Exam 3 Flashcards
What is the definition of coasts?
The land of the continent adjacent to the beach; land extending inland as far as marine influence is seen
Y/N Is SDSU on the coast?
Yes
What is offshore?
extends from breakers to edge of continental shelf
What is the beach?
shore and nearshore (waves); very active
Why is the beach active?
It is filled with organisms, humans and lots of waves
What is the berm?
dry area usually sandy; sometimes underwater
When should you avoid the beach?
When the berm is underwater
What is the wave cut platform?
flat eroded bedrock at beach; eroded by breaking waves
What is a notch?
cave cut into a sea cliff by wave erosion (sediments/rocks breaking
During the summer wave energy is _____
high/low
low
Sandy beach = _____ berm
(wide/narrow)?
wide
During winter, wave energy is ____.
high/low
high
Rocky beach = ____ berm
(wide/narrow)?
narrow
Do Algae flourish during summer or winter?
Algae flourishes during winter
Why do sea levels lower at mid-ocean ridges?
Slow spreading
When does the berm get submerged?
In the winter
When are sewage spills most common?
In the winter
What are features of a depositional coast?
- flat
- controlled by subsidence and deposit sediment
- includes deltas, barrier islands
- passive margins
What are features of an erosional coast?
- has some uplift, tectonically controlled
- promontories/headlands,
- uplifted terraces (which are relatively flat because they were once a wave-cut bench),
- Active margin
- Sea caves, sea arch and sea stacks (3 seas)
Why do sea levels rise at mid-ocean ridges?
Fast spreading
Why do sea levels lower at mid-ocean ridges?
Slow spreading
What happens to sea levels when experiencing global warming?
Sea levels rise
What happens to sea levels when experiencing an Ice Age?
Sea levels lower
What are the two main factors that affect sea level rise and fall?
Climate change and tectonics
What does a seawall do to a berm?
It starves it from its sand
What are seawalls?
manmade wall structures made to protect the coastal rocks and its erosion
What is the San Diego margin classified as?
An active margin
What kind of coast does San Diego have?
Erosional
What is the origin of fossil fuels?
Ancient marine microscopic plankton/algae
In California, about ____% of sand comes from erosion of coastal cliffs.
70%
What is an example of a depositional coast?
Coast of Louisiana
What is an example of an erosional coast?
La Jolla
The marine terrace was once a ______.
beach
T/F La Jolla is a promontory and a terrace
True
In which vertical order would you find substances within the porous rock?
Water, oil, gas
What was the largest oil spill ever recorded? How many gallons were spilled?
The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, 210 million gallons
How can we prevent marine pollution?
Reduce, reuse, recycle (the 3 R’s)
What is a longshore current?
Current parallel to the shore, very close to berm
Where can you see trilobites in the fossil rock from the Cambrian era?
British Columbia
Water moves in the surf zone as a result of longshore currents… why?
Because longshore current waves approach at an angle
What is beach drift?
Movement of sand upon waves (zigzag motion)
For the most part (in Southern California), longshore currents travel ___ to ___
North to South
What controls SD’s coast?
The Rose Canyon Fault
Who brought attention to the North Pacific garbage patch?
Charles Moore
Which kingdoms belong to the Prokaryote domain?
Archaea domain and Bacteria domain
Which kingdoms belong to the Eukaryote domain?
Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia
Deltas occur at which type of margin? Provide some examples
Passive
Ex: Nile River Delta, Mississippi River Delta
Where are beach houses built on? (think classification of coasts)
The terrace
What is the difference between platform and terrace?
Platform is flat area at beach, terrace is flat area uplifted (no longer a beach)
T/F East/gulf Coasts are tectonically active, have passive margins and are flat areas affected by rising sea levels
False, they are not tectonically active (the rest is correct)
What are some of the characteristics of the Pacific coast?
- Erosional coast
- active and controlled by tectonics
- oceans do not migrate in land
What are some of the characteristics of the Atlantic coasts?
- Depositional coast
- passive, flat, unaffected by tectonics
- When ocean levels rise, it will migrate inland
What are some of the characteristics of the Gulf Coasts?
- below sea level, most in danger
- depositional
- ocean migrates the farthest inland
What causes the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone to have the color that it has?
