best explains all available observations
Based on the scientific method, science supports the explanation of the natural world that....
the Western European world realized the vastness of Earth's water-covered surface
The Age of Discovery was the time period in ocean exploration history when...
Who began the voyage of the Victoria, the first vessel known to circumnavigate the Earth
radiometric methods of determining the age of rocks
The most accurate scientific estimation of Earth's age is based on
The cosmological model for the formation of the Sun and the rest of our solar system is called the
T/F; The early oceans and atmospheres are thought to have come from inside Earth and were formed by a process called 'outgassing'
Density stratification has caused our Earth to be homogenous througout
What is a false statement concerning density stratification?
The vertical movement of crust to accommodate additional weight or removal of weight is called
adaptations to different environmental conditions
The naturalist, Charles Darwin, who is credited with developing the theory of evolution by natural selection, suggested that the changes organisms display through time were the result of
Organic molecules could be created from the materials contained in Earth's early ocean and atmosphere
What did Stanley Miller's 1952 experiment demonstrate?
fossil evidence, extinctions, and boundaries of sedimentary rock units
The subdivisions of the geologic time scale were based on
Wegener's proposed mechanism for movement was thought to violate the law of physics
What was the main reason scientists objected to Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift?
magnetic sea floor 'stripes' are symmetric with respect to the mid-ocean ridge
As a tool, paleomagnetism is a piece of modern evidence that has helped support plate tectonics by showing that
The ocean floor keeps regenerating itself
How is it that the ocean floor is so much younger than the ocean itself?
The faster the rate of spreading at the mid-ocean ridge or rise, the _____ the underwater volcanic mountain range
Neither subducts, instead; a mountain range forms
What happens when two continental plates converge?
The best map to use to locate the world's plate boundaries is a map that shows the worldwide location of
continental collision zone
Along which of the following would you NOT expect to find active volcanic activity
What best describes the tectonic setting of the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest?
Overall, the Atlantic ocean basin is ______, and the Pacific ocean basin is ______.
sending sound through the water and determining the time required for it to return to the ship
Ocean depths are routinely determined by
The ocean water rises up to form a mound based on the mass of the seamount
What happens to the ocean water over a seamount on the ocean floor when measured from a satellite
continental shelf, slope, and then rise
If you could walk out away from the shore across the sea floor on a passive continental margin, what is the order of provinces you would cross?
A small, rounded, submerged volcanic hill that rises less than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) above the sea floor is called ________________
a passive; a convergent-active
The continental margin of the U.S. Atlantic coast is ____________ continental margin, and the continental margin off the west coast of South America is _____________ continental margin.
deposition of sediment by turbidity currents as deep-sea fans
What process is primarily responsible for the formation of the continental rise along the East Coast of the United States?
a series of islands, shallow banks, and deep basins
Which of the following best describes a continental borderland?
The steep transition zone between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep-ocean basin is called the _______________
T/F; Pillow lavas (pillow basalts) indicate that molten lava came in contact with water and cooled very quickly.
T/F; The Andes Mountains, which are a tall mountain range along the west coast of South America, are associated with an active continental margin.
T/F; Turbidity currents are highly erosive and are thought to be responsible for the creation of deep-sea trenches
They result from successive lava flows
Which of the following statements concerning graded bedding deposits is FALSE?
They are found only off of mountainous coasts
Which of the following statements about submarine canyons is FALSE?
a chimney that emits a column of hot, cloudy water formed from the precipitation of metal-rich minerals
Of the following, which is the best description of a sea floor hydrothermal vent?
It accommodates spreading of a linear ridge system on a spherical Earth
Why does the mid-ocean ridge have a zigzag appearance?
They are transform plate boundaries
Which of the following statements about fracture zones is FALSE?
by turbidity currents
How is most sediment transported from the continental shelf out to the continental rise
Calcareous ooze is associated with ________ surface water conditions, and siliceous ooze is associated with ________ surface water conditions.
Biogenous oozes are created by underwater eruptions, which cover the sea floor with fine ash particles.
What statement about biogenous oozes is FALSE
to have it accumulate faster than it dissolves
The only way for siliceous ooze to be preserved in the ocean is
T/F; Because they tend to move downslope, most lithogenous sediments are deposited in abyssal plains.
T/F; The calcite compensation depth (CCD) represents the depth where wave action ceases to form calcareous oolites.
concentration of the particles in fecal pellets
Populations of microscopic marine organisms in ocean surface waters closely match their abundance in sediments on the ocean floor, even though it takes 10 to 50 years for an individual particle to sink to deep-ocean depths. What accounts for this pattern?
along the mid-ocean ridge beneath warm surface waters
Where are most modern-day calcareous oozes found in the ocean?
The DSDP drilled to the center of Earth and confirmed that the outer core is composed of liquid iron-nickel material.
Which of the following statements about the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) is FALSE?
Christopher Columbus made several trips across the Atlantic and discovered the 'new world'.
Ferdinand Magellan's crew completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.
What happened during the Age of Discovery in Europe?
Waves are seen to approach the beach at an angle.
What would be considered a scientific observation?
to explain the causes and effects of observable natural phenomena
What best describes the principle goals of science
Molten material will rise if it is less dense than the surrounding material.
Molten material will sink if it is more dense than the surrounding material.
