Oceanography Flashcards
Soil
Mixture of rock fragments and organic material that supports vegetation
Karst topography
Landscape that has been dissolved to form caves, sinkholes, springs, and streams.
Watershed
Area of land that water leads to. Basain/drainage
Porosity
The amount of water a material can hold.
Gyre
A large system of rotating ocean currents.
Sinkhole
Depression/hole that is formed by bedrock dissolving and the top layer collapsing in
Levee
Flood barriers, natural or artificial.
Permeability
The amount of water that can pass through a material
Cave
Natural underground opening from rock dissolving (type of karst topography)
Delta
A “mouth” of a river where it opens up and deposits it sediments.
Impermeability
When no water can pass through a material- ex. clay (very impermeable=holds lots of water)
Aquifer
Where water can easily travel through permeable layers (NOT AN UNDERGROUND RIVER OR LAKE)
Foodplain
Land around a river or stream that gets flooded very easily and frequently- dangerous.
What percentage of water on Earth is salty? (Oceanography)
97%
What percentage of water on Earth is fresh? (Oceanography)
3%
List the three places convection is found on Earth. (Oceanography)
Oceans, atmosphere (winds), and earth’s interior (mantle, crust, ect.)
Identify the organism that is the most important source of atmospheric oxygen. (Oceanography)
Algae
How is soil formed?
Weathering of rocks and organic activity and is composed of loose rock fragments and clay derived from weathered rock mixed with organic material. Soil is a result of chemical weathering, mechanical weathering, and biological activity
Place the soil textures in order from smallest grain to largest grain: boulder, clay, gravel, sand, silt
Clay, Slit, Sand, Gravel, Boulder
Larger grain-size sediments have a higher or lower permeability.
Higher because water can seep through the pores faster because the grains are farther apart.
Larger grain-size sediments have a higher or lower porosity?
Grain size has no relationship to porosity. T][lhe higher the pore space the higher the porosity.
Differentiate between the permeability and porosity of clay versus sand.
Clay is very porous because the grain size is very small so it has a lot of pore space, but the permeability is very low because the pores are extremely small so water can’t easily pass through. Sand has a high permeability because the pores are larger. The
How is Karst topography formed?
Dissolved bedrock (limestone or dolomite) from acidic water
Caves are mostly made of what type of sedimentary rock?
Limestone
What Virginia province is Karst topography?
Valley and Ridge
Identify three features that form because of a meandering river.
Oxbow lakes, levees (formed from sediment build up on the sides of the curved river), and floodplains.
What is a delta? Explain how it is formed and its shape.
Land flattens out and water slows down and fans out. Can be a lake, ocean, or wetland.
Tell why floodplains are fertile.
Because the floodwater that comes from the river is rich in nutrients from the sediment.
Identify a gyre and explain why they move the way they do. (Oceanography)
Three forces cause the circulation of a gyre: global wind patterns, Earth’s rotation, and Earth’s landmasses. Wind drags on the ocean surface, causing water to move in the direction the wind is blowing. Earth’s rotation deflects or changes the direction of, these wind-driven currents.
Identify upwelling and explain why this process occurs and what it provides. (Oceanography)
A process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface. Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away. The nutrients that result from upwelling fertilize the water thus causing high biological activity making it better for fishing grounds.
Explain two effects that occur when oceans have exceeded its limit to hold carbon. Give supporting evidence.
Makes the water more acidic; Puts marine life at danger
List one negative impact humans have on the water environment, explain how this occurs, and describe at least one solution to the problem.
Climate change
