Roman Kolomiets

Topic 1a: Introduction to Oceanography Quick Questions Select whether the following statements are true or false
a. Only 29.2% of the Earths surface is covered by land? Answer: True. b. Seas are not connected to the world ocean? Answer: False. (Only some seas are land-closed) c. Early Polynesians only travelled within sight of land? Answer: False. (They used sun, moon, stars, and behavior of marine organisms, ocean properties and stick charts) d. When the Earth cooled, the layers of the earth separated based on density differences? Answer: False. (They separated by density difference before cooling) e. The Earth developed the first ocean by about 4 million years ago? Answer: True. f. Radiometric age dating has been used to show that the Earth is 4.3 billion years old? Answer: False. (This researches showed ~4.6 billion as the Earth age)

Select the most appropriate answer from the choices given i. The four principal oceans of Earth are the: - B. Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Pacific Oceans ii. iii. iv. v. The nebular hypothesis suggests that: - A. All bodies in the solar system are formed from an enormous gas cloud The separation of the Earth into layers was the result of the: - B. Differing densities of the rock and mineral materials The scientific method includes all of the following except: - B. Evaluation of data Which of the following statements regarding continental and oceanic crust is true: - D. Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust

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Sample Exam Questions

1. What is the difference between an Ocean and a Sea? Answer: Seas are smaller and shallower than the oceans, sometimes they are closed within the land borders 2. List some of the major accomplishments of Captain James Cook? Answer: - Three voyages of scientific discovery between 1768 and 1779 - First person known to cross the Antarctic Circle - Determined the outline of the Pacific Ocean - Systematically measured marine characteristics - Used John Harrison's chronometer to determine longitude 3. The Earths internal structure can be subdivided according to its chemical composition. With the aid of a sketch, describe Earths layers when classified by chemical composition? Answer:

4. What is the origin of Earths oceans and how is it related to the origin of Earths atmosphere? Answer: The formation of the oceans is directly linked to the formation of the atmosphere. As the Earth cooled, the water vapor released to the atmosphere during outgassing condensed and fell to Earth and by at least 4 billion years ago enough had accumulated to form the first permanent oceans. 5. What was Stanley Millers experiment, and what did it help demonstrate? Answer: Taken directly form notes. In 1952 Stanley Miller conducted a laboratory experiment where he simulated the conditions of primitive Earth and demonstrated that vast amounts of organic molecules could have been produced in Earths early oceans.

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6. What is the difference between a fact and a theory? Can either (or both) be revised? Answer: Fact is a statement that does not to be proved. Theory is a wellsubordinated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, logical interferences, and tested hypotheses. 7. Discuss the contribution of the Phoenicians to the exploration of the oceans? Answer: - Explored Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and Indian Ocean - First circumnavigation of Africa (590BC)

Topic 1b: Marine Provinces Quick Questions Select whether the following statements are true or false
a. A sediment-laden current that flows off of the continental shelf is called a turbidity current? Answer: True. b. The deepest portions of the ocean are part of the relatively narrow features called submarine canyons? Answer: False. c. Mid-Ocean ridges are rises that occupy a small portion of the deep ocean basin, only around 10%? Answer: False. (23% of Earth surface) d. Most deep ocean trenches are found along the margins of the Indian Ocean? Answer: False. (It is located in Pacific Ocean) e. Oceans with passive plate margins have continental slopes with gentler gradients than oceans with active plate margins? Answer: True. f. Black smokers are hydrothermal vents that discharge superheated water with high concentrations of metal sulphides? Answer: True.

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Select the most appropriate answer from the choices given i. ii. iii. iv. Satellites are used to map the ocean floor because: - E. all of the above statements are correct Directly seaward of the continental shelf is a more steeply sloping region called the: - C. Continental slope All of the following are considered part of the continental margin except the: - D. Fracture zone The instrument, developed in the 1950s, that emits a high-frequency sound beam to measure the depth of the ocean is the: - B. Precision depth recorder All of the following are features associated with active plate margins except: - B. Continental rise

