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?

This exam will cover chapters 11-13. You will have 2 hours to complete the exam.You may use the following on the exam:BLANK scratch paper, 3X5 notecard (no examples), calculator (no cell phones), and a periodic tableConstants will be given unless otherwise noted.For the fill in the blank ALWAYS INCLUDE UNITS when needed.

Albedo:  The global average albedo of the ocean is about 8%.  (This is stated in Chapter 04 right before Table 4.2.) a) How does the average albedo of the oceans compare with that of sea ice? b) Does the ocean have a higher or lower albedo than land surfaces?  Use the global average albedo for the ocean. c) Global warming will affect ice surfaces on both ocean and land.  How will this change Earth’s surface albedo?  d) How will that change in Earth’s albedo (in part c) affect climate?  Be sure to explain your answer.

Lithogenous sediment:  a) What kind of material is this?  Where does it come from? b) What brings this sediment from land to the ocean around Alaska?  Give at least two answers, WITH EXPLANATION (approximately two sentences each).  Extra credit for a good third answer to part (b).

a) Why are biogenous sediments described as the “hard parts” of marine organisms?  Where did the soft parts go? b) There are two main types of biogenous “hard parts” sediment in the ocean.  What materials are these two types made of (chemical composition)?

Sediment grain size: a) What is the relationship between (1) the size of sediment grains and (2) the energy of the water that carries those sediment grains?    Notes:1. This question is not about well-sorted versus poorly sorted sediments.  It’s about grain size.2. You should assume that the water we are talking about does not change the grain size of the sediments; it simply carries them. b) Suggest what oceanographers can learn from mapping the grain sizes of sediment that has settled onto the seafloor.

Waves:  a) What is meant by the formal oceanographic terms “deep water wave” and “shallow water wave”?  Focus on the whole wave, not on particle motion within the wave.  b) What is the main process that generates “deep water waves”? c) What are 2 ways that “shallow water waves” can form?  There are several types of shallow-water waves, so be sure to explain which type is formed by which process.  One-word answers without brief explanation might not receive credit if I am not convinced that you understand your answers. EXTRA CREDIT for a 3rd way shallow-water waves can form (with brief explanation).

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