6.21.T - Lesson Review: Oceans - Introduction / Currents and the Ocean Floor

Question 1

If you sample the water and it has a salinity of 35 ppt where would you be?
ocean
Dead Sea
river
estuary

Answer 1

ocean

Question 2

The __________ zone extends from the surface to a depth of 200 m since sunlight only penetrates the sea surface to a depth of about 200 m.

Answer 2

photic

Question 3

The ocean is the single largest reservoir of __________ at Earth’s surface.

Answer 3

heat

Question 4

If you were to sample the water and it had a salinity of 20 ppt where would you be?
estuary
salt lake
ocean
river

Answer 4

estuary

Question 5

The __________ zone is from low tide mark and slopes gradually downward to the edge of the seaward side of the continental shelf.
neritic
intertidal
oceanic

Answer 5

neritic

Question 6

Ocean currents regulate global __________, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.

Answer 6

climate

Question 7

The __________ zone does not have enough light for photosynthesis. It makes up the majority of the ocean, but has a relatively small amount of its life.

Answer 7

aphotic

Question 8

Oceans provide the moisture and __________ for storms and global climates.

Answer 8

energy

Question 9

Earth is known as the “Blue Planet” because __________ of its surface is covered with water.
50%
85%
70%
25%

Answer 9

70%

Question 10

The __________ zone is nearest to the shore.
intertidal
oceanic
neritic

Answer 10

intertidal

Question 11

Please choose one of the currents listed below, and in 3–5 sentences describe how they are formed, and their relationship to the ocean. You must use complete sentences and proper grammar.

1. Convection Currents
2. Surface Currents
3. Global Wind Currents

Answer 11

Convection currents happen when ocean water becomes less dense as it warms. This causes the water to move above the cooler waters, where it radiates its heat to the environment around it. The warm water then gets colder and starts to sink in, and the process starts over again. This process of convection currents is helpful because we would only have energy transfer in the oceans, atmosphere, and earth’s interior with it.

Question 12

Circular movements of ocean waters are called __________.

Answer 12

gyres

Question 13

The stored __________ in the ocean drives much of Earth’s weather and causes the climate near the ocean to be milder than the climate in the interior of continents.

Answer 13

heat

Question 14

The study of the topography of the deep ocean floor is __________.
geology
bathymetry
oceanography

Answer 14

bathymetry

Question 15

Upwellings bring cold, __________-________ water from the deep ocean to the surface for plants and animals to feed on (i.e., phytoplankton) and are areas of rich biological activity.

Answer 15

nutrient rich

Question 16

Please match the term with the correct definition.

Continental Margin
Continental Shelf
Continental Slope
Submarine Canyon
Turbidity
Continental Rise
Passive Continental Margins
Active Continental Margins
Deep Ocean Trench
Marianas Trench
Abyssal Plain
Seamounts
Guyots
Hydrothermal Vents
Mid-ocean Ridges

These can be very deep and are primarily cut out by the turbidity currents that flow along the shelf and down the slope of the continent.

Decreased visibility caused by sediment (or organic particles like plankton).

Places where the continental crust and oceanic crust crash into each other.

The deepest trench in the world, measuring 10,900 meters or 36,000 feet at its deepest point.

The flattest part of the ocean, smooth, and about 5–6 kilometers deep. They are areas of high sediment deposits over the top of the basaltic oceanic crust.

Underwater volcanic hot spots, which are full of biological activity but do not reach the ocean’s surface.

The ocean crust that runs along the edge of all the continents.

The extension of the continent into the water that slopes at a small angle towards the bottom of the main ocean floor.

A sloping drop off that can plunge straight down in places.

Seamounts which have reached sea level. These previous underwater volcanoes are flat on the top due to erosion and may subside with the sea level and be found as a flat-topped “mountain” underwater.

Cracks or fissures in the Earth’s crust found primarily along the mid-ocean ridges, hot spots, and other places in the ocean basin.

Cracks or fissures in the Earth’s crust found primarily along the mid-ocean ridges, hot spots, and other places in the ocean basin.

These form at the base of passive continental margins by the build up of deposited sediments on the ocean floor due to turbidity currents.

The place where the plates of the Earth do not crash into each other at the border of the continental and the oceanic crusts.

Results when the oceanic crust dives underneath a continental crust.

Answer 16

Continental Margin
The ocean crust that runs along the edge of all the continents.

Continental Shelf
The extension of the continent into the water that slopes at a small angle towards the bottom of the main ocean floor.

Continental Slope
A sloping drop off that can plunge straight down in places.

Submarine Canyon
These can be very deep and are primarily cut out by the turbidity currents that flow along the shelf and down the slope of the continent.

Turbidity
Decreased visibility caused by sediment (or organic particles like plankton).

Continental Rise
These form at the base of passive continental margins by the build up of deposited sediments on the ocean floor due to turbidity currents.

Passive Continental Margins
The place where the plates of the Earth do not crash into each other at the border of the continental and the oceanic crusts.

Active Continental Margins
Places where the continental crust and oceanic crust crash into each other.

Deep Ocean Trench
Results when the oceanic crust dives underneath a continental crust.

Marianas Trench
The deepest trench in the world, measuring 10,900 meters or 36,000 feet at its deepest point.

Abyssal Plain
The flattest part of the ocean, smooth, and about 5–6 kilometers deep. They are areas of high sediment deposits over the top of the basaltic oceanic crust.

Seamounts
Underwater volcanic hot spots, which are full of biological activity but do not reach the ocean’s surface.

Guyots
Seamounts which have reached sea level. These previous underwater volcanoes are flat on the top due to erosion and may subside with the sea level and be found as a flat-topped “mountain” underwater.

Hydrothermal Vents
Cracks or fissures in the Earth’s crust found primarily along the mid-ocean ridges, hot spots, and other places in the ocean basin.

Mid-ocean Ridges
Cracks or fissures in the Earth’s crust found primarily along the mid-ocean ridges, hot spots, and other places in the ocean basin.

Question 17

Ocean __________ include any movement of water in the ocean that moves in the same direction.

Answer 17

currents