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210 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Transport of water to the left or right of the wind direction
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Ekman transport
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Thermohaline circulation is driven by
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density.
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Strong upwelling occurs in all of the following except
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where deep ocean water currents are formed.
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The circular pattern of surface water currents is called a gyre.
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True
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When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off and isolates a body of water within the center of the North Atlantic gyre, the body of water is called a
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cold core ring.
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All deep water in ocean basins originates in the Atlantic Ocean.
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True
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In the southern hemisphere, the direction of Ekman transport is
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to the left of the wind direction.
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Which of the following is not an eastern boundary current
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Gulf Stream
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Geostrophic circulation within a gyre is driven by
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gravity.
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Compared to Antarctic Bottom Water, North Atlantic Deep Water is
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lower in oxygen.
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Replacement water coming from the bottom to the top of the water column
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upwelling
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The largest current by volume in the oceans is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
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True
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An eastern boundary current is narrow and swift.
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False
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The Gulf Stream moves water away from the equator; the Benguela Current moves some of this same water back toward the equator.
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False
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The Ekman spiral is driven by
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wind.
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In the northern hemisphere, Ekman transport pushes surface water to the right of the wind direction.
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True
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Deep ocean water masses have characteristic temperatures and salinities.
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True
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Driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
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geostrophic flow
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Downwelling may be the result of winds blowing parallel to a coastline.
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True
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The most dense ocean water is North Atlantic Deep Water.
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False
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The location where water flow is uninterrupted between the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Indian Oceans is
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in the Southern Ocean.
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Thermohaline circulation is wind-driven.
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False
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Equatorial currents are driven by the
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trade winds.
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Deep ocean currents often move cold, dense water away from the poles.
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True
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Surface ocean circulation is driven primarily by ________ and modified by ________
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wind; the Coriolis effect and land
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Which type of flow works in opposition to Ekman transport in a gyre
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geostrophic circulation
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Westward intensification causes
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All of these statements are the result of westward intensification.
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Replacement water coming from the top to the bottom of the water column
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downwelling
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Deep ocean water does not travel across the equator?.
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False
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Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom water through
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upwelling.
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Tides are examples of forced waves.
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True
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Swells are examples of free waves.
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True
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Match the type of wave with the generating force;tide
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gravitational forces
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The circular motion of water molecules extends to a depth that is equal to
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wavelength/2.
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A wave train is caused by wave energy moving more slowly than individual waves.
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True
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The vertical distance between the wave trough and the wave crest is the wavelength.
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False
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The height of a wave depends upon
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fetch, wind duration, and wind speed.
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A storm surge might form in association with a seafloor avalanche.
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False
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A tsunami might form in association with a low pressure system.
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False
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Match the type of wave with the generating force;internal wave
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density
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Standing waves may be caused by
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wave reflection.
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Waves that are breaking along the shore and are forming a curling crest over an air pocket are called
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plunging breakers.
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The vertical distance between the crest and the trough is called the
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wave height.
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A tsunami may result from
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tectonic activity on the seafloor.
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Wave energy is focused on headlands due to wave refraction.
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True
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Rogue waves tend to occur
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where storm waves move against strong surface currents.
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As a wave begins to feel bottom near a shoreline, its wave height
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increases and wavelength decreases.
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If a surfer wishes to have a really long ride, what type of wave should he or she look for?
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spilling breakers
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The lowest part of the wave is called the wave
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trough
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The orbital motion of water molecules in a wave goes down to a depth equal to the wavelength divided by two.
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True
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Match the type of wave with the generating force;capillary wave
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wind
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The horizontal distance between two successive troughs is called the wave height.
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False
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The highest portion of a wave is called the wave
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crest
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A wave will break when wave steepness is equal to 1/20.
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False
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The largest wind-generated waves tend to be associated with the
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westerlies.
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A shallow water wave must form in water depth less than 100 meters.
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False
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A wave will break when
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steepness exceeds 1/7.
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A tsunami is considered to be a
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shallow water wave.
