Marine & Coastal Systems

The water in an estuary would best be described as what?

• Saltwater with high salinity

• Freshwater

• Brackish

• Free of plankton

The area between the high tide and the low tide mark

• benthic zone

• intertidal zone

• pelagic zone

• abyssal zone

the entire bottom portion of the ocean

• pelagic zone
• bathyal zone
• neustonic zone
• benthic zone

The gradually sloping part of a continent that extends under the ocean is the...

• continental slope
• continental shelf
• abyssal plain
• trench

Which of the following is formed when carbon dioxide and seawater combine during ocean acidification?

• Carbonate

• Calcium carbonate

• Bicarbonate

• Carbon dioxide

Which of the following results from increased atmospheric carbon dioxide leading to an increased dissolved carbon dioxide in the oceans?

• Increased ocean temperature

• Thermal expansion of the ocean

• Decreased primary productivity in the ocean

• The decrease in ocean pH levels

Ocean acidification begins with 

• pollution from ships
• carbon dioxide released from combustion
• dumping of waste from cities into the ocean

Marine organisms make their shells from calcium and

• chloride
• carbonate
• seawater

As the ocean becomes more acidic, the pH of the water

• increases
• decreases

What do some marine creatures do with the carbonate ion?

• use it as a food source

• use it as a defense mechanism

• use it to build shells and exoskeletons

• use it to cool body temperatures