Oceanography – OCNG 251 (Spring 2012) Quiz #4

Quiz #4 (minimum of 25 points)

Make sure you READ THE QUESTION COMPLETELY BEFORE you answer.
Multiple Choice: Answer each question with the one most appropriate answer (6 pts)

1. During an El Niño year the annual average _________ in Texas __________

substantially: a) temperature, increase; b) precipitation, decreases; c) temperature,
decreases; d) precipitation, increases, e) this climate process is limited to the Pacific
Ocean and has no impact on Texas.
2. Gas(es) that absorb(s) radiation in the U.V. spectrum: a) oxygen; b) ozone; c) H 2O;
d) CO2; e) a and d; ab) c and d; ac) a and b
3. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon is due to changes in: a) western
Pacific sea-surface temperatures; b) western Pacific atmospheric convection; c)
easterly surface winds; d) easterly surface ocean currents; e) all of the above; ab) none
of the above
4. Ekman transport is: a) the deviation of winds to the right in the atmosphere, b) the
vertical movement of water due to density formation, c) the intensification of oceanic
currents on western boundaries of gyres, d) the displacement of surface water at right
angle to the direction of the wind, e) the oscillation of water in coastal systems.
5. Which of the following is not true about the Greenhouse Effect? a) Gasses in the
atmosphere trap incoming solar radiation; b) light from the sun is converted into heat
and radiated back to space, but getting trapped by gasses in the atmosphere; c) it
keeps the Earth at a temperature that can support life; d) water is the most effective
Greenhouse Gas.
6. The last glacial maximum occurred: a) during the Little Ice Age; b) about 15-20,000
years ago; c) during the 1810-1819 decade, the coldest decade in Europe since the
seventeenth century; d) during the Holocene Epoch.

True and False: indicate whether the following statements are true or false (6 pts)
7. During El Niño periods, Southeast Asia is anomalously humid and Western America
is anomalously dry: a) true; b) false.
8. Circulation cells in the atmosphere are initially driven by ocean circulation at high
latitude: a) true; b) false.
9. Scientists have recently discovered that sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) are a
better predictor of the intensification of hurricanes than sea surface temperatures
(SST): a) true; b) false.
10. The uncertainty of hurricane forecasts has decreased so much in the last decades
that it is close to “zero” today for forecasts 2-3 days in advance: a) true; b) false.
11. During La Niña periods, Southeast Asia is anomalously humid and Western America
is anomalously dry: a) true; b) false.
12. The volume of water and heat transported by the Gulf Stream from the south west
Atlantic to the north east Atlantic varies both seasonally and over long time scales: a)
true; b) false.
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Oceanography – OCNG 251 (Spring 2012) Quiz #4

Matching: match the statements below with their subsequent counterpart (7 pts)
13. Global heat redistribution from equator to mid-latitudes ab
14. Global heat redistribution from mid- to high-latitudes a
15. Dry winters in the Southwest of the U.S. ac
16. Vertical transport of deep water towards the surface c
17. Low pressure system over Tahiti b
18. Circulation in the ocean characterized by intensified currents on their western
boundaries d
19. Atmospheric response to surplus radiation in intertropical zones and deficit in
radiation in polar zones combined to the spinning of the Earth e

a) Atmosphere
b) El Niño
c) Upwelling
d) Mid-ocean gyres
e) Hadley cells
ab) Ocean currents
ac) La Niña

Interpreting graphs (6 pts):

20. The figure below shows the changes in atmospheric CO 2 in the north
hemisphere due to? a) increased emissions from human combustion of fossil fuels; b)
increased deforestation; c) seasonal changes in primary productivity; d) all of the
previous; e) none of the previous.

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Oceanography – OCNG 251 (Spring 2012) Quiz #4

21. The figure below shows: a) The proportion of gas absorbed by solar rays, b)
the absorption of visible light by gases in the atmosphere; c) the transparency of the
atmosphere to solar rays with very short and long wavelengths; e) the selective
influence of atmospheric gases on the heat balance of earth; d) none of the previous

22. The figure below shows: a) a hurricane in the north Atlantic; b) a cyclone in
the south Pacific; c) none of the previous.

23. The figure below shows: a) the independent circulation of each ocean basins;
b) the formation of deep water masses in the equatorial ocean; c) the connected
surface and deep water circulations throughout the world’s oceans; d) all of the
previous; e) none of the previous.

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Oceanography – OCNG 251 (Spring 2012) Quiz #4

24. The figures below show variations: a) in temperature and drought incidence
over Indonesia, b) in temperature and precipitation (rain) in the western Pacific; c) in
ocean temperatures and pressure in the central South Pacific; d) in pressure and
precipitation over the western coast of Peru; e) strength of upwelling and productivity in
the eastern Pacific.

25. The figure below shows: a) a hurricane in the north Atlantic; b) a cyclone in
the south Pacific; c) none of the previous.

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Oceanography – OCNG 251 (Spring 2012) Quiz #4

Bonus Multiple Choice Questions: Answer each question with the one most
appropriate answer on the separate Scantron sheet – Remember to put your name!
(10% max)
1) Basketball was invented in 1891 by……. a) an American; b) a French; c) a
Canadian; d) a Czech; e) a Mexican.
2) Which classical composer is the author of “Peter and the Wolf”? a) Serguei
Rachmaninov; b) Igor Stravinsky; c) Bela Bartok; d) Serguei Prokofiev; e) Piotr
Tchaikovsky.
3) In the mammalian class, which order has the most species (more than three
thousands)? a) Carnivores; b) rodents; c) primates; d) insectivores.
4) Who was not a sideman to Miles Davis in the Jazz classic “So What”? a) John
Coltrane; b) Cannonball Adderley; c) Dexter Gordon; d) Bill Evans; e) Paul Chambers.
5) Which European city is at the same latitude as New York? a) Paris; b) London; c)
Vienna; d) Rome; e) Madrid.
6) Which one of these painters DID belong to the Impressionist movement? a)
Pissarro; b) Gauguin; c) Cezanne; d) Matisse; e) Picasso.
7) What rowing race is held on the penultimate complete weekend of October each
year? a) the Henley Royal Regatta; b) the Stotesbury Regatta; c) the Head of the
River Race; d) the Head Of The Charles Regatta; e) the Head of the Yarra race.
8) What was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX
astronauts on March 8, 1969: a) “Star Spangled Banner”; b) “Love Me Tender”; c)
“Amazing Grace”; d) “Happy Birthday"; e) Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
9) At birth, country singer Garth Brooks was named a) Troyal G. Brooks; b) Trevor G.
Brooks; c) Travis G. Brooks; d) Thomas G. Brooks; e) Trent G. Brooks.
10) Which American President was never a Vice President before his presidential
term? a) Gerald Ford; b) John Adams; c) Ulysses Grant; d) Lyndon B. Johnson; e)
Martin Van Buren.