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Science Challenge 2016 > Earth Sciences > Flashcards

Earth Sciences Flashcards

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1
Q

What is water made up of?

A

Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom

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2
Q

What is every atom made up of?

A

Protons, neutrons, and electrons

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3
Q

What is oxygen’s special property?

A

It’s special property allows it to pull electrons from the hydrogen atom

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4
Q

What does the water molecule is polar mean?

A

One end is negatively charged and one end is positively charged

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5
Q

What are the characteristics of waters polar properties as it freezes?

A

Molecules slow down move closer together and become denser

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6
Q

What happens when water becomes cold enough to become ice?

A

Molecules line up to match their negative ends with the positive ends of their neighbours and form a rigid structure with large holes in it. This makes ice less dense than liquid water and allows ice to float.

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7
Q

When is water at its densest?

A

Before it freezes (highest density at 4 degrees Celsius)

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8
Q

True or false: when water becomes ice it shrinks

A

False it actually expands

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9
Q

How does water do damage to roads and homes when it freezes?

A

When water in small crevices in the road freeze and expand and when water in pipes freeze and expand, causing the pipes to crack

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10
Q

What are the three common states of matter-

A

Liquid, solid, & gas

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11
Q

Where does water vapour, water, and ice appear on earth

A

Water vapour exists in the sky, liquid as salt water in seas and oceans and fresh water in rivers and lakes and in its solid form as icebergs in polar oceans and glaciers in the mountain

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12
Q

What is the water cycle also known as?

A

The hydrologic system

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13
Q

What does the water cycle describe?

A

The water cycle describes the non stop movement of water on,above and below the surface of earth

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14
Q

What energy evaporates water ?

A

Heat/energy from the sun

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15
Q

What’s the process called when plants lose water to the air?

A

Transpiration

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16
Q

What is evapotranspiration?

A

Evaporation and transpiration

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17
Q

How do clouds form?

A

In the air water vapour eventually cools and condenses forming tiny droplets we call clouds

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18
Q

When does water return to earth?

A

When clouds cool enough, precipitation may be triggered

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19
Q

What is infiltration?

A

When precipitation soaks into soil

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20
Q

describe groundwater-

A

groundwater is water that goes past the soil all the way down to subsurface rock

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21
Q

what is it called when water flows downhill over the land?

A

surface runoff

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22
Q

true or false? water can also remain on land as ice and snow

A

true

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23
Q

what makes seas and oceans salty?

A

as water flows down toward oceans and seas it picks up small amount of mineral salts from rocks and soil it travels over and through

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24
Q

fill in the blanks. When water ______ from oceans it leaves behind the ____ resulting in the oceans being salty

A

evaporates and salt

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25
Q

true or false: oceans get saltier over time

A

false

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26
Q

why has the salt content in oceans remained relatively constant?

A

because water can only hold so much salt

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27
Q

what happens when the water in oceans and seas can’t hold anymore salt?

A

the salt falls out of the liquid as a solid

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28
Q

where does the word hydrosphere come from?

A

from greek words meaning water and sphere

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29
Q

describe the hydrosphere-

A

the combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of the planet. this includes water in the atmosphere, as well as in the lakes, rivers, streams, oceans and soils

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30
Q

what separates the two layers of water in the ocean?

A

the thermocline

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31
Q

what percent of the earths surface is covered by oceans?

A

71 percent

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32
Q

what percent of earths water is in the oceans?

A

97 percent

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33
Q

what is the average depth of the ocean?

A

3.8 kilometres

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34
Q

where are depths of 11 kilometres located in the ocean called?

A

the marianas trench

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35
Q

where is the marianas trench located?

A

in the western pacific ocean

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36
Q

what are the oceans two layers called?

A

surface layer and deep layer

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37
Q

what is the thermocline?

A

a region of rapid temperature decrease with depth in the ocean

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38
Q

describe the surface layer of the ocean-

A

the surface layer is thin, warm and less dense than the deeper layer. it is fairly well mixed and turbulent

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39
Q

describe the deeper layer of the ocean-

A

the deeper layer is thick cold and more dense than the surface layer. It is much calmer

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40
Q

what are the two layers of ocean similar to?

A

water and oil

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41
Q

why do the two ocean layers not mix?

