OC 15 – Exam 2 Review Sheet- Fall 2007 Dr. Anastasia
PROPERTIES OF SEAWATER
Key terms pycnocline thermocline 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
-know how the layering of the ocean changes with the seasons in temperate zones
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 (Ch 8)
Key terms water vapor
Coriolis effect precipitation
Trade winds doldrums or ITCZ horse latitudes wind westerlies convection current polar easterlies
Key concepts
-know how temperature and water content 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
-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?
1

OC 15 – Exam 2 Review Sheet- Fall 2007 Dr. Anastasia
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
Key terms current primary forces secondary forces western boundary currents eastern boundary currents transverse currents
Gyre upwelling downwelling thermohaline circulation Antarctic Bottom Water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Mediterranean Intermediate Water
ENSO & El Nino
North Atlantic Deep 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
-know the names and locations of the six great current circuits in the world (see Fig 8.9)
-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
-describe what an ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) event is and the effects it has on the eastern Pacific
-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. Can surface winds cause vertical movement of water in the ocean? Where and how?
2. What are western boundary currents and eastern boundary currents? Describe where each occur, how they differ from each other and WHY they differ.
3. Describe an ENSO event and the impacts that it has on the eastern Pacific.
WAVES
Key terms
Waves
Wave height orbits wave-length wave crest wave period wave trough wave frequency
Key concepts
-Understand that waves are the movement of energy and that water only moves in circular paths called orbits
-know the parts of a wave (crest, trough, length and height) and how to measure period and frequency
2