currents.
d. a and b above.
4. The density of air decreases with
a. increasing temperature.
b. decreasing pressure.
c. increasing water vapor content.
d. all of the above.
5. The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is _________ lbs/in2.
b. 14.7
6. A wind blowing from the southeast is called a __________ wind.
c. southeast
7. A point on the equator rotates eastward at __________ km/hr.
a. 1700
8. Between 30° and 60° latitude, the winds
a. are known as the westerlies in both hemispheres.
b. blow out of the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere.
c. blow out of the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere.
d. help to drive surface currents in the oceans.
e. all of the above.
9. The horse latitudes are found at ____________ degrees north and south.
a. 30
10. During the warm summer months
a. the air over the sea cools and sinks.
b. the air over the land warms and rises.
c. high-pressure zones form over the continents.
d. a and b above.
11. In the Northern Hemisphere
a. winds blow clockwise around high-pressure cells.
12. During the day, the land warms faster than the water and a __________ is created.
c. onshore breeze
13. Roughly 99% of the mass of the atmosphere is in the first ______ km above the surface.
b. 30
14. The temperature at the top of the troposphere is about ______ degrees C.
e. -60

15. Air usually contains about ______ percent water vapor.

c. 0–4
16. El Niño seems to occur on a ______________ year cycle.
d. 4 to 7
17. La Niña is associated with which of the following?
a. unusually cold surface water in the eastern tropical Pacific
b. unusually strong trade winds
c. dry conditions over western South America
d. wet conditions in the western Pacific basin
e. all of the above
18. The jet stream can blow at speeds as great as _________ km/hr.
b. 130
19. If less DMS is produced
OCEANOGS FINAL
a. there is less cloud cover.
b. there is less solar radiation reflected back to space.
c. there is increasing photosynthesis.
d. there is a rise in sea surface temperature.
e. all of the above.
20. A hurricane will
a. weaken over land.
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.F 6.F 7.T 8.T 9.F 10.T 11.F 12.F 13.T 14.T 15.T 16.T 17.F 18.F 19.T
20.F
CH 8
TRUE - FALSE
1. Salinity may be increased by evaporation or the formation of sea ice.
2. Water is incompressible so density does not depend on pressure (or depth).
3. Caballing is the process of forming sea ice.
4. The layered water structure in the Pacific is the best studied.
5. There are no real seasons in the tropics.
6. Oceanographers typically measure density to five decimal places.
7. The angle at which the Sun’s rays strike the Earth changes dramatically from summer to winter at mid-latitudes.
8. The heat capacity of the land is lower than that of the water.
9. The salinity of mid-ocean waters is controlled primarily by large-scale precipitation/evaporation patterns.
10. Many combinations of salinity and temperature can produce the same density of water.
11. The mixed layer extends to a depth of about 500 m (1650 ft) in most areas of the world.
12. Increasing density with depth produces an unstable water column.
13. Areas where surface ocean winds or currents converge experience upwelling.
14. Upwelling and downwelling are very slow processes.
15. The densest water produced in the world’s oceans is North Atlantic Deep Water.
16. Water from the Mediterranean extends across the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 m (3300 ft).
17. The water of the Indian Ocean is quite homogeneous.
18. Arrowworms always point north, or into the current.
19. Despite darkness, wind, waves, heat, or cold, data are taken, for there may not be a second chance on the briny deep.
20. Antarctic Bottom Water is a water type.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Heat that is absorbed at the sea surface is mixed downwards by
a. winds.
b. waves.
c. currents.
d. downwelling.
e. all of the above.
2. The layered structure of the oceans is a result of
a. the addition and loss of heat at the surface.
b. surface precipitation and evaporation patterns.
c. air movement driving surface water.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c above.
3. The oceans have a well-mixed surface layer approximately ____ m thick.
a. 50
b. 100
c. 500
d. 800
e. 1000
4. A zone of rapid change in temperature is called the:
a. thermocline
b. caloricline
c. pycnocline
d. halocline
OCEANOGS FINAL
e. tempocline
5. Osmotic pressure will
a. increase with increasing temperature.
b. drive salt water across a membrane toward fresh water.
c. drive fresh water across a membrane toward salt water.
d. a and b above.
e. none of the above.