A

because they have different densities created by difference in temperature and amount of dissolved salts

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42
Q

true or false: the term current describes the motion of the ocean water

A

trueeeee

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43
Q

true or false: the thermocline is a layer of the oceans water

A

false

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44
Q

describe the tide-

A

the rise and fall of the oceans water due to the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon that occur near shore as well as in bays and estuaries. the tide follows a regular pattern that can be predicted

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45
Q

what is an estuary?

A

a coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it with access to the open sea

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46
Q

name the three causes of currents-

A

the tide, wind, and thermocline circulation

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47
Q

what is thermocline circulation?

A

density driven movement of water caused by temperature and salinity differences

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48
Q

what do you call a region of rapid temperature decrease with depth in the ocean?

A

THE THERMOCLINEEEE::)))))))))))

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49
Q

What are surface Ocean Currents caused by?

A

Winds blowing across the ocean surface and pushing the water along.

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50
Q

What would happen to the ocean currents if the earth didn’t rotate?

A

The winds would circulate between the poles, and the equator and ocean surface currents would follow the same path.

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51
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

Instead of following a straight path between poles and the equator, the circulating air appears to curve to the right in the North Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

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52
Q

What are gyres?

A

Circular patterns that the Ocean surface currents flow in both Hemispheres.

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53
Q

What are the circular patterns of gyres due to?

A

The Coriolis effect and the continents.

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54
Q

What does deflect mean?

A

Change direction

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55
Q

What is the Equatorial regions?

A

places near the Equator

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56
Q

In the Equatorial regain where do Oceans receive the majority of their heat?

A

The Sun

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57
Q

What happens to the temperature of the Ocean as it reaches the poles?

A

The Ocean has lost heat and the cold water becomes dense, sinks and becomes part of the deep ocean currents.

58
Q

Why is London, England warmer than Mossonee, Ontario even though the are the same latitude (51’N)?

A

The Gulf Stream

59
Q

What is the Gulf Stream?

A

A powerful warm Atlantic Ocean current that extends from the Gulf of Mexico up the Eastern Coastline of North America and over to Western Europe.

60
Q

What drives the Gulf Stream?

A

The temperature and salinity differences between the equatorial seas and artic seas as well as surface winds.

61
Q

True or False? - The circulation of both the surface and deep currents within the oceans is the primary controller of the world’s climate.

A

True

62
Q

What are deep ocean currents also called?

A

Ocean Conveyor Belt

63
Q

What drives Deep Ocean currents?

A

Thermohaline circulation

64
Q

How are Surface Ocean currents different from Deep Ocean currents?

A

Unlike surface Ocean currents which are driven by wind, deep Ocean currents occur due to changes in the density of sea water with changing temperatures and/or salinity.

65
Q

Describe the “thermo” part of Thermohaline-

A

As water gets colder it becomes heavier and sinks below less dense warmer water.

66
Q

Describe the “Haline” part of Themohaline-

A

“Haline” refers to the salt content of the water. As the salinity of sea water increases, the water becomes heavier and sinks below less dense water.

67
Q

Describe how the deep Ocean Circulation moves from one hemisphere into another-

A

-Deep Ocean Current begins in North Atlantic -cold dense, salty water sinks and flows southward -Moves into South Altantic, mixes with cold and dense water flowing northward from the Weddell Sea -Flows into Pacific Ocean, water is warmed, becoming less dense –water rise towards the surface, moves South across Pacific Ocean and moves westward into the South Atlantic. -Water moves North into the North Atlantic where the cycle starts over.

68
Q

How long does one complete cycle deep ocean currents take?

A

about 1000 years to complete

69
Q

Where is the Weddell Sea?

A

in the Antarctic

70
Q

The rise and fall of sea levels is know as what?

A

The tide

71
Q

What is high tide? What is low tide?

A

When water reaches it highest level (high tide) When water reaches it lowest level (low tide)

72
Q

What is semi-diurnal?

A

Two high tides and two low tides a day

73
Q

What is Diurnal?

A

one high tide and one low tide a day

74
Q

What causes the pushing and pulling of sea water?

A

Gravitational forces exerted by the Sun and Moon (mostly by the moon which is much closer to us)

75
Q

Where do Sublunar tides face?

A

The moon

76
Q

Where are Antipodal Tides?

A

on the opposite side of the moon from Sublunar tides.

77
Q

Describe how waves move a beach, or out in a lake or ocean-

A

Waves of water move along the water’s surface as a result of wind blowing across the surface of water.

