Instructions: Choose the phrase that best answers each question.
1. The smooth shallow area (light tan or gray color) west of the coastline in Figure 1 is widest
(A) north of Point Reyes
(B) at San Francisco
(C) at Monterey Bay
(D) south of Monterey Bay
2. Examine Figure 2. The primary feature in Monterey Bay is similar to the feature shown in Figure 4.13 (page 70) of the textbook. This feature is a
(A) submarine canyon
(B) broad smooth slope
(C) seafloor hill
(D) a flat deep floor
3. Closely space bathymetric contour lines indicate
(A) steeper slopes than widely spaced contours
(B) gentler slopes than widely spaced contours
4. The side-scan sonar technique
(A) uses sound pulses to obtain detailed views of the seafloor
(B) uses instruments mounted on satellites to map the seafloor
(C) uses light to take photographic pictures of the seafloor
(D) uses weighted ropes to obtain seafloor depths
5. Detailed mapping in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) dealt with which societal issue
(A) where to locate offshore oil platforms
(B) where to dispose of sediment dredged from San Francisco Bay
(C) where to locate boundaries of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
(D) where to dump radioactive waste material
Instructions: Write short answers for the following questions. Answers will be graded credit / no credit; results will be available several days after the exercise due date.
1. Briefly describe the shape of the seafloor along the coast west of San Francisco, from Point Reyes to Monterey (Figure 1). You do not need to use technical terms. See pages 80, 86, 87 for descriptions of typical features found at continental margins.
2. Look at the contour lines on Figure 3. Try to make 2 generalizations about interpreting these lines. For example, what types of features are indicated by closed contour shapes, such as those located southwest of the Sanctuary boundaries; what is implied by closely spaced versus widely spaced contour lines; what types of features are indicated by contour lines that point toward land, as they do in several places near the western end of the Sanctuary.
3. Examine Figures 1 and 3, focusing on the shallow part of the seafloor immediately west of the coastline. 20,000 years ago, the level of the sea was lower (about 150 meters lower) than it is now. Approximately where would the coastline have been located at that time?
4. How do you think our view of the seafloor has changed as technology has changed?
5. Please comment on this computer exercise: what worked best for you or what you liked best, and what worked least for you or what you liked least.