Deck 16: Oceans, coastal Processes, and Wind Processes

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the chemical content of Earth's oceans?

A)Salinity varies all over the world and the ratio of individual salts to each other changes.
B)Salinity varies all over the world,but the ratio of individual salts to each other does not change.
C)Salinity does not vary all over the world,and the ratio of individual salts to each other does not change as well.
D)Salinity does not vary all over the world,but the ratio of individual salts to each other changes.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Brine water may result from which of the following?

A)The influx of river water into the ocean.
B)Stagnation of water in a floodplain swamp.
C)High evapotranspiration rates.
D)Heavy rainfall and low temperatures.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Within the deep cold zone,which best describes average temperature and salinity?

A)These decrease with depth.
B)These increase with depth.
C)These remain fairly constant with depth.
D)These decrease within the mixing zone,but increase the thermocline.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

On average,which best describes ocean water?

A)It is very acidic (low pH).
B)It is very basic (high pH).
C)It is neutral.
D)It is mildly acid (a pH slightly less than 7).

Question 5

The coast extends inland to which of the following?

A)To the foreshore dune.
B)To the backshore dune.
C)To the trough between the primary and secondary dune.
D)From the high tide level to the first major landform change.

Question 6

Which is seawater that exceeds the 35‰?

A)Brackish.
B)Brine.
C)Mesohaline.
D)Freshwater.

Question 7

Worldwide salinity varies between which extremes?

A)5‰; 10‰.
B)34‰; 37‰.
C)47‰; 51‰.
D)65‰; 67‰.

Question 8

Which of the following best describes the littoral zone?

A)It spans the water and the wetted portion of the beach.
B)Landward,it extends to the highest waterline reached during a tidal cycle.
C)Generally,it only includes the foreshore area of coastal environments.
D)Seaward it extends to where water is too deep for storm waves to move sediments.

Question 9

Which of the following affect the chemical composition of seawater?

A)Tectonic uplift,volcanism,and faulting.
B)Mountain sediments and glacial activity.
C)Solar radiation and the solar wind.
D)The atmosphere,marine organisms,minerals,and ocean sediments.

Question 10

Areas with heavy freshwater runoff and low evaporation will have which average salinity?

A)Higher than average.
B)Lower than average.
C)Approximately the same as average.

Question 11

Within the mixing zone and thermocline,which best describes average temperature and salinity?

A)These decrease with depth.
B)These increase with depth.
C)These remain fairly constant with depth.
D)These decrease within the mixing zone,but increase the thermocline.

Question 12

In which of the following regions would you expect to have the highest levels of seawater salinity?

A)Equatorial oceans.
B)Subtropical oceans.
C)Polar oceans.
D)Midlatitude oceans.

Question 13

Which is seawater with less than 35‰?

A)Brackish.
B)Brine.
C)Metahaline.
D)Freshwater.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes seawater?

A)Seawater is pure water (H2O).
B)Seawater is a solution.
C)The chemical composition of seawater has great spatial variability.
D)The salinity of seawater is negligible.

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the chemical composition of seawater?

A)Eighteen elements account for 75% of the dissolved materials in seawater.
B)Seawater contains dissolved gases,suspended and dissolved organic matter,and many trace elements.
C)Seawater is very heterogeneous,varying across the vast oceans of the world.
D)Samples of ancient seawater suggest a great deal of chemical variation over Earth's history.

Question 16

What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

A)The term sea is used to describe the global,interconnected water body covering 70% of Earth's surface,whereas oceans refer to the individual basins within this global sea.
B)An ocean is a vast body of water encompassing 70% of Earth,whereas a sea refers specifically to a large,inland,saline body of water.
C)Seas are generally smaller than an ocean and tend to be associated with land masses,whether partially enclosed by land or large,inland,saline water bodies.
D)There is no difference,just a different term for the same physical feature.

Question 17

Which of the following best describes Earth's coastlines?

A)Most of Earth's coastlines are relatively young and undergoing continuous change.
B)Earth's coastlines are among the oldest landforms on the planet.
C)There are few inputs that directly affect Earth's coastlines beyond tidal action.
D)Earth's coastlines show a remarkable degree of similarity across the planet.

Question 18

Approximately what percentage of the world's population lives near the ocean?

A)33%.
B)25%.
C)40%.
D)70%.

Question 19

Which is the worldwide average salinity of seawater?

A)5‰.
B)35‰.
C)55‰.
D)75‰.

Question 20

Which is a general term for the coastal area and shallow offshore environment?

