Exam 10: The Restless Ocean

Examine the satellite view of chlorophyll concentrations in the southern Atlantic Ocean along the southwest coast of Africa (the nations of Namibia and South Africa). Which of the following statements offers the best explanation for the observed pattern(s)?

One result of wave refraction is that wave energy is concentrated ________.

The center of each of Earth's five major gyres is found at about ________ latitude.

The largest daily tidal range occurs in association with spring tides.

Fetch is ________.

Barrier islands are common on the Gulf Coast but rare or absent along the Pacific Coast of the United States.

Waves begin to "feel bottom" when the depth of water is ________.

Waves begin to "feel bottom" at a depth that is about one-half their wavelength.

Because deep ocean circulation is driven largely by variations in water temperature and salinity, it is also called ________ circulation.

Turbulent water created by breaking waves is known as ________.

As the tide rises, water flows in toward the shore as the ebb tide.

If a spit grows as it is deposited, and extends completely across the former mouth of an estuary, separating it from the open sea, it has become a(n)________.

When viewed from above, the North Atlantic Gyre displays a clockwise sense of motion.

Which of the following shoreline features is a result of deposition?

A(n)________ is a place where fresh and salt water mix, such as a drowned river valley along a submergent coast.

The daily tidal range is of the least magnitude during ________.

Groins are constructed for the purpose of maintaining or widening beaches that are losing sand.

A baymouth bar is an example of "hard stabilization," a feature constructed by people to control wave erosion.

Examine the map shown in the figure. If you were to go swimming in the ocean along this shoreline, which way would the longshore current carry you? ________

When waves reach shallow water they tend to be ________, which makes them become parallel to the shore.