Name:
Date:
Period:
Ocean Study Guide 2016
1. In the space below, label a diagram of the Ocean floor. Include these features:
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Continental shelf
Seamount
Trench
Mid-ocean ridge
Abyssal plain
Volcanic island
Continental rise
Continental slope
Continental shelf
You should also know the definition of each of these words
Abyssal plain
trench
Mid-ocean ridge
Continental slope
Volcanic island
seamount
Continental rise
2. Using the groups of words provided, write one sentence per group that shows the similarities and differences
between the words.
a. seamount and volcanic island – a seamount is below the surface of the ocean and a volcanic island is above
b. mid-ocean ridge and trench-mid-ocean ridge is at a divergent boundary and trench is at a convergent boundary
c. abyssal plain and continental rise-abyssal plain is flat on the bottom and the rise is at the bottom but is raised
d. continental shelf and continental slope-shelf is the most shallow part at the coast and the slope drops off
3. Salinity in oceans
Define:
Amount of salt
dissolved in the water –
usually listed as a
percent or parts per
1,000
Why are oceans salty?
Runoff has gathered
minerals from the soil
over millions of years
and deposited it in the
oceans
Percentage of salt:
3.5%
Most common solid:
Sodium chloride
Factors that affect
salinity
Evaporation - up
Influx of fresh waterdown
Formation of ice-up
Precipitation -down
4. What are the three major difficulties we must overcome in order to explore the ocean floor, and which one is the
most difficult? Darkness, temperature and extreme pressure. Pressure is the most difficult.
5. Ocean column: describe the light, temperature, and pressure in each zone. In general terms, as you go deeper the
temperature and sunlight decrease and the pressure increases
Surface zone
Has sunlight, temperature is fairly constantabout 24 degrees C, little pressure
Thermocline
Little sunlight, temperature makes a drastic drop
from 24 degrees to about 4 degrees C, pressure
increases as you go deeper
Deep zone
No sunlight, very cold, extreme amounts of
pressure
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6. Oceans cover what percentage of the earth’s surface? About 70
7. Oceans contain ___97%___ % of the Earth’s water.
8. List the names of the oceans from largest to smallest. Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic
9. How many planets in our solar system have liquid water at the surface? Only earth
10. Why does the ocean usually appear to be blue? Though all of the colors of the rainbow are in sunlight, some
wavelengths are absorbed and some are reflected off the surface and reflect the color of the sky.
11. How are the ocean currents affected by:
(include surface and deep currents)
Temperature – warm surface currents form near the equator and carry warm water toward the poles, cold surface
currents form near the poles and carry cold water to the equator – this helps distribute the sun’s energy throughout
the globe
Winds – Global wind patterns cause surface currents by blowing across the surface of the water and moving it – helps
moderate the world’s climates
Salinity – the more salinity the more dense the water which causes it to sink and create deep ocean currents
Density – differences in density cause the deep water currents. When more dense water sinks, surface water moves
in causing a surface current. Deep currents are colder, and saltier and therefore more dense than surface currents
Coriolis effect – caused by the rotation of the Earth – it causes currents to travel in curved paths – clockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
12. Use the word upwelling to describe how deep and surface currents are related. When a local surface current moves
water away from the coast of South America the water from a deep current comes up to replace it. This upwelling
brings up nutrients and minerals for fish.
13. Describe the effect of cold and warm currents on climate: cold water currents bring cold water and cause the climate
to be colder (California, for example) while warm water currents bring warm water and cause climates to be warmer
than areas not on the coast. England is an example of being warmed by the Gulf Stream and therefore having a milder
winter than areas further inland.
14. What factors affect the formation of a wave? How far, how fast and how long the wind, that is causing the wave,
blows. Remember waves travel through water; they don’t take the water with them. The energy travels, not the water.
15. Two students designed an experiment to determine whether the depth of water in the container affected how
quickly the water evaporated.
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Independent variable (one that you changed): how much water you put in the container – how deep
Dependent variable (one that you measure): how much water evaporated in a certain amount of time
Controls (things that stay the same) same container, same amount of time in the sun, same temperature of the
water
Also know:
The difference between water movement in a current and a wave. Currents move water great distances like rivers
inside the ocean. Waves move energy but not water.
What are tsunamis?
Why is water conservation important?
Review your quiz from 13.1 and 13.2 – you will see many of the same questions
Review question are from fresh water – remember rivers, watersheds, aquifers etc.?