Final Study

Question 0

The _______ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.

Answer 0

nebular theory

Question 1

Name the third planet from the Sun

Answer 1

Earth

Question 2

As the solar system was forming, ____ came closest to undergoing nuclear fusion and becoming a second sun.

Answer 2

Jupiter

Question 3

____ refers to the bright head of a comet.

Answer 3

Coma

Question 4

One of the discoveries which led to modern view of the solar system was that the orbits of the planets are

Answer 4

ellipses

Question 5

Total amount of solid material dissolved in water.

Answer 5

Salinity

Question 6

Through volcanic eruptions, large quantities of water and dissolved gases have been emitted through geologic times. This is the principal source of water in the ocean and atmosphere.

Answer 6

Outgassing

Question 7

A layer of rapid temperature change below the zone or mixing

Answer 7

Thermocline

Question 8

Mass per unit volume but can be thought of as a measure of how heavy something is for its size.

Answer 8

Density

Question 9

Rapid change of density with depth

Answer 9

Pycnocline

Question 10

Zone of rapidly changing salinity that corresponds to the thermocline.

Answer 10

Halo line

Question 11

Measurement of ocean depths and the charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor.

Answer 11

Bathymetry

Question 12

Also called sonar.
Invented in 1920s.
Primary instrument for measuring depth, that reflects sound from the ocean floor.

Answer 12

Echo sounder

Question 13

Employs and array of sound sources and listening devices.

Obtains a profile of a narrow strip of the seafloor.

Answer 13

Multibeam sonar

Question 14

Continental margins, ocean basin floor, and oceanic (mid-ocean) ridge

Answer 14

3 topographic units

Question 15

Found along most coastal areas that surround the Atlantic Ocean.
Not associated with plate boundaries

Answer 15

Passive continental margin

Question 16

Features:
Continental shelf
Continental slope
Submarine canyons and turbidity currents
Continental rise.

Answer 16

Passive continental margin features.

Question 17

Flooded extension of the continent. Varies Greatly in width. Gently sloping. Contains oil and important mineral deposits. Some areas are mantled by extensive glacial deposits. Most consist of thick accumulations of shallow-water sediments.

Answer 17

Continental shelf

Question 18

Marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf.

Relatively steep structure. Boundary between continental crust and oceanic crust.

Answer 18

Continental slope.

Question 19

Deep, steep-sided valleys cut into the continental slope. Some are seaward extensions of river valleys. Most appear to have been eroded by turbidity currents.

Answer 19

Submarine canyons.

Question 20

Downslope movements of dense, sediment-laden water

Answer 20

Turbidity currents

Question 21

Deposits are called

Answer 21

Turbidity

Question 22

Found in regions where trenches are absent. Continental slope merges into a more gradual incline. At the base of the continental slope turbidity currents that follow submarine canyons deposit sediment that forms deep-sea fans.

Answer 22

Continental rise

Question 23

A cone shaped deposit at the base of the continental slope. The sediment is transported to the fan by turbidity currents that follow submarine canyons.

Answer 23

Deep-sea fans

Question 24

Located primarily around the margins of the pacific ocean where oceanic lithosphere is being subducted beneath the leading edge of a continent.

Answer 24

Active continental margin

Question 25

Continental slope descends abruptly into a deep-ocean trench.
Located primarily around the pacific ocean. Accumulations of deformed sediment and scraps of ocean crust form accretionary wedges. Some subduction zones have little or no accumulation of sediments.

Answer 25

Active continental margins

Question 26

Long, relatively narrow troughs that are the deepest parts of the ocean. Mostly located in the pacific ocean. Sites where moving lithospheric plates plunge into the mantle. Associated with volcanic activity (volcanic island arcs and continental volcanic arcs)

Answer 26

Deep-ocean trenches

Question 27

Chaotic accumulation of deformed sediment and scraps of ocean crust

Answer 27

Accretionary wedge

Question 28

Likely the most level places on Earth. Sites of thick accumulations of sediment. Found in all oceans.

Answer 28

Abyssal plains

Question 29

Isolated volcanic peaks. Many form near oceanic ridges. May emerge as an island.

Answer 29

Seamounts and guyots

Question 30

Flat-topped seamounts that have sank into deeper, colder water where carbonate material no longer accumulates.

Answer 30

Guyots

Question 31

Any submarine mountain of volcanic or tectonic origin.

Answer 31

Seamounts

Question 32

Characterized by an elevated position, extensive faulting, and numerous volcanic structures that have developed on newly formed crust.

Answer 32

Mid-ocean ridge

Question 33

Interconnected ridge system is the longest topographic feature on Earth’s surface . 23% of earths surface, winds through all major oceans, over 70,000 km in length. Along the axis of some segments are deep downfaulted structures called rift valleys. Consist of layer upon layer of basaltic rocks that have been faulted and uplifted. Has been studied more than any other ridge system.

Answer 33

Mid-ocean ridge

Question 34

Mud is the most common sediment on the deep-ocean floor

Answer 34

Mud

Question 35

Masses of water that flow from one place to another

Answer 35

Ocean currents

Question 36

Deleon from friction between the ocean and the wind that blows across the surface

Answer 36

Surface currents

Question 37

Large whirls of water within an ocean basin

Answer 37

Gyres

Question 38

5 gyres

Answer 38

North pacific, south pacific, north atlantic, south Atlantic, Indian ocean

Question 39

Currents are deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.

Answer 39

Coriolanus effect

Question 40

Currents from low latitudes into higher latitudes (warm currents) transfer heat from warmer to cooler areas.

Answer 40

Importance of surface currents

Question 41

Influence of cold currents is most pronounced in the tropics or during the summer months in the middle latitudes.

Answer 41

Climates influence on surface currents

Question 42

The rising of cold water from deeper layers. Most characteristic along west coasts of continents.

Answer 42

Upwelling.

Question 43

A response to density differences. Factors creating a dense mass of water is temperature and salinity. (temperature: cold watere is dense; salinity: density increases with increasing salinity.)

Answer 43

Deep-ocean circulation