Earth System Science
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Course Introduction
Earth System Science is an interdisciplinary course that explores the complex interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere that collectively regulate conditions on Earth. Students investigate how these subsystems exchange energy and matter, driving natural processes such as climate, biogeochemical cycles, plate tectonics, and ecosystem dynamics. The course emphasizes the scientific methods used to observe and model Earth processes, human impacts on global systems, and the importance of sustainability in managing Earths resources. By integrating concepts from geology, meteorology, oceanography, and ecology, the course provides a comprehensive understanding of Earth as a dynamic and interconnected system.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Oceanography 6th Edition by Tom S. Garrison
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Origin of the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) An example of another body in our solar system that has an ocean is:
A) the moon of Earth.
B) Europa.
C) Mars.
D) none of these.
Answer: B
Q2) The average height of the continents above sea level is greater than the average depth of the ocean.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The average depth of the ocean is about ____.
A) 760 meters (2,500 feet)
B) 3,700 meters (12,000 feet)
C) 200 meters (650 feet)
D) 1,200 meters (4,000 feet)
Answer: B
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Page 3
Chapter 2: A History of Marine Science
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Q1) The future of oceanographic research appears to lie:
A) with single, isolated individuals working alone.
B) with epic voyages.
C) with the cooperative efforts of the great private, institutional, and national oceanographic institutions.
D) with the military agencies of the world.
Answer: C
Q2) Polar oceanography began with:
A) Forbes.
B) Wilkes.
C) Thompson.
D) Nansen.
Answer: D
Q3) Current technologies used in modern marine science include all of the following Except:
A) remotely operated vehicles.
B) chronometers.
C) echo sounders.
D) oceanographic satellites.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics
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Q1) The magnetic striping of the seafloor is considered evidence of seafloor spreading and:
A) subduction down the rift valleys.
B) spreading centers in the trenches.
C) changes in the Earth's axis of rotation.
D) periodic reversals in the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: D
Q2) One piece of evidence that suggests the existence of Pangaea is continuous mountain ranges spanning Australia and Antarctica.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Japan is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences many earthquakes. Almost all of the earthquakes around Japan occur:
A) only on the east side of the island where the Pacific plate subducts.
B) only on the west side of the island where the Eurasian plate subducts.
C) near the Pacific spreading center.
D) Near the Mid-Atlantic ridge.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Ocean Basins
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Q1) Water depth over continental shelves averages only about:
A) 16 meters(50 feet)
B) 35 meters(115 feet)
C) 75 meters (250 feet)
D) 100 meters (300 feet)
Q2) The deepest parts of the Pacific Basin are located:
A) in the center of the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands.
B) in the eastern part of the basin, off North America.
C) in the rift valley of the East Pacific Rise.
D) near the margins of South America, Japan, and the Marianas Islands.
Q3) The deep-ocean basin includes all of the following features EXCEPT:
A) continental shelf.
B) abyssal hills.
C) abyssal plains.
D) mid-ocean ridges.
Q4) Continental shelves can be made of either granite crust, basalt crust or both.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Abyssal Plains and Abyssal hills cover about 25% of the surface of the earth. How are these features characterized?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Ocean Sediments
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Sample Questions
Q1) A layer of sediment that contains a mixture of sediments with various sizes is referred to as:
A) homogeneous.
B) poorly sorted.
C) well-sorted.
D) eroding sediments.
Q2) Which of the following metals is not usually found in manganese nodules?
A) iron
B) uranium
C) nickel
D) cobalt
Q3) What are the main sources of terrigenous sediments?
Q4) Sediment refers to the inorganic materials that accumulate on the ocean floor.
A)True
B)False
Q5) One area in the ocean that has an extreme abundance of sediment deposition is:
A) the shallow waters around Alaska.
B) the waters around the tip of Africa.
C) the deep ocean floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
D) the waters near the Gulf Coast of North America.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) The components of ocean water whose proportions are NOT accounted for by the weathering of surface rocks are:
A) residue surface constituents.
B) trace elements.
C) conservative constituents.
D) excess volatiles.
Q2) As carbon dioxide enters the ocean it:
A) is used by animals for respiration.
B) bonds to water molecules to increase the salinity of the ocean.
C) forms carbonic acid.
D) becomes a product of photosynthesis.
Q3) Heat and temperature both measure random vibrations of an atom or a molecule.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 80 calories of heat are required to change 1 gram of ice to liquid water. This represents water's:
A) latent heat of evaporation
B) latent heat of fusion
C) sensible heat
D) temperature
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulation
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Q1) The Coriolis effect causes objects moving in the northern hemisphere to veer off course:
A) to the right, or clockwise when viewed from above.
B) to the left, or counterclockwise when viewed from above.
C) in an upward direction.
D) in a downward direction.
Q2) How many atmospheric circulation cells exist in EACH hemisphere?
A) 6
B) 3
C) 4
D) 1
Q3) The long-term average of weather factors in a geographic region is called: A) weather.
B) cyclonic circulation.
C) Coriolis.
D) climate.
Q4) Near the poles (both in the north and south) the jet stream flows west to east.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe atmospheric convection.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Ocean Circulation
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Q1) England's weather is ____ than would be expected at that latitude because of the influence of surface currents.
A) colder
B) drier
C) less humid
D) warmer and wetter
Q2) The Gulf Stream is a current that runs south along the eastern coast of the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Kuroshio Current is an example of an eastern boundary current.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A sverdrup (sv) is a measure of:
A) wind speed.
