Chapter 2 and Climate change Flashcards
- Why are the understanding geological processes important?
a. Because they affect not only the oceans but also dry land. They also influence marine habitats
- Geological processes sculpt the ______, determine water depth, control whether the bottom is ____, ____, or ___, and create new islands and undersea ________ for organisms to colonize.
1) shoreline
2) Muddy
3) sandy
4) rocky
5) mountains
- The Earth is covered ____% by oceans.
1) 71%
- Name the four main ocean basins. What ocean is the deepest?
a. The Pacific is the deepest and largest. The Atlantic, Indian, and Artic.
- Name the outermost layer of the Earth.
a. The crust.
- What is the theory of plate tectonics? Why are plate tectonics important in the study of marine organisms?
a. Leads to continents drifting, a phenomenon that involves the entire surface of the planet. It erodes grounds makes new areas, destroys areas. Changes the land the creates live on.
- What are mid-ocean ridges and trenches?
a. Mid-ocean ridges are a continuous chain of submarine volcanic mountains that encircle the globe. Largest geological feature. Occasionally they break the surface of the water to create islands. Trenches are the opposite; depressions in the sea floor. Earthquakes and volcanoes occur around these features.
- Name the 3 parts of the continental margin. Which part is the closest to shore? Which part contains the highest biodiversity?
a. Divided into two main regions; Continental margins and Deep-sea floor. It consists of Continental shelf (most landward), Continental slope, and Continental rise (most seaward). Continental shelf is most biodiverse.
- What is the difference between active and passive continental margins? What type do we have in Florida?
a. Passive margins: Relatively inactive geologically, characterized by flat, wide coastal plains, wide continental shelves, and gradually sloping continental slopes.
b. Active margins: Sites of more intense geological activity including earthquakes, volcanoes, and trenches. Characterized by steep, rocky shorelines, narrow continental shelves, and steep continental slopes.
c. We have passive margins.
- What is another name for the deep-sea floor? Is the deep-sea floor important to organisms? Why?
a. Also known as Abyssal Plains. They are extremely important to organisms as they are home to large amounts of marine life.
- What are the 2 types of sediments?
a. Lithogenous sediments and biogenous sediments.
- What are biogenous sediments? What can we use biogenous sediments for?
a. Derived from the skeletons and shells of marine organisms termed microfossils. We can use them to learn the age of the sediments. They can reveal information about the past. The temperature at the time the fossil was deposited. Ocean acidification if any.
- What are glacial and interglacial periods? Have these periods occurred in the past? What period are we currently in?
a. Interglacial periods are periods of warmer weather while glacial periods are colder weather. Yes they have occurred in the past, currently we are in an interglacial period.
- Does the sea level rise or fall during interglacial periods? Why?
a. The sea level will rise during interglacial periods because of the warm weather melting the ice adding water to the ocean.
- What is the greenhouse effect?
a. The retention of heat in the lower atmosphere as a result of an increase in CO 2 and other gases.
