DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY
FIRST YEAR EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE IN METEOROLOGY
2008/09
SMR 411: OCEANOGRAPHY
Date 10-06-2009
Time 9.00-11.00 am
Answer Any Four Questions
Q1 (a)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
What is the Greek word for oceans and what does it mean (2 marks)
What is the approximate area of the oceans
(2 marks)
How are the oceans divided
(2 marks)
What is the percentage of the hydrosphere to the toatal mass of the
earth
(2 marks)
(b) State the zones of the ocean that are refered to by the following terms:
Benthic, Pelagic, Epipelagic, mesopelagic, photic, aphotic zones, bathypelagic,
abyssalpelagic, hadal pelagic, the neritic zone, littoral zone, sublittoral
( 12 marks)
(c)The World Ocean (Oceanosphere) contains 1,340.7 million km3 of water. If this was
shown in the form of a sphere what would be its radius?
(5 marks)
(d) The average salinity of the World Ocean is about 35 psu, How much compute the
mass of the salts that must be extracted from 200 tons of ocean water to reduce the
salinity to 5 psu.
(5 marks)
Q2 (a) State the most important physical properties of sea water. What does these
properties depend upon.
( 10 marks)
(b) If the sea level pressure is 1013.25mb and the density is assumed to be 1.18 g/cm3 of
pure water and considered to constant throughout the depth and the gravitational
acceleration is 980cms-1.
i) Compute the depth at which the pressure will be one and half times of the
surface value.
(5 marks)
ii)
What is the pressure at 3km below the surface.
(5 marks)
(c) Define an estuary and state six most important estuary types.
(5 marks)
(d) Name the forces are important in oceanography circulation.
(3 marks)
Q3 (a)State eight signs of an approaching tsunami
(8 marks)
(b)The tsunami wave may be given by
z  zo sin k ( x  ct ) if the wave length of the tsunami is 150km, amplitude is 5m and the
depth of the ocean is 4 km
Compute
(i)
The speed of the tsunami wave (take g  9.8ms 2 )
(5marks)
(ii)
The period of the this tsunami wave
(5 marks)
(iii) The height of the tsunami
(2 marks)
(iv)
Find the time it will take the tsunami to reach a point located 80,000
km from the epicenter.
(5 marks)
c)(i)What is a storm surge?
( 2 marks)
(ii) State impacts of a storm surge and explain how these impacts can be mitigated
(8 marks)
Q 4 (a)Define the following terms
(i)
Ecology
(ii)
Ecosystem
(iii) Marine ecology
(iv)
Abiotic factors
(v)
Biotic factors
(vi)
Autotrophic
(vii) Heterotrophs
(viii) Decomposers
(ix)
Symbiotic
(x)
Biomes
( 10 marks)
(b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the aquatic environment to aquatic life
(6) marks)
(c )State the two main classification of oceanic microscopic life and given an example of
each.
(4 marks)
(d) Name the five main types of marine mammals
(5 marks)
(e) List five main sources of marine pollution
(5 marks)
Q5 (a) State the importance of Intergrated Coastal Management (ICM)
(4 marks)
(b) List any two global organizations of IMC and describe their goals
(6 marks)
(c) Discuss the concept of sustainable development with reference to coastal and
marine environment
(10 marks)
(d) State the main aim and scope integrated coastal management program (5 marks)
(e) What is the contributions of science to an ICM programme
(5 marks)
DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY
FIRST YEAR EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE IN METEOROLOGY
2007/08
SMR 411: OCEANOGRAPHY
Date
Time
Answer Any Four Questions
Q1 (a) State three main reasons why the study of oceanography is important
(6 marks)
(b) (i) Define a shore line
(2marks)
(ii) State the various types of shores
(3marks)
(iii ) Describe how each of the type of shore is formed
(12 marks)
(c) An island whose area is 15000 square kilometers is subjected to erosion such that its
area diminishes by a tenth every year. How long will it take for it’s area to be one third of
its original size?
(7 marks)
Q 2. (a) (i) What are the four alternative names of water
( 2 marks)
(ii) Discuss the properties of water that make it be a universal solvent
( 3 marks)
(iii) List five main ions and five trace elements in the ocean water
(iv)Explain why the solubility increases with temperature
( 3 marks)
( v) Why does large amount of pure water appear slightly blue
(2 marks)
(vi) Explain why water freezes from the top and not bottom and how this property
of water helps to sustain life in the colder oceans
(2 marks)
b) (i) Explain what is mean by marine pollution
(2 marks)
(ii) State four sources of marine pollution.
(4 marks)
(ii) Discuss the dangers associated by marine pollution.
(6 marks)
3
(b) If 5m of ocean water is drawn from the ocean that has salinity of 35psu. Compute the
amount of salts that must be removed from this water in order to reduce the salinity to 20
psu.
(6 marks)
Q3 ( a) (i) State three theories that attempt to explain the origin of the oceans (6marks)
(ii) Name the deepest point of each of the global ocean basins
(5marks)
(b) Using a schematic diagram describe the major oceanic divisions
(12 marks)
(c) Compute the depth at which a sub marine should cruse so that the pressure on it is
twice that at the surface of the ocean if the pressure at the surface is 1013.50mb and the
density is assumed to be 1.18 of pure water and considered to constant throughout the
depth and the gravitational acceleration is 980cms-2.
(7 marks)
Q4 (a ) Draw the global oceans and indicate the major ocean currents in each ocean (
8 marks)
(b) A cross equatorial current moving in a channel of diameter of 182metres with a
steady speed of 12ms-1. If the water being transport is in the mixed layer of density of
1.06 gcm-3. If the water contains 10gm of nutrients per 1kg of water, compute the
amount of water and nutrients in tons transported across the equator in one day by
this current.
(7 marks)
(b) Describe the changes that take place in the oceans and atmosphere during ElNino and La-Nina episodes and discuss how these changes affect the global climate .
(15 marks)
Q5 (a) (i) State the factors that cause ocean tides (6 marks)
(ii) Explain how tidal classification is done (4 marks)
(b) Discuss the spatial and temporal variation of ocean tides (10 marks)
(c) The distance between the earth and the moon is 384,000km and the distance
between the earth and the sun is 149.5 million km. The ratio of the mass of the earth
to the sun is 1:332,000 and the ratio of the mass of the earth to that of the moon is
1:0.012. Find the ratio of the gravitational force of the moon on the earth to the
gravitational force of the sun on the earth.
(10 marks)