Coastal and Marine Geology

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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1. Atolls may be described as:
   1. coral reefs paralleling a nearby coastline
   2. coral reefs surrounding a lagoon
   3. a flat-topped submerged seamount
   4. coral reefs separated from the mainland by a shallow lagoon
   5. a small reef growth in a lagoon
2. Which of the following would you not associate with turbidity currents?
   1. deposits of graded beds
   2. density current
   3. excavation of submarine canyons
   4. formation of seamounts
   5. sediment transport
3. The scientist who correctly proposed the theory of atoll formation was:
   1. Kelvin
   2. Wegener
   3. Hutton
   4. Darwin
   5. none of these
4. Which of the following is associated with mid-ocean ridges?
   1. rift zones
   2. mountainous topography
   3. greater heat flow than occurs in other parts of the ocean
   4. volcanic structures
   5. all of the above
5. When waves reach shallow water, they are often bent and tend to become parallel to the shore. This process is termed:
   1. oscillation
   2. reflection
   3. refraction
   4. abrasion
   5. translation
6. The movement of water parallel to the shore within the surf zone is termed:
   1. tidal current
   2. longshore current
   3. salinity current
   4. rip current
   5. beach drift
7. Which one of the following is a landform created by wave erosion (as opposed to deposition)?
   1. spit
   2. sea arch
   3. estuary
   4. breakwater
   5. tombolo
8. The movement of sand parallel to the shore:
   1. is created by waves approaching at an oblique angle
   2. may create spits
   3. is achieved by longshore currents
   4. is an important reason for the construction of groins
   5. all of the above
9. When a breakwater is built beyond the surf zone offshore from a sandy beach:
   1. the area between the shore and the breakwater will probably be deepened by the intensified longshore current
   2. the area between the shore and the breakwater will probably begin filling in with sand
   3. the longshore current will not be affected
   4. none of the above
10. The crests of mid-oceanic ridges:
    1. are heavily mantled with sediment
    2. lie at depths exceeding 6 kilometers
    3. are geologically young features
    4. have never been observed by man
11. One result of wave refraction is that:
    1. wave energy is concentrated on headlands projecting into the water
    2. wave energy is concentrated in the recessed areas between headlands
    3. wave energy is largely dissipated before the waves reach the shore
    4. headlands are enlarged because sediment is deposited on their seaward side
12. The zigzag movement of sand grains along a beach:
    1. is caused by obliquely breaking waves
    2. is called beach drift
    3. is very unusual and seldom occurs
    4. both a and b
    5. both b and c
13. Within the continental margin, deep, steep-sided valleys known as ______ are found
    1. continental shelves
    2. submarine canyons
    3. continental slopes
    4. ocean basins
    5. continental rises
14. The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level had fallen?
    1. an estuary
    2. a sea stack
    3. an elevated marine terrace
    4. a tombolo
15. Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay:
    1. are associated with a submergent coast
    2. are former river valleys that were followed by a rise in sea level
    3. are excellent examples of large estuaries
    4. all of the above
16. In the geologic past:
    1. the number of 24-hour days per year was greater than at present
    2. the earth rotated more rapidly than at present
    3. the number of hours in a day was greater than at present
    4. the earth was farther from the Sun
    5. all the above
17. The gently sloping, shallowly-submerged surface extending from the shoreline toward the deep ocean is termed:
    1. continental shelf
    2. submarine canyon
    3. continental slope
    4. ocean basin
    5. continental rise
18. Directly seaward of the continental shelf is a more steeply sloping region known as:
    1. continental shelf
    2. submarine canyon
    3. continental slope
    4. ocean basin
    5. continental rise
19. Graded bedding is characterized by:
    1. an increase in sediment size from bottom to top
    2. a decrease in sediment size from bottom to top
    3. an unsorted mixture of many different sediment sizes
    4. sorting due to gentle wave action in shallow water
20. Which of the following is not true of deep ocean trenches?
    1. they are long and narrow depressions
    2. they are sites where plates plunge back into the mantle
    3. they are geologically very stable
    4. they may act as sediment traps
21. Which factors can make sea water more saline?
    1. freezing of sea ice
    2. evaporation
    3. both of the above
    4. none of the above
22. Almost half of the sediment reaching the oceans comes from this continent:
    1. Asia
    2. South America
    3. Africa
    4. North America
    5. Australia
23. Freak high waves sometimes encountered by ships at sea seem to be due to:
    1. Undersea volcanic eruptions
    2. Undersea landslides
    3. Tornado-like weather disturbances at sea
    4. Superposition and addition of waves of different frequencies
    5. Unusual tidal conditions
24. A flat-topped submarine mountain
    1. guyot
    2. mesa
    3. cuesta
    4. horst
25. A baymouth bar forms
    1. when a glacier builds a moraine across a bay
    2. when longshore drift causes a spit to be built across a bay