A)Shoreline.
B)Coast.
C)Coastline.
D)Littoral zone.

Question 21

A wave-cut platform is the erosional remnant of which of the following?

A)Barrier island.
B)Spit.
C)Tombolo.
D)Cliff.

Question 22

Which of the following best describes tides?

A)They are produced solely by the gravitational pull of the Sun.
B)They are complex twice monthly oscillations in sea level.
C)They are influenced by the size,depth,and topography of ocean basins.
D)They are influenced by shoreline configuration and altitude.

Question 23

Which of the following best describes mean sea level?

A)A consistent value has yet to be determined due to all the variables involved in producing the tides.
B)It is at the same level along the entire North American coast.
C)It is calculated based on average tidal levels recorded hourly at a given site over a period of many years.
D)It has very little variability across all ocean basins and,therefore,is treated as an absolute value.

Question 24

Which explains why the height of a tsunami grows as it approaches a coastline?

A)Its energy level increases.
B)Its wavelength shortens.
C)The height of the surf is added to the height of the tsunami.
D)Trick question-the height of a tsunami remains constant from the time of its origin.

Question 25

Which are regular patterns of smooth,rounded waves?

A)Breakers.
B)Wave ripples.
C)Wave trains.
D)Swells.

Question 26

Which occurs when the height of a wave exceeds its vertical stability?

A)Rip current.
B)Wave of transition.
C)Breaker.
D)Tidal wave.

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of a depositional coastal landform?

A)Sea arch.
B)Tombolo.
C)Wave-cut platform.
D)Notched cliff.

Question 28

A longshore current involves which of the following?

A)Phase of the moon.
B)Expansion of flow and the slowing of discharge.
C)Waves of transition.
D)Transportation of large amounts of sand and coastal materials.

Question 29

Which correctly pairs the name of the monthly tide with the relative tidal range that occurs when the Sun and Moon are on the same side or on opposite sides of Earth?

A)Spring tides; lowest.
B)Spring tides; greatest.
C)Neap tides; lowest.
D)Neap tides; greatest.

Question 30

Which results from undercutting action of the sea?

A)Barrier splits.
B)Sea cliffs.
C)Lagoons.
D)Tombolos.

Question 31

Which consists of particles of sand,gravels,and shells that move along the shore?

A)Breakers.
B)Longshore current.
C)Beach drift.
D)Translation effects.

Question 32

As a wave approaches the shoreline and enters shallower water,energy and water move forward causing the water to rise and cascade down from the wave crest as a breaker.What are these waves called?

A)Waves of translation.
B)Swells.
C)Waves of transition.
D)Tidal waves.

Question 33

In the movie The Poseidon Adventure,a cruise ship is overturned by a tsunami while at sea.Which explains why this plot is not valid?

A)Tsunamis do not have the energy to overturn a ship of that size.
B)Tsunamis do not occur in the open ocean.
C)Tsunamis do not form high waves while in the open ocean.
D)The tsunami in the movie didn't occur in a tectonically active area.

Question 34

Which of the following occurs when the Sun,Moon,and Earth are in alignment (i.e.,in opposition or conjunction)?

A)Maximum tidal ranges occur.
B)Neap tides occur.
C)A lower tidal range occurs.
D)Ebb tides occur.

Question 35

Which correctly lists the names for rising tides and falling tides?

A)Flood tides; ebb tides.
B)Ebb tides; flood tides.
C)Spring tides; neap tides.
D)Neap tides; spring tides.

Question 36

Which of the following is correctly matched?

A)Rising tides - neap tides.
B)Ebb tides - spring tides.
C)Spring tides - high tidal range.
D)Falling tides - equinoctial tide.

Question 37

Which is potentially produced by any one of: an earthquake,a submarine landslide,or an eruption of an undersea volcano?

A)Tsunami.
B)Tidal wave.
C)Slow-moving giant swell.
D)Wave in the open ocean of great height.

Question 38

Wave action works to straighten a coast as wave energy focuses around headlands and tends to disperse energy in coves and bays.Which is this process?

A)Longshore current.
B)Breakers.
C)Wave refraction.
D)Tidal bore.

Question 39

Which of the following best describes waves that travel in wave trains?

A)They are produced by storm centers and generating regions far distant from the shore where they may break.
B)They usually form relatively close to the affected coastline.
C)They experience refraction by the deep seafloor.
D)They are called breakers as they travel in the open sea and rollers when they move into sheltered areas.

