Oceanography Questions

Ocean Bathymetry:

If you traveled by ship eastward across the Atlantic Ocean from New York, New York, to Lisbon, Portugal, where would you expect to traverse the deepest water? Are the deepest waters found in the middle of the ocean, halfway across the Atlantic? Or are they elsewhere within the Atlantic Ocean?

You examined the characteristics of ocean depths in Module 4 on bathymetry, especially in the exercise that utilized

TopoMaps (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

provided by the website for Satellite Geodesy operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Which location or locations identified by letters from the image identify where the deepest waters in the Atlantic Ocean occur along a traverse from New York, New York, to Lisbon, Portugal?

(1 Bonus pt)

Locations B and D

Locations A and E

Location C

Location A

Locations A and C

Question 2  1 pts

Earthquakes:

Does the magnitude of earthquakes increase with depth? In other words, do shallow earthquakes (< 50 km deep) have lower magnitude (i.e. lower numbers on the Richter scale) than deep earthquakes (> 250 km deep)?

The earthquake exercise in Module 5 examines this possibility, and the differences between shallow and deep earthquakes were further explored in one of the individual exercises that formed part of the mid-term exam.

Which two of the following answers correctly describes the characteristics of deep earthquakes?

(1 Bonus pt)

The magnitude of earthquakes is independent of their depth

The magnitude of earthquakes increases with increasing depth

The magnitude of earthquakes decreases with increasing depth

All deep earthquakes (>250 km) have a high magnitude (>4.5)

All deep earthquakes (>250 km) have a low magnitude (>4.5)

Deep earthquakes (>250 km) can be high (>4.5) or low (<4.5) magnitude

Question 3  1 pts

Tectonic Plates:

A significant part of module 5 explored the nature of Earth’s interior and the speed at which tectonic plate move. How fast do tectonic plates move? Is their motion typically measured in terms of km/yr or m/yr or mm/year or µm/year or nm/yr (i.e. annual rates of motion in the range of kilometers, meters, millimeters, micrometers or nanometers)?

What is the approximate range for the rates of tectonic plate motion?

(1 Bonus pt)

3 – 120 mm/yr

3 – 120 cm/yr

3 – 120 m/yr

3 – 120 km/yr

Tectonic plates are fixed and don’t move

Question 4 1 pts

Ocean Temperatures:

How does the temperature of the deep ocean compare with that of the surface ocean? Do the temperatures at the seafloor vary seasonally, like those of the overlying surface waters?

The exercise on ocean temperatures and salinity examined data from the Levitus Ocean Atlas, including differences between the surface and deep ocean.

Which two of the following statements about deep ocean temperatures are correct?

(1 Bonus pt)

Deep ocean temperatures range from ~ 0 – 4 °C, whereas surface ocean temperatures can range from 0 – >30 °C

Deep ocean temperatures range from ~ 10 – 24 °C, and are uniformly 10 °C cooler that overlying surface water

Deep ocean temperatures show no seasonal variations

Deep ocean temperature vary by ~ 5 °C from summer to winter, markedly less than the variation in surface waters

Question 5 1 pts

Hurricanes:

Is the speed of movement of a hurricane across the ocean governed by the speed of the winds associated with the hurricane and its magnitude? Does a Category 5 hurricane move faster across the ocean than a Category 2 hurricane?

The hurricanes exercise in Module 8 examined their characteristics, including the relationship between their wind speed and movement across the surface of the ocean and land.

Which of the following statements describing the movement of hurricanes is correct?

(1 Bonus pt)

Category 5 hurricanes always move faster across the ocean than Category 2 hurricanes

Category 5 hurricanes are characterized by faster winds than Category 2 hurricanes, but the movement of hurricanes is not governed by their wind speed

All hurricanes move at the same speed, irrespective of their intensity

Question 6 1 pts

Ocean Currents:

If you placed a message in a bottle and dropped it in the Pacific Ocean East of Japan where might you expect it to be found two or five years later if it remained buoyant?

The ocean currents exercise in Module 9 examined the paths of material floating in the ocean, and the class materials illustrate the fate of debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

Which of the following answers best represents the fate of the bottle?

(1 Bonus pt)

Alaska

California

British Columbia, Canada

In the region of the North Pacific gyre known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

All of the other answers, dependent on the winds and waves during its voyage.

Question 7 1 pts

Tsunami Waves:

Earthquakes triggered in oceanic areas, like those occurring off the west coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 and offshore Honshu, Japan, in the Pacific Ocean on Mar. 11, 2011, can produce tsunamis. The waves generated by these events can affect coastlines thousands of km distant. What is a typical speed (in km/hr) for tsunami as they travel across the ocean?

The second introductory group activity calculated the speed of tsunami triggered by the 2011 Töhoku earthquake based on he timing of the arrival of tsunami waves in the Pacific islands, Alaska and the west coast of the U.S.

Which of the following answers correctly describes the speed of tsunamis?

(1 Bonus pt)

About 750-800 km/hr

About 100 km/hr

About 1000 km/hr

About

200 km

/hr

About 400 km/hr

Question 8 1 pts

Tides:

The water level along ocean coastlines varies with the tides, which can be predicted for individual locations. Why do the timing and magnitude of tides differ from station to station along a coastline and why are they predictable?

