exam 3 oceanography Flashcards
how many carbon and water are needed to make O2 and Glucose?
6CO2 + 6H20 - Glucose + 6O2
What is chemosynthesis and where does the energy come from that bonds carbon atoms into glucose?
The production of food from inorganic materials .
Hydrogen Sulfide
second law of thermodyamics
At each step, energy is degraded
(that is, transformed into a less useful form).
What is Ocean Productivity ? How is it measured.
The incorporation of carbon atoms into carbohydrates. Grams of Carbon bound to water per meter squared of ocean water per year.
autotrophs
organisms that make their own food, also called producers.
heterotrophs
organisms that must consume other organisms for energy
at successively higher trophic levels what occurs? 4 things
- # of individuals decreases
- total biomass decreases
- Organism size goes up
- generation time goes up
transfer efficiency is what percent?
10 percent
Describe some creatures at each level starting at the lowest level
- phytoplankton (diatoms)
- zooplankton (cocopods)
3.small fish and lavae( primary consumers) - midsized fish(secondary consumers)
- large fish tuna(top comsumers)
what is a limiting factor?
any factor required for life can be a limiting factor. Anything in the environment thats too large or too small.
important physical factors
light
dissolved gases
temperature
acid base balance
salinity
hydrostatic pressure
dissolved nutrients( N and K) are main limiting nutrients
what is the name of the area where most biological productivity occurs and how deep does it go? Also, what are the two deeper layers.
euphotic zone or photic zone 70 meters
Disphotic zone
aphotic zone
difference between endotherm and ectotherm
endo - high, stable internal temp
generate their own heat
high metabolism
ecto - internal temp depends on surroundings - hydrothermal vents can support organism up to 400 degrees C.
3 ways substances(salts) move through cell walls
diffusion -
osmosis -
active transport
what are isotonic , hypertonic, and hypotonic?
isotonic - no net change of water movement - no change to cell shape
hypertonic - water diffuses outward - cells shrivel
hypertonic - water diffuses inward cell swell up
what is osmoregulation?
the active regulation of water and salts to retain
a constant internal water pressure
what are marine environment zones classified by?
location and behavior of the organisms that found there.
what is nekton?
swimmers
two two types of plankton (drifters)
phytoplankton and zooplankton
what are neritic and oceanic marine habitats?
Pelagic
what are Bottom dwellers called?
Benthic
what are the two types of benthic organisms ?
epifauna - animals on the surface of ocean floor
infauna - animals that burrow into top 1-5cm of ocean floor.
convergent evolution
animals will similar features who are fine tuned to their environment.
organisms are classified by how many domains? name them
3 - archcae - eycrotoer- backeria
what is the shore and the coast?
shore - where land meets the ocean (the beach)
coast - larger zone affected by processes occurring at this boundary (e.g. shelf, beach, cliffs, forest)
what percent of people live within 60km of the coast?
50 percent
what is a global rise in sea level called?
Eustatic change
causes of eustatic change?
- amount of ocean water varies
- ocean container can vary
- temperture can change water volume
cause of local changes in sea level?
- tectonic activity
2.isostatic adjustment - weather events
What is an erosional coast? name 2 erosional coasts in the united states.
dominant forces remove coastal material. Rocky coastal maine and rocky central california.
What is a Depositional coast?
name 2 locations ,
name 2 features that are typical
dominant forces add coastal material.
sandy southern flordia and sandy socal
beaches and deltas
includes biological coasts (corals)
US coast is ___% depositional and ___% erosional
30 percent depositional and 30 percent erosional.
Name some features of erosional coasts?
sea stacks , sea cave, sea arch, headlands
when wave energy converges on headlands what happens to shorelines?
Wave energy that converges on headlands straightens the shoreline.
what is a beach ?
a zone where loose particles cover the shore and are constantly moving?
beaches are characterized by what?
particles size
wave action
slope
name the 3 things particle size effects
- water retention - fine grains>coarse
- suitability for burrowing - fine grains> coarse
- Abrasion - coarse>fine grains
high wave action causes coarse sediments to be _____________
low wave action causes the _____________ of fine sediments
coarse sediments are left behind
accumulation
what are swash and backwash?
water running up the beach after a wave breaks
water flowing back down a beach - removes particles from the beach
beach profile can change _____________
seasonally
winter storms have higher wave action, can change depth of substrate by greater than 1 meter
what is a rip current ?
a rapid short distance movement of water perpendicular to shoreline.
long shore current
moves sediment along the shoreline between the surf zone and the upper limit of wave action.
