Exam 11: The Ocean Floor

A) Fracturing, shattering, and abrasion of rock at the base of a wave- cut cliff are
B) Transport of sand along the beach is
C) Building and extension of spits are
D) Closing off of small estuaries by baymouth bars is

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A) global plate motions and tectonic shifts
B) gradual sea level rise of 1- 2 mm/year related to global warming
C) loss of river discharge from dams and water use on most major rivers
D) increasing storm severity

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A) The Coast of Brittany in France
B) Belize in the tropics
C) Greenland's north coast
D) Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

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A) Incoming wave crests are perpendicular to the shoreline.
B) Incoming wave crests are slightly oblique to the shoreline.
C) Incoming wave crests are non- existent.
D) Incoming wave crests are parallel to the shoreline.

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A) Sand is transported by longshore currents and deposited where energy decreases.
B) A headland is eroded and the sand is deposited in an offshore basin.
C) Wave erosion cuts away both sides of a long sand bar, leaving a sand ridge aligned parallel to the shore.
D) Sand eroded from a wave- cut cliff is deposited around sea stacks and arches.

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A) ebb
B) flood
C) forward
D) spring

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A) Reflected
B) Longshore
C) Ebb tide
D) Translational

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A) the onshore and offshore movement of water relative to the beach by turbulent surf
B) the oscillatory movement of water beneath a passing wave
C) the swirling action and sand movements produced when a shallow water wave impinges on an shallow offshore bar
D) the forward and backward water movements as storm waves reflect from a seawall or groin

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A) refluxing
B) reflection
C) relaxing
D) refraction

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A) Seawalls and breakwaters
B) Tidal deltas
C) Barrier islands
D) Groins and jetties

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A) up to 25 cm
B) 2.5 cm
C) 25 m
D) 2.5 m

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A) dynamic landscape features balanced between erosion and deposition, by wind and waves
B) principally molded by intermittent geologic cataclysms like earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions
C) ancient geologic oddities, shaped long ago by continent and ocean geometries
D) constant features determined only by sea level and elevation

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A) by major sand movements during neap tides
B) on the seaward side of a tidal inlet
C) on the estuarine side of a tidal inlet
D) in the water gap following stream piracy

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A) Wind
B) Longshore drift
C) Seafloor spreading
D) Gravity of the Sun and Moon

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A) 20- 35 m
B) 50- 125 m
C) <2 m
D) 2- 15 m

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A) strong, offshore winds creating a pileup of water along the beach front
B) waves impinging obliquely onto a beach
C) a long fetch parallel to the beach
D) deep- water waves breaking offshore

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A) found in estuaries behind barrier islands
B) landward of stabilized dunes with permanent vegetation
C) where the swash and backwash dominate between the low- tide and high- tide zones
D) the stable part of the beach above the high- tide zone

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