Waves, Currents, & Subsurface Topography

Surface ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream

• Move warm water from lower latitudes to higher latitudes
• Transport cold water from one pole to another
• Are formed in parts of the ocean where water density is greatest
• Move in straight paths across the ocean

Which statement describes the negative effects of El Nino

• El Nino appears every two to twelve years
• Rain, flash floods, and mudslides occur in places where there is usually little rain, while areas that are usually wet suffer from drought
• Sometimes El Nino is followed by La Nina, during which ocean temperatures become cooler
• Upwelling along the coast of South America occurs after an El Nino

Why do waves increase in height as they approach the shore?

• The waves are forced into narrow inlets of land
• The wave particles speed up as they approach the land.
• The water's density decreases because it is warmer near the shore
• The waves begin to interact with the ocean floor 

An earthquake causes a tsunami because the force from the quake?

• Pushes a large body of water up from the ocean floor
• Pulls water down toward the source of the quake
• Blows surface water away from the shore
• Meets the force of currents flowing in a different direction

The two main parts of a wave are

• swell and white caps
• wavelengths and wave heights
• crests and troughs
• rises and dips

As energy moves through water, the particles move

• in waves towards the shore
• in small vertical circles
• in the direction of the waves
• against the currents

What causes breakers to crash into the ocean floor?

• Deep water waves
• Gravity
• short wavelengths
• shore currents

What transports most of the sediment in beach environments?

• Undertows
• Breakers
• Longshore currents
• Winds

A local rise in sea level near the shore which is caused by hurricane winds is called?

• Tsunami
• Whitecaps
• Storm surge
• Breaker

Two examples of surface currents are the Gulf Stream and the?

• Brazil Current
• Antarctic Bottom Water Current
• Coriolis Effect
• North Atlantic Deep Water Current