6. Annual mid-ocean surface temperature changes in the tropics are about ________ °C.
a. 1–5
b. 0–2
c. 3–6
d. 2–4
e. 6–8
7. A zone with rapid changes in density with depth is called the
a. thermocline.
b. pycnocline.
c. densocline.
d. halocline.
e. isopycnal.
8. The densest water in the ocean basins
a. flows northward from Antarctica across the sea floor.
b. is created in the Weddell Sea.
c. moves as a result of thermohaline circulation.
d. a and c above.
e. all of the above.
9. In the open ocean
a. temperature is more important than salinity in determining density.
b. salinity is more important than temperature in determining density.
c. salinity is more important than pressure in determining density.
d. a and c above.
e. b and c above.
10. If the density of the water increases with depth, the water column is:
a. isopycnal.
b. stable.
c. convergent.
d. unstable.
e. neutral.
11. Upwelling and downwelling water moves at rates of about
a. 0.5–1.0 m/day.
b. 0.3–2.5 m/s.
c. 0.1–1.5 m/day.
d. 1–4 m/s.
e. 2–6 m/day.
12. The thickness and horizontal extent of water layers in the oceans are related to
a. the latitude at which they form.
b. the rate at which they form at the surface.
c. the size of the surface region over which they form.
d. b and c above.
e. all of the above.
13. Sea surface temperatures in tropical latitudes in the summer are generally between _________ °C.
a. 25–30
b. 10–15
c. 5–20
d. 40–45
e. 50–60
14. Water in the central North Atlantic at a depth of 1000 m (3300 ft) comes from
a. the Sargasso Sea.
b. the Red Sea.
c. the Gulf Stream.
d. the Mediterranean Sea.
e. the Black Sea.
15. A water mass with only one temperature and one salinity value over its entire extent is known as a
OCEANOGS FINAL
a. lens.
b. chaetognath.
c. water type.
d. water column.
e. water body.
16. Upwelling waters bring up ___________________ from deeper waters.
a. nutrients
b. decomposition products
c. manganese nodules
d. deep-water sediments
e. a and b above.
17. To maintain a constant thermal structure on Earth, the planet must
a. gain heat from the sun.
b. lose heat to space.
c. create heat in its interior.
d. gain and lose approximately equal amounts of heat.
e. none of the above.
18. If we consider the heat budget of a small area of the ocean, among other things we must know is (are) the
a. total energy absorbed and heat re-radiated to space.
b. loss of energy due to evaporation.
c. transfer of heat into and out of the area.
d. warming and cooling of the atmosphere.
e. all of the above.
19. The thermocline extends from about
a. 500–2500 m.
b. 100–1000 m.
c. 300–1500 m.
d. 0–2000 m.
e. none of the above.
20. A CTD measures
a. conductivity.
b. depth.
c. temperature.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.F 3.T 4.F 5.T 6.T 7.T 8.T 9.T 10.T 11.F 12.F 13.F 14.T 15.F 16.T 17.F 18.F 19.T
20.T

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.e 2.d 3.b 4.a 5.c 6.b 7.b 8.e 9.d 10.b 11.c 12.d 13.a 14.d 15.c 16.e 17.d 18.e 19.b 20.d
CH 9
TRUE - FALSE
1. Zones of permanent divergence along the western sides of continents are good fishing grounds.
2. When the wind stops blowing, wind driven surface currents stop flowing.
3. Ekman transport is 90° to the direction of the wind.
4. There is no source for dense bottom water in the North Pacific similar to the North Atlantic.
5. Deep water comes to the surface in areas of divergence.
6. The Kuroshio Current flows in the South Atlantic.
7. The North and South Pacific gyres form symmetrically on either side of the equator.
8. The Ekman spiral twists to the left in the Northern Hemisphere.
9. At the bottom of the Ekman spiral, water moves in the opposite direction from the wind.
10. The Ekman spiral extends to a depth of 300 meters.
11. Geostrophic currents are created by narrow straits.
12. Typical speeds for surface currents are usually about 0.1 to 0.5 m/s (0.3–1.5 ft/s).
13. Wind-driven surface currents flow at velocities that are about as fast as the wind.
14. Sargassum is a type of jellyfish.
15. There was a mini-ice age about 11,000 years ago.
OCEANOGS FINAL
16. Meanders in the Gulf Stream can pinch off to form eddies.
17. Eddies always rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
18. The West Wind Drift moves to the west around Antarctica.
19. The equatorial countercurrent moves to the east.
20. The Ekman spiral is restricted to zones of divergence.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The net flow of water set in motion by the overlying wind is at an angle of _______ degrees to the
direction of the wind.
a. 45
b. 90
c. 30
d. 20
e. 0
2. The Ekman spiral extends to a depth of roughly
a. 500–1000 meters.
b. 50–200 meters.
c. 1000–1500 meters.
d. 100–150 meters.
e. 75–300 meters.