78
Q

What are the three characteristics of waves?

A

Wavelength, Amplitude, Period

79
Q

What is Wavelength?

A

Refers to the distance between wave peaks

80
Q

What is amplitude?

A

the peak distance of the wave for the resting point (equilibrium)

81
Q

What is the period of a wave?

A

Time in between peaks reaching the shore.

82
Q

The size of wind-generated waves depends of which five factors?

A
  1. Speed at which the wind blows 2.Distance over which the wind blows(called the fetch) 3. Width of the area affected by fetch 4.Amount of time that the wind blows over the given area 5. Depth of the water
83
Q

What are Rogue Waves?

A

Also know as, freak waves, monster waves, killer waves, and extreme waves. They are large waves that occur far out to sea.

84
Q

What are Rogue Waves caused by?

A

High winds and strong ocean currents which join forces to create exceptionally large waves.

85
Q

True or False? For a long time, no one could prove the existence of rogue waves.

A

True. It was until fairly recently (last 15 yrs) that scientific research vessels and satellites were able to finally prove that rogue waves exist.

86
Q

What year did scientists using three weeks of radar images from European Space Agency satellites found ten rogue waves, each 25 meters (82 ft.) or higher?

A

2004

87
Q

Where does the word Tsunamis mean?

A

from a Japanese word meaning ‘harbour wave

88
Q

What are Tsunamis?

A

Are series of massive waves generated when water is rapidly displaced (moved up) vertically.

89
Q

True or False? Any geological event, such as an earthquake or underwater volcanic eruption, which causes water to rise or fall suddenly, can lead to a tsunami.

A

True

90
Q

Are Tsunamis tidal waves?

A

Tsunamis are not tidal waves as they do not require tides nor are they wind-generated waves.

91
Q

What are tectonic plates?

A

The crust of the Earth is made of massive slabs of rock many kilometers thick.

92
Q

Describe how an earthquake creates a Tsunamis-

A

When one plate slides over another, the seafloor may rise suddenly, causing the water above it to be displaced upwards. As gravity causes the water to go back down, waves are generated.

93
Q

How are Tsunamis different from wind generated waves?

A

Far out at sea, tsunami waves have much longer periods and wavelengths than wind-generated waves. Tsunamis amplitude is also much lower, and as a result, tsunamis may not be detectable as they pass in the open ocean.

94
Q

Describe why a Tsunami increases in height as they approach the shoreline?

A

As the tsunami approaches shore, the wave slows down. Wave speed, height and energy are related, and since the wave still contains a massive amount of energy, as it slows down, its height increases dramatically.

95
Q

What is one wave pattern that can indicate a Tsunamis is approaching?

A

If there is a trough (dip the water) , the sea may recede (pull back) suddenly from the shore prior to the arrival of the wave.

96
Q

True or False?

An earthquake may also occur several hours before a tsunami.

A

True

An earthquake may also occur several hours before a tsunami. Tremor waves travel more quickly through the earth than through the water.

97
Q

Describe a Megatsunamis.

A

Tsunamis that have wave heights that are much larger than regular tsunamis.

98
Q

What causes Megatsunamis?

A

Megatsunamis have been caused by large scale landslides and impact events, such as the collision of a meteorite or asteroid with the Earth.

99
Q

What happened in Lituya Bay in Alaska on July 9, 1958?

A

a giant landslide at the head of Lituya Bay, causing a wave with an initial wave height of 524 metres. This is the highest wave ever recorded.

100
Q

What is the term that describes all of the solid water on Earth?

A

cryosphere

101
Q

What does the cyrosphere include?

A

The cryosphere includes lake and river ice, sea ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets and water frozen in soil (permafrost).

102
Q

What does this image show?

A

Glacial ice formation.

103
Q

What are glaciers?

A

Glaciers are the largest source of freshwater and the second largest source of total water (oceans are the first) in the world.

104
Q

What is compaction?

A

exposed to more downward

105
Q

How do Glaciers form?

A
  • large amounts of snow accumulate over many years.
  • The snow that forms glaciers is repeatedly thawed and refrozen which causes it to develop into a granular form of ice called firn.
  • Over a period of years, the layers of firn undergo further compaction Glacial ice formation, which is what makes the snow become glacial ice
106
Q

What do we call the 99 percent of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the Polar Regions?