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Sample Exam Questions

1. Describe the major features of a passive continental margin: continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, submarine canyons and deep sea fans? Answer: 2. List and describe the different types of hydrothermal vents? Answer: - Warm-water vents. Have water temperatures below 30 C and generally emit water clear in color - White smokers. Have water temperatures ranging from 30 C to 350 C and emit water that is white because of the presence of various light colored compounds, including barium sulphide - Black smokers. Have water temperatures above 350 C and emit water that is black due to the presence of dark colored metal sulphides, including iron, nickel, copper and zinc 3. Discuss the development of bathymetric techniques, including significant advances? Answer: Sounding - earliest technique. Line with heavy weight at end let out until weight touches the seabed. Echo-Sounding - sends a sound signal called a ping into the ocean which produces echoes when the sound bounces off any density differences such as the ocean floor as well as marine life etc. The time taken for the echoes to return is used to determine the depth and corresponding shape of the ocean floor. The three following groups of devices were used: Precision Depth Recorder, Seabeam and Side-Scan Sonar. Satellite based. Satellites use microwave beams to measure sea level to within 4 cm of accuracy. Irregularities in sea level due to bulges created by the influence of sea floor features on the Earths gravitational field can easily be detected by satellites. As satellites can observe large areas of the ocean at one time then they are more efficient than using sonar methods. 4. Distinguish between a transform fault and a fracture zone?

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Answer: Transform fault is a seismically active area that offsets the axis of a mid-oceans ridge. They are actual plate boundaries and exhibit earthquake activity. Fracture zone is a seismically inactive area embedded within a plate. Since plate motion is in the same direction to a fracture zone few earthquakes occur.

Topic 1c: Marine Provinces Quick Questions

Select whether the following statements are true or false a. Sediments derived from weathered rock and volcanic activity are called biogenous sediments? Answer: False. (It is lithogenous sediments) b. The Wentworth scale is used to arrange the amount of sorting in a sediment deposit? Answer: False. (It classifies sediments by grain size) c. The deposition of radiolarian oozes is affected by the carbonate compensation depth? Answer: False. (Radiolarians are silica-based sediments) d. Neritic deposits are made up entirely of lithogenous sediments? Answer: False. (They can contain not only lithogenous sediments) e. CCD refers to the ocean depth at which calcium carbonate is present only in solution? Answer: True. f. Calcium carbonate, phosphates and manganese may precipitate out of solution to form deposits on the sea floor? Answer: True. Select the most appropriate answer from the choices given i. High energy environments are most likely to contain which one of the following: - C. Large particles such as gravel ii. Which of the following statements is not true? Neritic sediment deposits: B. Are primarily composed of calcareous deposits of biological origin iii. Sediments with an extraterrestrial origin are called: - A. Cosmogenous iv. Which of the following contains silica (SiO2): - E. Radiolarians v. All of the following are hydrogenous sediments except: - E. stromatolites

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Sample Exam Questions

1. How do lithogenous sediments originate and how are they transported? (4) Answer: Lithogenous sediment begins as rocks on continents or islands that have been broken into smaller pieces by weathering. These smaller pieces of rock are then eroded and carried by streams, wind, glaciers and gravity to the ocean. 2. What are the two most common chemical compounds in biogenous sediments? Name and very briefly describe the organisms which produce each? Answer: Calcium carbonate - Coccolithophors and Foraminifers. Silica - Diatoms and Radiolarians. 3. If Siliceous ooze is slowly but constantly dissolving in seawater, how can deposits accumulate on the seafloor? Answer: Possibility of deposition depends on productivity of the water. Surface waters with high biological activity are likely to produce biogenous sediments. Conversely, waters with low biological activity contain too few organisms to produce biogenous oozes on the ocean floor. 4. How do oozes differ from abyssal clay? Discuss how productivity, destruction and dilution combine to determine whether an ooze or abyssal clay will form on the deep-ocean floor? Answer: Abyssal clay contains at least 70 % by weight of fine, clay size particles from the continents. Oozes consist of at least 30% of the hard remains of silica secreting organisms. Productivity. Surface waters with high biological activity are likely to produce biogenous sediments. Conversely, waters with low biological activity contain too few organisms to produce biogenous oozes on the ocean floor. Destruction. Occurs when skeletal remains (tests) dissolve in seawater at depth. Dilution. occurs when the deposition of other sediments decreases the percentage (to below the 30% necessary to classify it as an ooze) of the biogenous sediment found in marine deposits. Depending on the grade of productivity, destruction and dilution the sedimentation from organic reach surface water will result in ooze or abyssal clay. 5. Explain the stages of progression that results in calcareous ooze existing below the CCD? Answer: Calcareous ooze deposited above CCD; Calcareous ooze deposits are covered by abyssal clay or silica ooze; Sea floor spreading caused ocean floor move deeper below CCD; If Calcareous ooze is covered by other layers specified above, is will not be dissolved even below CCD.

