Earth Science

1. Earth Science Oceanography

2. Oceanography • What is Oceangraphy? • How much of the Earth is covered by ocean? • Nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by the global ocean • Oceanography is the science that studies all aspects of the world ocean.

4. Ocean Geography • List the oceans from largest to smallest. • The Pacific Ocean is the largest and has the greatest depth. • The Atlantic Ocean is about half the size of the Pacific and not quite as deep • The Indian Ocean, largely a southern hemisphere body, is slightly smaller than the Atlantic. • The Arctic Ocean is about 7 percent of the size of the Pacific.

5. Mapping the Ocean Floor • What are the tools used in bathymetry? • The topography of the ocean floor is as diverse as that of the continents. • Bathymetry is the measurement of ocean depths and the charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor. • sonar, satellites, and submersibles are the tools for bathymetry

7. Mapping the ocean floor cont. • What does the letters in Sonar stand for? • Sonar is an acronym for sound navigation and ranging. It is also referred to as echo sounding. • Submersibles are small underwater crafts used for deep-sea research.

9. Satellite Methods

10. Ocean floor features. • What are the 3 regions of the ocean floor? • 3 regions of the ocean floor. • 1. Continental Margin • 2. Ocean basin floor • 3. Mid ocean ridge

11. Continental Margin • Compare and Contrast the continental margin of the Atlantic and Pacific ocean. • continental margin is the zone of transition between a continent and the adjacent ocean basin floor. • Atlantic has very little volcanic or earthquake activity. • Pacific has a narrow margin and experiences both volcanic and earthquake activity.

12. Continental Margin cont. • Explain the different parts of the continental margin. • continental shelf is the gently sloping submerged surface extending from the shoreline. • continental slope is the steep gradient that leads to the deep-ocean floor and marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf. • continental rise is the gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope.

14. Ocean Basin Floor • Where is the ocean basin floor located relative to the continental margin? • List some features of the ocean basin floor • ocean basin floor is the area of the deep-ocean floor between the continental margin and the oceanic ridge. • Trenches form at the sites of plate convergence where one moving plate descends beneath another and plunges back into the mantle • Abyssal plain- flat area on the ocean basin floor.

15. Ocean Basin floor • What happens when a seamount is not underwater anymore? • seamount is an isolated volcanic peak located on the ocean floor. • Guyot- an eroded submerged seamount.

16. Ocean Currents • Describe different types of ocean currents and how they effect the weather. • Ocean current is the mass of ocean water that flows from one place to another. • Surface currents are movements of water that flow horizontally in the upper part of the ocean’s surface caused by wind.

18. Ocean Currents Cont. • What is a Gyre? • Gyres are huge circular-moving current systems that dominate the surfaces of the oceans. • Circulation of ocean currents is like wind. The warm water moves from the equator to the poles. Cold from poles to equator.

19. Upwelling • What is an upwelling and why are they important? • Upwelling is the rise of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water. • Upwellings bring nutrients with them to the surface for fish to feed.

21. Density Currents • What are density currents? • Densitycurrents are vertical currents of ocean water that result from density differences among water masses.

23. Salinity • What is salinity and what is the most common salt found in the ocean? • Salinity is the total amount of solid material dissolved in water. • Most of the salt in seawater is sodium chloride, common table salt.

24. Processes that affect salinity • List processes that affect salinity in the ocean. • Processes that decrease salinity • Precipitation • Sea ice melting • Icebergs melting • Runoff from land • Processes that increase salinity • Evaporation • Formation of sea ice

25. Thermocline • Define Thermocline • thermocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 meters and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of temperature with depth

26. Seawater Density • What two factors influence seawater density? • Seawater density is influenced by two main factors: salinity and temperature. • pycnocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 meters and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of density with depth.

27. Classification of marine Organisms • What is the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton? • Plankton include all organisms—algae, animals, and bacteria—that drift with ocean currents. • Two types of plankton- Phytoplankton are algal plankton, which are the most important community of primary producers in the ocean • • Zooplankton are animal plankton

29. Nekton and Benthos • Describe the characteristics of nekton and benthos. • Nekton include all animals capable of moving independently of the ocean currents, by swimming or other means of propulsion. • Benthos describes organisms living on or in the ocean bottom

32. Marine Life Zones • Describe the marine life zones. • photic zone is the upper part of the ocean into which sunlight penetrates • intertidal zone is the strip of land where the land and ocean meet and overlap, or the zone between high and low tides. • neritic zone is the marine-life zone that extends from the low-tide line out to the shelf break.

33. Marine Life Zones Cont. • Evaluate the marine life zones by depth. • oceanic zone is the marine-life zone beyond the continental shelf. • The pelagic zone is open zone of any depth. Animals in this zone swim or float freely. • benthic zone is the marine-life zone that includes any sea-bottom surface regardless of its distance from shore. • abyssal zone is a subdivision of the benthic zone characterized by extremely high pressures, low temperatures, low oxygen, few nutrients, and no sunlight.

35. Oceanic Productivity • What is the difference between photosynthesis and chemosynthesis? Primary productivity is the production of organic compounds from inorganic substances through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the use of light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich glucose molecules. Chemosynthesis is the process by which certain microorganisms create organic molecules from inorganic nutrients using chemical energy.

36. Oceanic Feeding Relationships • Explain the difference between a food chain and food web. • trophic level is a nourishment level in a food chain. • The transfer of energy between trophic levels is very inefficient. • food chain is a sequence of organisms through which energy is transferred, starting with the primary producer. • food web is a group of interrelated food chains.