Question 40

In deep water,a wave is not really migrating but is transferring energy through the water in simple cyclic undulations.What are these called?

A)Waves of translation.
B)Swells.
C)Waves of transition.
D)Tidal waves.

Question 41

Barrier beaches and islands occur worldwide,lying offshore of nearly which percentage of Earth's coastlines?

A)10 percent.
B)50 percent.
C)70 percent.
D)90 percent.

Question 42

Which of the following is an example of an erosional coastal landform?

A)Wave-built terrace.
B)Barrier spit.
C)Bay barrier.
D)Wave-cut platform.

Question 43

Which best describes coral formations?

A)Corals tend to occur poleward of 30° latitude.
B)Corals survive in a broad ecological range because they are tolerant of temperature,salinity,and depth variation.
C)Corals require water that is high in sediment concentration.
D)Corals are made of animals living symbiotically with simple algae.

Question 44

Which is a terrace?

A)An uplifted sea stack.
B)An uplifted wave-cut platform.
C)An erosional surface created by a massive tsunami.
D)An uplifted foreshore dune.

Question 45

Which of the following is a "soft" shoreline protection measure?

A)Groins.
B)Beach nourishment.
C)Jetties.
D)Breakwater.

Question 46

Which are these features,here from Lake Michigan,that disrupt sediment movement along a coast?

A)Breakwaters.
B)Groins.
C)Jetties.
D)Tombolos.

Question 47

Human intervention along a coastline intended to interrupt beach drift can include which of the following?

A)Tombolos,jetties,and breakwaters.
B)Jetties,breakwaters,and groins.
C)Breakwaters,groins,and tombolos.
D)Groins,tombolos,and jetties.

Question 48

Which are these features that block material from entering a harbour?

A)Breakwaters.
B)Groins.
C)Jetties.
D)Tombolos.

Question 49

Which of the following are examples of a coastal wetland?

A)Playa lake and mangrove swamp.
B)Mangrove swamp and barrier island.
C)Saltwater marsh and sand dune complex.
D)Mangrove swamp and saltwater marsh.

Question 50

Which is a shallow saltwater body cut off from the ocean by a bay barrier?

A)Barrier spit.
B)Lagoon.
C)Tombolo.
D)Baymouth bar.

Question 51

To which does coral bleaching refer?

A)The killing of coral formations by chlorine bleach pollution.
B)The replacement of normal,colored algae by white algae.
C)The loss of algae from the coral.
D)The process whereby coral change color to avoid detection by predators.

Question 52

Which of the following correctly describes the situation regarding coral bleaching?

A)The 1998 El Niño event caused the die-off of an estimated 30% of the world's reefs.
B)Scientists have identified the reasons polyps eject their algae.
C)The cooling of sea-surface temperatures is a great threat to coral.
D)Coral reefs are in equilibrium even though the oceans are under pressure from overfishing,pollution,sedimentation,and global warming.

Question 53

Which is material deposited in a long ridge extending out from a coast?

A)Barrier island.
B)Lagoon.
C)Barrier spit.
D)Tombolo.

Question 54

Which best describes beaches?

A)Places where sediment is stable and unchanging.
B)Permanent coastal features.
C)Places along the coast where sediment is in motion.
D)An area always composed of sand.

Question 55

Which are long,narrow depositional features of sand that form offshore roughly parallel to the coast?

A)Tombolos.
B)Barrier beaches.
C)Baymouth bar.
D)Groins.

Question 56

If the material deposited in a long ridge extending out from a coast grows to completely cut off the bay from an ocean,it becomes which of the following?

A)Barrier spit.
B)Lagoon.
C)Tombolo.
D)Baymouth bar.

Question 57

Which is deposited sediment that connects a shoreline with an offshore island?

A)Barrier spit.
B)Lagoon.
C)Tombolo.
D)Baymouth bar.

Question 58

On average,the beach zone spans which area?

A)Between high and low spring tides.
B)From several meters above high tide to several meters below low tide.
C)Between high and low neap tides.
D)From the high tide line during a spring tide to the low tide line during a neap tide.

Question 59

Which is the artificial replacement of sand along a beach?

A)Groins.
B)Beach nourishment.
C)Jetties.
D)Breakwater.

Question 60

Which are these features that create zones of still water near coastlines?

A)Breakwaters.
B)Groins.
C)Jetties.
D)Tombolos.

Question 61

Which are elongated,streamlined ridges aligned parallel to the most effective wind direction?

