3) Describe the location of the western boundary and eastern boundary current within a gyre.
How is the direction of these currents related to heat distribution of the Earth’s oceans?
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering/Understanding
Section: 7.2 What Creates Ocean Surface Currents and How Are They Organized?
Essent’l Concept: 7.2 Explain the origin of ocean surface currents and how surface circulation
patterns are organized
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
4) Distinguish between upwelling and downwelling.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering/Understanding
Section: 7.3 What Causes Upwelling and Downwelling?
Essent’l Concept: 7.3 Describe the conditions that produce upwelling
OSLP: 3 The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
5) Briefly describe the effects of severe El Niño events.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering/Understanding
Section: 7.4 What Are the Main Surface Circulation Patterns in Each Ocean Basin?
Essent’l Concept: 7.4 Specify the main surface circulation patterns in each ocean basin
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
31
6) Discuss and compare the forces that are responsible for creating surface and thermohaline
circulation in the oceans. Include in your answer the ultimate source of energy that drives both
circulation systems.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Applying/Analyzing
Section: 7.1 How Are Ocean Currents Measured?
Essent’l Concept: 7.1 Demonstrate an understanding of how ocean currents are measured
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
32
7) Discuss the relationship between Ekman transport and geostrophic flow within a gyre. How
does this relationship contribute to western intensification?
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Applying/Analyzing
Section: 7.2 What Creates Ocean Surface Currents and How Are They Organized?
Essent’l Concept: 7.2 Explain the origin of ocean surface currents and how surface circulation
patterns are organized
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
8) Discuss the biological impact of upwelling and downwelling on marine ecosystems. Provide
examples of marine systems that are impacted by these processes in your answer.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Applying/Analyzing
Section: 7.3 What Causes Upwelling and Downwelling?
Essent’l Concept: 7.3 Describe the conditions that produce upwelling
OSLP: 3 The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
33
9) Describe the El Niño Southern Oscillation. What global environmental effects characterize an
El Niño event? What global environmental effects characterize a La Niña event?
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering/Understanding
Section: 7.4 What Are the Main Surface Circulation Patterns in Each Ocean Basin?
Essent’l Concept: 7.4 Specify the main surface circulation patterns in each ocean basin
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
10) Describe the circulation of deep ocean water.
Answer: For every liter of water that sinks from the surface into the deep ocean, a liter of deep
water must return to the surface somewhere else. However, it is difficult to identify specifically
where this vertical flow to the surface is occurring. It is generally believed that it occurs as a
gradual, uniform upwelling throughout the ocean basins and that it may be somewhat greater in
low-latitude regions, where surface temperatures are higher. Alternatively, scientific studies on
turbulent mixing rates between deep-ocean and surface waters in the Southern Ocean suggest
that deep water traveling across rugged bottom topography is a major factor in producing the
upwelling that returns deep water toward the surface.
Diff: 2
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering/Understanding
Section: 7.5 How Do Deep-Ocean Currents Form?
Essent’l Concept: 7.5 Explain the origin and characteristics of deep-ocean currents
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
7.4 Visual Questions
1)
The area in the enclosed rectangle in the false-color map of sea surface temperatures is an
example of which of the following features?
A) Cyclones
B) Eddies
C) El Nino conditions
D) Monsoons
E) Upwelling
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Applying/Analyzing
Section: 7.4 What Are the Main Surface Circulation Patterns in Each Ocean Basin?
Essent’l Concept: 7.4 Specify the main surface circulation patterns in each ocean basin
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
Global Sci Out: 3
35
2)
The false-color map of sea surface temperatures shown below is an example of which of the
following features?
A) Cyclones
B) Eddies
C) El Nino conditions
D) Monsoons
E) Upwelling
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Applying/Analyzing
Section: 7.4 What Are the Main Surface Circulation Patterns in Each Ocean Basin?
Essent’l Concept: 7.4 Specify the main surface circulation patterns in each ocean basin
OSLP: 1 The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
Global Sci Out: 3
36