MENTOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD INVITATIONAL
2/16/08
OCEANOGRAPHY TEST
Name(s): ______________________________
______________________________
Team/School:
Team Number: _________
Multiple Choice: On the line provided, clearly print the letter of the answer that best answers
the question or completes the given statement.
1. _____
One of the first indications that an El Nino event may be occurring is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. _____
Rising warm air is associated with regions of ________ atmospheric pressure caused by
thermal __________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. _____
high; compression
low; compression
high; expansion
low; expansion
Areas of high atmospheric pressure (at Earth's surface) generally
experience what kind of conditions?
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. _____
Ekmann flow phenomena occurs, causing the movement of surface currents
the prevailing Westerlies increase as they flow over South America
upwelling increases along the coast of Peru
warm water from near Australia migrates toward South America.
sinking air, with cloudy, rainy weather
rising air, with cloudy, rainy weather
rising air, with dry, clear weather
sinking air, with dry, clear weather
There is no pycnocline in _______ latitude regions because _____________.
a. low; the water is too cold there
b. high; there is an excess of carbon dioxide at the surface, thus creating conditions
of pH disequilibrium
c. low; it obeys the Principle of Constant Proportions
d. high; the water column is uniformly cold and dense
5. _____
How is it that the floor of the ocean is so much younger than the ocean
itself?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Because radioactive age dating techniques are still so uncertain
Because we’ve never drilled into the ocean floor very far
Because the sediment that is deposited on the top of the ocean floor is so young
Because the ocean floor keeps regenerating itself
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6. _____
A volcanic arc forms near where there is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
7. _____
Plate boundaries where new lithosphere is being added along a midoceanic ridge are called:
a.
b.
c.
d.
8. _____
the older one subducts
the younger one subducts
neither subducts; instead a mountain range forms
a spreading center is formed
Beneath the calcite compensation depth (CCD):
a.
b.
c.
d.
11. _____
neither subducts
the oceanic plate will be subducted
an oceanic ridge forms
the continental plate will be subducted
When two continental plates converge:
a.
b.
c.
d.
10. _____
transvergent boundaries
divergent boundaries
convergent boundaries
volcanic boundaries
When an oceanic and a continental plate converge:
a.
b.
c.
d.
9. _____
subduction
a hotspot
isostatic rebound
seafloor spreading
organisms with siliceous hard parts cannot live
calcium carbonate dissolves in seawater
calcareous oozes are currently forming
the water temperature rises
Most chalk is made from:
a.
b.
c.
d.
oolites
coccoliths
diatomaceous earth
none of the above
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12. _____
Wave refraction is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
13. _____
Circular orbital motion in waves becomes negligible (dies out) at
depths greater than:
a.
b.
c.
d.
14. _____
10 meters
2 times the wave’s height
half the wave’s wavelength
1/7 the wave’s steepness
The reason that a lunar day is _________ a solar day is
because__________________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
15. _____
a decrease in wave height associated with shoaling water
the bending of waves as they approach a coastline
the way in which waves are modified during storms
the bouncing back of wave energy as they approach a coastline
longer than; the Sun rises later every morning
longer than; the Moon is also moving in its orbit around Earth
the same as; the Moon and the Sun remain in fixed positions relative to Earth
shorter than; the Moon experiences retrograde motion
__________ tides occur during the first or third quarter moon phases
and are characterized by a small tidal range.
a.
b.
c.
d.
spring
neap
lunar
solar
DIAGRAMS
Correctly identify the stages of coral formation shown in the diagram below.
B
C
A
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16.
Which picture above represents the atoll stage of coral reef formation?
______
17.
Which picture above represents the fringing stage of coral reef formation?
______
18.
Which picture above represents the barrier reef stage of coral reef formation?
______
19.
What is the name of the specific tectonic process involved with these stages of coral reef
formation?
________________________
The graph below shows the relationship between nitrate – an important nutrient for
phytoplankton growth – and temperature. These data are from the California coast (i.e.,
Monterey Bay)
20. Based on this graph, what is the general relationship between temperature and nitrate
concentration? (possible 2 points)
______________________________________________________________________________
21. Define (do NOT just give examples of):
a) Conservative constituents of seawater: (possible 2 points)
b) Nonconservative constituents of seawater: (possible 2 points)
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22. Is nitrogen a conservative or nonconservative constituent of seawater? (possible 1 point)
___________________
Average Yearly Temperatures of San Francisco, CA and Norfolk, VA
Figure 1
23. Based on the information in Figure 1, compare the yearly temperature ranges of San Francisco, CA
and Norfolk, VA. (possible 2 points)
24. Both cities – San Francisco, CA and Norfolk, VA - lie on approximately the same latitude (each is the
same distance from the Equator). Discuss why San Francisco, CA is warmer in the winter and cooler in
the summer than Norfolk, VA in terms of water’s property of thermal inertia. (possible 5 points)
25. What is the name of the cold water current off the West coast of the United States?(possible 1 point)
_________________________
26. What is the name of the warm water current off the East coast of the United States?
_________________________ (possible 1 point)
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Graph A
Graph B
Examine graph “A” and graph” B” above which show the area off the coast of South Africa
(near the Benguela Current). Graph “A” shows average sea-surface temperatures over 2003;
Graph ”B” shows average chlorophyll-a concentration over the same time period.
27. What correlation, if any, do you see between sea-surface temperature and chlorophyll-a
concentrations? (possible 3 points)
28. What is upwelling? (possible 1 point)
29. What interpretation can one make when comparing the graphs with regard to how chlorophyll-a
concentration is related to upwelling? (possible 4 points)
30. In order for upwelling to occur, warm surface water is moved from nearshore to offshore by surface
winds. On these graphs, if warm surface water is being moved offshore, from which direction is the wind
coming? (2 points possible)
________________
Tiebreaker questions:
1) The temperature of the water blasting from hydrothermal vents has been measured as high as 350C
(660 F). Why doesn’t the water immediately flash into steam at this temperature? (possible 2 points)
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2) How does the energy distribution in a tsunami differ from the energy distribution in a “regular”, i.e.,
wind-generated wave? You may draw a diagram, as long as it is clearly labeled. (possible 4 points)
3) Can a tsunami wave be surfed like a wind-generated wave? If not, why? (possible 3 points)
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