3. The current that circles the globe around Antarctica is called the
a. West Wind Drift.
b. southern circumpolar current.
c. Antarctic Current.
d. Agulhas Current.
e. Kuroshio Current.
4. Water moving horizontally at the surface toward a region of sinking is called
a. upwelling.
b. divergence.
c. convergence.
d. thermohaline.
e. chaotic.
5. A minimum in solar radiation reaching Earth occurred about ___________ years ago.
a. 5000
b. 13,000
c. 7000
d. 54,000
e. 23,000
6. The rate of rotation of large eddies is about
a. 5 m/s.
b. 0.5 m/s.
c. 10 m/s.
d. 1 m/s.
e. 15 m/s.
7. Large eddies, such as those that spin off the Gulf Stream, may
a. extend all the way to the sea floor.
b. have a diameter as great as 300 km.
c. rotate at speeds of 10 m/s.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b above.
8. Satellites can locate major eddies by monitoring
a. sea surface temperature.
b. light reflection off the surface.
c. sea surface elevation.
d. all of the above.
e. a and c above.
9. Milankovitch cycles are driven by
a. changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit.
b. changes in the tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation.
c. the precession of Earth’s axis of rotation.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b above.
OCEANOGS FINAL
10. The extraction of energy from ocean currents has some drawbacks, including
a. the relatively slow speed of most currents.
b. the inconvenient location of many currents.
c. the fact that most currents are very narrow.
d. the fact that most currents are deep.
e. a and b above.
11. The oceans are heated
a. from below.
b. from above.
c. from ridgecrest volcanism.
d. evenly at all latitudes.
e. none of the above.
12. Maximum land ice and minimum water temperatures occurred about __________ years ago.
a. 23,000
b. 11,000
c. 17,000
d. 6000
e. 4500
13. Surface water is driven at an angle of _________ degrees to the direction of the wind.
a. 30
b. 45
c. 15
d. 90
e. 60
14. Geostrophic flow occurs when these balance each other:
a. centrifugal force and gravity
b. centripetal force and centrifugal force
c. Coriolis effect and centrifugal force
d. gravity and centripetal force
e. gravity and Coriolis effect
15. Wind-driven, open-ocean surface currents travel at velocities of about _________ knots.
a. 10–15
b. 1–5
c. 0.25–1.0
d. 0.1–0.5
e. 3–4
16. Western intensification is related to
a. increase in the Coriolis effect with latitude.
b. friction between continents and ocean currents.
c. the changing strength and direction of the trade winds and westerlies with latitude.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
17. Current meters measure
a. current speed.
b. current temperature.
c. current direction.
d. all of the above.
e. a and c above.
18. Geostrophic flow can create mounds of seawater that rise as much as _______ above the equilibrium sea level.
a. 1 foot
b. 1 meter
c. 1 fathom
d. 2 meters
e. 2 feet
19. The Sargasso Sea is
a. created by an isolated lens of water generated by geostrophic flow.
b. located in the central North Atlantic Ocean.
c. bordered on the west by the Gulf Stream.
d. covered with floating seaweed.
e. all of the above.
20. The Gulf Stream transports more than ______ times as much water as the Amazon River in a given
amount of time.
OCEANOGS FINAL
a. 500
b. 1000
c. 250
d. 100
e. 2000
TRUE - FALSE
1.T 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.T 6.F 7.F 8.F 9.T 10.F 11.F 12.T 13.F 14.F 15.T 16.T 17.F 18.F 19.T
20.F

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.b 2.d 3.a 4.c 5.e 6.b 7.e 8.d 9.d 10.e 11.b 12.c 13.b 14.e 15.c 16.d 17.e 18.b 19.e 20.a