study guide

Question 1

basin

Answer 1

low areas on Earth that were filled to form lakes and oceans.

4 billion years ago, volcanic water vapor cooled, and condensed into storm
clouds. Precipitation then fell and filled these low areas forming oceans.

Question 2

salinity

Answer 2

measure of the amount of salts dissolved in seawater. Every 1 KG of ocean
water contains about 35 grams of dissolved salts. The most abundant
seawater salts are chlorine and sodium ions.

Question 3

surface current

Answer 3

caused by wind that move the upper few hundred meters of ocean
water in huge, circular patterns. These currents have a great effect on the

climate of the various continents.

Question 4

coriolis effect

Answer 4

the shifting of winds and surface currents from their expected paths
because of the Earth’s rotation. This turns currents south of the equator
counterclockwise, or left. Currents north of the Equator turn to the right.

Question 5

upwelling

Answer 5

A vertical circulation that brings deep, slow moving, cold, water to the ocean
surface. These are caused because winds blowing parallel to the coasts
carry surface water away. Cold, deep water rises up to fill the spots left
empty. This current brings nutrients and food particles to the surface
resulting in areas of good feeding for marine animals as well as good fishing
for humans.

Question 6

density current

Answer 6

formed when a mass of seawater becomes more dense than the
surrounding water. These are formed by differences in temperature and
salinity between water masses and occur deep in the ocean, circulating
ocean water slowly. They begin in Antarctica and in the North Atlantic
Ocean and flow along the ocean floor towards the equator. An increase in
ocean salinity will increase the density of the water. Increased salinity can
happen because saltwater freezes or evaporates, leaving the salt behind, or
because of an overall decrease in temperature.

Question 7

wave

Answer 7

rhythmic movement that carries energy through matter
or space. They are caused by wind and can travel long
distances. When wind blows across a body of water,
friction between the water and the air causes the water
to move. As these move, only energy moves forward, the
water molecules remain in about the same place.

Question 8

crest

Answer 8

highest point of wave

Question 9

trough

Answer 9

lowest point of wave

Question 10

wavelength

Answer 10

the horizontal distance between the crests or between the troughs of two

adjacent waves.

Question 11

amplitude

Answer 11

1⁄2 the distance of the wave height.
The amplitude squared is equal to
the amount of energy a wave
carries. As a wave’s amplitude
increases, the amount of energy
that wave carries also increases.

Question 12

wave height

Answer 12

the vertical distance between the crest and the trough of a wave. As a wave
approaches shallow water, this will increase. The height of waves depends
upon the length of time the wind blows, the speed of the wind, and the
distance over which the wind travels.

Question 13

haline

Answer 13

common table salt that you use to season food. This dissolved salt and
others like it are what give ocean water its salty taste.

Question 14

desalination

Answer 14

the process of removing salt from seawater. Methods include evaporating
seawater and collecting the fresh water as it condenses and passing
seawater through a membrane to remove dissolved salts.

Question 15

california current

Answer 15

a cold surface current that runs along the west coast of the United
States. Currents that flow along the west coast of continents originate near
the poles and are cold. Currents that flow along the east coasts of
continents originate near the equator and are warm.

Question 16

breaker

Answer 16

a collapsing wave. Friction with the ocean bottom slows water at the bottom
of the wave. Eventually, the top of the wave outruns the bottom and it
collapses. Gravity pulls the water back into the sea.

Question 17

tide

Answer 17

the rise and fall in sea level. These are giant waves caused by the interaction
of gravity in the Earth-Sun-Moon system. This interaction, the gravitational
pull of the Sun and the Moon on Earth’s waters, causes a giant wave.

Question 18

tidal range

Answer 18

the difference between the level of the ocean at high tide and at low tide.

Question 19

tidal bore

Answer 19

a wave that forms when a rising tide enters a shallow, narrow river from a
wide area of the sea. It occurs along a coast where a river empties into an

ocean or sea. A tidal bore is a strong tide that pushes up the river, against
the current. A tidal bore is a true tidal wave, causing the water in the river
to reverse direction.

Question 20

gulf stream

Answer 20

a warm surface current that has been used since colonial days to go quickly
from North America to England. It runs along the east coast of the United
States and originates near the equator.

Question 21

north atlantic deep water

Answer 21

a density current formed around Norway, Greenland, and
Labrador. These cold, dense, waters sink and form the bottom layer of
ocean water in about 1⁄2 of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Question 22

mediterranean intermediate water

Answer 22

a density current that forms as less dense water
from the Mediterranean Sea flows into the cold, salty water of the North
Atlantic. Based on density, this current stays at about 320 meters.

Question 23

neap tide

Answer 23

kind of tide that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon
form a right angle (90°). It has lower high tides and higher low
tides. ( North and East). These will happen when the moon is
at the 1st quarter or the 3rd quarter. There will be the LEAST,
or smallest, difference between the high and low tides
( smallest tidal range) with a neap.

Question 24

spring tide

Answer 24

kind of tide that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon
line up in a straight line. High tides are higher than normal
and low tides are lower than normal. These will happen when
the moon is either full or new. There will be the MOST difference
between the high and the low tides. ( largest tidal range).

Question 25

steady state

Answer 25

describes the state of the ocean. It means that elements are added and
removed at about the same rate. Because substances are constantly being
added and substances are constantly being used by plants and animals, the
salinity of the oceans remains balanced.

Question 26

oxygen

Answer 26

a gas that almost all organisms need for respiration. It is dissolved in ocean
water. It enters the oceans directly from the atmosphere and by organisms
using photosynthesis.

Question 27

carbon dioxide

Answer 27

a gas that is dissolved in ocean water. It enters the oceans directly
from the atmosphere and from the respiration of ocean organisms.

Question 28

nitrogen

Answer 28

a gas that is dissolved in ocean water. The atmosphere is the only important
source of this gas in the oceans.

Question 29

calcium

Answer 29

an ion that is dissolved in sea water. Calcium and other salts come from
rocks that are dissolved slowly by rivers and groundwater and carried to the
oceans. Marine organisms use this and other salts to make body parts. Many
organisms use calcium to make bones or shells. Calcium and silicon are
removed from sea water the quickest because so many organisms use them.