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Match the type of wave with the generating force;swell
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wind
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Match the type of wave with the generating force;rogue wave
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constructive interference
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center of an open ocean tidal system
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amphidromic point
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Water flowing out of an enclosed basin due to the tides is called
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ebb current.
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highest tidal range in the lunar cycle
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spring tide
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smallest tidal range in the lunar cycle
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neap tide
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A seiche might be found
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in a large lake.
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Which of the following is a tidal current?
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both ebb tides and flood tides
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ebb
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tidal current
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Grunion depend upon the pattern of erosion and deposition of sand for the survival of their eggs.
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True
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The force that pulls an orbiting body toward the center of that orbit is called
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centrifugal.
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A seiche might occur along a river with a strong tidal influence.
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False
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Spring tide occurs about
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twice per month.
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A full tidal cycle is
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24 hours and 50 minutes in duration.
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The center of mass of the Earth-Moon system is called the
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barycenter.
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steep wave front surging up a river as a result of tides
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tidal bore
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Compared with a solar day, a lunar day is
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longer than a solar day.
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At high tide, the tidal current velocity is
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nearly zero.
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Tidal ranges will be greatest when the Earth and the Moon are at
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perigee.
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In the United States one can find mixed tides along the
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Pacific coast.
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Describing tides by assuming that Earth is completely water-covered and friction-free is called the
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Equilibrium Tide Theory.
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mixed
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tidal pattern
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The vertical difference between high and low tides is called the
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tidal range.
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The Sun and the Moon have relatively equal tide-generating forces on Earth.
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False
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A semidiurnal tide is common along the Pacific coast of the United States.
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False
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Due to the shape of the North Sea, it develops two amphidromic points.
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True
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An area that experiences semidiurnal tides will have
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two high tides and two low tides of nearly equal height daily.
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The center of an open ocean tidal system is called a(n)
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amphidromic center.
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At low tide, the tidal current velocity is
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nearly zero.
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Neap tides occur
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when the moon is at quadrature.
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The side of the Earth that faces the moon experiences a high tide, the side of the Earth that is opposite from the Moon will have a
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high tide.
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An area that experiences diurnal tides will have
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one high tide and one low tide daily.
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Sea caves and sea stacks are more likely to occur in an area with very hard bedrock.
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True
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Which of the following landforms shows the least amount of erosion along US coasts?
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crystalline rocks of New England
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The longshore current is caused by waves striking the beach at an angle.
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True
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Nor'easters affect which area of the US coastline during the fall and winter?
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northern Atlantic coast
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Which characteristic would be found along a secondary coast?
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All of these might be found along a secondary coast.
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The most common barriers constructed along a coastline are
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jetties at harbor entrances.
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The section of the coast that extends from normal high tide level to the highest elevation on land that is affected by storm waves is called the
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backshore.
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Colonized by grasses; very productive
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low marsh
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Which of the following will decrease the velocity of the longshore current?
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increased wave period
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An increase in the spreading rate at a mid-ocean ridge will cause a decrease in sea level.
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False
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The nearshore is equivalent to the intertidal zone.
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False
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Eustatic changes in sealevel refer to changes in the volume of seawater or changes in the volume of the ocean basin.
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True
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Waves will cause much more erosion in an area that has a large tidal range when compared to an area with a small tidal range.
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False
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Which US coastline has the greatest average loss due to erosion?
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Gulf
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In terms of erosion protection from wave action, seawalls
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are ineffective.
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Which US coast is being most starved for sediments due to the damming of rivers?
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Pacific
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Exposed at low tide and covered at high tide
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foreshore
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Which of the following landforms shows the greatest erosion rate along US coasts?
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mud flats
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The backshore is found between the normal high tide mark and the coastline.
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True
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Groins are constructed for the purpose of maintaining or widening beaches that are losing sand.
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True
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Moves water from swash zone out to sea
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rip current
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The area of the barrier island complex that would contain thickets and woodlands would be the
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barrier flat.
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The section of the coast that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide is called the
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foreshore.
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All of the following are examples of features found along primary coasts except
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coasts with extensive coral reefs.
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Submergent coasts might have all of the following characteristics except
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marine terraces.