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6. What are gas hydrates, where are they found and why are they important? Answer: Gas hydrates are chemical structures made of water and natural gas. Hydrates formed at high pressure and low temperature, may contain various gases (CH4, H2S, CO2, etc..). Gas hydrates appear to be confined to continental margins where high productivity surface waters enrich ocean floors below with organic matter. At least 50 sites worldwide may contain extensive gas hydrate deposits with as much as 20 quadrillion cubic meters of methane locked up in these sediments. This is equivalent to twice as much carbon as Earths coal, oil and conventional gas reserves combined. 7. Why is lithogenous sediment the most common neritic deposit? Why are biogenous oozes the most common pelagic deposit? Answer: Netritic deposits are commonly lithogenous because there area of deposition is located close to the continent from where the majority of sediment is transported to the continental shelf. Pelagic deposit contain sufficient amount of abyssal clay but composition of biogeneous ooze is higher. Silica ooze deposits where water is organic rich or temperature is low while calcareous deposits are generally related to the depth above CCD. For the deeper areas abyssal clays are more common to be seen but these areas cover lesser percent of the pelagic deposit zone than corresponding areas of biogeneous ooze depositions.

Topic 1d: Water and Seawater Quick Questions

Select whether the following statements are true or false a. Hydrogen bonds between water molecules are responsible for the unique chemical and physical properties of water? Answer: True. b. Greater temperature fluctuations are seen in coastal areas due to the marine effect? Answer: False. (Greater fluctuations are seen on continental area) c. Processes that decrease seawater salinity include evaporation and sea ice formation? Answer: False. (It increases salinity by removing fresh water converting it into vapor/ice) d. Evaporation causes cooling in the residual liquid? Answer: True. e. Salinity refers to all of the solid materials in seawater including dissolved and suspended substances? Answer: False. (Include only dissolved material)

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f. The density of seawater is affected by temperature and salinity? Answer: True. Select the most appropriate answer from the choices given i. Many of the unique properties of water are attributed to the fact that water:-A. Contains hydrogen bonds ii. Which property of water causes coastal communities to have only moderate differences in daily highs and lows when compared to inland communities:-A. High heat capacity iii. The principle of constant proportions states that:-E. The relative concentration of seawater ions does not change iv. v. A rapid change in ocean density with change in depth is the:-D. Pycnocline All of the following processes decrease seawater salinity except:-A. evaporation

Roman Kolomiets

Sample Exam Questions

1. Describe the ways that dissolved components are added to and removed from seawater? Answer: When placed into water, salt molecule breaks down by positive and negative ions. So far as water molecule is dipolar it can attract either positive or negative ions retaining both of them in solution. This reaction is called hydration. The substance that is currently is in solution can remove from water by dehydration, for example, during evaporation. 2. What condition of salinity makes it possible to determine the total salinity of ocean water by measuring the concentration of only one constituent, the chloride ion? Answer: It is possible using Principle of constant proportions. It states that the proportion of components being in solution in seawater is exactly the same everywhere in the ocean. 3. Describe the processes that increase and decrease the salinity of ocean surface waters? Answer: In terms of adding/reducing amount of fresh water: Precipitation, runoff, melting icebergs and melting sea ice decrease seawater salinity by adding more freshwater to the ocean. The formation of sea ice and evaporation increase seawater salinity by removing water from the ocean. In terms of adding/reducing amount of salt: Stream runoff, volcanic eruptions, atmospheric gas dissolution and biological interactions all add substances to the ocean and thus increase salinity. Sea spray, the hydrothermal circulation system, the formation of organisms shells, the formation of evaporates and adsorption all decrease salinity. 4. How does surface salinity vary with latitude? Why does this variation occur? Answer: At high latitude salinity is lower than in tropic and equator. It happens because at high latitudes abundant precipitation, runoff and the melting of freshwater icebergs all decrease salinity the lower temperatures limit the amount of evaporation that would otherwise take place. At equator and tropics evaporation is significantly higher; precipitation and runoff is not enough to compensate this effect, so salinity increases. 5. What factors affect the density of seawater? Answer: As temperature increases, density decreases due to thermal expansion. As salinity increases, density increases due to the addition of more dissolved material. As pressure increases, density increases due to the compression Generally, temperature has the highest impact on seawater density in comparison to pressure or salinity.

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6. With the aid of sketches, describe how the density of seawater varies with depth at high and low latitudes. Answer: The difference is in presence or absence of pycnoclyne that comes from different temperature distribution with depth for high or low latitudes.