Module 11 explained the controls on tides in different ocean basins and the ocean tides exercise examined their characteristics along coastlines.

Which two of the following statements about the characteristics of tidal motion and tides are correct?

(1 Bonus pt)

The timing of high and low tides along a coastline is governed by water rotation around amphidromic points

Tides are predictable because the forces that govern their magnitude and temporal variation relate to known gravitational influences of the Moon and Sun that can be calculated

Tides are predicable because they don’t vary from day to day

The timing and magnitude of tides vary along a coastline because different locations exhibit different tide types (semidurnal, mixed, or diurnal)

Tides are predicable because all coastal locations have two high tides and two low tides every day

Question 9  1 pts

Marine Ecology:

What physical factors determine whether specific ocean environments are habitable by particular marine organisms, and how are different biota adapted to their habitat?

Aspects of marine ecology were explored in Module 12, which considered the variety of ecological relationship between marine organisms and their environment.

Which description best characterizes the predominant control on the zonation of marine organisms on rocky shores and sandy shores?

(1 Bonus pt)

Tidal controls on water availability

The availability of light

The availability of nutrients

Tidal controls on salinity

The competition for space

Question 10 1 pts

Ocean Productivity:

Which regions of the ocean tend to most productive? What characteristics of these areas enables them to sustain substantive fish populations?

Various factors influence ocean productivity that were assessed using satellite data in the productivity exercise of Module 13, with the sustainability of fish populations supported by phytoplankton explored in Module 17.

Select the appropriate locations designated by letter codes in the image below to identify areas of high and low ocean productivity.

(1 Bonus pt)Regions of high productivity

[ Choose ] Locations E and G Location B Location G Location D Locations D and B Locations A and F Location C Location E

Region of low productivity

[ Choose ] Locations E and G Location B Location G Location D Locations D and B Locations A and F Location C Location E

Question 11 1 pts

Beach Evolution:

How are beaches altered by coastal engineering (i.e. man-made structures) and why?

Examples of beach development, erosion, and refurbishment and the effects of engineered structures on sand movement were examined using Google Earth in Module 15.

In the coastline image below what is the direction of longshore transport of sand and the name of the type of structures between the two man-made inlets?

(1 Bonus pt)

Longshore transport of sand is from right to left and the structures are breakwaters

Longshore transport of sand is from left to right and the structures are breakwaters

Longshore transport of sand is from right to left and the structures are groins

Longshore transport of sand is from left to right and the structures are groins

Longshore transport of sand is from right to left and the structures are sea wallsQuestion 12 1 pts

Marine Organisms – Bluefin Tuna:

What are the typical speeds attained by bluefin tuna during their migrations across the Pacific Ocean? How many days does it take them to travel from the Californian coast to Japan?

Data from tracking the movement of bluefin tuna, great white sharks, and elephant seals was examined in the Module 16 exercise on life in the ocean.

Which answer best describes the speed and transit time for the migrations of bluefin tuna across the Pacific Ocean?

(1 Bonus pt)

Average Speed: 6-8 km/hr; Transit time: 30-40 days

Average Speed: 1-2 km/hr; Transit time: 6 months

Average Speed: 20-30 km/hr; Transit time: 10 days

Question 13 1 pts

Ocean Resources:

Like other nations the U.S. has jurisdiction over its territorial waters. How far from the coastline do these waters extend, and does the U.S. have exclusive economic rights to exploit and use marine resources within them?

Module 17 on ocean resources addressed the scope of territorial waters.

How far does the economic exclusion zone (EEZ) extend from coastlines according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea?

(1 Bonus pt)

200 nautical miles

12 nautical miles

24 nautical miles

200 km

12 km

Question 14   1 pts

Human Impact on the Ocean:

What types of evidence show that marine biota are adversely affected by oil spillages? What characteristics of the spillage influence the magnitude of its effects?

The fate of oil spillages was explored in Module 18, which also considered the broad impact of human activities on the ocean and marine life.

Which of the following processes involved in the degradation of oil spillages continues for months to years?

(1 Bonus pt)

Biodegradation

Evaporation

Emulsification

Sedimentation

Question 15 1 pts

Global Climate Change:

Are all regions of the Earth similarly affected by the changes in climate resulting from increasing levels of atmospheric CO2? Which areas show the greatest temperature change over the past 40+ years?

Module 19 on global climate change with examine data on increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 and its effect on Earth’s temperatures linked to recognition of how climate is changing

Which of the following regions of the Earth has experienced the greatest temperature change over the last 40 years?

(1 Bonus pt)

The Arctic

North America

The entire Earth has warmed to a similar extent

Antarctica

The tropics

Question 16  5 pts

Commentary

Summarize in about 50-80 words how your perspectives on specific class topics has been changed by what you’ve learned during the course.

(A strong answer will provide specific examples how your understanding of course topics and/or particular characteristics of the ocean has changed based on what you’ve learned during the class.)

(5 Bonus pt)

Do this based off all the assignments you have helped me on throughout this year. Thanks!