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Oceanography
Flashcards for my intro to oceanography class
107
Other
Undergraduate 2
08/17/2006

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Cards

Term
Hydrogen atoms
Definition
Most of the world is made up of these.
Term
The burning of hydrogen gas
Definition
The physical process that keeps the sun going.
Term
The metallic core of a planetary body that crashed into Earth
Definition
The origin of the moon.
Term
The heat of a protostar ejected debris, creating a solar system.
Definition
How was the Earth formed?
Term
13 billion years ago.
Definition
When did the Big Bang happen?
Term
4.6 billion years ago.
Definition
When did the Earth form?
Term
3.6 billion years ago.
Definition
When was the first evidence of life?
Term
2 billion years ago.
Definition
When did oxygen become plentiful on Earth?
Term
James Cook
Definition
Charted New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef.
Term
Christopher Columbus
Definition
Discovered the New World.
Term
Charles Darwin
Definition
Studied marine biology. Wrote "Structure and the Distribution of Coral Reefs" and correctly identified how coral reefs are formed.
Term
The Chinese
Definition
Invented the compass, the central rudder, water-tight compartments, and sophisticated sails on multiple masts.
Term
The Polynesians.
Definition
Colonized a group of islands, including Hawaii. Depended on star position for navigation.
Term
Eratosthenes
Definition
First to calculate the circumfrence of the Earth.
Term
John Harrison
Definition
Invented the chronometer.
Term
Allowed the time method of navigation to be implemented on ships.
Definition
What did the chronometer do?
Term
Library of Alexandria.
Definition
What is the name of the first university?
Term
Atoll
Definition
A ring of coral surrounding a central lagoon.
Term
Guyot
Definition
An inactive underwater volcano with a flattened top.
Term
Abyssal plain
Definition
Flat, deep ocean floor.
Term
Turbidity current
Definition
Underwater sediment avalanche.
Term
Asthenosphere
Definition
Layer of earth below the surface on which plates slide around.
Term
Lithosphere
Definition
Rigid outer layer of the earth (crust).
Term
Inner and outer core
Definition
Hot center of the earth, made of iron and nickel.
Term
Terrane
Definition
A region that is geologically different from regions around it.
Term
Subduction zone
Definition
A place where two plates have collided, one sliding underneath another.
Term
Ophiolite
Definition
A slice of ocean crust that has slid into continental crust.
Term
Alfred Wegener
Definition
This person came up with the idea of plate tectonics.
Term
In the middle of the ocean.
Definition
Where are the youngest seafloor rocks found?
Term
At the edges of the ocean basin.
Definition
Where are the oldest rocks found?
Term
On ocean ridges.
Definition
Where are hydrothermal vents found?
Term
Pangaea
Definition
What was the original mass of continents called?
Term
Radioactivity and residual heat from the sun.
Definition
What keeps the center of the Earth called?
Term
On the deep ocean floor.
Definition
Where is biogenous sediment found?
Term
Usually with more dominant sediments.
Definition
Where is hydrogenous sediment found?
Term
On continental margins, abyssal plains, and polar ocean floors.
Definition
Where is terrigenous sediment found?
Term
Mixed in very small proportion with other sediments.
Definition
Where is cosmogenous sediment found?
Term
Biogenous
Definition
Sediment made of organic substances (hard parts of marine organisms)
Term
Cosmogenous
Definition
Sediment made of dust from space.
Term
Hydrogenous
Definition
Sediment made of precipitation of dissolved minerals from the ocean.
Term
Terrigenous
Definition
Sediment that comes from the erosion of land, volcanic dust, and blown dust.
Term
Mixed layer
Definition
Surface zone of water where not much changes with depth in terms of temperature or salinity.
Term
Halocline
Definition
A zone of rapid salinity increase with depth, just below the surface.
Term
Thermocline
Definition
A zone of rapid temperature increase with depth, just below the surface.
Term
Thermocline
Definition
A zone of rapid temperature increase with depth, just below the surface.
Term
Pycnocline
Definition
Density increases with increasing depth.
Term
Deep zone
Definition
Lies below the pycnocline. Not much changes with increasing depth.
Term
Photosynthesis of marine plants.
Definition
What is the primary source of oxygen in sea water?
Term
Lowers the temperature
Definition
What does the addition of salt do to the freezing temperature of water?
Term
14
Definition
Highly alkaline (pH number)
Term
7
Definition
pH of pure water
Term
Oxygen and water.
Definition
Two most abundant ions in seawater.
