MARS 120 Midterm #1 Review Sheet:
Introduction:
1) Why do we study the oceans?
2) What is oceanography?
3) What is the scientific method?
4) How are experiments tested?
5) What are the smallest and largest ocean basins?
6) What are shallowest and deepest ocean basins?
7) What are the basic depths of ocean basins?
Geology:
1) What did the early universe look like?
2) What is the structure of the inner earth?
3) What was the early atmosphere like?
4) What is the difference between continental and oceanic crust?
5) What is the idea of continental drift?
6) What were the observations that lead to the idea of continental drift?
7) What is the idea of plate tectonics?
8) What were the observations leading to plate tectonics?
9) What is the evidence for plate tectonics?
10) What does the volcanic and earthquake activity look like around the world (basic
areas were they are found)?
11) What are mid-ocean ridges and why are they important?
12) What are trenches and why are they important?
13) How does magnetic polarity help answer questions about plate tectonics?
14) What is isostasy and how does it relate to oceanic and continental crust?
Plate Boundaries:
1) What is a divergent boundary?
2) How does an ocean basin begin? What are some current examples?
3) What are the differences between rises and ridges?
4) What are convergent boundaries? (Give examples of all 3)
5) How do volcanic arcs start?
6) What are transform faults? (Give an example)
7) What are fracture zones?
8) What are hotspots, and how do they form?
9) What are seamounts and tablemounts? How do they form?
Marine Provinces:
1) What are continental margins?
2) Describe the continental shelf? Where is most of the sediment from?
3) What is the slope break?
4) What is the continental slope?
5) What are submarine canyons and how do they form?
6) Explain the development of turbidity currents.
7) How do turbidity deposits settle out?
8) What is the continental rise?
9) What are abyssal plains?
10) What are the differences between active and passive margins?
11) What are the depth ranges (approximately – deep or shallow)?
12) Are they prevalent in oceans?
13) Are they flat? If so why?
14) What are abyssal hills?
15) What are Back-arc spreading centers? Where are they found?
16) What are hydrothermal vents and how do they form? Where are they found?
Marine Sediments:
1) Why are sediments important?
2) What are the 3 major rock types? How are they formed?
3) What is the structure of the ocean floor (think depth layers)? What is the order of
the layers?
4) What are the 4 major types of marine sediments?
5) What is the composition of lithogenous sediments? Where do they come from?
6) What is the origin of lithogenous sediments?
7) How does the energy of the environment impact what is eroded and deposited?
8) Why are some grains rounder and well sorted?
9) What is the difference between neretic and pelagic lithogenous sediments?
10) What is abyssal clay?
11) What are biogenous sediments?
12) What are phytoplankton and zooplankton?
13) What is siliceous ooze made of? What are diatoms and radiolarians?
14) Does silica naturally dissolve in seawater? If so, why do we have siliceous
sediments?
15) Where are siliceous sediments usually found? Why?
16) What are carbonate sediments? What organisms form these?
17) Where are they found?
18) What is the CCD and how does it impact calcareous deposits?
19) What are ways for tests to get to the seafloor?
20) What are hydrogenous sediments and how do they form?
21) What are manganese nodules?
22) What are phosphates?
23) What are sulfides?
24) What are evaporates?
25) What are cosmogenous sediments and how are they formed?
26) What caused the K-T event?
27) What are general distributions of all the marine sediments?
28) What are cores? How are they collected? What are they used for?