    3. when a landslide dams a bay
    4. all of the above
    5. none of the above
26. When waves break exactly parallel to a beach:
    1. the beach wears away
    2. the water returns to the sea in evenly-spaced flows call rips
    3. the waves move sand along the shore
    4. deposition is greatest
27. The highest known waves have occurred:
    1. as the result of earthquakes
    2. during hurricanes
    3. after volcanic eruptions
    4. when landslides dumped large amounts of material into small bodies of water
28. An example of a secondary shoreline:
    1. the shore of an estuary
    2. the shore of a fiord
    3. a fault scarp which is partly submerged
    4. a barrier island
29. When a wave changes direction in shallow water, the change in path is called:
    1. absorption
    2. refraction
    3. reflection
    4. erosion
30. As an oceanic island sinks or is eroded, the fringing reef may be left behind as a circular ring called a(n):
    1. crater
    2. caldera
    3. atoll
    4. esker
31. An isolated rock left behind as an island as a coast erodes:
    1. barrier reef
    2. stack
    3. dike
    4. atoll
32. Beaches:
    1. tend to remain constant year-round
    2. tend to be eroded during stormy weather and deposited in calm weather
    3. tend to be deposited in stormy weather and eroded in calm weather.
33. When are waves affected by the seafloor, that is, when do waves begin to "feel bottom"?
    1. when water depth is equal to one-half the wave length
    2. when water depth is equal to the wave length
    3. when water depth is twice as great as the wave length
    4. when water depth is three times a great as the wave length
    5. none of the above
34. One of the following is not a requirement for coral reef growth:
    1. warm water
    2. shallow water
    3. abundant sunlight
    4. abundant amounts of suspended sediment
35. A sea cliff
    1. retreats faster with time because the waves cut into softer rock
    2. retreats uniformly with time
    3. retreats more slowly because the waves cut into harder rock
    4. retreats more slowly because the wave-cut platform dissipates wave energy
36. The salt in sea water plays little or no role in coastal erosion
    1. True
    2. False
37. An isolated remnant of wave erosion is a:
    1. spit
    2. groin
    3. jetty
    4. tombolo
    5. sea stack
38. A sand ridge connecting an island to the mainland or to another island is a:
    1. jetty
    2. tombolo
    3. sea stack
    4. none of the above
    5. breakwater
39. A circular reef enclosing a lagoon is a(n):
    1. barrier reef
    2. guyot
    3. seamount
    4. atoll
    5. aseismic
40. A flat, benchlike surface cut in rock by wave action is a:
    1. sea stack
    2. spit
    3. jetty
    4. none of the above
    5. tombolo
41. Chesapeake Bay is an excellent example of a(n):
    1. coastal barrier
    2. fiord
    3. estuary
    4. primary coastline
    5. emergent coastline
42. Which of these can be considered a fiord (even though the topography isn't dramatic)?
    1. San Francisco Bay
    2. Chesapeake Bay
    3. Galveston Bay
    4. Puget Sound
    5. Biscayne Bay
43. What did the city of Galveston do to try to prevent a repeat of the disaster of 1900?
    1. Blocked the harbor
    2. Moved the city
    3. Built a seawall and raised parts of the city
    4. Banned shoreline construction
44. Which is not a factor in shoreline subsidence in Louisiana?
1. Dams capturing sediment upstream
2. Delta buildup far offshore
3. Compaction of sediment over time
4. Prevention of course change by the Mississippi
5. Wind erosion
45. Which factor prevented Hurricane Katrina from being a much worse disaster?
1. There was an unusually low tide
2. The hurricane was not very strong
3. Most levee failures happened after the peak of the storm
4. Federal and local governments acted quickly
46. If we allow the Mississippi River to change course:
1. Wetlands along the Atchafalaya will be silted in
2. Sediment will be trapped by the new flood plain
3. Sediment will not be deposited under New Orleans
4. All of the above
47. Deltas on coasts with strong wave action:
1. Build up long peninsulas into the sea
2. Have smoothly curving fronts
3. Consist of long parallel islands
4. Are smeared out along the coast
48. Deltas on coasts dominated by strong tidal action:
1. Build up long peninsulas into the sea
2. Have smoothly curving fronts
3. Consist of long parallel islands
4. Are smeared out along the coast
49. Deltas where deposition dominates other processes:
1. Build up long peninsulas into the sea
2. Have smoothly curving fronts
3. Consist of long parallel islands
4. Are smeared out along the coast
50. Deltas where deposition and wave action are roughly equal:
1. Build up long peninsulas into the sea
2. Have smoothly curving fronts
3. Consist of long parallel islands
4. Are smeared out along the coast
51. Why do seawalls have a curving face?
1. To take advantage of the Coriolis Effect
2. To allow waves to dissipate their energy upward
3. To save on construction material
4. To keep them from tipping over
52. How can sea floor spreading affect sea level?
1. Fast-spreading ridges take up more room
2. Slow-spreading ridges take up more room
3. Rapid plate motions mean deeper ocean trenches
4. Fast plate motions push the continents apart
53. How are age and depth of sea floor related?
1. Older sea floor is deeper
2. Younger sea floor is deeper
3. There is no relationship
4. Crust older than 100 million years forms the floors of the trenches

Created August 4, 1999; Last Update 07 November 2006

Not an official UW-Green Bay page