Oceanography 101
PRE-LAB
Saunders/Khandro
Maps, Charts, Marine Geography, and Navigation
NAME:
Objective: The purpose of this lab is to introduce students to the basic concepts of geography
and map construction by examining the meaning of latitude and longitude, locating important
regions of the oceans and coastal areas, interpreting contours, and relating map views of
underwater landforms to cross-sectional views. To complete this PRE-LAB, click on each gray
box which should allow you to highlight each box and type your answer.
Pre-lab. Latitude & Longitude
Materials needed: Your textbook and a map that shows latitude & longitude lines.
(P.1) What problems can you perceive when one tries to draw a map of the earth on a flat piece
of paper?
(P.2) Examine a world map. Most maps depicts a Mercator projection, which is created by
shining a light through a transparent cylindrical drawing of the earth and tracing over the
projected image.
Because the projected image of the curved earth is flat, it has some inherit distortions.
After examining a map of the world, which parts of the map are the most distorted and
why?
(P.3) Using a map, plot the general area of the following coordinates.
Point
A
B
C
D
Latitude
45˚N
15˚S
0˚N
60˚S
Longitude
45˚W
105˚E
0˚W
78˚W
Description of Plotted Area
Pre-lab. Important regions of the oceans and coastal areas
2
(P.4) Using the map below and a world map or globe as your reference, locate the following
places. Use the letters preceding the place name and the space bar to move the cursor
around on the map. The map should remain in place as you use the space bar and arrow
keys on your keyboard to move around it.
a. Atlantic Ocean
b. Pacific Ocean
c. Indian Ocean
d. Caribbean Sea
e. Mediterranean Sea
f. Gulf of California
(Sea of Cortez)
g. Gulf of Mexico
h. Black Sea
i. Bering Strait
j. Strait of Magellan
k. Strait of Gibraltar
l. Cape of Good Hope
m. Cape Horn
n. Red Sea
o. Persian Gulf
p. Sea of Japan
q. Arabian Sea
r. the Gulf Stream
s. North Sea
t. Bay of Bengal
Pre-lab. Unit Conversions
DIRECTIONS: Find the SI Units in Appendix B (p. 463 of your text) to help answer the following
questions.
(P.5) Convert the following measurements.
1 land mile =
1 meter =
1 nautical mile =
1 fathom =
1 knot =
Kilometers?
Feet?
Land miles?
Feet?
Miles/Hr?
Yards?
Kilometers?
Meters? (you may need to Google “fathom”)
Km/Hr?
3
(P.6) The Gulf Stream flows at an average velocity of 100 cm/s. Is this faster or slower than
walking, which is about 3 mph?
(3.3) Calculate the average velocity of the Gulf Stream in:
Knots:
miles per hour:
km per hour:
(3.4) The distance across the North Atlantic from New England to Europe is about 3000 nautical
miles. If you were on a life boat in the Gulf Stream, how many days would it take to cross the
ocean starting at New England? (Show your work!)