Homework #4 questions

Question 1

Comparing waves to ocean currents, waves are the agents of ___ and ocean currents are the agents of ____ and ____

Answer 1

waves are agents of erosion

ocean currents are agents of transportation and deposition

Question 2

Land features created by wave erosion include what two things?

Answer 2

Rocky Cliffs and Headlands

Question 3

Depositional features include what (2) things?

Answer 3

Beaches and Sandbars

Question 4

How are waves and ocean currents generated?

Answer 4

There is global patterns of pressure and wind caused by Earth’s unequal warming by the sun. Wind blowing over water’s surface initiates waves and ocean currents. Tidal fluctuations and tectonic events also contribute to movement of large bodies of water.

Question 5

Do waves actually shift of move the water horizontally? explain

Answer 5

no the energy of the wave moves through the water

Question 6

Most waves are ______ generated, set in motion by what?

Answer 6

wind generated set in motion by the friction of air blowing across the water

Question 7

A small number of waves are generated by something other than wind. List those (3) factors

Answer 7

Tidal surge
Volcanic activity
Undersea tectonic movement

Question 8

The horizontal distance from crest to crest or from trough to trough is called what?

Answer 8

wavelength

Question 9

What is the most notable erosion on coastlines accomplished by?

Answer 9

wave action

Question 10

Spray from breaking waves commonly moves as fast as __ mph

Answer 10

70

Question 11

What type of rock classification is sandstone?

Answer 11

sedimentary

Question 12

Most tsunami are consequence of what?

Answer 12

sudden disruption of ocean floor fault

Question 13

Tsunami may also result from what?

Answer 13

underwater volcanic eruptions and major underwater and coastal landslides

Question 14

Out in the open ocean, tsunami are usually quite ___.

Answer 14

inconspicuous

Question 15

Why is it hard to notice a tsunami in open ocean?

Answer 15

bc they are low and have very long wavelength

Question 16

Tsunami can travel at speeds exceeding_____ mph

Answer 16

435

Question 17

When a tsunami reaches shallow water, how does it change?

Answer 17

as a tsunami approaches a coast, it slows, causing the wavelength to decrease and the wave height to increase.

Question 18

How high can wave height become?

Answer 18

130 ft

Question 19

What caused the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004?

Answer 19

750 mile long section fo the Indo-Austrailian plate subducted beneath the Burma Plate. the ocean floor lifted 16 ft, causing a tsunami to spread in all directions

Question 20

What are the (2) different circumstances that cause sea level to change?

Answer 20

Tectonic cause: landmass uplifting or sinking

Eustatic Sea level change: Amt of water in oceans increasing or decreasing

Question 21

Sea level changes of greatest magnitude are associated w/ ______ before, during , and after ?what event? where sea levels dropped 430 ft worldwide

Answer 21

seawater volume

the pleistocene glaciations

Question 22

A relative rise in sea level results in a shoreline of ______

Answer 22

submergence

Question 23

in the recent geological past, sea level ___ sharply

Answer 23

fluctuated

Question 24

about 125,000 years ago sea level was about ____ higher that it is today.

Answer 24

20

Question 25

During the last glacial peak sea level is est. to have been around ____ ft lower than it is today.

Answer 25

400

Question 26

Why do almost all the world’s oceanic coastlines show evidence of submergence during the last 15,000 years?

Answer 26

bc as a result of the melting of the pleistocene ice sheets. As water from melting glaciers went into the ocean, rising sea levels caused widespread submergence of coastal zones.