Scribd
Upload
8 views3 pages

GEO CH 13 Que Ans 2

The document provides an overview of various aspects of oceanography, including the significance of water on Earth, the definition and characteristics of continental margins, and details about the deepest ocean trenches. It also explains thermal layers in the ocean, the concept of salinity, and the interrelationship of elements in the hydrological cycle. Additionally, it examines factors affecting temperature distribution in oceans, such as latitude, land-water distribution, prevailing winds, ocean currents, and salinity.

Uploaded by

thakur09876543321
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
8 views3 pages

GEO CH 13 Que Ans 2

The document provides an overview of various aspects of oceanography, including the significance of water on Earth, the definition and characteristics of continental margins, and details about the deepest ocean trenches. It also explains thermal layers in the ocean, the concept of salinity, and the interrelationship of elements in the hydrological cycle. Additionally, it examines factors affecting temperature distribution in oceans, such as latitude, land-water distribution, prevailing winds, ocean currents, and salinity.

Uploaded by

thakur09876543321
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

GREENWAY MODERN SCHOOL 2

CLASS-11 C
GEOGRAPHY
CH-13
WATER (OCEAN)
QUESTION ANSWERS

1. Why do we call the earth a Blue Planet?


Water is an essential component of all life forms that exist over the surface of the earth. The
creatures on the earth are lucky that it is a water planet, otherwise we all would have no existence.
Water is a rare commodity in our solar system. There is no water on the sun or anywhere else in
the solar system. The earth, fortunately has an abundant supply of water on its surface. Hence, our
planet is called the ‘Blue Planet’.

2. What is a continental margin?


The continental margin is the extended portion of each continent occupied by relatively shallow
seas and gulfs. It is the shallowest part of the ocean showing an average gradient of 1° or even less.
The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf break. The width . of the continental
shelves vary from one ocean to another. The average width of continental shelves is about 80 km.
The shelves are almost absent or very narrow along some of the margins like the coasts of Chile,
the west coast of Sumatra, etc.

3. List out the deepest trenches of various oceans.


As many as 57 deeps have been explored so far; of which 32 are in the Pacific Ocean; 19 in the
Atlantic Ocean and 6 in the Indian Ocean. Some important trenches of the world are as follows:

 Mariana Trench: It is the world’s deepest trench. It lies in Pacific Ocean. It is 11034 km
below the ocean.
 Puritonko Trench: It is deepest trench in Atlantic Ocean.
 Sunda Trench: It is deepest trench in Indian Ocean.

4. What is a thermocline?
The temperature-depth profile for the ocean water shows how the temperature decreases with the
increasing depth. The profile shows a boundary region between the surface waters of the ocean
and the deeper layers. The boundary usually begins around 100 – 400 m below the sea surface and
extends several hundred of metres downward. This boundary region, from where there is a rapid
decrease of temperature, is called the thermocline.

5. When you move into the ocean what thermal layers would you encounter? Why the
temperature varies with depth?
The temperature structure of oceans over middle and low latitudes can be described as a
three-layer system from surface to the bottom.
 The first layer represents the top layer of warm oceanic water and it is about 500m thick
with temperatures ranging between 20° C and 25° C. This layer, within the tropical region, is
present throughout the year but in mid-latitudes it develops only during summer.
 The second layer called the thermocline layer lies below the first layer and is characterised
by rapid decrease in temperature with increasing depth. The thermocline is 500 -1,000 m
thick.
 The third layer is very cold and extends upto the deep ocean floor. In the Arctic and
Antarctic circles, the surface water temperatures are close to 0° C and so the temperature
variation with the depth is very slight.

6. What is salinity of sea water?


Salinity is the term used to define the total content of dissolved salts in sea water. It is calculated as
the amount of salt (in gm) dissolved in 1,000 gm (1 kg) of seawater. It is usually expressed as parts
per thousand (%) or ppt. Salinity is an important property of sea water. Salinity of 24.7% has been
considered as the upper limit to demarcate ‘brackish water’. Salinity changes with depth, but the
way it changes depends upon the location of the sea. Salinity at the surface increases by the loss
of water to ice or evaporation, or decreases by the input of fresh water, such as from the rivers.
Salinity at depth is very much fixed, because there is no way that water is ‘lost’, or the salt is
‘added.’

7. How are various elements of the hydrological cycle interrelated?


Water is a cyclic resource. It can be used and re-used. Water also undergoes a cycle from
atmosphere, land surface and sub surface and the organisms. About 71 per cent of the planetary
water is found in the oceans. The remaining is held as freshwater in glaciers and icecaps,
groundwater sources, lakes, soil moisture, atmosphere, streams and within life. Nearly 59 per cent
of the water that falls on land returns to the atmosphere through evaporation from over the oceans
as well as from other places. The remainder runs-off on the surface, infiltrates into the ground or a
part of it becomes glacier. The renewable water on the earth is constant while the demand is
increasing tremendously. This leads to water crisis in different parts of the world :— spatially and
temporally. The pollution of river waters has further aggravated the crisis.

8. Examine the factors that influence the temperature distribution of the oceans.
The factors which affect the distribution of temperature of ocean water are explained below:

1. Latitude: The temperature of surface water decreases from the equator towards the poles
because the amount of insolation decreases poleward. The enclosed seas in the low latitudes
record relatively higher temperature than the open seas; whereas the enclosed seas in the high
latitudes have lower temperature than the open seas.

2. Unequal distribution of land and water: The oceans in the northern hemisphere receive more
heat due to their contact with larger extent of land than the oceans in the southern hemisphere.

3. Prevailing wind: The winds blowing from the land towards the oceans drive warm surface water
away from the coast resulting in the upwelling of cold water from below. As a result, there is
longitudinal variation in the temperature. On the contrary, the onshore winds pile up warm water
near the coast and this raises the temperature.

4. Ocean currents: Warm ocean currents raise the temperature in cold areas while the cold currents
decrease the temperature in warm ocean areas. Gulf stream raises the temperature near the
eastern coast of North America and the West Coast of Europe while the Labrador current (cold
current) lowers the temperature near the north-east coast of North America.

5. Salinity: Saline water absorbs more heat and its temperature rises much higher than fresh water.

All these factors influence the temperature of the ocean currents locally.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy