Assignment

1. What causes tidal waves?

a. Gravity from the Sun and Moon
b. Earthquakes
c. Coriolis Effect
d. Milankovitch Cycles

2. Go to the following web site about tides in San Francisco Bay: http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/ex6.html.

Check out Figures 3A and 3B, which show tides in the bay during a flooding tide. The arrows in Figure 3B show the direction of the tidal current generated during the flooding tide. Which statement best describes the direction of the currents within the bay?

a. The currents are all moving outward, toward the ocean.
b. The currents are all moving inward, toward the land.
c. The currents are all moving northward in the bay.
d. The currents are all moving southward in the bay.

3. An ebb tidal current is immediately followed by _______ then _________.

a. low slack water, a tidal wave
b. high slack water, flood current
c. low slack water, flood current
d. a flood current, high tide

4. Check out Figure 1 on the web site: http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/ex5.html.

This figure shows the height of waves in the North Pacific Ocean on 10 Feb 1997. The LARGEST waves on that day were located:

a. along the eastern side of the Pacific, off the coast of California.
b. along the equator (southern part of this image).
c. along the northern side of the Pacific, off the coast of Alaska.
d. along the western side of the Pacific, off the coast of Asia.

5. Take a look at Figure 5 on the web site: http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/ex5.html.

This figure shows wave (swell) heights along the coast of northern California on 13 Sep 1998. On that day swell height was SMALLEST:

a. just south of the Point Reyes headland.
b. along Ocean Beach (west side of San Francisco).
c. just north of the Point Reyes headland.

6. Which is not a condition suitable for the formation of a tidal bore?

Cool example of one here, on the River Severn! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKA39LQOIck

a. Low lying river mouth
b. Large Tidal Range
c. Neap Tide
d. Funnel shaped estuary

7. Which is the second most common cause of storm related death in the U.S.?

a. Hail
b. Hurricane
c. Tornado
d. Flooding
e. Lightning

8. Which best describes the noted effects of the El Nino Southern Oscillation?

http://www.oc.nps.edu/webmodules/ENSO/effects.html
http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/21%20elnino.html

a. A decrease in the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic
b. Disruption of fisheries by cold sea surface temperatures in the equatorial East Pacific
c. An increase in the number of Central and Southern California wildfires.
d. Flooding in Northern Australia

9. Which statement best describes the change in sea level during the past 20,000 years?

a. Sea level rose slowly at first but is now rising more rapidly.
b. Sea level has risen at a consistent rate of 11 mm/yr.
c. Sea level was then about 120 meters lower than it is now.
d. During the past 8,000 years, sea level has risen 60 meters.

10. Over the past few thousand years, how, if at all, has sea level been changing?

a. It has remained about the same.
b. It has been falling.
c. none of the above
d. It has been rising.

11. How are estuaries formed?

http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/17%20estuaries.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXxJx8L3s4c

a. longshore movement of sand
b. sediment deposition from rivers
c. drowning of river valleys by rising sea water
d. emergence (uplift) of coastlines above the ocean

12. In which way are tsunamis SIMILAR to wind-generated waves? Be sure to watch the Waves on Water video! :)

a. As they move into shallow water, tsunami waves slow down and become taller.
b. Tsunami waves have periods of 10 minutes to 2 hours.
c. Tsunami waves move at speeds greater than 800 km/hr.
d. Tsunami waves move throughout the entire thickness of the ocean water column.

13. Which of the following is a process that only leads to the net loss of sand from beaches (rather than replenishment or loss followed by replenishment)?

a. Rivers and streams flowing to the coast
b. Erosion of coastal cliffs
c. Longshore currents
d. Rip currents

14. Which statement best describes how longshore currents are generated?

a. by water moving seaward after waves have broken
b. by waves moving toward the beach at an angle
c. by tidal currents moving into an embayment
d. by sand moving back and forth on a beach.