coastal cells
sand input and sand out put are the same
what are sand spit, bay mouth bar, barrier island, and lagoon
long shore current clears a headland and approaches a quiet bay
sand spit closes off bay and attaches to adjacent headland
depositional sand bars parallel to the shore
shallow body of sea water isolated from the ocean
deltas require what 3 things
A broad continental shelf
minimal tidal range
no strong wave - low energy enviroments
river dominated deltas develop from
name one
strong river flow
protected marginal seas (gulf of mexico)
ends have well developed distributaries
mississipi river
describe tidal deltas , how do they shape sediments?
name some.
river discharge overwhelmed by tidal currents.
shapes sediments in islands parallel to the river flow and perpendicular to the coastline.
southwestern usa and ganges
describe wave dominated deltas.
name some
what is the shape they form
- smaller than tide and river dom
- smooth shorelines
- one exit channel
forms a triangle .
nile river delta.
name the three types of deltas.
river dominated, tide dominated, wave dominated.
what is a glacial moraine ?
how many moraines formed long island and what are their names?
when glaciers dump sediment at their termini.
- ronkononka moraine and harbor hill moraine.
name the two types of biologically formed coasts.
coral reef coasts - islands and atolls
mangrove coasts
three ways humans have interfered with coastal processes?
groins
seawalls
importing sand
what is an estuary?
name some types
a semi enclosed area where fresh water run off meets the sea.
bays, gulfs, inlets, sounds
what are estuaries characterized by?
freshwater run off and tidal mixing
name some economically important estuaries in the united states.
new york harbor, new orleans, boston harbor, san fran, seattle
what are the two estuaries on long island in the us estuary program?
peconic bay and long island sound.
3 reasons why estuaries are important.
Wildlife
ecosystem services
cultural benefits
3 facts about why estuaries are important areas for wildlife
- most productive ecosystems on earth.
- nursery function
- migratory birds. rest and refuel point
3 ecosystem services estuaries preform
- filtration of sediment and pollutants
- absorbs flood waters(storm surges)
- prevents shoreline erosion
what percent of commercial fish catch comes from estuaries?
what percent of recreational catch
75%
80-90%
Name the four types of estuaries
- coastal plain
- fjord
3.bar built - tectonic
describe coast plain formed estuary
V shaped . a drowned river valley. sea level rises relative to the land. Chesapeake bay. common in temperate zones.
describe fjord formed estuary
glaciers deepened and widened existing river valleys
U shaped in cross section
glacial deposits for sills at mouth
little sediments forms large planktonic communities
norway, alaska, chile, new zealand
describe bar built formed estuaries
where are they common
what do shallow water and deep sediment lead to?
deposition of sediment has kept pace with sea level rise
they are separated by barrier islands or sand spits forming shallow lagoons
common in tropical and sub tropical region (south carolina and gulf of mexico)
shallow water and deep sediment leads to salt marshes and mangrove
describe tectonic formed estuaries
formed by land subsidence and faulting (san andreas fault, san fran bay
describe well mixed halocline estuaries
well mixed- river output is less than marine output
shallow
horizontal salinity variation
columbia river
partially mixed estuary
river output still less than marine input but less than well mixed.
therefore, the salinity layers are more horizontal than vertical
highly stratified (fjord type)
somes sound maine
river output is greater than marine input
deep
turblence mixes salt water upward - greater salinity from head to mouth
salt wedge halocline type of esturary
river output far greater than marine input
little mixing
strong halocline
reverse halocline estuary
arid coasts
high evap , usually shallow
low river flow
baja and gulf coast
what are tides?
Periodic, short term changes
in the ocean’s surface height
at a particular location.
forced waves
highest tide in the world?
bay of fundy
how deep into the earth is earths center of mass?
1/4 to the center
how many tidal bulges are there and what causes them
- the moons gravity and excess intertial force.
what is the wave length of a tide?
1/2 the earths circumference
how long is a tidal day?
24hrs 50min
how long does it take the moon to rotate around the earth?