Bacteria
Are sea level currently rising or decreasing?
slowly rising
What is the average change in sea levels/year
increases about 3.1 mm per year
What would be the increase of sea level if all ice melted? What would happen to the US?
about 70 m, South eastern part of the US would be flooded if not gone
What would be exposed if sea levels decreased (by a lot )?
the shelf of a continent
When does a cliff collapse?
When undercut rock can no longer support it
What is the purpose of a seawall?
Protect homes from falling due to erosion
What do we call the process of piling sand back at beach?
Dredging
What is an example (from class) where the beach disappeared due to a seawall?
New Jersey’s coast
What % of species live in the oceans?
14%
What % of specific live on the continents/land?
86%
T/F The oceans provide a stable environment for species.
True
What are the classifications of marine organisms?
Plankton, Nekton, and Benthos
What helps lead to the bringing of nutrients to the surface?
Ekman Flow
Which kingdom of life has the simplest, single-celled organisms?
Archaea domain
What are features of benthos? Examples of benthos?
Bottom dwellers, live on the seafloor, shore; deep-sea floors, hydrothermal vents, etc. (example: sea cucumbers, coral reefs, sea stars)
How long have sharks been on Earth?
Over 300 million years
What are the two principal marine environments?
Pelagic and Benthic
Which organisms live in the Pelagic zone?
Plankton and nekton
Which organisms live in the Benthic zone?
Benthos
Which principal marine environment zone has the most diversity, Pelagic or Benthic?
Benthic
T/F crude oil is not biodegradable
False, crude oil comes from ground is biodegradable.
What type of oil is not biodegradable?
The one we refine and use for our cars (much more toxic)
Most of the refined oil in our beaches come from where?
Consumption on land
T/F population correlates with oil production
true
Oil is a _____ resource.
renewable/nonrenewable
non renewable
San Diego is affected by plastic and sewage coming from ____?
Tijuana
What do high levels of mercury and lead poisoning lead to?
brain damage, in extreme cases Minamata disease
What are deltas?
Rivers that empty into the ocean
The Rose Canyon fault extends from where to where?
Border to LA
Why do ice ages cause a sea levels to lower?
A lot of water from oceans are turned into ice/snow on land
Mid ocean Ridges and their influence in sea levels are an example of what principle?
Archimedes Principle
Y/N Does cliff “armoring” significantly decrease supply of sand to our beaches?
Yes
In what type of continental margin is SD incorporated?
Active
What type of coast is SD?Why?
Erosional because it is tectonically active and lifted
What are the four types of pollution?
- Petroleum
- Sewage
- heavy metals
- solid waste
What type of oil is biodegradable and natural? (crude or refined)
crude oil
We find most of our refined oil in oceans.. where does it mainly come from?
almost all comes from the consumption on land
What percent of oil in the oceans are natural? what percent are human sources?
47 % are natural
53% are human sources
Briefly state the sources of oil in oceans (percentages)
Consumption on land- 72%
Petroleum transportation (ship spills) 22%
Extraction spills 6%
T/F Plankton/algae come in large amounts and die in large amounts
true
During which spill did the cleanup process do more harm than good? why?
Exxon Valdez oil spill, they tried to clean crude oil
During which season do sewage spills most occur (in SD)? where does the sewage come from?
The sewage comes from TJ and almost every winter, there is a spill in SD.
Why does Imperial Beach experience more closures than any other beach in the US?
Because plastic and sewage come down from TJ river to SD
What organism has the highest amounts of mercury?
Swordfish
Briefly explain the bioaccumulation of Methylmercury
According to this, mercury levels increase from species to species for example, a dolphin will have high levels of mercury as compared to a fish because mercury levels are transferred and accumulated from predator to predator.
According to the bioaccumulation of Methylmercury, is it better to eat from the top or bottom of the food chain?
Bottom of food chain, small levels of mercury.
What are some characteristics of plastic?
made in large amounts floats non biodegradable inexpensive strong
What is the result of plastic (solid waste) in our oceans?
Kills fishes, mammals, birds and reptiles because they mistake it for food
What are the laws regarding the dumping of plastic? What are some examples of plastic spills?