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Large deposits of sediment at the mouths of rivers are called
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deltas.
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Eustatic changes in sea level might include
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increase glacial and sea ice melting due to global warming.
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Narrow currents flowing across the surf zone toward the open ocean are called
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rip currents.
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Emergent coasts might have all of the following characteristics except
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drowned beaches.
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a very deep river mouth with a large volume of freshwater flow beneath which a wedge of salt water from the ocean invades
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Salt wedge estuary
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An estuary formed from a flooded glacial valley is called a
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fjord.
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Lagoons that form behind barrier islands are examples of
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bar-built estuaries.
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Mangrove swamps are protective buffer areas in temperate latitude coastal ecosystems.
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False
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Chesapeake Bay estuary
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coastal plain estuary
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equal temperature
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isothermal
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Which of the following is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean?
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Bering Sea
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Salt marshes serve as nurseries for over half of the commercially important fish in the southeastern United States.
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True
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coastal wetland that occurs at latitudes devoid of killing frosts
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mangrove swamp
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Prevailing offshore winds tend to decrease surface water salinity in a coastal plain estuary.
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False
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Hydrothermal vents exist in which of the following marginal seas?
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Gulf of California
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An example of a coastal plain estuary is the
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Chesapeake Bay.
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Mediterranean Sea water has little impact on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
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False
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San Francisco Bay is a classic tectonic estuary.
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True
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Mangrove swamps are located
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All of the above.
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The Coriolis effect is evident in the surface circulation of Chesapeake Bay.
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True
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An estuary produced by faulting or folding of rocks that creates a dropped-down section into which a river flows is called a
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tectonic estuary.
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Chesapeake Bay is a classic bar-built estuary.
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False
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Seasonal changes in coastal water temperature is most easily observed
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in the tropics.
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a layer of water in which the salinity changes rapidly with changes in depth
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Halocline
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The percentage of the original area of wetlands currently left in the United States is approximately
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50%.
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When the runoff rate from the continental shelf is relatively high, coastal waters
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have decreased salinities.
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The continental shelf of which marginal sea is divided into three domains with significantly different circulation patterns that strongly affect biological populations?
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Bering Sea
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The fact that phytoplankton and zooplankton populations in shelf waters peak at the same time indicates that
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both populations developed in estuaries and were flushed out into shelf waters.
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The first hydrothermal vents were discovered in the
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Pacific Ocean.
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When ocean water enters a marginal sea above a return flow of saltier water, the circulation pattern is called
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Mediterranean circulation.
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coastal wetland occurring at temperate latitudes that experience seasonal frosts
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salt marsh
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Prevailing offshore winds produce coastal waters that
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have higher salinities.
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An example of a bar-built estuary is
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Laguna Madre.
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One major problem associated with Chesapeake Bay and increased human pressure is
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an increase in nutrients resulting in more frequent kills of bottom-dwelling animals.
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A summer beach typically has more sediment on it than a winter beach.
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True
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Theoretically, the greatest potential source of energy in the marine environment is derived from the
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thermocline.
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The distance from shore that could be protected by cannons was called the
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territorial sea.
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How much of the world ocean area is under the jurisdiction of coastal nations according to the Law of the Sea Treaty?
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42%
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The area of the ocean that produces the largest standing stock of commercial fish is in the
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coastal areas.
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Purse seines are nets that
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surround and trap fishes.
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The desalination process which has the greatest large-scale potential is
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reverse osmosis.
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Marine Mammals Act of 1992
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Dolphin protection
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Ocean currents are being utilized to generate electricity in Europe.
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False
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Catches above the maximum sustainable yield
|
result in overfishing.
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The United Nations Law of the Sea treaty was signed by the United States in
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1994.
|
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by-catch
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incidental catch
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The Law of the Sea Convention was quickly adopted by the United States.
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False
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The production of electricity from ocean currents has been proposed for
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Florida and Gulf Stream Currents.
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Harnessing wave energy might be practical if
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it were used as a power supplement rather than the sole power source.