B) current speed and direction.
C) the volume of water transported in an ocean current.
D) the amount of heat transferred to water from the sun.
Q5) What is upwelling and why is it important for biological productivity?
Q6) How do scientists study currents?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Waves
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Q1) Near shore, if the wave crests are 200 feet apart, the wave will "feel" bottom when the depth is about:
A) 20 feet.
B) 50 feet.
C) 100 feet.
D) 200 feet.
Q2) As wind waves move out of a storm area:
A) the short waves move out first and form "chop."
B) the short-period waves overtake the long-period waves.
C) the waves are sorted by velocity and form the swell.
D) the sea becomes flat outside the storm area.
Q3) The period of wind waves is usually expressed in:
A) feet or meters.
B) miles per hour, or kilometers per hour.
C) seconds.
D) feet or meters per hour.
Q4) For a wave, the longer the wavelength, the faster the wave energy will move through the water.
A)True
B)False
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Tides
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Sample Questions
Q1) The zero point on a tide graph is called the:
A) slack water point.
B) mean sea level point.
C) node point.
D) tidal datum.
Q2) Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning tides?
A) Because tides travel across the ocean, the crests and troughs that cause high and low tides are very large.
B) Tidal bulges are gravitational bulges that stay aligned with the moon or inertial bulges due to centrifugal force.
C) The combined forces of gravity and inertia result in tides.
D) The sun and the moon influence tides.
Q3) For tides as long waves, the amphidromic point corresponds to the wave crest.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A tide pattern of one high and one low each day describes a:
A) diurnal tide.
B) mixed tide.
C) solar tide.
D) semidiurnal tide.
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Chapter 11: Coasts
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Q1) How have human activities influenced coastal processes? Give a specific example.
Q2) Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the Florida Keys?
A) They were formed during a time between glaciations.
B) They are an example of a coral reef coast.
C) They are an example of a coast formed by biological activity.
D) They are relatively low and extend below sea level.
Q3) What is an estuary and how are they unique ecosystems?
Q4) Solution, abrasion, and hydraulic action are factors involved in:
A) wave deposition.
B) moving longshore currents.
C) causing wave refraction.
D) wave erosion.
Q5) Estuaries are categorized by:
A) location or latitude.
B) circulation patterns.
C) the ratio of fresh water to salt water.
D) sediment origins and age.
Q6) Define the term coast and describe the factors that shape coastlines.
Q7) What is an erosional coast and how are they different from other types of coasts?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Life in the Ocean
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Q1) The requirements for photosynthesis include all of these EXCEPT:
A) light.
B) oxygen
C) nutrients.
D) pigments (chlorophyll).
Q2) Which of the following domains would a protistan primary producer belong to?
A) Eukarya
B) Archaea
C) Bacteria
D) None of these
Q3) Describe how energy is distributed through ecosystems and define the different trophic levels into which marine organism can be classified.
Q4) Each of the following is a domain EXCEPT:.
A) Archaea.
B) Bacteria.
C) Eukarya.
D) Animalia.
Q5) What is natural selection and how can it explain the diversity of life on Earth?
Q6) Describe how energy enters biological ecosystems in the ocean.
Q7) Why is evolution important in the study of the ocean?
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Chapter 13: Pelagic Communities
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Q1) In the gill of a fish, water and blood circulate ____, which ____ transfer efficiency. A) in the same direction; increases B) in opposite directions; increases C) in the same direction; decreases D) in opposite directions; decreases
Q2) Which of the following groups include manatees and sea cows.?
A) Cetacea
B) Pinnipedia
C) Sirenia
D) Copepoda
Q3) Describe at least 3 ways that marine mammals are adapted to life in the marine environment.
Q4) An example of a zooplankton that is very important to many pelagic communities is: A) krill.
B) squid.
C) dinoflagellates.
D) diatoms.
Q5) Explain why phytoplankton is critical to all of life on Earth.
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Chapter 14: Benthic Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast the stability of habitats found in the deep-sea.
Q2) Despite residing in the deep, dark sea, hydrothermal vents are able to support a diverse community of organisms including pogonophorans, clams, crabs, worms and many more species. Since no light reaches hydrothermal vents, explain what provides the basis of primary production and how it supports the community?
Q3) Interstitial animals are very small and live between sand grains.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Organisms common in the rocky intertidal include all of the following EXCEPT: A) benthic multicellular algae.
B) snails.
C) flat fish.
D) small sculpins.
Q5) A reason for the great diversity and success of organisms in the rocky intertidal is:
A) the large quantity of food available.
B) the vast amount of space available.
C) the lack of nekton.
D) the rise and fall of the tides.
Q6) Is the distribution of benthic organisms random? Explain why or why not.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Uses and Abuses of the Ocean
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Q1) The best fishing grounds are located:
A) in the middle of the open ocean.
B) in temperate waters over continental shelves.
C) in tropical waters of the deep sea.
D) in equatorial deep waters.
Q2) Which of the following is true about a pollutant?
A) Pollutants are natural and so organisms develop adaptations to deal with them.
B) Pollutants can cause both indirect or direct damage by interrupting biochemical pathways of organisms.
C) Most pollutants are capable of causing massive mortality events for marine organisms.
D) The concentration of pollutants in the ocean has remained stable since the industrial revolution.
Q3) An example of a fishing technique that is particularly disruptive is:
A) hook and line.
B) drift nets.
C) mid-water trawl.
D) spear fishing.
Q4) Define "Bycatch" and explain how it is damaging to marine populations.
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