Marine Geology
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Marine Geology is the scientific study of the structure, composition, processes, and history of the ocean floor and continental margins. This course explores the physical and chemical properties of marine sediments, seafloor spreading, plate tectonics, and the dynamics of underwater geological features such as ridges, trenches, and submarine volcanoes. Students examine the methods used to investigate the ocean floor, including seismic profiling, sediment coring, and remote sensing technologies, and investigate the interactions between geological processes and oceanic phenomena like currents, waves, and tides. The course also addresses the influence of marine geology on coastal environments, natural hazards, and resource exploration, providing an integrated understanding of the Earth's dynamic marine system.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Oceanography 6th Edition by Tom S. Garrison
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Origin of the Ocean
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Q1) About ____ percent of Earth's water is found in the Ocean.
A)97.5
B) 71
C)67.4
D)30.1
Answer: A
Q2) Planets other than Earth with liquid on or near the surface are _______.
A) nonexistent
B) less rare than we thought
C) extremely common but only in the form of water
D) extremely common but only as ice
Answer: B
Q3) The death of a star is characterized by a massive release of energy called a ____. A) nebula
B) protostar
C) supernova
D) comet
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: A History of Marine Science
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Q1) A chronometer is a timepiece that can be used to determine longitude.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following statements is true about Christopher Columbus and his explorations?
A) His goal was to discover new lands.
B) Like many early explorers, Columbus thought the Earth was flat.
C) One of Columbus' biggest mistakes is that he estimated the Earth to be only about half of its true size.
D) He was the first explorer to see the mainland of North America.
Answer: C
Q3) Eratosthenes was a scientist who was interested in the size of Earth and used methods of geometry to determine the circumference of our planet.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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4
Chapter 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics
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Q1) Which of these is most abundant on or in the Earth?
A) mantle material
B) granite rock
C) liquid water
D) basalt
Answer: A
Q2) Alfred Wegener was a polar explorer who suggested that at one time, Earth's landmasses were joined into a supercontinent called Pangaea.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) One piece of evidence that suggests the existence of Pangaea is continuous mountain ranges spanning Australia and Antarctica.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Ocean Basins
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Q1) Hydrothermal vents such as black smokers are found at spreading centers.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Abyssal Plains and Abyssal hills cover about 25% of the surface of the earth. How are these features characterized?
Q3) Water depth over continental shelves averages only about:
A) 16 meters(50 feet)
B) 35 meters(115 feet)
C) 75 meters (250 feet)
D) 100 meters (300 feet)
Q4) The mid-ocean mountains, such as the ridges and rises:
A) are similar in origin to the Alps, the Rockies, and the Appalachians.
B) are composed of folded and faulted marine sedimentary rocks.
C) are constructed of volcanic basalt.
D) are similar in size and features to most continental mountains.
Q5) The deep-ocean basin includes all of the following features EXCEPT:
A) continental shelf.
B) abyssal hills.
C) abyssal plains.
D) mid-ocean ridges.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Ocean Sediments
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Q1) A layer of sediment that contains a mixture of sediments with various sizes is referred to as:
A) homogeneous.
B) poorly sorted.
C) well-sorted.
D) eroding sediments.
Q2) Carbonate sediments are rare in deep sea sediments because:
A) the organisms providing shells do not live in the deep sea.
B) the abundance of muds and clays cover the carbonate shells.
C) the carbonate shells are dissolved in deep water.
D) the organisms do not live beyond the edge of the continental shelf.
Q3) Select the finest particles in this list.
A) sand
B) silt
C) clay
D) granules
Q4) Manganese nodules were discovered during the Challenger expedition and are hydrogenous sediments.
A)True
B)False
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Water
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Q1) The wavelength(s) of light that penetrate deepest into the ocean are:
A) red and violet.
B) red and yellow.
C) blue and red.
D) green and blue.
Q2) Heat and temperature both measure random vibrations of an atom or a molecule.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The geometry of the covalent bonds shared by the hydrogen atoms and oxygen atom in a water molecule account for its polarity.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The amount of oxygen that seawater can hold in solution will be greater:
A) in colder water.
B) in warmer water.
C) in water with a higher salinity.
D) in water with less pressure and density.
Q5) Describe how carbon dioxide acts as a buffer in seawater.
Q6) What is meant by the mixing time of the ocean?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulation
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Q1) Most of the damage caused by hurricane Katrina was due to:
A) the storm surge arriving at low tide.
B) the storm surge arriving at high tide.
C) the low winds.
D) the high temperatures.
Q2) Near the poles (both in the north and south) the jet stream flows west to east.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When viewed from above, tropical cyclones rotate ____ in the southern hemisphere.
A) clockwise
B) counterclockwise
C) in either direction depending on the storm
D) poleward
Q4) The most abundant gaseous components of the Earth's atmosphere are:
A) carbon dioxide and oxygen.
B) nitrogen and hydrogen.
C) nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
D) nitrogen and oxygen.
Q5) Describe atmospheric convection.
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Chapter 8: Ocean Circulation
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Q1) Most deep water masses form:
A) near the ocean floor in the arctic.
B) near the ocean floor in the Antarctic.
C) near the ocean surface in the arctic.
D) near the ocean surface in the Antarctic.
Q2) All of the following statements are true about an Ekman spiral EXCEPT:
A) the net flow of a wind-driven surface current in the northern hemisphere will flow about 90° angle to the wind.
B) with increasing depth, each layer will move at an angle to the overlying layer of water.
C) because of Ekman transport, at some depth, known as the friction depth, water will be moving in the opposite direction from the surface current.
