Ice age sea level change: Recall that sea level is where the top surface of the ocean meets the land.  It is affected by the height of the ocean and by the height of the land.  Either one can move up or down. a)  During glacial periods:  Give 2 reasons why global sea level (eustatic sea level) is lower.     1.     2. b)  During glacial periods:  What causes sea level to change by different amounts (tens to hundreds of meters) in some regions compared with others?  c)  During the present-day interglacial period:  Since the town of Juneau, Alaska was established in 1880, sea level there has been falling even as global sea level has been rising.  The falling sea level has exposed more land.  Based on your chapter reading, what glacial phenomenon would explain this?

Global warming and sea level: a) How has global warming caused global sea level to rise over the past century?  Explain 2 different mechanisms.  b) Where are the 2 regions of ice that could cause the largest global sea level rise if they melt?

Global climate models: Refer to Figure 12.23 in the chapter (or click to download it).  This figure shows “Components of global climate models and improvements to each over time.” a)  Why did global climate models start with the atmosphere?  (There are several good answers to this.) b)  Why is ocean carbon important to these models? c)  Constructing a model to simulate a highly complex system like Earth’s climate is a long, stepwise process.  This figure shows that scientists have been working on it for 50 years.  Consider a point in the process before the model is “complete” and “perfect”.  How would you decide whether the model is good enough to be useful?

Barrier islands: a) What effects do waves have on the size and location of barrier islands? b) What is the effect of barrier islands on waves, and what consequence does this have for the mainland coast?

How is ocean acidification connected to global warming and climate change?  Be sure to answer in your own words.

The two modern methods of mapping the seafloor are echo sounding and satellite altimetry, as described in the chapter and the Townsend 1-page reading assignment.  Explain how each method works for mapping the seafloor (approximately 3 sentences each).  Include      (1) what is measured     (2) how these measurements are converted to water depth.

To a remarkable extent, advancement of ocean science depends on advancement of technology.  Choose two (2) technologies that have played an important part in oceanography.  Several are described in the chapter, or you may choose others that you know about.  Do not use ROVs, AUVs, HOVs, echo sounding, or satellite altimetry.  Those technologies were discussed in the previous two questions. For each of your 2 technologies, describe: how the technology works what major advances it led to  

Describe 3 significant problems that scientists would encounter in studying ocean biology if they used only sampling with nets.  Your answers should describe scientific problems, not logistical problems. A scientific problem is one that affects the information or sample characteristics that you collect with the nets.  These are discussed in the chapter.  A logistical problem is one that makes the use of nets physically difficult; for example, very heavy nets would be difficult to handle.  Do not include such answers.

Physical pump (solubility pump): a) How does the physical pump move carbon from the surface ocean to the deep ocean? b) Where (geographically) is the physical pump most effective in moving CO2 from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, and why?

Plankton bloom: Photosynthetic plankton and bacteria are the base of the ocean food web, the primary producers.  A phytoplankton bloom is a sudden, explosive increase in the size of its population.  Phytoplankton blooms are driven by a sudden change that makes conditions favorable for growth.  Satellite image of a coccolith bloom in the Bering Sea, Sept 4, 2014 (NASA Earth Observatory).  Blue-green swirls in the open ocean = phytoplankton.  Brown-green = Nunivak Island and Alaska mainland.  Light tan cloudiness in the water = sediment.  White = clouds. a)  What sudden changes might cause the phytoplankton bloom in the Bering Sea image?  Give at least two (2) possibilities.  Do not just name conditions that promote phytoplankton blooms.  Instead, explain what changes in the environment lead to those favorable conditions. Extra credit for additional good answers. b)  With this phytoplankton bloom underway, what would happen to the zooplankton population in the Bering Sea?  Why?