Introduction Flashcards
How deep is the ocean on average?
3700 m
How many oceans are there in the world ocean?
5
What fraction of the sea bed (bathymetry) has been (officially) mapped by 2020?
20%
Which are the Nordic Seas?
Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Iceland Sea
Which atmospheric processes underlie formation of “Great Garbage Patches”
(plastic accumulation zones) in the ocean?
Anti-cyclonic wind gyres
Poincare waves are … but in the short-wave asymptotic limit they are …
generally dispersive, non-dispersive
Long Rossby waves are … and short Rossby waves are …
non-dispersive, nearly stationary
Are Poincare waves in a channel non-dispersive and their phase and group velocities are equal?
yes
Which of the processes listed below are NOT well represented under the QG
approximation: (1p)
a) Long Rossby waves
b) Ocean eddies on the beta plane characterized by small local ratio of relative vorticity
and planetary vorticity (slow rotation compared to planetary rotation)
c) Sverdrup circulation
d) Poincare waves
d) Poincare Waves
Which waves are triggered by West Wind Bursts and are used in forecasting
as early warning for El-Nino events: (1p)
a) Poincare waves
b) Equatorial Kelvin waves
c) Equatorial Rossby waves
d) Coastal Kelvin waves
d) Equatorial Kelvin waves
With which velocity does the energy associated with a barotropic Poincare wave propagate in ocean basin of depth H?
Group velocity which is calculated as cG = (cx
G; cyG)
Choose the correct statement: (1p)
a) Rossby waves will always propagate to the west
b) Rossby waves will propagate to the west or east, depending on wavenumber k
c) Equatorial Kelvin waves will propagate to east or west, depending on f
d) Poincare waves will propagate along the coast
2
b) Rossby waves will propagate to the west or east, depending on wavenumber k
The main measured effects of the Major Baltic In
flows to the Baltic Sea are:
(1p)
a) Higher temperature and higher salinity in the deeper water layer
b) Higher oxygen levels and higher salinity in the deeper water layer
c) Higher oxygen levels and higher temperature in the deeper water layer
d) Higher oxygen levels of the deeper water layer and higher surface runo
b) Higher oxygen levels and higher salinity in the deeper water layer
Which of ocean regions has a negative fresh water budget: (1p)
a) The Baltic Sea
b) The Arctic Sea
c) The Mediterranean Sea
d) The Black Sea
c) The mediterranean sea
What feature of the Baltic Sea makes the application of ARGO
oat obser-
vations particularly dicult: (1p)
a) Kelvin waves
b) Strong halocline
c) Reversing winds causing frequent upwelling and downwelling
d) Algae blooms
b) Strong halocline
Which process is the most important in making clear sea water appear blue,
and coastal water appear as greenish-brownish: (1p)
a) Re
ection of light at the sea surface
b) Wavelength-selective absorption of light
c) Refraction
d) Mie scattering on large particles
b) Wavelength-selective absorption of light
Which process is essential for the development of the Ekman layers: (1p)
a) Beta effect
b) Turbulent vertical mixing
c) Wind forcing
d) Interaction with the topography
c) Wind forcing
The denition for Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) is: (1p)
a) Ocean circulation viewed in the vertical-zonal plane
b) Ocean circulation viewed in the vertical-meridional plane
b) Same as global conveyor belt
d) Ocean motion represented by NADW and AABW
b) Ocean circulation viewed in the vertical-meridional plane
What clearly distinguishes the Mediterranean Over owWater in the Atlantic: (1p) a) High temperature b) High salinity b) Low salinity d) High velocities
b) high salinity
A process of vital importance for diapycnal mixing is: (1p)
a) Rossby waves
b) Internal waves
b) Geostrophic eddies
d) Winds
b) Internal waves
Doppler eect underlies the principle of operation of: (1p)
a) CTD
b) Psychrometer
b) ADCP
d) XBT
b) ADCP
Which of the measurements are not "Lagrangian" (Lagrangian = instruments are continuously drifting with the ow): (1p) a) Drifters b) RAFOS b) ARGO d) Ballloons
b) ARGO
Which form of the linear equation od state for sea water is correct? (o, To,
So, po are reference density, temperature, salinity and pressure, respectively, and coecients
i are positive). (1p)
a) rho = rho_0[1 + Beta_T (T - To) + Beta_S(S - So) + p(p - po)]
b) rho = rho_0[1 - Beta_T (T - To) + Beta_S(S - So) + p(p - po)]
c) rho = rho_0[1 - Beta_T (T - To) - Beta_S(S - So) + p(p - po)]
d) rho = rho_0[1 + Beta_T (T - To) + Beta_S(S - So) - p(p - po)]
b) rho = rho_0[1 - Beta_T (T - To) + Beta_S(S - So) + p(p - po)]
Which of the terms in the equation of state is the most important for density
stratication in the Baltic Sea: (1p)
a) T (T - To)
b) S(S - So)
c) p(p - po)
d) Hard to say, depending on upwelling conditions
b) S(S - So)
What is the highest salinity in the ocean?
[PSU, g/g] 42 (dead sea)
What is the most abundant salt in the salty sea water?
NCl
What pressure quantity/unit corresponds to 1m depth?
1 dbar
Is the molecular diffusivity of salt much smaller than the molecular diffusivity of heat?
yes
Condition for the Bussinesq approximation to be valid in the ocean is … Mach number is much smaller than 1 (small variation of density)
yes
Reynolds number quantifies the ratio of … advective to viscous forces
yes
CTD consists of following measurement:
Conductivity, Temperature and Pressure
do surface drifters use acoustic measurement:?
no
The mean depth of the Baltic Sea is:
55 m
The mean salinity [PSU/ o/oo] of the Baltic Sea is:
7.5
The Major Baltic inflows are caused by:
sea level differences between the Kattegat and the Arkona Basin
What is the final fate of the fresh water outflow from the Baltic Sea?
The Barents Sea (flows with Norweigan Coastal Current)
