Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Percentage of water that covers Earth’s Surface
A
71%
2
Q
Some Notable Ocean Features
A
- Mid Atlantic Ridge (giant underwater mountain range)
- Mariana’s Trench (ocean’s Deepest Location)
- Pacific Ocean Basin (Earth’s largest feature)
- Mt. Everest (earths tallest location)
3
Q
Oceans
A
- Arctic Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Pacific Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- Southern Ocean
4
Q
What is the Average depth of the ocean?
A
3.7 km
5
Q
What are the Importance of the Ocean?
A
- Moderates Earth’s temperature
- Influences the weather
- Largest volume of Earth’s biosphere
- Conduit for exploration
- Food and mineral resources
- Transportation of people and goods
- Recreation, aesthetics… etc
6
Q
What is Oceanography/ Marine Sciences?
A
The scientific study of all aspects of the marine environment
7
Q
What is marine geology?
A
The study of Earth’s crust and composition.
8
Q
What is physical oceanography?
A
The study of waves and currents, & ocean/atmosphere interactions.
9
Q
What is marine biology?
A
The study of the nature and distribution of marine organisms.
10
Q
What is chemical oceanography?
A
The study of the gases and solids dissolved in the ocean.
11
Q
What is climatology?
A
The study of the Ocean’s role in Earth’s climate.
12
Q
What is marine engineering?
A
The design and construction of structures used in or on the ocean.
13
Q
What is marine archaeology?
A
The study of human history in the oceans.
14
Q
Nature of science?
A
- Ask a question
- Form a working hypothesis
- Observe or experiment (collect data)
- Analyze Data and draw conclusions
- Form theories and laws
15
Q
Theory
A
A statement that explains observations; summarizes them
16
Q
Law
A
Principles explaining events in nature that have been observed to occur with unvarying uniformity under the same conditions
17
Q
Evolution of Navigation
A
- Stick Charts
- Sextants and chronometers
- Radar (near land)
- Loran (farther at sea )
- Satellite
- GPS (multiple satellites)
18
Q
Exclusive economic zone 3.4 million miles
A
- USA
- France
- Australia
19
Q
15 degrees Long
A
1 hour
20
Q
Early exploration
A
- began 2500 BC
-moved west to east - Hawaii colonized 460-600 AD
-shell and stick charts
-Pacific Islanders traveled long distances
21
Q
Kon Tiki
A
-1947
- South America to Polynesia
- ancient Raft and technology
22
Q
Egyptians
A
Pharaoh Snefru in 3200 BC it was the first recorded sea voyage
23
Q
Big Bang
A
Term used to describe the beginning of the universe, 14 billion years ago that as the universe expanded, it cooled, eventually allowing the formation of atoms, which then formed galaxies and stars.
24
Q
What do Stars have to do with the ocean?
A
Most of the substance of Earth, its ocean, and all living things, was formed by stars.
Every chemical element heavier than hydrogen was manufactured and released into space by stars.
25
When were the sun and its family of planets formed?
About 5 billion years ago
26
The Formation of Earth
The planet grew by the accretion of particles. Meteors and asteroid bombarded the surface, heating the new planet and adding to its growing mass. At the time, Earth was composed of a homogenous mixture of materials. Earth lost volume due to gravitational compression.
27
Density Stratification
The formation of layers I. A material with each layer being denser than the layer above
28
Aging the Earth
1. 1600s- Archbishop Usher of Ireland. Counted generations in the Bible: Sunday October 23, 4004 BC
2. 1897- Lord Kelvin, English Physicist. Calculated cooling length of molten earth: 20-40 million years ago
3. 1899- John Joly, Irish Physicist. Counted from the addition of salt to the oceans: 90-100 million years ago
4. Early 1900s- Radiometric Dating: 4.5-4.6 billion years ago
29
Isotope
Form of an element with the same #of protons, but different #neutrons.
Unstable; Parent element decays into daughter element.
Half life of a radioactive isotope is characteristic and constant.
30
How did water and water vapor form on early earth?
Sun stripped earths first atmosphere and then Gasses released by the process of outgassing replaced the first atmosphere. The water vapor in the atmosphere condensed into clouds and after a million years the clouds cooled enough for water droplets to form. Hot rain fell and boiled back into the clouds and eventually the surface cooled enough for water to collect in basins forming oceans.
31
2nd way water came to Earth
Comets may have delivered it. Intense bombardment of the early Earth by large bodies probably lasted until about 3.8 billion years ago.
32
Earths Unique
Because it’s surface temperature and composition allows water to exist as a gas, liquid, and solid
33
Earths Mean surface temperature
16degrees Celsius
61 degrees Fahrenheit
34
Hydrologic Cycle
The constant movement of water from one reservoir to another
35
Reservoir
A location where water can be stored.
