Q&A Hero

Q: The Earth's tilt changes over time. In the periods when the tilt decreases, what changes to the seasons would you expect? A) Summers will get colder and winters warmer, on both hemispheres. B) Summers will get warmer and winters colder, on both hemispheres. C) Summers will get colder and winters warmer in the northern hemisphere; and the reverse will occur in the southern hemisphere. D) Summers will get colder and winters warmer in the southern hemisphere; and the reverse will occur in the northern hemisphere. E) Seasons will be unaffected.

Q: One of the possible effects of climate change could be the expansion of the Hadley cell circulation. If the Hadley cells expand by several degrees of latitude, this would likely mean the zone of ________. A) deserts and semi-deserts around 30N may move north B) deserts and semi-deserts around 15N may move north C) high precipitation around 30N may move north D) deserts and semi-deserts around 15S may move north E) deserts and semi-deserts around 15S may move south

Q: Order the altitudes, expressed in kilometres, in order of decreasing annual temperature (list the warmest first and the coldest last). A) 1, 50, 15 B) 1, 15, 50 C) 50, 15, 1 D) 1, at 15 the same as at 50 E) at 1 the same as at 50, 15

Q: The reason that temperature increases with altitude through most of the stratosphere is because ________. A) oxygen and ozone absorb UV radiation B) sunlight is more intense in the stratosphere C) jet stream winds produce frictional heat D) water vapour levels are high and store heat E) greenhouse gases warm the air

Q: Which of the following solutions to vehicular air pollution has London instituted, resulting in the complaints of some drivers, who feel the solution is draconian, and the attention of many other large cities? A) allowing only cars with registration plates ending on even numbers to drive on even days of the month B) impounding cars and fining drivers who are heavy polluters C) raising by five times bridge and expressway tolls D) charging fuel-inefficient or polluting vehicles a fee to drive in the city E) publishing photos of worst polluters in the London Times

Q: You have been hired by a rapidly growing small city to improve its air quality, which has deteriorated in the past 10 years. Your first suggestion is to ________. A) try to negotiate with the large city downwind whose factories produce large amounts of pollution B) decrease the amount of CFCs used locally C) move or close the cattle feedlots near the river D) improve transportation options, including carpool lanes, buses, and light rail E) remove the hydroelectric dam on the river

Q: The most obvious cause of industrial smog is ________. A) burning trash B) forest fires C) indoor air pollution D) burning fossil fuels E) generating nuclear power

Q: Air near Earth's surface tends to be ________. A) warmer and wetter; then it rises, expanding and cooling B) warmer and drier; then it rises, condensing and gathering moisture C) cooler and wetter; then it rises, is warmed by the Sun, and sinks again D) cooler and drier; it rises when it is displaced by sinking warm air E) warmer; it rises as it is displaced by Coriolis forces

Q: The long-term health effects of indoor air pollution ________. A) is considered to be a minor hazard compared to outdoor air pollution B) are not well understood; studies are under way C) has only a few causes, which can easily be remedied D) is primarily caused by CFCs E) is one of the causes of the increase in skin cancer in Canada

Q: The Coriolis effect contributes to ________. A) global wind patterns B) global warming C) increased acidic deposition D) a reduction in eutrophication E) an increase in eutrophication

Q: The Coriolis effect ________. A) keeps Earth from spinning too fast B) is caused by the Moon C) results in ice and darkness at the poles in winter D) keeps the wind circulating at a constant speed around the planet E) is caused by Earth's rotational forces

Q: Which of the following is a consequence of acidic deposition? A) It increases the likelihood of smog associated with thermal inversion. B) It results in offshore eutrophication, damaging coral reefs. C) It damages skin cells or causes cancers. D) It impoverishes soils, leaching out important minerals. E) It is increasing the rate of global warming.

