Study Guide Questions on The Water Planet with Answer | GEOG 1250, Study notes of Geography

Download Study Guide Questions on The Water Planet with Answer | GEOG 1250 and more Study notes Geography in PDF only on Docsity! What feature on the ocean floor is produced by sea-floor spreading? By subduction?  Ocean basins are created by spreading, and volcanic mountain chains are created by subduction. Which is more dense, oceanic crust or continental crust? Which is older?  Ocean crust is more dense; and continental crust is the oldest. How was the Red Sea formed? The Andes Mountains in South America?  The Red Sea was formed from continental drift, and the Andes Mountains in South America were created when two plates collided along with each other. What features on the ocean floor are associated with the Pacific Ring of Fire?  There are a series of oceanic trenches that are along the ocean floor that are associated with the Pacific Ring of Fire. Why does the Red Sea have relatively high salinity? What is the average salinity of ocean water?  The Red Sea has a relatively high salinity because it has a high evaporation. The average salinity of ocean water is 3.5%. Where does the salt come from in ocean water? How does water temperature change with depth in the oceans?  Salt comes from the land, and evaporated chemicals in the air that eventually get brought back into the ocean. Cold water is denser than warm water, which is why warm water is always towards the surface while the cold water is towards the bottom of the ocean floor. Is salt water more or less dense than fresh water? What controls the circulation of the ocean’s surface currents?  Salt water is more dense than fresh water. The surface currents are controlled by surface winds and by semi-permanent anticyclones. Where are cold ocean currents located? Warm ocean currents? What produces the tides?  Cold ocean currents are located on west coasts of continents; warm ocean currents are located on east coasts of continents; and tides are produced when there is a short term change in sea-level, a gravitational force between 2 bodies, the ocean and the moon. What is the significance of the Bay of Fundy?  The significance of the Bay of Fundy is that there is a 50 ft. difference between their high and low tides. How are waves generated? What causes them to break onshore? What causes beach drift and longshore currents?  Waves are generated by storms on the ocean surface. Swells move toward the coast lines, and when the waves are hitting the ocean floor friction is being created which produces breakers that hit onshore. Longshore currents are caused by waves and currents which then create the transportation of sand and sediment along a beach and coastline (beach drift). How do groins indicate the direction of longshore currents and beach drift?  Groins are put on beaches to prevent beach drift of sand any more than it already has. The direction of the deposition and erosion on the beaches indicate the direction the waves are hitting the shore which gives the direction of the currents. What features are associated with emergent (erosional) coasts? With submergent (depositional) coasts?  Emergent (erosional) coasts are where tectonic uplift and mountains are formed. Submergent (depositional) coasts have drowned river valleys and drowned glaciated valleys. How did barrier islands form? Why are they poor locations for development?  Barrier islands formed from longshore drift. They are poor locations for development because they are always getting hit by waves and currents that constantly move the islands inwards. What do coral reefs require for growth? Where are they located? Why? How do atolls form?  Coral reefs require warm water, sunlight, and sediment-free saltwater for growth. Coral reefs are mainly located in the pacific ocean because they need to be in tropical oceans near the equator. Atolls form from volcanic activity that leaves behind an island that encircles a lagoon. What are the five factors that influence vegetation?  The five factors that influence vegetation are climate, topography, soils, plant competition, and disturbance. What are the leaf characteristics of trees that make up the tropical rainforest? The boreal forest?  The broadleaf evergreen trees make up the tropical rainforest, and the needleleaf evergreen trees make up the boreal forest. What is the difference between an angiosperm and a gymnosperm? How does fire affect vegetation communities?  Angiosperms are flowering plants that are typically deciduous and are better competitors where a gymnosperm have naked seeds (pinecones), are older, and are weak competitors. Fire affects the vegetation communities because it attacks the gymnosperm first because they are closer to or already on the ground. What kinds of rock make good aquifers? Aquicludes?  Porous and permeable, water-holding layer rocks make good aquifers (sandstone and limestone). Impermeable layer rocks make good aquicludes (shale and clay). What are some of the different ways springs can be created? What causes saltwater intrusion?  Springs can be created by faults in the earth’s crust. Saltwater intrusion is caused by ground water being pumped by coastal wells which then causes salt water to get into freshwater aquifers. What is groundwater mining and how is center-pivot irrigation relevant?  Groundwater mining is when they dig deep into the earth’s crust to reach water and center-pivot irrigation is relevant because it helps in the mining. What kind of rock does karst form in? How do sinkholes form?  Karst forms in limestone rocks, and sinkholes form when a karst collapses within the limestone, leaving a large hole. What are the key characteristics of the major water pollutants?  The key characteristics of the major water pollutants are pathogens (disease-causing agents), inorganic chemicals, plant nutrients, organic chemicals, thermal pollution, genetic pollution, and sediment. Which is the largest pollutant by weight?