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Chapter 11

Understanding the Concepts

Understanding the Concepts

Read the following questions carefully. Select all answers that are correct, noting that many questions have more than one correct answer.

This activity contains 10 questions.

	Of the following characteristics about the coastal ocean, which is/are true?   They are more affected by river runoff and tidal currents than the open ocean. They are often not very utilized by humans. A very large percentage of the oceans' biomass is located in the coastal oceans. They are very productive waters. They are biologically diverse.

	Of the following statements about ocean ownership and the Law of the Sea, which is/are true?   Offshore areas have very little to offer in the way of resources, so ownership here is not an issue. 42 percent of the world's oceans are under the control of coastal nations. The Law of the Sea treaty, which establishes the rights of nations in ocean ownership, was ratified by the required 60th nation in 1993. If the continental shelf (defined geologically) exceeds the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), countries are allowed to extend their ownership to 350 nautical miles from shore. Many areas of the deep ocean can be purchased from the United Nations in a sealed bidding process. Coastal nations own the area 200 nautical miles from their shoreline, which is called the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

	Of the following statements about the physical characteristics of coastal oceans, which is/are true?   In midlatitude coastal oceans where evaporation is high, a halocline can develop. In high-latitude areas, the coastal ocean is isothermal (has a uniformly low temperature from surface to deeper waters). In low-latitude areas where there is no mixing, surface water temperatures can be very high. Most coastal waters have very high salinity due to freshwater runoff. Due to onshore wind and coastal runoff, geostrophic currents along western North America flow northward.

	Of the following types of estuaries, which one has a relatively shallow mouth, but is often narrow, long, and extremely deep? Select only one answer.   A volcanic estuary. A bar built estuary along a depositional coastline. A drowned river valley along a coastal plain. A tectonic estuary. A drowned glacial valley called a fjord.

	An estuary located at the mouth of a high-volume river where freshwater flows to the ocean over a layer of dense saline water is called a/an... Select only 1 answer.   inverse estuary. highly stratified estuary. slightly stratified estuary. salt wedge estuary. vertically mixed estuary.

	Of the following statements about coastal wetlands, which is/are true?   Coastal wetlands are good at cleansing polluted water of agricultural runoff, toxins, and other pollutants. Mangrove swamps are a type of coastal wetland that can protect shorelines from erosion. Coastal wetlands often serve as important nursery areas for many species of fish. Salt marshes are a type of coastal wetland found only in the tropics. Globally, 50% of all coastal wetlands have disappeared in the past 100 years.

	Of the following statements about the Mediterranean Sea, which is/are true?   Thick salt deposits on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea suggest that it completely dried up about 6 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the few inland seas in the world that is underlain by oceanic crust. Evaporation in the arid eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea causes an inward surface flow at the Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean Sea is actually a number of smaller seas connected by narrow necks of water into one larger sea. The warm, salty, and dense Mediterranean Intermediate Water flows out as a subsurface flow over the Gibraltar Sill and into the Atlantic Ocean.

	Of the following statements, which is/are included in the definition of marine pollution?   Marine pollution can be a natural occurrence. Marine pollution is harmful to human health only. Marine pollution is human-made. Marine pollution is esthetically displeasing (an eyesore). Marine pollution can be a substance or a form of energy. Marine pollution results or is likely to result in harmful effects to marine life.

	Based on the definition of marine pollution, which of the following is/are considered to be a form of marine pollution?   a jet-skier racing near a school of dolphins a natural oil seep on the ocean floor that is discharging oil directly into the ocean raw sewage released onto the floor of the deep ocean warmer than normal water created by outflow from a coastal power plant sulfuric acid seeping into marine waters from a volcanic vent area sound from cargo ships traversing the ocean

	Of the following techniques, which is the most commonly used for determining the concentration of pollutants that negatively affect the living resources of the ocean? Select only one answer.   determination of long-term mortality rates based on findings from short-term exposure to pollutants projections based on the research proposals of marine chemists designing experiments that observe natural cycles in the marine environment observing chemical experiments of how individual substances combine with other substances to form toxins in the ocean when greater than 50% of a sample population dies following exposure to a known pollutant

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