Q: Acidic deposition ________. A) contributes to ozone depletion B) is a major component of indoor air pollution C) causes eutrophication in streams and rivers D) often crosses national boundaries, creating international disputes E) is primarily a local problem near point sources

Q: Particulate matter dispersed as aerosols ________. A) includes nitrogen oxides B) may cause damage to respiratory tissues when inhaled C) binds with hemoglobin, preventing hemoglobin's binding with oxygen D) interacts only with surface tissues of humans, causing irritation E) cause melanoma and other skin cancers

Q: Bacteria and fungal spores are ________. A) contributors to indoor pollutants B) VOCs and POPs C) sources of radon in the home D) problems in degrading the ozone layer E) the cause of high pesticide use in the home

Q: Which of the following can be a problem associated with mussel farms? A) trawling B) overfishing C) high bycatch D) habitat destruction E) the reduction of food available to wild plankton eaters

Q: Which of the following seafood is the worst choice for a healthy diet? A) mussels B) oysters C) wild salmon D) albacore tuna E) tilapia

Q: Why are marine reserves ecologically better than fish farms? A) They seed the seas. B) Farmed fish are quickly depleted. C) They are met with less opposition by fishers because they provide tremendous economic benefits. D) They require no government regulation. E) Farmed fish are genetically inferior.

Q: Which of the following isNOTtrue about aquaculture? A) It can be resource intensive. B) It can result in habitat destruction. C) It can release mutants that harm native species. D) It has a large fossil fuel footprint compared to fishing wild stocks. E) It can be sustainable.

Q: Farm"‘raised shrimp are NOT a good environmental seafood choice because ________. A) shrimp farms are often associated with destruction of mangrove forests B) of the bioaccumulation of toxins C) of high bycatch D) trawling destroys coral reefs E) they require high quantities of wild fish feed

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.Diets that incorporate seafood can be healthy for us and kind to the environment. However, all seafood is not comparable, so choice is important. Mollusks such as oysters, mussels, and scallops are good choices if they are grown suspended in water, because dredging damages seafloors. On fish farms, this involves growing organisms on nets, trays, or racks. Because mollusks are filter feeders, farmed mollusks can actually improve water quality by removing organic and inorganic matter suspended in water. Although shrimp are also filter feeders, shrimp farms, especially in Southeast Asia, are often built in coastal areas where mangroves are destroyed to make room for farms. As long as excessive quantities of grain or wild fish are not used for feed, aquaculture can be a very good alternative to open ocean fishing because it can reduce bycatch, the pressure on wild stocks, and the fossil fuel use required at sea. Exceptions are farms that raise transgenic salmon, which often spread disease, or where the farmed fish become oversized and outcompete the native fish. These salmon consume massive quantities of fish feed, so better fish choices are farm-raised tilapia, striped bass, and sturgeon. In the wild, Pacific halibut, salmon, sablefish, and sardines are good choices because they are fished selectively. Wild grouper, shark, swordfish, tuna, and orange roughy must be consumed cautiously because the water they inhabit usually contains high levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxins, or pesticides, which can biomagnify in food webs and bioaccumulate in fish tissues. Wild Chilean sea bass, Atlantic cod, and Atlantic halibut should be avoided because their populations have been overfished. Orange roughy have been overfished, reproduce slowly, and are fished with bottom"‘trawlers that frequently damage bottom habitat.The main environmental problem caused by harvesting mollusks is ________.A) removal of keystone speciesB) introduction of invasive speciesC) habitat destructionD) high bycatchE) bioaccumulation

Q: What is El Nio and why during El Nio did the Peruvian fisheries suffer great losses?

Q: When on the western coast of Vancouver Island the wind blows from the north, Vancouver Island experiences cool and rainy summers. What oceanic process is responsible for this? Explain how this process works. Why is this process important biologically and economically?

Q: Why should we care about the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)? What are the meteorological conditions required for NADW to form?

Q: Why are large predatory fish stocks on the verge of collapse, and why have some already collapsed? Why do we have to resort to "fishing down the food chain"?

Q: Summarize some of the positive effects, and challenges, of establishing marine reserves.

Q: What concept has traditional fisheries management been based on? What approach do scientists think would improve current management techniques?

Q: Discuss how fishing practices can damage ecosystems. Include problems associated with driftnets, longline fishing, and bottom-trawling.

Q: Discuss the impacts of human"‘made pollution on ocean ecosystems.

Q: What are the two main types of marine ecosystems? What affects organisms living in both of them? How does the ocean's depth further modify conditions within both divisions?

Q: Discuss the importance of the goods and services that ocean ecosystems provide for humans.

Q: Humans have had relatively little effect on the overall biodiversity of ocean ecosystems.

Q: The deepest zones of the ocean are void of life.

Q: Regardless of latitude, the deep waters have similar temperature.

