Question 1

Marine terraces are old,uplifted wave-cut platforms.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

You are walking along the shoreline but the material under your feet isn't sand,but instead is large cobbles and you occasionally have to scramble around small boulders.You are on ________,

Accepted Answer

A)  a beach
B)  a coastal dune
C)  a wave cut terrace
D)  a coral reef shoreface A

Question 3

A flat,bench-like surface cut in rock along a coast is a ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  sea stack
B)  tombolo
C)  wave-cut platform
D)  spit C

Question 4

Coastal California is famous for fog and smog (fog mixed with smoke).Why is the California coast foggy/smoggy,whereas Houston,Texas,which is at similar latitude,might get occasional smog from too many cars,but fog is relatively rare?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cold currents along the Texas coast inhibit fog,whereas the ocean is warm off California.
B)  The ocean is warm off the Texas coast,but a cold current running offshore California generates fog when the cold,moist air is drawn ashore by a sea breeze.
C)  There isn't really any fog; it is all just smog from too many cars in California.
D)  Warm air in Texas rises to make clouds and not fog,whereas in California cold water from the ocean mixes with warm water from the land to generate fog.

Question 5

Surface ocean circulation is also called thermohaline circulation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

The turbulent water created by breaking waves is called surf.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

You are swimming with your buddies on a beach in the surf.You leave your cooler and supplies on the beach,and after a half hour you swim back to shore,but your stuff isn't there.You look along the beach and see your cooler 200 m down the beach.How did that happen?

Accepted Answer

A)  You and your buddies must have gotten caught in a rip current without knowing it.
B)  You and your buddies must have been swimming parallel to the shore without thinking about it.
C)  You and your buddies must have had too many and just lost track of where you were.
D)  You and your buddies were affected by the longshore current and drifted with it along the coast.

Question 8

When a wave impinges on a beach,the particle motion changes from elliptical to circular,producing the characteristic curl form of breaking waves.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

A ridge of sand that connects an island to the mainland or to another island is a(n)________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A ridge of sand that connects an...

Question 10

Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay are ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  associated with a submergent coast
B)  former river valleys that were flooded by a rise in sea level
C)  excellent examples of large estuaries
D)  all of the above

Question 11

Waves in the open ocean are called waves of oscillation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

You run a business selling bait to fisherman near the tip of a large sand spit.A sand and gravel company owns coastal property up the coast from you-the other direction from the tip of the spit.The sand and gravel company plans to dredge sand from the beach and mine the sand and gravel from a seacliff that is eroding in the coastal zone.What should be your opinion on this sand and gravel operation?

Accepted Answer

A)  You should go into business with the sand and gravel operator and have them deliver sand to your beach to help tourism.
B)  There is no problem; the operator will increase sediment supply to the beach which will help your little sand spit.
C)  There is no problem; the longshore drift is away from you.It is people up the coast who should be concerned.
D)  You should look for a lawyer or a real estate agent because the sand and gravel operation will destroy your sand spit in time

Question 13

Groins are constructed for the purpose of maintaining or widening beaches that are losing sand.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

El Niño is a well-known weather phenomenon.In Ecuador and Peru,fisherman knew about the phenomena long before it was well known because their fishing would be very poor during El Niño conditions.Normally Peru and Ecuador have a remarkable fishery because there is a prominent upwelling along the coast which produces plantonic blooms that feed the entire ecosystem.This upwelling is driven by surface wind conditions.From your knowledge of currents and wind conditions,which of the following happens during El Niño conditions in this area?

Accepted Answer

A)  The winds shift from south to north,along the coast,to west to east,across the coast.
B)  The winds change from east to west (offshore flow) to onshore flow or weak winds during El Niño conditions.
C)  The winds shift from west to east (onshore flow) to offshore flow (east to west) during El Niño conditions.
D)  The winds shift from prevailing southwesterlies to stagnant,doldrum conditions during El Niño.

Question 15

Thermohaline circulation is ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  shallow circulation at low latitudes driven by surface evaporation making seawater more dense,which then sinks and drives upwelling
B)  deep circulation of water driven entirely by cold,saline water descending to the ocean floor at the poles and flowing along the bottom of the ocean
C)  deep circulation of water driven by a combination of cold temperature and high density related to high salinity from formation of sea ice,producing descending high density waters that flow southward to equatorial regions
D)  the circulation that occurs in shallow,evaporate basins when salt begins to crystallize,releasing heat by latent heat of fusion and heating the water mass,forcing shallow convection in the water column

Question 16

What direction is the longshore current in the area pictured below?

Accepted Answer

A)  left to right
B)  right to left
C)  top to bottom
D)  impossible to tell from this figure

Question 17

spring tide flood tide neap tide tidal flat

Accepted Answer

The answer of spring tide flood tide neap tide tidal...

Question 18

When caves on opposite sides of a headland unite,a(n)________ results.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When caves on opposite sides of a...

Question 19

When waves crash against a sea cliff,what is the main process that erodes the cliff?

Accepted Answer

A)  abrasion by rocks flung against the cliff by the waves
B)  water flowing upward against the cliff,washing the cliff face of loose debris
C)  hydraulic pressure driven by the waves forcing water,air,or both into cracks,dislodging rocks from the cliff
D)  impact of the wave causing vibrations that trigger landslides

Question 20

The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level had fallen?

Accepted Answer

A)  an estuary
B)  a sea stack
C)  elevated marine terrace
D)  a tombolo

Exam 15: The Dynamic Ocean

Marine terraces are old,uplifted wave-cut platforms.

You are walking along the shoreline but the material under your feet isn't sand,but instead is large cobbles and you occasionally have to scramble around small boulders.You are on ________,

A flat,bench-like surface cut in rock along a coast is a ________.

Coastal California is famous for fog and smog (fog mixed with smoke) .Why is the California coast foggy/smoggy,whereas Houston,Texas,which is at similar latitude,might get occasional smog from too many cars,but fog is relatively rare?

Surface ocean circulation is also called thermohaline circulation.

The turbulent water created by breaking waves is called surf.

You are swimming with your buddies on a beach in the surf.You leave your cooler and supplies on the beach,and after a half hour you swim back to shore,but your stuff isn't there.You look along the beach and see your cooler 200 m down the beach.How did that happen?

When a wave impinges on a beach,the particle motion changes from elliptical to circular,producing the characteristic curl form of breaking waves.

A ridge of sand that connects an island to the mainland or to another island is a(n)________.

Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay are ________.

Waves in the open ocean are called waves of oscillation.

Groins are constructed for the purpose of maintaining or widening beaches that are losing sand.

Thermohaline circulation is ________.

What direction is the longshore current in the area pictured below?

spring tide flood tide neap tide tidal flat

When caves on opposite sides of a headland unite,a(n)________ results.

When waves crash against a sea cliff,what is the main process that erodes the cliff?

The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level had fallen?