The phylum of organisms that uses stinging cells, or nematocysts for protection
Cnidaria
The group of marine animals with the largest number of species identified as threatened or endangered is...
mammals
This toxic chemical is monitored in fish for human consumption
mercury
Which type of reproduction provides genetic diversity?
sexual
The overabundance of nutrients that can cause an ecological imbalance
eutrophication
A pycnocline is a sudden change in...
density
What hemisphere are penguins found in?
Southern
Each time a tidal current changes directions there is a period of no current known as...
a slack current
One likely result of El Nino is...
flooding in Peru
The Beaufort scale uses the conditions of the sea to infer...
wind speed
Ekman transport predicts that in the Northern hemisphere water will move...
to the right of the wind
What direction do gyres spin in the Southern hemisphere?
counterclockwise
What would happen to a styrofoam cup if it were lowered to 100 meters? Explain.
It would shrink it size since the air chambers are getting compressed
In temperate zones the thermocline will be most pronounced during what season?
summer
What is the draft of the ship refer to?
The minimum depth of water in which it can float
Ships move from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario by what canal?
The Welland Canal
The maximum density of seawater at the surface of the world's oceans would occur when?
at its freezing point
What rule allows scientists to determine the salinity from the concentration of a single, major ion in seawater?
The Rule of Constant Proportions
When sea ice forms in the Antarctic, what happens to the salinity at the surface? Explain
The surface water becomes saltier because the ice rejects the salt
In order to maintain a "maximum sustainable yield" from a given fishery it is vital that the rate at which fish are taken from the sea not exceed what?
the rate of recruitment
Groins are structures built mainly to...
prevent local beach erosion
What is the "Shadow zone"?
The areas of earth that do not receive seismic waves from an earthquake event
What percent of the world's fresh surface water is contained in the Great Lakes?
20%
During ebb current the level of the water along the shore...
falls
What is it called when the moon's size becomes smaller?
Waning
The movemebt of sediment along the shore by wave action is called
longshore transport
What biogeochemical process or processes permitted the development of an O2 containing atmosphere on earth?
photosynthesis
Traditionally, how has salinity been expressed?
ppt or Parts per thousand by weight
Wavelengths of light represented by this color are absorbed at the shallowest depth by ocean water. This color is...
red
The energy represented by the latent heat of melting is being used to...
break hydrogen bonds
The greatest amount of heat loss from the world's ocean occurs through what process?
evaporation
Equatorial currents are driven primarily by what winds?
trade winds
The distance from crest to crest on adjacent wave forms is the...
wavelength
A tsunami is an example of what type of wave?
shallow water wave, surging wave
The interefence pattern resulting from a swell that is generated in different locations coming together crest to crest is...
constructive
The dominant restoring force for capillary waves generated in the sea is...
surface tension
What is the dominant restoring force for large open waves in the sea?
gravity
What are the 2 most dominant types of restoring forces for waves?
surface tension & gravity
What is the amount of time that elapses between new moon and full moon?
2 weeks
What is tidal range?
The difference between the heights of low time and high tide
What is heat capacity?
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.
Beach slope increases as the beach sediment becomes...
coarser
What are photophores?
Light producing organs for deep sea animals
What organisms are considered meroplankton?
organisms that are plankton for only part of their lives
What is the major anion in seawater?
chlorine (Cl-)
What molecule are organic molecules organized around?
Carbon
What is Pangaea?
The supercontinent that existed 180 million years ago?
What is an example of an island chain formed from hot spots?
Hawaiian islands