MAR 105 – Exam 2 Review Sheet- Spring 2009
PROPERTIES OF SEAWATER
Key terms
pycnocline
thermocline
Dr. Anastasia
halocline
Key concepts
-know how dissolved salts change the properties of pure water (the difference between
seawater and pure water in freezing point, heat capacity, density)
-know the three density zones of the ocean and how a thermocline and/or halocline lead
to a pycnocline
Sample Essay:
1. What two factors affect density of seawater and HOW do they change density?
How is the ocean stratified (or layered) by density and what are the names given to
the layers?
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
Key terms
water vapor
Coriolis effect
doldrums or ITCZ
precipitation
Trade winds
horse latitudes
wind
westerlies
convection current
polar easterlies
Key concepts
-know how temperature and water vapor content (humidity) affect the density of air
-know how air moves according to its density and how this leads to changes in pressure
and temperature
(rising-expanding-cooling and falling-compressing-heating)
-understand how differences in latitude lead to uneven solar heating
-UNDERSTAND THE CORIOLIS EFFECT – be able to explain why it occurs and how
it affects moving objects in each hemisphere
-be able to combine the effects of uneven solar heating and the Coriolis effect to lead to
the current understanding of global atmospheric circulation
-know the surface winds that are produced by circulation patterns (trade winds, westerlies
and polar easterlies)
-know how areas of high and low atmospheric pressure are produced and the names for
each of these regions (ITCZ or doldrums, horse latitudes)
-know that winds blows from areas of high pressure to low pressure and that winds are
named for the direction that they come from
Sample Essay Questions:
1. Describe the atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. At what latitudes
does air move vertically (ascend or descend)? What are the names of the three bands of
surface wind in each hemisphere?
2. Describe what causes the Coriolis effect. How are moving objects in each hemisphere
affected by it? Would there be a Coriolis effect if the earth were shaped like a can or
cylinder?
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MAR 105 – Exam 2 Review Sheet- Spring 2009
Dr. Anastasia
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
Key terms
current
Eckman transport
geostophic gyre
western boundary currents eastern boundary currents
transverse currents
upwelling
downwelling
ENSO
thermohaline circulation
Antarctic Bottom Water
North Atlantic Deep Water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Mediterranean Intermediate Water
Key concepts
-know that surface currents affect the uppermost layer of the ocean and are driven by
thermal expansion and WIND friction
-Understand how the effect of the winds and the Coriolis effect, combined with diversion
of water by land masses lead to the formation of gyres
-understand Ekman transport
-know the names and locations of the six great current circuits in the world
-know that each gyre can be broken into 4 interconnected currents: a western boundary
current, an eastern boundary current and two transverse currents
-know how and why western and eastern boundary currents differ
-understand how wind and Coriolis effect produce coastal upwelling and downwelling
-know what happens during an ENSO event and the impact it has on the eastern Pacific
Ocean
-know what thermohaline circulation is and how it is driven by density differences of
water masses
-know the main water masses involved in deep circulation in the Atlantic
Sample Essay Questions:
1. What are western boundary currents and eastern boundary currents? Describe where
each occur, how they differ from each other and WHY they differ.
2. Define upwelling and downwelling. Explain what causes each, where they occur and
what effect they have on the coastal habitats.
3. What are the series of events that is an ENSO event? What impact does an ENSO
event have on the eastern Pacific regions?
WAVES
Key terms
Waves
Wave height
Stoke’s Drift
Deep-water waves
orbits
wave-length
progressive wave
shallow-water waves
wave crest
wave period
disturbing force
transitional waves
wave trough
wave frequency
restoring force
Key concepts
-Understand that waves are the movement of energy and that water only moves in
circular paths called orbits
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MAR 105 – Exam 2 Review Sheet- Spring 2009
Dr. Anastasia
-know the parts of a wave (crest, trough, length and height) and how to measure period
and frequency
-know what Stoke’s Drift or Mass Transport is
-know that waves are classified according to their disturbing force, restoring force, &
wavelength and know the 5 types of waves and their characteristics based on this
classification (capillary waves, wind waves, seiches, seismic seawaves or tsunamis and
tides)
-understand the difference between shallow-water, deep-water and transitional waves and
the relationship of water depth to wavelength for each
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