OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this worksheet, the student should be familiar with major concepts and topics related to the ocean.
Questions:
1] What percentage of the globe is covered by the ocean?
2] Which hemisphere has a greater amount of continental land area?
3] Which ocean basin is the largest?
4] What is the average depth of the ocean?
5] What is the deepest location in the ocean? How deep is the water there?
6] What is the smallest and shallowest ocean basin?
7] Expressed as a percentage, what is the salinity of the ocean on average?
8] What part of the ocean has the highest salinity? What part has the lowest?
9] What is the source for the salts in the sea?
10] What is the most abundant salt in the sea?
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11] What additional chemicals are present in seawater in significant amounts?
12] What important resources are obtained from seawater?
13] What was the primary use of common table (NaCl) salt in the past? What is the major use of it today?
14] How does the freezing point of salt water differ from that of fresh water?
15] What drives the surface ocean circulations?
16] What is a gyre?
17] The east coasts of continents typically have what type of current flowing offshore (warm or cold)?
18] What affect does the Gulf Stream have on the climate of Europe?
19] What drives deep ocean circulation?
20] What creates the “push” that makes the deep ocean circulation operate?
21] What is upwelling? Name a location where this occurs.
22] How does upwelling play a part in a feedback mechanism that drives the winds that it relies on?
23] How long, on average, does water typically take to move through the ocean’s circulation process?
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24] What role does the deep ocean circulation play in moderating global climate?
25] What creates the tides?
26] How many tides do most locations have in the course of a given day?
27] What are the names of the various tidal patterns?
28] What type of tide is illustrated in the diagram below?
29] What is the tidal period – that is the time it takes to complete a tide cycle?
30] What factors can influence the range (height) of the tides?
31] Where are the greatest tidal ranges in the world experienced?
32] What is the typical tidal range in Tampa Bay?
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33] Draw a diagram of a wave showing the following: crests, troughs, wave height, and wave length
34] What creates nearly all waves?
35] How does the water in a wave move?
36] At what depth do waves “feel bottom”?
37] Explain and diagram the way a wave breaks.
38] Where do the majority of large waves arriving on Florida’s East coast originate?
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