Oceanography Exam Questions And Answers (Updated And Verified)

Oceanography Exam Questions And Answers (Updated And Verified) How much of the Earth is covered in Water? - answer70% Where is most of the water located on Earth? - answerOceans What is the largest body of water on Earth? - answerOceans, interconnected to each other What are seas surrounded by? - answerSmaller bodies of water surrounded by Land How is salinity in water determined/measured? - answerThe amount of dissolved solids in water, measured in g/1000 with an average of 3.3-3.6% What elements are in saltwater? - answerHalite (sodium & chloride) 85% and tiny trace elements of phosphorous and gold What factors affect salinity? - answerEvaporation, precipitation, currents, temperature, coastal run-off/ice melt When it rains, does salinity increase or decrease? - answersalinity decreases due to dilution When there is a lot of evaporation (like in hot conditions, or in shallow water) does salinity increase or decrease? - answerSalinity increases because the salt is more concentrated What processes affect the gas exchange in the water? - answerInteraction with the atmosphere through evaporation, as well as photosynthesis and respiration of marine plants and animals (giving off/breathing in CO2 and Oxygen and nitrogen), How long can the ocean store carbon? - answerThousands of years What does it mean when we say the ocean is a carbon sink? - answerIt is a natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period What affects the temperatures in the ocean? - answerDepth (shallow or deep water) and location (near the equator or poles) What part of the ocean is most affected by solar energy (the sun)? - answerThe surface where the sun shines directly on the water What temp are polar waters? - answer-1.9 deg Celsius What is pack ice also known as? - answerInsulation. The sea ice layer restricts wind and wave action near coastlines, lessening coastal erosion and protecting ice shelves. Sea ice also creates an insulating cap across the ocean surface, which reduces evaporation and heat loss to the atmosphere. How does sea ice protect coastlines? - answerProtects against erosion How does sea ice protect the ocean? - answerreduces evaporation of sea water and heat loss What is the temperature difference in a thermocline? - answerWarmer water is at surface, cooler water is deeper In a thermocline, does temperature drop or rise the deeper you go? - answerAs you get deeper, the temperature drops significantly (gets colder) In a thermocline, where is the water most dense? - answerMost dense in colder layers of water In a thermocline where is water most saline? - answerMost saline in the denser, deeper, colder layers of water Does colder, denser, saltier water sink or rise to the surface? - answerColder, denser, saltier water sinks What water rises to the surface? - answerWarmer, less dense, less saline water rises What process carries colder, denser, saltier water to the surface? - answerUpwelling, the wind pushes surface water away from the coast and deeper water moves into the shoreline What process drives warmer, less denser, less salty water down? - answerDownwelling, the wind pushes surface water toward the shoreline and that surface water cycles down into the the deeper zones (opposite direction of upwelling cycle) What is a thermoHaline current? - answerocean currents that flow thousands of meters below the surface; driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). When sea ice forms, what is left in the sea water that was not frozen? - answerSalt. So cold polar water is saltier because of the glaciers. When glaciers melt, what happens to the ocean/seawaters? - answerThe ocean/seawater becomes less salty due to the melting water from the glaciers. Imagine a melting ice cube in a glass of lemonade....the lemonade gets watered down from the melting ice What is the basic process of the thermohaline cycle? - answerPolar ice forms, leaving the seawater even saltier. That salty cold water sinks. More surface water moves in to replace the