Term
Excess volatiles in the earth's mantle and residue from surface weathering
Definition
Why is the ocean salty?
Term
Intertropical Convergence Zone
Definition
The boundary zone separating the northeast trade winds from the southeast trade winds.
Term
Trade winds
Definition
Persistent tropical winds that blow from the subtropical high pressure centers towards the equatorial low.
Term
Front
Definition
Boundary between two air masses with differing characteristics.
Term
The turning of the Earth
Definition
What causes summers and winters?
Term
Sea breeze
Definition
Cool air from the sea blows towards land.
Term
Land breeze
Definition
As the land loses heat at night to space, the warm air over the ocean rises over the cool air on land and reverses the direction of the breeze.
Term
East Coast
Definition
Where is the Gulf Stream?
Term
By California
Definition
Where is the California Current?
Term
By Africa
Definition
Where is the Canary Current?
Term
Just north of the Equator.
Definition
Where is the North Equatorial Current?
Term
By Japan
Definition
Where is the Kuroshio Current?
Term
Eddy
Definition
Circular movement of water where currents pass obstructions or between two adjacent currents flowing in opposite directions or along the edge of a permanent current.
Term
Gyre
Definition
Circuit of mid-latitude currents around the periphery of an ocean basin.
Term
Caballing
Definition
Mixing of two water masses with the same densities, but different temperatures and salinity. It ends up denser.
Term
Sverdrup
Definition
Unit of volume transport.
Term
Thermohaline circulation
Definition
Water circulation produced by different water salinity and/or temperature.
Term
Amphidromic point
Definition
No-tide point in the ocean.
Term
Slack water
Definition
Time of no tide-induced currents that occurs when the currents change directions.
Term
Seiche
Definition
Pendulum-like rocking of water in an enclosed area.
Term
Tidal Datum
Definition
Reference level against which tide height is measured.
Term
Ebb current
Definition
Water rushing out of an enclosed harbor or bay because of a fall in the sea level as the tide trough approaches.
Term
Neap tide
Definition
The time of the smallest variation between high and low tides occurring when the earth, moon, and sun align at right angles.
Term
Spring tide
Definition
Time of the largest variation betweeen high and low tides occurring when the earth, moon, and sun align in a straight line.
Term
An unusual rise in the sea level as a result of the low atmospheric pressure and strong winds associated with a tropical cyclone.
Definition
Where do storm surges come from?
Term
Diurnal tide
Definition
One high and one low tide.
Term
Semidiurnal
Definition
Two high and two low tides.
Term
Semidiurnal
Definition
Miami has this sort of tides.
Term
Mixed tides
Definition
Complex tide cycle, usually two high and two low tides of unequal height per day.
Term
Every 50 to 100 million years or so.
Definition
How often do mass extinctions occur?
Term
Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Primate, Hominidae, Homo, Sapien.
Definition
Classify a human.
Term
Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.
Definition
Order of scientific classification:
Term
Meroplankton
Definition
The planktonic phase of the life cycle or organisms that spend only part of their life drifting in the plankton.
Term
Holoplankton
Definition
Permanent members of the plankton community
Term
Heterotrophs
Definition
Organisms that derive nourishments from other organisms because they are unable to synthesize their own food.
Term
Autotrophs
Definition
Organisms that synthesize their own food.
Term
Dinoflagellites (phytoplankton)
Definition
Responsible for red tides.
Term
Cetacea
Definition
Whales
Term
Carnivora
Definition
Dogs
Term
Sirenia
Definition
Manatee
Term
Porifera
Definition
Sponges (phylum)
Term
Cnidaria
Definition
Jellyfish (phylum)
Term
Platyhelminthes
Definition
Flatworms (phylum)
Term
Nematoda
Definition
Roundworms (phylum)
Term
Annelida
Definition
Segmented worms (phylum)
Term
Mollusca
Definition
Squid (phylum)
Term
Anthropoda
Definition
Crabs (phylum)
Term
Echinodermata
Definition
Sea stars (phylum)
Term
Can hold their breath, generate internal body heat, streamlined body shape, modified respiratory system for oxygen
Definition
Characteristics of a marine mammal:
Term
Sessile
Definition
Attached; unable to move.
Term
Motile
Definition
Able to move about.
Term
Stenohaline
Definition
Unable to tolerate large ranges of salinity.
Term
Stenothermal
Definition
Unable to tolerate wide ranges of temperature.
Term
Euryhaline
Definition
Able to tolerate wide varieties of salinity.
Term
Eurythermal
Definition
Able to tolerate a wide range of temperature.
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