Q: In oceans, water density increases with depth.

Q: The majority of the oil polluting our oceans is from large spills.

Q: Into the mid-twentieth century, it was common for Canadian coastal cities to dump untreated waste water into the ocean.

Q: Approximately 80% of the planet's surface is covered by ocean.

Q: Barnacles belong to ________.A) nektonB) phytoplanktonC) benthosD) zooplanktonE) intertidal community

Q: Sea turtles belong to ________. A) nekton B) phytoplankton C) benthos D) zooplankton E) intertidal community

Q: Some of the CO2 emitted by humans into the atmosphere is taken up by the surface waters and is then transferred into the deep ocean by water mixing. The greater the temperature difference, the more difficult it is to mix the surface waters with the deep waters. Therefore, the transfer of anthropogenic CO2 into the deep ocean is most likely to take place in the ocean near the coast of ________. A) Greenland B) Equatorial Guinea C) Florida D) Brazil E) Nova Scotia

Q: Mid-ocean ridge is NOT ________. A) a location of many hydrothermal vents B) a divergent boundary C) more shallow than most of the ocean bottom D) part of the continental shelf E) a place where the ocean plates are created

Q: Bycatch refers to ________. A) fishing using two types of fishing gear B) fishing for two species of fish concurrently C) the capture of animals not meant to be caught D) fishing using mobile fishing gear E) the practice of returning female and young fish back to the ocean

Q: According to an FAO report on South and Central America shrimp fisheries, for each 1 kg of shrimp ________ of other animals are caught, and ________ of them were discarded as trash. A) 10-30 kg; 70% B) 10-30 kg, 30% C) 1-3 kg, 60% D) 1-3 kg, 30% E) 0.1-0.3 kg, 60%

Q: Red tides are caused by ________. A) increased ocean oxygen content B) increased ocean carbon dioxide content C) nutrient upwelling D) the position of the Moon E) nutrient pollution leading to marine algal blooms

Q: Approximately ________ of Earth's human population lives within about 150 km of the ocean. A) 1/10 B) 1/3 C) 2/3 D) 1/2 E) 3/4

Q: Marine reserves ________. A) are Coast Guard reservists who may be called upon to police coastal waters B) are Coast Guard reservists who may be called upon to police open ocean waters C) are "no"‘take" areas in the oceans D) provide no benefits to fishers, so are unanimously opposed by them E) are opposed by most environmentalists

Q: Most marine protected areas ________. A) are in the open oceans B) have been established without the consent of the United States, which didn't sign the MARPOL convention C) prohibit the installation of oil pipelines and fibre"‘optic cable lines within them D) are along the coastlines of developed nations E) ban fishing and extractive activities

Q: Most present"‘day fisheries managers ________. A) wish to set aside areas of ocean where systems can function without human interference B) favour individual transferable quotas, because privatization of marine resources will introduce incentives to preserve fish stocks C) favour short"‘term solutions to marine ecosystem problems D) favour protection of commercially valuable species and not others E) favour taxes on commercial fishing boats

Q: In 1992, the Canadian government ________. A) ordered a complete ban on cod fishing B) gave subsidies to fishers who were losing money because of low fish harvests C) banned the use of trawling D) enacted laws to protect many species of whales E) started harvesting manganese nodules from the ocean floor

Q: It is estimated that ________% of the world's marine fish populations are fully exploited. A) 10 B) 20 C) 30 D) 40 E) 50

Q: Salt marshes ________. A) contain too much salt to be inhabited by many organisms B) occur mostly in tropical areas C) occur mostly in arctic areas D) occur mostly in temperate areas E) presently have remained undisturbed by human activities

Q: Kelp ________. A) are plants that grow on the deep ocean floor B) increase biodiversity of coastal waters C) are mostly found in tropical waters D) are poisonous if ingested by fish or humans E) are a species of endangered fish

Q: Hydrothermal vents ________. A) create ocean currents B) provide nutrients to symbiotic bacteria that support ecosystems at the ocean floor C) occur in tropical areas at the ocean surface D) make the photic zone of ocean pelagic areas the most productive E) are passageways for fish within coral reefs

Q: Bathymetry is best defined as the study of ________. A) earthquakes in ocean trenches B) human populations in coastal areas C) fish populations D) ocean depths E) coral reefs

