Oceanography Week Six
1. What is the concern about methane hydrates?: Methane hydrates break down due to
warming of ocean water which releases methane into the atmosphere. This is a concern because methan is a potent
greenhouse gas, around 20 times more effective per molecule than carbon dioxide, and the release of this gas would
further intensify the greenhouse effect on our planet.
2. What happens to sand with increased transport?: Transport increases:
Size decreases - grains worn down
Sorting increases - seds are processed
Composition = becomes more quartz rich
Shape = becomes more spherical
Angularity = becomes more rounded
3. Why spend so much time talking about the Atmosphere in an Oceanography
course?: The atmosphere and the ocean are continuously exchanging gas. What happens in one affects the other.
4. In what layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur?: Troposphere.
5. Why does it get colder with increasing altitude - what is the rate of temper-
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, ature change?: There is lower pressure at higher altitudes which causes the temperature to be colder. As the
gas in the atmosphere rises it feels less pressure, making it expand. When the gas expands it loses energy making the
temperature drop because temperature is the average energy of the particles. The rate of temperature change with
altitude is known as the lapse rate and is about 10 degrees to every 1000 meters.
6. Describe where "chronic" High and Low pressure conditions exist and the
significance of this.: Uneven heating and the rotation of the planets cause chronic high and low pressure
pockets to exist. The low pressure areas are over the tropics and temperate areas, and cause them to be humid and have
plenty of rainfall. High pressure areas are over the subtropics and poles, and create deserts by pulling away moisture.
7. Describe the trade winds and explain why they exist.: The trade winds are the pattern of
easterly surface winds found within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere
near the Earth's equator. The trade winds blow from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast
in the Southern Hemisphere within the Hadley cell. The surface air that flows from subtropical high-pressure belts
toward the Equator is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis effect creating the trade winds.
8. What are the implications of losing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.: Sea ice reflects 90%
of the sun's rays with only 10% being absorbed by the ocean. Ocean water absorbs 94% of the sun's rays with only 6%
being reflected back into the atmosphere. A loss of sea ice will result in water absorbing more heat. This will also result
in lower latitude areas warming up.
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1. What is the concern about methane hydrates?: Methane hydrates break down due to
warming of ocean water which releases methane into the atmosphere. This is a concern because methan is a potent
greenhouse gas, around 20 times more effective per molecule than carbon dioxide, and the release of this gas would
further intensify the greenhouse effect on our planet.
2. What happens to sand with increased transport?: Transport increases:
Size decreases - grains worn down
Sorting increases - seds are processed
Composition = becomes more quartz rich
Shape = becomes more spherical
Angularity = becomes more rounded
3. Why spend so much time talking about the Atmosphere in an Oceanography
course?: The atmosphere and the ocean are continuously exchanging gas. What happens in one affects the other.
4. In what layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur?: Troposphere.
5. Why does it get colder with increasing altitude - what is the rate of temper-
1/3
, ature change?: There is lower pressure at higher altitudes which causes the temperature to be colder. As the
gas in the atmosphere rises it feels less pressure, making it expand. When the gas expands it loses energy making the
temperature drop because temperature is the average energy of the particles. The rate of temperature change with
altitude is known as the lapse rate and is about 10 degrees to every 1000 meters.
6. Describe where "chronic" High and Low pressure conditions exist and the
significance of this.: Uneven heating and the rotation of the planets cause chronic high and low pressure
pockets to exist. The low pressure areas are over the tropics and temperate areas, and cause them to be humid and have
plenty of rainfall. High pressure areas are over the subtropics and poles, and create deserts by pulling away moisture.
7. Describe the trade winds and explain why they exist.: The trade winds are the pattern of
easterly surface winds found within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere
near the Earth's equator. The trade winds blow from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast
in the Southern Hemisphere within the Hadley cell. The surface air that flows from subtropical high-pressure belts
toward the Equator is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis effect creating the trade winds.
8. What are the implications of losing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.: Sea ice reflects 90%
of the sun's rays with only 10% being absorbed by the ocean. Ocean water absorbs 94% of the sun's rays with only 6%
being reflected back into the atmosphere. A loss of sea ice will result in water absorbing more heat. This will also result
in lower latitude areas warming up.
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