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Dolphins were often caught with tuna because
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All of these are reasons why dolphins were accidentally caught with tuna.
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In some regions of the United States, sand and gravel supplies come almost exclusively from the seafloor.
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True
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The greatest potential source of energy in the ocean is thermal energy resulting from thermally stratified water masses.
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True
|
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Birds, turtles, dolphins, and sharks caught accidentally by commercial fisher account for about ________ percent of the catch.
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25
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The percentage of primary productivity consumed by tropical shelf fisheries is approximately
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24.2%.
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The method of desalination with the greatest commercial potential is reverse osmosis.
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True
|
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Manganese nodules are often found in placer deposits.
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False
|
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Significant production of fish via mariculture can be found
|
only in Japan and Norway.
|
|
The Law of the Sea Convention went into effect in November 1994.
|
True
|
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The term by-catch refers to
|
non-target species that are caught along with commercial species.
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|
Offshore oil is drilled from the
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continental shelf.
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|
The Law of the Sea puts about 20 percent of the world ocean under the jurisdiction of coastal nations.
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False
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Farming of commercial shellfish and finfish
|
mariculture
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The most valuable commodity produced by mariculture is
|
shrimp and prawns.
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The greatest regulatory failure of fisheries management has been the failure to
|
provide government subsidies for the fishing industry.
|
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Available biomass of target species
|
standing stock
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No oil actually came ashore as a result of the spill associated with the
|
Argo Merchant.
|
|
Point sources of municipal and industrial wastes in the United States are governed by
|
Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
|
|
Biomagnification is a result of the inefficiency of trophic transfer in the food web.
|
True
|
|
The biological response level with the most immediate response to marine pollution is the
|
biochemical-cellular level.
|
|
Bioremediation has been particularly effective in marine ecosystems in the clean-up of
|
hydrocarbons.
|
|
A significant problem with non-native species is that they may
|
All of these are problems with introduced species.
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|
Bioremediation involves the use of microorganisms to degrade pollutants such as crude oil.
|
True
|
|
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is believed to have arrived from Europe to the Great Lakes by way of
|
ballast water.
|
|
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Spartina alterniflora
|
temperate marine
|
|
Match the pollutant with its general category; ammonium nitrate
|
nutrient
|
|
Which of the following organisms are expected to show the highest concentrations of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons in its tissues?
|
sea otters
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|
Match the pollutant with its general category; PCBs
|
toxin
|
|
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Caulerpa taxiflora
|
tropical marine
|
|
Match the introduced species with its habitat; Mnemiopsis leidyi
|
temperate marine
|
|
The biological response level that is impacted for the longest time period by pollutants in the marine environment is the
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community dynamics and structure level.
|
|
National Marine Sanctuaries such as Gray's Reef were established with the enactment of the Oceans Act of 2000.
|
False
|
|
The proportion of the world's population that lives within 50 miles of a coastline is currently about
|
50%.
|
|
The most likely source for thermal pollution in marine environments is
|
power plants.
|
|
Match the pollutant with its general category; mercury
|
toxin
|
|
Match the pollutant with its general category; calcium phosphate
|
nutrient
|
|
The dumping of garbage and plastics in international waters is regulated under agreements enacted at MARPOL.
|
True
|
|
Plastics cause significant biological damage in oceans when
|
netting strangles seals and birds.
|
|
Match the introduced species with its habitat; European green crab
|
temperate marine
|
|
Match the pollutant with its general category; DDT
|
toxin
|
|
In North America, offshore petroleum exploration has been focused on
|
deepwater Gulf of Mexico and near Eastern Canada.
|
|
Pollutants are any substance that has a negative effect on the environment.
|
True
|
|
Secondary sewage treatment is distinguished from primary sewage treatment by the
|
chlorination of the liquid effluent.
|
|
The toxicity of marine pollutants is estimated by
|
calculating the concentration at which 50% of the test organisms die.
|
|
Chlorinated hydrocarbons in the marine environment are a result of
|
urban run-off and rivers
|
|
Dumping of wastes at sea and the establishment of marine sanctuaries are controlled by
|
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
|