Q: The temperature differences between day and night are ________ over the ocean than over the land, because ________. A) smaller; it takes a lot of energy to break hydrogen bonds in water B) larger; it takes a lot of energy to break hydrogen bonds in soil C) smaller; water is transparent D) larger; water is transparent E) smaller or larger; it depends on local conditions

Q: Which of the following areas has the most promise for a good fishery? A) areas with no currents to disperse the fish B) areas with an upward flow of warm water up toward the ocean surface C) areas with an upward flow of cold water up toward the ocean surface D) areas where winds blow at right angles toward the coastline E) areas where oxygen is brought up toward the ocean surface

Q: A 2003 study led by researchers from Dalhousie University reported that ________% of large-bodied fish and sharks were lost in the first decade of industrialized fishing. A) 10 B) 20 C) 40 D) 50 E) 90

Q: Hypoxia and eutrophication in Chesapeake Bay may in part be attributed to ________. A) loss of kelp to take up nutrients B) loss of otters to maintain kelp by controlling sea urchins populations C) harvesting of oysters that previously would have filtered nutrients D) harvesting of sea turtles that maintain sea urchin populations E) overfishing salmon that maintain the entire system

Q: Currently, the greatest ecological crisis facing marine systems is ________. A) radiation B) oil spills C) plastic dumping D) overharvesting E) abandoned fishing nets

Q: Which of the following is TRUE of eutrophication in marine systems? A) It can lead to algal blooms that kill fish. B) It can aid corals by killing parasites. C) It is rare and occurs only in bad weather. D) It provides needed limiting nutrients. E) It can aid corals by providing their symbiotic algae with nutrients.

Q: Zooxanthellae are ________. A) an endangered species of fish in the Pacific Ocean B) symbiotic bacteria that decompose tissues of dead animals in oceans C) symbiotic bacteria that fix nitrogen in oceans D) symbiotic algae that provide coral reefs with energy via their photosynthetic activity E) an invasive species of kelp in the Indian Ocean

Q: Sea otters act as keystone species in the ________. A) salt marshes B) mangrove forests C) kelp forests D) deep-ocean systems E) coral reefs

Q: What does the term groundfish refer to? A) fish that form the base ("ground") of the oceanic food web B) various species that live in benthic habitats, such as haddock C) various species that live in littoral habitats, such as tuna and whitefish D) fish meal obtained by grounding bycatch fish of little commercial value, which is used as a high-protein additive in livestock feed E) fish used for bait

Q: Kelp's ecological function is most similar to those of ________. A) corals B) mangroves C) littoral organisms D) sea otters E) sea urchins

Q: The area that underlies the shallow water bordering continents is called the ________. A) pycnocline B) topographic shelf C) continental shelf D) bathymetric zone E) surface zone

Q: Which of the following isNOT a characteristic of currents? A) Most are faster than the speed of a walking person. B) They are driven by density differences. C) They are driven by temperature. D) They are driven by gravity. E) They are driven by wind.

Q: Water in the surface zone of the ocean is, for the most part, ________. A) low in oxygen B) the coldest C) the densest D) the saltiest E) well mixed

Q: Ocean water is saltiest ________. A) where there is a large amount of glacial melting B) where rains are the heaviest C) where there is high evaporation and low precipitation D) in estuaries E) at the equator

Q: About 80% of the ocean's water exists in the ________. A) surface zone B) pycnocline C) deep zone D) thermocline E) euphotic zone

Q: A concept called ________ has been used to manage fish populations by allowing maximal harvests of particular populations while keeping fish available for the future.

Q: ________ are the periodic rising and falling of the ocean's height at a given location because of the gravitational pull of the Moon.

Q: The study of the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceans is called ________.

Q: Ocean temperatures in midlatitude vary only 10oC from summer to winter. Why is this ocean temperature so stable?

Q: Explain how warmer coastal waters resulting from global climate change may affect coral reefs.

Q: What chemical compounds and physical processes make the ocean salty?

Q: How have declines in fisheries been masked in recent years?

Q: The Coriolis effect in the northern hemisphere deflects moving objects to the right. If you are on the eastern coast of Newfoundland, from which direction should the wind blow to create coastal upwelling and why?

Q: What conditions produce the diversity found in the rocky intertidal zone?

Q: What is meant by the term world ocean?