Geology 117: The Oceans

Self-Administered Quizzes

Quiz No. 5 -- Covers topics 21-25

1. In the Northern Hemisphere, air circulation about a low-pressure cell (zone) is

A. counterclockwise.

B. clockwise

C. clockwise during winter, counter clockwise during summer

D. clockwise during summer, counter clockwise during winter

2. Major surface currents are more intense on the _______sides of basins than on the _______ sides.

A. eastern...western

B. western... eastern

C. northern... southern

D. southern... northern

3. Moist air is

A. less dense than dry air, and thus will sink

B. more dense than dry air and thus will sink

C. less dense than dry air, and thus will rise

D. more dense than dry air, and thus will rise

4. If we fire a rocket from the North Pole to a target on the Equator without taking the Earth's rotation into account, we will

A. miss to the west.

B. miss to the east

C. miss to the north

D. miss to the south

5. Deep water masses of the modern oceans are formed primarily by

A. the convergence of surface currents along the Equator.

B. sinking of warm, saline water

C. sinking of cold, fresh water at high latitude

D. the convergence of surface currents in the Gulf of Mexico

E. None of the above

6. The North Atlantic gyre rotates

A. clockwise in the summer and counter-clockwise in the winter

B. counter-clockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter

C. clockwise

D. counter-clockwise

7. The westerlies (winds) lie between which latitudes?

A. 0 deg. and 30 deg. N only

B. 30 deg. and 60 deg. N only

C. 30 deg. and 60 deg. N and S

D. 30 deg. and 60 deg. S only

E. 0 deg. and 30 deg. S only

8. A south wind blowing parallel to the west coast of a landmass in the Southern Hemisphere produces

A. coastal currents moving from north to south.

B. coastal currents moving from south to north.

C. coastal upwelling.

D. coastal downwelling.

E. monsoon rains.

9. The principal (largest) deep-water mass in the Atlantic Ocean forms by

A. outflow from the Mediterranean Sea.

B. mixing of deep waters from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

C. seasonal freezing of surface waters off Antarctica.

D. cooling of saline surface waters and mixing with surface waters flowing out of the Arctic Ocean

E. evaporation of the Gulf Stream.

 

10. Zones of strong upward circulation of the atmosphere are associated with

A. precipitation at the surface.

B. evaporation at the surface.

C. high-pressure cells

D. strong N-S winds.

E. strong E-W winds.

 

11. The surface current that flows from east to west at low latitudes in the major oceans is

A. the Circum-Pacific Current

B. the Equatorial Current

C. the Equatorial Counter Current

D. the Kuroshio Current.

E. the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

 

12. Geostrophic currents are caused by the balance between the Coriolis effect (Ekman transport) and

A. density

B. salinity

C. temperature

D. wind stress

E. gravity

 

13. Which of the following statement(s) about El Nino (ENSO) event is/are true?

A. It produces warm surface water and wet weather along the Peru-Ecuador coast.

B. It diminishes the summer (rainy) monsoon in Indonesia, Australia, and India.

C. It produces warm surface water and wet weather along the Peru-Ecuador coast, and strengthens the summer (rainy) monsoon in Indonesia, Australia, and India.

D. Atmospheric pressure zones along the Equator in the Pacific remain the same as during normal years.

E. Trade Winds in the Pacific are stronger than in normal years.