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17) Determining mean sea level requires measurement of tidal levels hourly for at least a period
of several years.
18) Changing tides are not of geomorphic significance along coastlines.
19) The greatest tidal range between high and low tide is known as spring tides.
20) The spring tide occurs when the Moon and Sun are neither in conjunction nor in opposition.
21) Ocean waves are the product of the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.
22) Only a small amount of water is actually advancing in waves in open water.
23) Within a wave in the open ocean, energy is transferred from molecule to molecule in cyclic
undulations called waves of transition.
24) A wave in the open ocean consists of water molecules traveling in the direction of wave
propagation.
25) Waves of translation form breakers along a shoreline.
26) In general, wave action tends to straighten a coastline.
27) Waves usually perpendicular to the coast.
28) Tsunamis generated by earthquakes form giant waves while traveling in the open ocean.
29) The increase in wave height as a tsunami approaches a coast is the result of the shortening of
wavelengths.
30) Headlands are the location of diverging wave action, whereas bays receive converging wave
action.
31) A tombolo cuts off a portion of the ocean along a coast, forming a lagoon.
32) A beach acts to stabilize a shoreline by absorbing wave energy, even though materials are in
almost constant motion.
33) A lagoon is a shallow, freshwater body separated from the sea.
34) Interrupting the littoral drift (such as with groins or jetties) disrupts the natural beach
replenishment process.
35) Beach nourishment is the natural replenishment of sand along a beach by littoral drift.
36) Barrier islands are stable islands that are suitable for development.
37) Barrier islands can migrate.
38) Corals can photosynthesize and, therefore, provide their own nutrients.
39) All of the nutrition for corals comes from resident algae that lives with the coral.
40) Coral atolls form around sinking volcanic islands.
41) Worldwide, corals are healthy and appear not to be affected by pollution, changes in surface
ultraviolet radiation, or increases in ocean temperatures—at this time.
42) Coral bleaching results in the death of corals.
43) Coral bleaching occurs due to the expulsion of the symbotic algae from the coral.
44) Mangrove swamps tend to occur at higher latitudes.
45) The wind has relatively minor effects on weathering and erosion.
46) The major erosional processes in the desert are eolian.
47) A ventifact can be used to determine the dominant wind direction in an area.
48) Saltation accounts for the majority of material transported by the wind.
49) Dunes are the smallest features shaped by the movement of windblown sand.
50) The windward side tends to be the steepest side of dunes.
51) Dunes are typically classified based on shape.
52) Soils formed from loess tend to be infertile.
53) Loess deposits occur worldwide on every major continent other than Antarctica.
54) Degradation and loss of coastal ecosystems is a major challenge for the 21st Century.
55) Dune migration threatens human structures and may adversely affect human health.
1) Describe the three main zones of the ocean.
2) Describe the physical composition of seawater.
3) What are the factors responsible for tides? Desribe the conditions that lead to neap and spring
tides.
4) Describe the process of wave motion.
5) What accounts for the coastal straightening and the formation of a longshore current?
6) Discuss a how a tsunami is formed, how it behaves in the open ocean, and how it behaves
when it contacts the shore. Include its physical characteristics, travel speed and pattern, and
nature of impact with land.
7) Describe the key features of a typical erosional coast and a typical depositional coast.
8) How do barrier islands form? What are the hazards associated with them? Why is it generally
unwise for humans to inhabit them?
9) Describe the causes and consequences of coral bleaching.
10) Describe the formation and characteristics of salt marshes and mangrove swamps. What are
the factors necessary for the creation of each. What are the spatial extents of each kind?
47
11) Describe the eolian processes of deflation and abrasion.
12) Explain the formation of sand dunes.
13) Describe loess deposits, their formation, distribution, and their importance.
14) Using outside sources, describe some of the challenges facing coastal environments in the
21st Century.