Earth is layered based on density, with the highest density material located at the deepest depths beneath Earth's surfaces.
What is true in regards to the formation of a density-stratified Earth
The lithosphere of Earth is made up of both mantle and crust.
Earth's internal layers can be described by their composition or by their physical appearance.
What is true in regards to the internal structure of the Earth
The asthenosphere is a plastic layer that extends from the base of the lithosphere to a depth of about 700 kilometers.
The asthenosphere is very hot and contains areas of partially molten rock
What is true in regards to the asthenosphere
Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust
Continental crust is made of rock that is relatively light in color
What is true in regards to the Earth's crust
Outgassing is a direct result of density stratification
Density stratification has caused Earth's internal structure to be layered
Density stratification has caused the highest density material to be found at Earth's core
The origin of Earth's oceans and atmospheres are a result of density stratification
What is true in regards to density stratification
lithosphere that was thickened by mountain building
lithosphere that was heated by hot asthenosphere
lithosphere that was less dense
Based on the concept of isostatic adjustment, which of the following would result in the uplift of Earth''s surface?
The 'prebiotic soup' of the primitive oceans provided a likely environment for live to develop.
Early organisms likely evolved into more complex organisms.
Primitive life likely existed without the need for oxygen.
As life developed on Earth, it began to significantly change Earth's environment.
Which of the following ideas about the development of life on Earth make scientific sense?
The way the shapes of the continents fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
The distribution of fossil pieces.
The pattern of similar mountain belts on different continents.
Evidence of glaciers in areas that are now tropical.
What lines of evidence did Alfred Wegener use to support the concept of continental drifting?
Convection in the liquid iron-nickel outer core generates a magnetic field
What is the main reason that Earth has a magnetic field?
The ocean floor is spreading apart, and new seafloor is forming.
The igneous rock of the ocean floor preserves Earth's existing magnetic field as the rock cools.
The polarity of Earth's magnetic field experiences reversals.
Why does the sea floor have a striped pattern of magnetic anomalies that is symmetric with respect to the mid-ocean ridge?
The magnetic field is oriented vertical relative to Earth's surface at the south magnetic pole.
The magnetic field is oriented horizontal (parallel) relative to Earth's surface at the magnetic equator.
Earth's magnetic field has varying dips around the world that range from vertical to horizontal, depending on latitude.
The locations of Earth's magnetic poles have moved through time and have even reversed in polarity.
The magnetic field is oriented vertical relative to Earth's surface at the north magnetic pole.
What is true in regards to Earth's magnetic field
They are oriented parallel to the mid ocean ridges
What is true in regards to sea floor magnetic anomalies
Ocean crust is destroyed at deep sea trenches
Ocean crust is created at mid-ocean ridges
What is true in regards to ocean crust?
The oldest ocean crust is about 200 million years old and is located near an ocean trench.
What is true in regards to the age of the ocean crust?
direct visitation of the sea floor
using satellite to measure the sea surface
sending sound through water (sonar)
recording many depths using a long cable
What techniques can be used to map the sea floor?
sea surface elevation, which varies depending on the shape of the underlying sea floor.
Measurement of ocean floor bathymetry from satellite relies on what?
turbidity currents, which are initiated here and flow down submarine canyons
a wide continental shelf
What is associated with a passive continental margin?
deposition by waves
major climate changes, such as ice ages
erosion by waves
large fluctuations in sea level
What processes are involved in the formation of continental shelves?
Turbidity currents are highly erosive and carve submarine canyons
The material carried by turbidity currents is what builds deep-sea fans
Turbidity currents move sediments down the continental shelf and the continental slope to be deposited on the continental rise
Turbidity currents are episodic events (the only occur every so often, like a flash flood)
What is true in regards to turbidity currents?
Sediments deposited by the process of suspension settling produce the main sediment found on _______
a central rift valley
basalt volcanism and pillow lavas
Which features are associated with the mid-ocean ridge?
the Pacific Ring of Fire
subduction zones and associated faults
very deep ocean water depths
volcanic arcs and active continental margins
narrow or no continental shelves
The majority of ocean trenches are associated with
A muddy lagoon
A sandy beach
At the base of the continental slope
In which environments would you find lithogenous sediment
In deep sea trenches not far offshore
on the continental shelf
Where would you expect to find LARGE amounts of lithogenous sediments
continental shelves, rises, slopes
deep ocean trenches
Where would lithogenous sediments of any size be found
The ooze accumulates above the CCD and then is covered before being transported to deeper depths by sea floor spreading.
Which conditions allow for calcareous ooze to be found beneath the CCD?
Which of the following are microscopic, single-celled floating algae that accumulate to form biogenous sediment?
Which of the following organisms are responsible for the creation of siliceous ooze?
coatings of metal sulfides near black smokers
What sediments are considered hydrogenous
Siliceous ooze on the sea floor indicates cool surface water above
Calcareous ooze on the sea floor indicates warm surface water above
Of the following statements about surface water temperature above biogenous sea floor deposits, which is/are true?
the ancient geographical locations of ocean basins
previous ocean circulation patterns
the climate on Earth millions of years ago
past catastrophes, such as major extinction events
movement of the ocean floor
Marine sediments provide valuable clues about which of the following Earth history events?