36
Mechanisms of Movement
Evaporation(water to gas), Condensation(gas to water), Precipitation (Water released)
Transpiration( water released by plants)
Sublimation(solid to gas)
37
Residence Time (average time that water spends in any one reservoir)
1. Deep oceans: 1000-2000 years
2. Shallow oceans 100s of years
3. Glaciers and land ice: 10-1000s of years
4. Groundwater: 1 day-1000 years
5. Lake: 1-3 years
6. Soil moisture: 15 days-1year
7. Atmosphere: 12 days
8. Rivers: 10 days
38
Other water Planets?
1. Mars
2. Jupiters moons(Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede)
3. Moon
39
Latitude
Lines of parallel to the equator
40
Longitude
Lines parallel to the meridian
41
Phoenicians
-first Western civilization to navigate extensively
-Mediterranean Sea(2000 bc)
-around Africa and to British Isles (590BC)
42
Greeks
-pytheas reached British Isles and Iceland 325 BC
-Aristotle catalogued marine organisms
- Pliny the Elder linked tides to the phases of the moon.
43
What oceanic inventions did the Chinese make?
Compass, central rudder, watertight compartment, sophisticated rigging(multiple masts and sails)
44
Reasons for Chinese oceanic exploration
Trade, diplomacy, conquest, defense
45
Age of Discovery in Europe 1492-1522
-Constantinople captured by sultan Mehmed II in 1453
They searched for new Eastern Trade routes by the sea
46
Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)
-Portuguese trade routes around Africa
-Dias 1487 rounded Cape of Good Hope
-Vasco de Gama(1498) reached
47
Europeans Explore North and South America
-Colombus(1492) stumbled upon Americas almost
-Balboa (1513) crossed isthmus of Panama to Pacific
48
First to Circumnavigate the World
1522 Magellan and Del Caño. (Had 5 ships and 260 sailors and returned with 1 ship and 18 sailors)
49
Rise of British Naval Power
Spanish sailed with gold from the Aztecs and Incas in Mexico and South America. Spain was likely the most powerful European Country in the 16th Century.
British defeats Spanish Armada in 1588 and become dominant naval power. Led early scientific exploration of the oceans.
50
Beginning of Voyaging for Science
The successful exploitation of the oceans for transportation and economical trade required the development of accurate navigational methods and detailed charts of land masses, prevailing winds, and surface currents
51
Captain James Cook (1767-1779)
-first marine Scientist.
- ships: HMS Endeavor, Resolution, Adventure
-mapped many islands in pacific
-Systematically measured ocean characteristics
- collected biological samples
-used John Harrison’s marine chronometer
52
Benjamin Franklin
-early physical Oceanographer
-charted the Gulf Stream with Timothy Folger
Postmaster of the colonies and mails ships from Europe which took less time on the southern route.
53
Gulf Stream Speed
1m/s
54
US expeditions
-1838 US exploring expedition had 4years of circumnavigation, around polar holes
-1848 Matthew Maury father of physical oceanography compiled log book data into current and wind charts
55
HMS Challenger Expedition
-organized by the British Royal society
- circumnavigated the globe for science
Completed depth soundings, temp measurements, deep water motion, collected thousands of biological and deep sea samples (took 20 years to compile the information)
56
Modern Oceanography
1. Post civil war: steam replaced sails and researched expeditions were no longer sponsored by the government
2. Fridtjof Nansen drifted with his crew to the Arctic Ice, and confirmed there was no Arctic Continent.
57
Modern Oceanography Part two
During WWII oceanography bloomed due to military development
Post war federal funding came back for new tech.
58
Technology Today
- Drilling tech
- Satellite networks
- arrays of surface buoys
-deep sea monitoring stations
- submersibles
-radio/satellite tracking
59
Bathymetry
Measuring ocean depths and charting topography
60
Methods of Bathymetry
Lead-lines
Echosounders
Multi beam systems, satellite Altimetry
61
62
Continental Margin
Submerged outer edge of a continent
63
Ocean basins
Deep seafloor beyond the continental margin
64
Continental shelf
Shallow, submerged edge of the continent
65
Continental slope
Transition between the continental shelf and the deep-ocean floor
66
Shelf break
Abrupt transition from continental shelf to the continental slope
67
Continental rises
Accumulated sediment found at the base of the continental slope
68
Passive margins
Atlantic-type margins, edge of diverging plates and little volcanic and earthquake activities
69
Active margins
Pacific-type margins, edge of converging plates, high volcanic and earthquake activity, seamounts
70