27 days
full moon to full moon 29.5 days
what is declination?
tides are rarely aligned with the equator.
latitudinal differences in height
moon max is 28.5 N and 28.5 S
sun is 23.5 N 23.5S
suns influence is _______ of the moons
1/2
how often do spring and neap tides occur?
every two weeks or twice per lunar month
explain 4 steps in amphrodic point creation
a. tide wave crest enters ocean basin
b. turns towards the right because of the corilosis effect. causes high tide at eastern side of basin.
c. cannot keep turning so moves north causing high tide in northern part of basin.
d. continues counter clockwise and western basin has high tide next
amphridromic points move which was in the northern hem ad which way in the southern.
counterclockwise in north and clock in sothern
tides move around ______________
Amphidromic points
tidal ranges increase with distance from ________________
Amphidromic points
list 3 types of tidal frequencies
dinural - once a day
semi dinural - twice a day , same heights
mixed semi dinural - twice a day , diff heights
what is a true tidal wave -
tidal bore
characteristics of a tidal bore-
a steep wave moving up stream in a confined river mouth can be 8m high
silver dragon largest tidal bore
rance estuary france gets power from what?
tides
how much power could tidal power generate world wide?
1 percent
what is the littoral zone?
area between low and high tide , tidal pools
most accessinle place to observe marine organisms
what are some biological tidal rhythms?
synchronized spawning muscles and corals .
many crabs migrate to subtidal to hatch eggs
famous grunion runs in cali.
what is a wave?
Moving energy along interface between fluids with different densities
wave period
wave frequency
celerity
ttime for two crests/trough to pass
number of waves to pass through a single point/time
speed of wave
wave length distance from ___________ to _____________
wave height distance from ___________ to ___________
crest/trough
trough to crest
waves move _________ forward not particles
energy
circular orbital motion
wave base =
1/2L
types of surface waves
wind driving
tidal
splash- landslide type shit
tsnumai
wake - displacement of water by ships
what are internal waves
associated with the pycnocline
larger than surface waves
caused by tides , turbidity, currents, ships.
potential hazard to submarines
two types of restoring forces
gravity(vast maority of ocean waves and surface tension (capillary waves)
what three factors impact wave size?
- Wind speed
- Duration of blowing wind
- fetch (distance wind has blown)
capillary waves have a wave height up to?
1.74cm
what is a swell?
uniform symmetrical waves that travel outward from a storm.
long crests
transports energy long distances
swell speed increases with wave length
longer wave length waves travel __________ and _____________ other waves
faster and outdistance
wave dispersion is sorted by ____________
wave length
what is a wave train?
a group of waves with similar characteristics
wave steepness =s what equation
height/wavelength
wave steepness greater than ___________ causes a wave to break
greater than 1/7
if a wave length is 35m, it will break when the wave is higher than __________
5m - x/35=1/7 cross multiply
what are the three wave interference patterns?
constructive - combine and become larger
destructive - become smaller
mixed - two swells with different wavelegnths and diff heights
potential rogue wave causes
constructive interference
storm waves and currents
shallow water
highest recorded wave train height and where it occurred
62ft and north Atlantic buoy
describe wave refraction
waves slow in shallow water and focus on the head lands
wave energy dissipates in bays
wave diffraction - waves spread energy __________ causing crests to __________
horizontally
decrease
spilling breaker
type of sea floor?
gently sloping sea floor
wave energy over long distance
good for long board surfer
plunging breaker
type of sea floor?
moderately steep sea floor
curling crest (tube)
wave energy over short distance
surging breaker
steepest seafloor
breaks on shore
energy expended over shortest distance
storm surges are short ________
storm surges consist only of a _________
and therefore are not considered ___________
lived
crest
waves
some effects of ocean currents
transfer of heat trop to polar
influences weather and climate
distributes nutrients and scatters organisms
what percent of energy is transferred from wind to water via frictional drag
2%
what percentage of earths water is involved in surface currents?
10%
what directions in the northern hemi and southern hemi are oceans circulating?
clockwise in northern and counter in southern
name the main currents in the atlantic basin
gulf stream, north atlantic current, canary current, and north equatorial current
what is the net flow and direction of the ekman spiral?
90 degrees to the right in the northern hemi and 90 to the left in southern
depth of ekman spiral ?
100-150m
ekman transport forms a _______ that___________ the thermocline
hill towards the center
depresses
there are ____ great currents in the world _______ of which are geostrophic gyres.
name the outlier
6
5
Antarctic circumpolar current
what is the greatest surface current in the world?
how fast is it moving?
antarctic circumcolar current
100 sv
whats are the characteristics of western boundary currents?
deep
fast
warm
narrow
what are some examples of western boundary currents
gulf stream
japan current
brazil current
eastern australian current
characteristic of eastern boundary currents
name some
broad
slow
cold
shallow
cali current
canary current
west aus current
peru current
when the center of the gyroscopic hill is offset to the west its called _______________ and is caused by ________________
western intensification
the corilosis effect
warm meanders and eddies move in _________ rotation and cold move in ____________
clock wise
counter clockwise