A

continental glaciers

107
Q

What do we call glaciers found in mountain ranges of every continent?

A

alpine glaciers

108
Q

What are Ice sheet?

A

Ice sheets are huge pieces of glacier ice which are at least 50 000 km 2 in area.

109
Q

Where are the only ice sheets on earth right now?

A

Antarctica and Greenland

110
Q

What was the last Glacier period?

A

Ice age

111
Q

What were 3 the ice sheets during the ice age?

A

Thee Laurentide ice sheet covered much of North America,

The Weichselian ice sheet covered northern Europe

The Patagonian ice sheet covered southern South America

112
Q

Descibe the Antartic Ice Sheet.

A

Antarctic ice sheet is the largest single mass of ice on Earth. It covers an area of almost 14 million km 2 and contains 30 million km 2 of ice.

Around 90 percent of the fresh water on the Earth’s surface is found in this ice sheet and if it melted, it would cause sea levels to rise by over 60 metres

113
Q

Describe the Greenland ice sheet.

A

The Greenland ice sheet covers about 82 percent of the surface of Greenland. If this ice sheet melted, it would cause sea levels to rise by 7.2 metres. This ice sheet is melting at the rate of approximately 239 km 2 per year.

114
Q

What are ice caps?

A

Sheets of ice smaller than 50, 000 km2 are called ice caps, they can take any shape, but typically are found on mountain tops.

115
Q

What are ice fields?

A

Have a shape determined by where they are.

116
Q

What are valley glaciers?

A

small alpine glaciers found in valleys

117
Q

What are moraines?

A

accumulations of rock and soil along the edges and surface of a glacier

118
Q

True or false? Under the layers of ice above, the lower layers of ice in a glacier to move slowly like a thick fluid.

A

True

119
Q

True or False? A glacier can move across ground or even up a slope if new snow is deposited at its base.

A

true

120
Q

What are ice streams?

A

Water underneath ice sheets

121
Q

What are outlet glaciers?

A

Polar ice caps that move downhill toward the sea

122
Q

What is glacier till?

A

Rocks and boulders and gravel that glaciers collect as glacier moves.

123
Q

Describe how land changes when a glacier moves across it.

A

A valley has a “V” shape produced by erosion from water. after a glacier moves through it the valley is deeper and wider resulting in a “U”

124
Q

Where do tidewater glaciers end?

A

They end in the Ocean

125
Q

Where in Canada can you find tidewater glaciers?

A

Baffin Island & Blesmere Island

126
Q

What are ice shelves?

A

Areas of floating ice often located at the edge of an ice sheet?

127
Q

What is an iceberg?

A

Large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or ice shelf and is floating freely in open water.

128
Q

Why can an iceberg been seen above the ocean?

A

Because the density of an iceberg is not much less than the density of seawater (about one-nineth of the volume of an iceberg.)

129
Q

What is the general size of an iceberg?

A

one to 75 metres in height above sea level and weigh

100 000-200 000 metric tons.

130
Q

Where is the biggest recorded icebergs?

A

Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica

131
Q

Name the Two types of Icebergs

A

Tabular and non tabular

132
Q

Describe Tabular icebergs?

A

steep side and flat tops also known as ice island.

133
Q

Describe Non Tabular icebergs

A

can have many different shapes such as dome -shaped, with rounded tops, wedge-shaped, pinnacle-shaped and block shaped.

134
Q

what sound do icebergs make when then melt?

A

fizzling sound called Bergie Seltzer

135
Q

What is sea ice made of?

A

frozen seawater

136
Q

How much of the worlds ocean is covered by sea ice?

A

12 percent

137
Q

Where is most sea ice found?

A

in the Polar regions, Artic Ocean, Southern Ocean

138
Q

What is landfast ice?

A

Ice that is attached to land. Also called fast ice

139
Q

What is drift ice?

A

Ice that drift freely

140
Q

What does Marine bol-acoustician do?

A

Use underwater sound recorders in the ocean to record whale volalizations. To improve our knowledge of where whales migrate how they commicate and how the noises from human activities may affect them.

141
Q

What are ice floes?

A

Drift Ice that are 20 metres and larger

142
Q

What is a ice profiler?

A

Measures the ice draft, or the thickness of the ice below the water line. It is acoustically driver and sits on the sea floor facing upwards.

Science Challenge 2016 (5 decks)

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