In the US, it is illegal to dump alot of plastic and use the ocean as the “dumpster”. Once in a while, cargo ships will spill into the sea dumping tons of plastic into the ocean
What is the one thing that can very slowly break plastic apart? What is this process called?
the sun (light), this process is known as photo degradation
T/F photo degradation is part of biodegradation.
False, photo degradation is opposite of it
Is photo degradation more or less harmful? why?
more harmful because since plastic starts diminishing, it is easier for animals to digest
According to lecture, which plastic material lasts forever?
plastic soda bottles
What are the 3 domains?
Eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea
-bacteria and archaea are both involved with prokaryotes
What are the simplest cells?
Prokaryotes
what are the more complex cells? why?
eukaryotes, they have a nucleus, a membrane, organelles
What are the six kingdoms of life?
archaea, bacteria, protista, fungi, plantae and Animalia
of the 6 kingdoms, which are part of prokaryotes (simple cells) and which are involved with eukaryotes (complex cells)?
Archaea and bacteria = prokaryotes
Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia = eukaryotes
which category/categories are both domain/s and kingdom/s?
Archaea and Bacteria
Which organisms are considered protista?
Micro algae and protozoans
Are fungi abundant?
No
which organisms (other than plants) photosynthesize?
some protista and bacteria
T/F organisms in the Animalia category can produce their own food
False, they cannot
What are some examples of vertebrates?
Fish, mammals, amphibians, snakes, birds
What are some examples of invertebrates?
starfish, annelids, mollusks
Are viruses alive or dead?
Neither
What are the smallest organisms on earth?
Viruses
What do viruses do?
they steal the DNA machinery and replicate
Where do most organisms live? Why?
Very close to land (shelf areas), coastal surface waters because theres sunlight for photosynthetic organisms which are related to the habitation of other animals because other animals rely on plants and some rely on the animals that eat the plants. (cycle)
What is evolution by natural selection?
Passing genes on to the next generation in order for adaptation
Adaptation leads to ______
speciation
What is the example of sexual selection?
Elephant seals- males fight with other males to get the females because there is 1 male for multiple females. Females (as a result) are attracted to the strong males because they want them to protect their offspring.
(strongest survive and pass their genes)
What percent of species (of earth) are in oceans?
14%
Do animals rely on stable or unstable conditions (environment)? Why?
unstable because variation and challenges lead to adaptation which leads to speciation, only the strongest survive.
What are the 3 classifications of marine organisms?
- plankton, 2. Nekton, 3. Benthos
What are plankton described as?what are some examples?
tiny organisms that float and drift with currents
ex: phytoplankton (plant like) and zooplankton(animal like)
What are nekton described as?what are some examples?
They are known as swimmers
ex: fish, turtles, anything that swims and can move on their own
What are benthos described as?what are some examples?
They are known as bottom dwellers because they live on seafloors
ex:corals, tubeworms
What is the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton?
Phytoplankton are “plant-like” because they do photosynthesis but are not plants
Zoo plankton are known as protozoans and they eat phytoplankton
Which type of marine organisms (classification) are the most abundant?
Benthos (bottom dwellers)
What are the 2 principal marine environments?
Pelagic and Benthic zone
What is the pelagic zone?
Open sea, where swimmers and floaters are found
What is the benthic zone?
seafloor, where bottom dwellers are found
Where is the greatest diversity of benthic organisms? What are the 2 main reasons for this?
On the shelf close to coast region called the littoral zone
One of the reasons is because of the amount of challenges, they either adapt or extinct. Another reason is upwelling, nutrients they need are at shore as well as rivers that empty out on beach
When homes are built on the berm, what other feature do they have?
Houses are generally built on stilts. During storms, the berm is flooded and stilts are at risk of breaking apart (especially during tsunamis)
Who discovered the North Pacific garbage patch?
Charles Moore
What domain/kingdom is the original organisms on earth?
Archaea
Are we (humans), eukaryotes or prokaryotes?
Eukaryotes
What is the cambrian radiation?
-545 million years ago
an explosion of diversity led to the appearance (over 5 million to 10 million years) of a huge number of complex, multi-celled organisms.