D) Ekman spiral is not influenced by Coriolis.
Q3) Thermohaline circulation is responsible for large-scale movements of ocean water and depends on both the salinity and the temperature of water.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How do scientists study currents?
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Chapter 9: Waves
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Q1) As the wind velocity increases during a storm:
A) the wave height increases.
B) the wave velocity decreases.
C) the wind tends to flatten the ocean surface.
D) mass transport decreases in the open ocean.
Q2) What is the relationship between the wave crest, trough, height and wavelength?
Q3) The wavelength of a wave is a measure of the highest part of the wave above the average water level.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of these lists is arranged in order from smallest wavelength to longest wavelength?
A) seiches, tsunami, wind waves, tides
B) wind waves, seiches, tsunami, tides
C) wind waves, tsunami, seiches, tides
D) tides, seiches, tsunami, wind waves
Q5) Swell is the result of wave separation or dispersion.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is fetch and how does it influence wind wave development?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Tides
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Q1) Tractive forces:
A) are never responsible for the tides.
B) cause water to flow away from some ocean areas.
C) are the primary causes of tidal surges.
D) influence the atmosphere only.
Q2) How can tidal energy be used by humans?
Q3) What are the amphidromic points of the world ocean and how are they determined?
Q4) Because of the combination of gravitational and inertial forces, tides are unpredictable.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The time between high and low tide when the current changes direction is called:
A) ebb water.
B) flood tides.
C) slack water.
D) amphidromic points.
Q6) Explain the relative influence of the sun and the moon on tides.
Q7) A tidal or lunar day is every 24 hours.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Coasts
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Q1) Which of the following is FALSE for depositional coasts?
A) They have been changed by wave action since sea level stabilized.
B) They never support beaches.
C) They tend to be older than primary coasts.
D) They tend be straighter than primary coasts.
Q2) Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the Florida Keys?
A) They were formed during a time between glaciations.
B) They are an example of a coral reef coast.
C) They are an example of a coast formed by biological activity.
D) They are relatively low and extend below sea level.
Q3) The function of a breakwater is to:
A) divert sand away from a swimming area.
B) interrupt the progress of waves to the beach.
C) allow freshwater to flow readily into the ocean.
D) fill in a bay or an inlet.
Q4) Estuaries are categorized by:
A) location or latitude.
B) circulation patterns.
C) the ratio of fresh water to salt water.
D) sediment origins and age.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Life in the Ocean
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Q1) Nitrogen and phosphorous can be depleted rapidly in the deep sea by photosynthetic organisms.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following functions to maintain a balanced pH in the ocean?
A) oxygen
B) carbon dioxide
C) nitrogen
D) phosphate
Q3) All other factors being equal, a greater quantity of dissolved gas can be held in solution in ____ seawater.
A) cold
B) warm
C) high salinity
D) low salinity
Q4) The area in the ocean without light is called the:
A) aphotic zone.
B) euphotic zone.
C) photic zone.
D) epipelagic zone.
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Chapter 13: Pelagic Communities
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Q1) The whale shark is the largest species of fish and eats:
A) seals and other smaller marine mammals.
B) fish, especially tuna.
C) plankton near the surface of the water.
D) benthic crabs.
Q2) Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the global distribution of phytoplankton?
A) In the poles, phytoplankton populations decrease during the summer months.
B) There is a constant amount of phytoplankton year-round in the tropics.
C) Phytoplankton are most abundant when there are ample nutrients and light.
D) Phytoplankton populations vary with latitude and season.
Q3) Describe at least 3 ways that marine mammals are adapted to life in the marine environment.
Q4) Explain the properties of water that have led to the evolution of a "torpedo" shaped body in most open water fish.
Q5) Baleen whales are:
A) in the suborder Odontoceti.
B) in the suborder Mysticeti.
C) in the class Osteichthyes.
D) are in the order Teleostei.
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Chapter 14: Benthic Communities
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Q1) Which of these statements is FALSE concerning estuaries?
A) Larvae are often abundant there.
B) Estuaries are in danger of development and pollution.
C) Very few autotrophs live in estuaries, but many animals can be found there.
D) Estuaries are places where saltwater and fresh water meet.
Q2) Desiccation refers to the constant inundation of sub-tidal rocky reefs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Hydrothermal vents that support biological communities exist because of primary productivity in the form of chemosynthesis.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the nutrient-poor water of the tropics, specialized dinoflagellates aid coral's success by:
A) providing carbon dioxide and phosphates for coral.
B) providing a safe and stable environment for coral.
C) causing coral bleaching.
D) providing oxygen, carbohydrates, and absorbing waste products.
Q5) Is the distribution of benthic organisms random? Explain why or why not.
Q6) Compare and contrast the stability of habitats found in the deep-sea.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Uses and Abuses of the Ocean
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Q1) Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning bycatch?
A) Bycatch are targeted species.
B) Bycatch sometimes greatly exceeds the target catch.
C) Bottom trawling is one of the methods that results in a lot of bycatch.
D) Sea turtles are an example of bycatch.
Q2) Which of the following is true about a pollutant?
A) Pollutants are natural and so organisms develop adaptations to deal with them.
B) Pollutants can cause both indirect or direct damage by interrupting biochemical pathways of organisms.
C) Most pollutants are capable of causing massive mortality events for marine organisms.
D) The concentration of pollutants in the ocean has remained stable since the industrial revolution.
Q3) An example of a fishing technique that is particularly disruptive is:
A) hook and line.
B) drift nets.
C) mid-water trawl.
D) spear fishing.
Q4) Define "Bycatch" and explain how it is damaging to marine populations.
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