A)Ventifacts.
B)Yardangs.
C)Desert pavements.
D)Alluvial rock structures.

Question 62

Consider barrier islands and real estate development.Which correctly pairs the rating for barriers islands as sites for development with the reason for the rating?

A)Good; they provide excellent scenery.
B)Good; they are made of rock and are quite stable.
C)Poor; they are stable and often mobile.
D)Poor; they are unstable and often mobile and they can be overrun by storm surges.

Question 63

Which are the smallest features shaped by individual saltating grains?

A)Ripples.
B)Dunes.
C)Sand seas.
D)Reg deserts.

Question 64

Which best describes coral?

A)A coral is a type of polyp that secretes calcium carbonate to form an organic rock home.
B)A coral is a type of polyp that secretes silica to form an organic rock home.
C)A coral is a type of fish that secretes calcium carbonate to form an organic rock home.
D)A coral is a type of rock that precipitates from warm tropical waters.

Question 65

Which is desert pavement?

A)Specially constructed roadbeds in dry and hot regions.
B)Surfaces of concentrated pebbles and gravels.
C)Deposits of silt and clay.
D)Sand-covered surfaces.

Question 66

Which are large,lithified formations of calcium carbonate formed from both living and skeletal coral colonies?

A)Atolls.
B)Coral reefs.
C)Barrier islands.
D)Tombolos.

Question 67

To which does the term eolian refer?

A)Stream-related processes.
B)Glacial processes in areas outside the polar regions.
C)Erosion,transportation,and deposition by the wind.
D)Weathering and mass movement in humid regions.

Question 68

Which of the following terms is a correct reference to a desert pavement?

A)Alluvial plain.
B)Lag gravels.
C)Sand seas.
D)Hot desert.

Question 69

Which is the term used to describe rocks that are pitted,fluted,or polished from eolian erosion?

A)Desert pavement.
B)Pumice.
C)Ventifacts.
D)Deflation hollows.

Question 70

For purposes of discussing eolian processes,which best describes the wind?

A)Wind acts like a solid.
B)Wind acts like a gas.
C)Wind acts like a plasma.
D)Wind acts like a fluid.

Question 71

When corals expel their own nutrient-supplying algae,which phenomena often follows?

A)Bleaching.
B)Symbiosis.
C)Massive coral mortality (mcm).
D)Colouration.

Question 72

Coral and algae have a reciprocal relationship in which the algae perform photosynthesis,providing the coral with nutrition and helping with the calcification process.In return,the coral provide the algae with nutrients.This is an example of which type of relationship?

A)Parasitic.
B)Opportunistic.
C)Symbiotic.
D)Predator/prey.

Question 73

From which do the sinuous,branching channels that characterize a salt marsh result?

A)Animal paths through the marsh.
B)Storm tracks.
C)Human-made drainage canals.
D)The ebb and flow of tides.

Question 74

Which is the removal and lifting of individual loose particles by the wind?

A)Deflation.
B)Abrasion.
C)Saltation.
D)Deposition.

Question 75

To which might the destruction of a mangrove swamp lead?

A)The increase in variety of aquatic species.
B)Deposition along the coast.
C)Growth of coral reefs offshore from the mangrove area.
D)Loss of species,coastal erosion,and sediment accumulation.

Question 76

Which of the following are causes for the ejection of nutrient-providing algae from coral?

A)Aging of the polyp.
B)Sea level rise.
C)Increases in sedimentation,sea surface temperatures,and pollution.
D)Sunspot cycles and solar wind interaction with the upper atmosphere.

Question 77

Which is the grinding and shaping of rock surfaces by the "sand blasting" action of particles captured in the air?

A)Deflation.
B)Abrasion.
C)Saltation.
D)Deposition.

Question 78

Which correctly pairs the approximate shape of an atoll with the reason for that shape?

A)Circular; it forms around seastacks.
B)Circular; it forms around submerged volcanic islands.
C)Linear; it forms along barrier islands.
D)Linear; it forms along continental shorelines.

Question 79

Which is a major difference between a barrier island and a barrier spit?

A)A barrier spit is connected to the mainland,whereas a barrier island is not.
B)Barrier spits are anthropogenic,modeled after natural barrier islands.
C)A barrier spit is a depositional feature that connects the barrier island to the mainland.
D)One of regional terminology,a barrier island and a barrier spit are the same thing.

Question 80

Which is a depression created by deflation?

A)Playa.
B)Bolson.
C)Blowout.
D)Structural basin.