Chapter 3, 4 and 5 Flashcards
Define Thermocline
A: a zone in the water column that shows a sudden change in the temperature with depth. Example: The zone where the temperature change marks the transition between the warm surface and the cold deep water.
Define Coriolis effect
A: The tendency of objects moving large distances on Earth’s surface to bend to the right in the NH and to the left in the SH. Caused by the Earth’s rotation on weather patterns and ocean currents.
Define Neap tide
A: Tides with a small tidal range.
Example: moderate tides when the sun and moon are at the right angles to each other
Define Upwelling
A: The process by which colder water rich in nutrients rises from a lower to a higher depth.
Ex: water rising by the wind pushing it up
Define Downwelling
A: The sinking of surface water that is denser than the underlying water layers.
Define Spring Tide
A: Tides with large tidal ranges. They occur when a full or new moon has appeared
Define wave
A: The undulation that forms as a disturbance moves along the surface of water.
Define A mixed semidiurnal tide
A: A tidal pattern with two successive high tides of different heights each day.
Define Swell
A: A wave with a flatter rounded wave crest and trough. Swells are found away from the area where they are generated by the wind.
Define Solvent
A: The liquid in which a solute is dissolved to form a solution
Define Solute
A: any material dissolved in a solvent
Define Ekman transport
A: The spiral change in the movement of water in the water column when the water is pushed by wind.
Example: Waves being pushed by the wind
Define pressure
A: The weight exerted over a unit area of surface.
Define ion
A: An atom or a group of atoms that is electrically charged
Define photic zone
A: The surface layer where there is enough light for photosynthesis to occur
Define molecule
A: A combination of two or more atoms
Define heat capacity
A: The amount of that must be added to a substance to raise its temperature by a given amount.
Most of the unique properties of seawater are due to _______ between adjacent water molecules
A: Hydrogen Bonds
The average salinity of the sea is _____. PPT stands for ________.
A: 35%
Parts per thousand
The two most common ions dissolved in sea water are __________ and ________
A: Sodium and Chloride
The pattern of the surface currents is mainly a product of______ and _________. The latter causes the currents to turn to the ______ in the northern hemisphere and the _____ in the Southern Hemisphere
A: Corriolis effect, trade winds, right, left
The tides are produced by what two forces? 2. What type of tides do we see on our coastlines?
A: The gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Diurnal tides
The surface of the ocean called the ______ is mixed by action of the winds. It’s average depth is _________ . Below this region where temperature drops rapidly with depth, called the ____________.
A: surface layer(100 to 200m) or 330 to 660ft
2. Intermediate layer
What factor in the deep ocean most limits human exploration?
A: High pressure
What are the three major layers of the ocean?
A: Surface layer (100 to 200m deep), intermediate layer(1,000 to 1,5000 deep), bottom layer (1,500m)
Define Autotrophs
A: An organism that manufactures its own organic matter by using energy
Define heterotroph
A: An organism that obtains energy from organic matter
Define primary production
A: The conversion of the inorganic carbon usually in the form of carbon
Osmoconformer
A: An organism that allows it’s inner salt concentration to change with the salinity
Define osmosregulator
A: An organism that controls it inner salt composition
Define Photisynthesis
A: The chemical process involved in the transformation of solar energy into glucose
Define Respiration
A: The chemical process involved in the release of energy from organic matter
Define population
A: A group of organisms belonging to the same species and living in the same place
Define community
A:The populations that live and interact in an area
Define habitat
A: The natural environment where an organism lives
Define Plankton
A: Organisms that drift in the water
Define Diffusion
A: The movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to low concentration
Define osmosis
A:The movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane, like the cell membrane, which allows only certain molecules
Define ectotherm
A: An organism that loses metabolic heat due to the environment
Define asexual Reproduction
A:
