Oceans 11 – Introduction to Oceanography
EXAM REVIEW
Test Date: Friday, June 19, 2015
The following were studied in class and you are expected to know for the test:
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The “Spheres” of the Earth (hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere)
Planet’s water breakdown (Where we find water on the planet)
71% of the Earth is covered with water; of that, 97% is ocean water
Facts:
o Average ocean depth = 3.8 km
o Deepest part of the ocean = Marianas Trench, 11.7 km
o Salinity = 3.5%
The Names of the Oceans and describe their individual characteristics/importance
o Atlantic - youngest
o Pacific - largest
o Arctic - smallest
o Indian - warmest
o Southern – has no northern boundary; merges into the other oceans
Hydrologic Cycle
o Be able to explain the circulation of Earth’s water
o Powered by the Sun’s energy
o Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Sublimation, Transpiration
o Label the diagram of the Hydrologic Cycle
The Hydrosphere Vocabulary
o Hydrosphere
o Clouds
o Water vapor, liquid water, solid water – be able to state the importance of and describe the
differences and energy changes for each
o Hydrologic cycle = evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration/percolation, runoff,
transpiration
Structure of Earth’s Interior
o Mantle
o Crust
o Inner/outer core
o Magma/lava
o Mid-atlantic ridge
o Hydrothermal vents
Plate Tectonics
o Alfred Wegener – what evidence did he discover
o Continental Drift theory – be able to state
o Pangea- describe what it is and how it changed
o Identify and describe continental shelf, slope, and rise, abyssal plains, ridges, trenches,
seamounts and guyots
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Ocean Dynamics
o Shoreline features
 Beach structure
 Name regions
o Backshore, Swash zone, nearshore
 Name parts
o Berm, dune, spit, tombolo, sea island, barrier island, estuary, salt marsh,
inlet, bay, harbor, lagoon,
 Headland erosion
 Name structures
o Split, cave, arch, stack, stump
 Describe process
 Beach formation and reformation
 Longshore drift/transport
o Ocean levels
 Causes of change
 Climate change
o Glacial melt and thinning
 Effects of change
 flooding
o Waves
 Causes
 Measurements
 Wavelength
 Wave height
 Wave amplitude
 Wave period
 Wave frequency
 Wave speed
 Kinds of waves
 Chop vs swell
 Tsunamis
 Rogue waves
o Tides
 Causes
 Spring vs Neap
 Forces – gravitational, rotational (centripedal/centrifugal)
 Effects
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o Currents
 Surface currents
 Causes
 Specific current locations and effects
o Gulf Stream, Peru, Brazil, California, Kuroshio, Equatorial, Antarctic
Circumpolar
 Deep ocean currents
 Ocean conveyor belt
 Upwelling/Downwelling
Ocean Life Zones
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o Reservoirs
o Estuaries
o Intertidal zones / Subtidal zones / neritic zone / oceanic zone
o Euphotic zone / disphotic zone / aphotic zone
o Bathyal zone
o Abyssal zone
o Pelagic zone = Epipelagic / mesopelagic / bathypelagic / abyssal zone / hadal zone
o Littoral zone / sublittoral zone / benthic zone
Ocean Life
o Plankton – phytoplankton, zooplankton
o Nekton
o Benthos
o Producers, consumers – herbivores, carnivores, omnivores
o Ocean food chains and food webs
o Define Biome
o The 7 types of biomes in the world
o The Aquatic Biomes (Freshwater vs. Marine)
o The Marine Biome:
o Estuaries
 Why they are so unique
 Estuary food chain – describe parts of the food chain
o Beach ecosystem – be able to describe the profile and life zones – tidal pools and intertidal zone
 what adaptations have the organisms living in these zones developed to cope with
conditions?