Chapter 6 Vocab

Question 1

aquatic life zone

Answer 1

marine or freshwater portion of the biosphere

Question 2

brackish water

Answer 2

mixture of freshwater and salt water

Question 3

climate

Answer 3

general pattern of atmospheric conditions in a given area over periods ranging from decades to thousands of years

Question 4

coastal wetland

Answer 4

land along a coastline that is covered with water for all or part of the year

Question 5

coastal zone

Answer 5

warm, nutrient-rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the gently sloping, shallow edge of the continental shelf

Question 6

delta

Answer 6

area at the mouth of a river built up by deposits of river sediments, often containing estuaries and coastal wetlands

Question 7

edge effect

Answer 7

tendency for a transition zone between two different ecosystems to have a greater species diversity and a higher density of organisms than are found in either of the individual ecosystems

Question 8

estuary

Answer 8

partially enclosed coastal area where a river meets the sea and seawater mixes with the fresh water

Question 9

eutrophication

Answer 9

Process by which a body of water gains nutrients

Question 10

freshwater life zone

Answer 10

aquatic system comprised of water with a dissolved salt concentration of no more than 1,000 ppm

Question 11

greenhouse gases

Answer 11

gas in earth’s lower atmosphere that causes the greenhouse effect

Question 12

inland wetland

Answer 12

land away from the coast (such as a swamp, marsh, or a small pond) that is covered all or part of the time with fresh water

Question 13

marine life zone

Answer 13

Saltwater environment found in an ocean or its bay, estuary, coastal wetland, shoreline, coral reef, or mangrove bay

Question 14

ocean acidification

Answer 14

Rising levels of acidity in ocean water, occurring because the oceans absorb at least 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities. The carbon dioxide reacts with the ocean water to form a weak acid that can endanger entire ecosystems.

Question 15

ocean current

Answer 15

mass movement of surface water driven by winds and shaped by landforms

Question 16

open sea

Answer 16

part of any ocean that lies beyond the continental shelf

Question 17

permafrost

Answer 17

underground soil where captured water can stay frozen for more than two consecutive years

Question 18

rainshadow

Answer 18

semiarid or arid region on the leeward side of a mountain when prevailing winds flow up and over a high mountain

Question 19

runoff

Answer 19

surface water that flows into freshwater life zones

Question 20

surface water

Answer 20

precipitation that does not sink into the ground or evaporate; fresh water that flows or is stored in bodies of water on Earth’s surface

Question 21

watershed

Answer 21

Land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to streams, lakes, or wetlands

Question 22

weather

Answer 22

set of physical conditions of the lower atmosphere that includes temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, and other factors