oceans
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Created by:
mtechman_3 on October 26, 2011
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125 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 wave | is a rhythmic movement that carries energy through matter or space |
| 2 parts of a wave | crest and trough |
| trough | is the lowest part of a wave |
| crest | is the highest part of a wave |
| wave length | is the horizontal distance between the crest or between the troughs of two adjacent waves |
| wave height | is the vertical distance between the crest and trough |
| amplitude | is half the distance of the wave |
| Define amplitude squared | is proportional to the amount of energy the wave carries |
| what happens to breakers near the shoreline | friction with the ocean bottom slows water at the bottom of the wave |
| what happens to the breakers as the wave slows | its crest and trough come closer together |
| what happens to the top of a wave with a breaker | it is not slowed by friction and moves faster than the bottom |
| describe a breaker | the top of the wave outruns the bottom andit collapses |
| breaker | is a collapsing wave |
| what happens to a wave breaking on the shore | the water does not move forward |
| in a wave movement after the wave passes | each molecule of water returns to near its origional position |
| what happens in a wave movement | only the energy moves forward while the water molecule remain about in the same place |
| how do water waves form | when wind blows across a body of water, wind energy is transferred to the water |
| what does the wind have to do with forming a wave | if the wind speed is great enough the water begins to pile up forming a wave |
| tide | the rise and fall in sea level |
| what causes a tide | a giant wave produced by the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon |
| tidal range | is the difference between the level of the ocean at high tide and low tide |
| what 3 things determine the height of the waves | the speed of the wind, the distance over which the wind blows, and the length of time the wind blows |
| when do waves stop forming | when the wind stops blowing |
| what happens once waves are set in motion | waves continue moving for a long distance, even if the wind stops blowing |
| what happens to the sea level when the crest of the wave approaches the shore | the sea level appears to rise |
| high tide | the rise in the sea level |
| what happens to the sea level as the trough of the wave approaches | the sea level appears to drop |
| low tide | the drop in sea level |
| what 2 things effect the ranges of tides | the shape of the seacoast and the shape of the ocean floor |
| what happens to water on a smooth, wide beach | it can spread over a large area |
| at high tide what happens to the water level | it might rise only a few centimeters |
| what happens at high tide in a narrow gulf or bay | the water might rise many meters |
| what are the tidal ranges of most shorelines | between 1m and 2 m |
| what is the tidal ranges in some places | 30 cm |
| what is the tidal range of Mont-Saint- Michel's | about 13.5 m |
| what is the Moon's effect on the Earth | the Moon's gravity exerts a strong pull on the Earth |
| the Earth and Moon revolves around a common center of mass what happens to the water | the water bulges outward |
| tidal bore | is the wave formed in some places when a rising tide enters a shallow, narrow river from a wide area of the sea |
| where are tidal bores found | in places with large tidal ranges |
| what happens when the tidal bore enter a river | it causes the water to reverse its flow |
| the bulge on the opposite side of the Earth is caused by what | the opposing force that, here, is greater than the force of gravity |
| the bulge on the side of the Earth closest to the moon is caused by what | the gravitational attraction of the Moon on Earth |
| how is a high tide caused | the gravitiational effect of the moon causes the ocean to bulge |
| how is a low tide caused | the gravitational effect of the moon and the areas of the Earth's oceans that are not toward or away from the Moon |
| spring tides | when the Moon, Earth and the Sun are lined up together, the combined pull of the Sun and the Moon |
| What happens to high tides during spring tides | the high tides are higher than normal |
| what happens to the low tides during spring tides | the low tides are lower than normal |
| neap tides | when the Sun, Earth and the Moon form a right angle |
| what happens to low tides at neap tides | Low tides are higher than normal |
| what happens to high tides at neap tides | high tides are lower than normal |
| what are ocean currents | a mass movement or flow of the ocean water |
| what is an ocean current like | a river within an ocean |
| surface currents move water in which direction | horizontially- parallel to the Earth's surface |
| how are surface currents powered | by the wind |
| what do the surface currents move | only the upper few hundred meters of seawater |
| what is the Coriolis effect | is the shifting of winds and surface currents from their expected paths caused by the Earth's rotation |
| Because the Earth rotating toward the east , the winds in the northern hemisphere | appear to curve to the right |
| Because the Earth rotating toward the east, the winds in the southern hemisphere | appear to curve to the left |
| what do surface winds cause the water to do | to pile up in certain parts of the ocean |
| the Coriolis effect turns the water | when gravity pulls water off the pile |
| the Coriolis effect causes currents north of the equator to do what | to turn to the right |
| the Coriolis effect causes currents south of the equator to do what | to turn to the left |
| Where do most of the records of surface currents come from | the sailors of the 19th century |
| how did ships in the American colonial time make their ships go fast from North America to England | on 100 km wide Gulf Streams |
| drift bottles containing messages and numbered cards are released where | from a variety of coastal locations |
