Earth Science 13th Edition solutions

Earth Science 13
Assume someone brings several water samples to your laboratory. His problem is that the labels are incomplete. He knows samples A and B are from the Atlantic Ocean and that one came from near the equator and the other from near the Tropic of Cancer. But, he does not know which one is which. He has a

Earth Science 13
You are swimming in the open ocean near the equator. The thermocline in this location is about 1 C per 50 meters of depth. If the sea surface temperature is 24 C, how deep must you dive before you encounter a water temperature of 19 C?

Earth Science 13
The accompanying graph depicts variations in ocean water density and temperature with depth for a location near the equator. Which line represents temperature and which represents density? Explain.

Earth Science 13
After sampling a column of water from the surface to a depth of 3,000 meters, a colleague aboard an oceanographic research vessel tells you that the water column is isopycnal. What does that mean? What conditions create such a situation? What would have to happen in order to create a pycnocline?

Earth Science 13
Tropical environments on land are well known for their abundant liferainforests are an example. By contrast, biological productivity in tropical oceans is meager. Why is this the case?

Earth Science 13
The accompanying graph relates to the abundance of ocean life (productivity) in a polar region of the Northern Hemisphere. Which line represents phytoplankton and which represents zooplankton? How did you figure this out? Why are the curves so low from November through February?

Earth Science 13
A storm near the coast produces sediment-rich runoff that causes water in the euphotic zone to become cloudy. Describe how this would affect the (a) plankton, (b) nekton, and (c) benthos.

Earth Science 13
Refer to Figure 14.19. What is the average efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels? Use this efficiency to determine how much phytoplankton mass is required to add 1 gram of mass to a killer whale, which is a third-level carnivore

Earth Science 13
How might the removal of the top carnivore affect a food web? How would the removal of the primary producer affect the food web? Which change would be more significant than the other?