Seawater

Question 1

three fundamental properties of water that are of most interest to marine geochemists are:

Answer 1

salinity
temperature
pressure

Question 2

used to characcterize water masses

Answer 2

salinity and temperature

Question 3

moves water and chemical components around the oceans

Answer 3

thermohaline circulation

Question 4

this circulation also moves heat around the oceans, and indeed the planet, and is also therefore a fundamental component of the climate system

Answer 4

thermohaline circulation

Question 5

measure of the degree to which the water in the oceans is salty, and is a weight of total solids dissolved in a quantity of seawater

Answer 5

salinity

Question 6

In theory, the simplest direct method for the measurement of salinity is:

Answer 6

evaporate the water and weigh the salt residue

Question 7

Salinity in surface ocean waters usually ranges between

Answer 7

32-37 (ppt)

Question 8

True or False: Higher values of salinity are found in some semi-enclosed, mid-latitude seas and coastal water where evaporation does not exceed precipitation and runoff

Answer 8

False

evaporation exceeds precipitation

Question 9

Salinity of mediterranean sea

Answer 9

37-39 (ppt)

Question 10

Salinity of Red Sea

Answer 10

40-41 (ppt)

Question 11

True or False: Coastal waters run-off can result in an increase in surface salinities

Answer 11

False;

increase in surface salinities

Question 12

regions in the water column over which rapid salinity changes take place are termed as

Answer 12

haloclines

Question 13

True or False: Both horizontal and vertical temperature variations are found in the ocean

Answer 13

True

Question 14

The main horizontal variations occur in the __ with temperatures ranging from 28 C in the equatorial zones to as low as -1.9C, freezing point of seawater, in the polar seas

Answer 14

surface region

Question 15

The main horizontal
variations occur in the surface region, with temperatures ranging from _ in the equatorial zones to as
low as _, the freezing point of seawater, in the polar seas.

Answer 15

∼28°C & ∼-1.9°C

Question 16

with in most cases the warm surface layer being separated from the main
body of the colder deep ocean by the thermocline.

Answer 16

vertical temperature stratification

Question 17

three main temperature zones in the vertical ocean

Answer 17

surface ocean
thermocline
deep ocean

Question 18

waters are heated by solar energy and the heat is mixed down to a depth of around 100-200 m, with the temperatures reflecting those of the latitude at which the water is found

Answer 18

surface ocean

Question 19

In the surface ocea, heat is mized down to a depth of

Answer 19

100-200 m

Question 20

True or False: In the surface ocean, the waters are heated by solar energy and the heat is mized down to a depth of around 100-200m, witht the temperatures reflecting those of the longitude at which the water is found

Answer 20

False

latitude

Question 22

Below the surface, or mixed, layer, the temperatures decrease rapidly with depth through a zone that extends from the base of the surface layer down to as deep as 1000m in some places

Answer 22

thermocline

Question 23

depth of thermocline

Answer 23

surface water to 1000m

Question 24

extends to the bottom of the water column

Answer 24

deep ocean

Question 25

waters here are cold, most being at <5C, and although the temperature falls towards the bottom (to 1C), the rate of decrease is very much slower than that found in thermocline

Answer 25

Deep ocean

Question 26

True or False: rate of decrease in temperature in deep ocean is very much slower than that found in thermocline

Answer 26

True

Question 27

function of temperature, salinity, and pressure

Answer 27

density

Question 28

The density of seawater exceeds that of pure water owing to the presence of _

Answer 28

dissolved salts

Question 29

densities of seawater lie in the range of

Answer 29

1024-1028 kgm-3

Question 30

most dramatic change in density with depth is found in the _

Answer 30

upper water layer

Question 31

zone of rapidly increasing density

Answer 31

pynocline

Question 32

acts as a barrier to the mixing of low-density surface ocean and the high denisty deep ocean

Answer 32

pynocline

Question 33

formed in response to the combined rapid vertical changes in the salinity (halocline) and temperature (thermocline)

Answer 33

pynocline