| how are drift bottles carried | by surface currents |
| where might drift bottles end up | on a beach |
| what do people do when the bottle arrives | they write down the date and the location where the bottle was found |
| what happens to the bottle when found | it is sent back to the institution that launched it |
| where do current on the west coast of the continents begin | near the poles where the water is colder |
| where do east coast currents originate | near the equator where the water is warmer |
| what happens as warm water flows away from the equator | heat is released to the atmosphere |
| when the atmosphere is warmed from the released heat what happens | the transfer of heat influences climate |
| upwelling | is a vertical circulation in the ocean that brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface |
| what happens to the water when the wind blows parallel to the coast | it carries water away from the land because of the Coriolis effect |
| define density current | it forms when a mass of seawater becomes more dense than the surrounding water |
| what does gravity cause dense seawater to do | to sink beneath less dense seawater |
| what 2 things makes the density of seawater increase | if the salinity increases and when the temperature decreases |
| what seawater freezes to ice what happens | the salt is left behind in the unfrozen water |
| when cold, deep ocean water rises to the surface what happens | it replaces water that has moved away from the shore |
| what does the cold, deep ocean water contain | high concentrations or nutrients from organisms that have died |
| what do the nutrients in the water promote | primary production and plankton growth that attact fish |
| what do areas of upwelling create | important fishing grounds |
| where does an important density current begin | Antartica |
| what happens to ocean water because of the salinity | it makes the ocean water very dense |
| how is a density current formed | the dense ocean water formed from the salinity, sinks down and slowly spreads along the ocean bottom toward the equator |
| where is there a density current | Mediterranean Sea |
| What do the warm temperatures and dry air of the Mediterranean Sea cause the density current to do | in this region it causes large amounts of water to evaporate from the surface of the sea |
| What does the evaporation do to the density current | it increases the salinity and the density of the water |
| What do the colld dense water of the North Atlantic Ocean form | the water sink and form North Atlantic Deepwaters |
| How do the waters of the Atlantic Ocean differ from the Pacific Ocean | the dense water circulate more quickly |
| What is the difference between the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean | The Mediterranean is less dense that the very cold, salty water flowing from the North Atlantic |
| What happens to the water of the Mediterranean | it forms a middle layer of water known as the Mediterranean Intermediate Water |
| Why are oceans important | they are sources of food, energy and minerals |
| what are the energy sources found in the ocean | oil and natural gas |
| where are the energy sources found in the ocean | beneath the ocean floor |
| what happens when volcanoes erupt | they spew lava and ash and give off water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases |
| what is the scientist hypothesis about the water vapor from the volcano | that in about 4 billion years it will begin to be stored in the Earth's eary atmosphere |
| How much of the world table salt is extracted from seawater | about 1/3 |
| how is the salt extracted | It is extracted from seawater through the process of evaporation |
| What do oceans allow for | efficient transportation of goods |
| what are examples of goods shipped on the ocean | millions of tons of oil, coal, and grains |
| what happened to the water vapors of the volcanos | after a million years it cooled enough to condense into storm clouds |
| how were oceans formed | torrential rains began to fall and the water filled low areas of the Earth |
| basin | low areas on the earth that water filled to form oceans |
| what dissolved gasses does ocean water contain | oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen |
| what 2 ways does oxygen enter the ocean | directly from the atmosphere and from organisms that photosynthesize |
| what 2 ways does carbon dixode enter the ocean | the atmosphere andd from organisms when the respire |
| what does ocean water contain | many dissolved salts |
| what are some of the ions in the seawater | chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium and potassium |
| define ion | a charged atom or group of atoms |
| where do the ions come from | rocks that are dissolved slowly by rivers and groundwater |
| what are the most abundant elements in seawater | hydrogen and oxygen to make up water |
| what happens when seawater evaporates | ions combine to form materials called salts |
| what 2 things make up the majority of ions in seawater | sodium and chloride |
| what happens to the elements of the ocean | they are added to the oceans at the same reate that they are removed |
| what state is the ocean in | a steady state |
| how are dissolved salts removed from the ocean | when they precipitate out of the ocean water and become part of the sediment |
| what are some methods desalination | they are evaporating seawater, and collecting the freshwater as it condenses on a glass roof |
| salinity | a measure of the amount of salts dissolved in saltwater |
| how much salt does 1 kg of seawater contain | it contains about 35 grams of dissolved salts or 3.5 % |
| desalination | the process that salt is removed from ocean water |
| what happens to salt when seawater evaporates | salt is left behind |
| how can freshwater be obtained | by melting frozen seawater |
| how do plants desalinate water | by passing it through a memberane that removes the dissolved salts |
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