Introduction to the marine environment

Question 1

Metals in the ocean abundance increasing left to right

Answer 1

Mg, Fe, Cr, Cn, Zn, Ni, V, Mo

Question 2

Why is Fe not found in higher concentrations in ocean water?

Answer 2

Iron is not soluble in water it is usually found as Fe III and therefore precipitates

Question 3

How organisms cope with low Iron

Answer 3

1. Metalloenzymes (e.g. DMS contributes to climate cooling – cloud formation)
2. Carbonic anhydrases (from diatoms)

Question 4

Which elements are limiting factors for algal blooms?

Answer 4

Nitrogen and iron

Question 5

Where is vanadium (5) haloperoxidase and what does it do?

Answer 5

Helps the release of iodine into the atmosphere – controls cooling

Used as a substitute for iron

Question 6

How does the enzyme vanadium (5) haloperoxidase control cooling of algae?

Answer 6

Creates a haze (IO.) above the algae by combining with ozone, this also protects the algae from dangerously high concentrations of ozone at lowtide

Question 7

What is siderophore?

Answer 7

Strongest known soluble iron binding agent

e.g. vibrioferrin

Question 8

Where is siderophore found?

Answer 8

In bacteria which have an association with the algae

Question 9

How do you algae utilise vibrioferrin?

Answer 9

Takes Fe2+ from bacteria (which has Fe2+ -> Fe3+ using vibrioferrin)

Question 10

Where is the permanent thermocline found in ocean?

Answer 10

At 200 to 1000 m

Question 11

Where is the seasonal thermocline found in the ocean?

Answer 11

In the mid-latitudes at depth of 40 to 100 m

Question 12

Why is high salinity water in the centre of the main oceans?

Answer 12

Due to ocean gyres causing rotation of current and spinning the denser salty water into a mound within the centres of oceans

Question 13

What is celerity?

Answer 13

Wavelength or wave period

Question 14

How do you calculate Wavelength?

Answer 14

1.56 x (wavelength)^2

Question 15

How high is a wave at the point the wave breaks?

Answer 15

1/7th of a wavelength roughly

Question 16

What is the equilibrium theory of tides?

Answer 16

Water on Earth moves around a little bit as the Moon moves around the Earth, causing the tides.

Question 17

What is a neep tide?

Answer 17

When the Earth, moon and sun at 90° angles from each other

Question 18

What is a spring tide?

Answer 18

When the Sun and the moon on either side of the Earth

Question 19

What is the ebbtide?

Answer 19

When the tide is going out

Question 20

What is the floodtide?

Answer 20

When the tide is coming in

Question 21

What is a pycnocline?

Answer 21

A layer in the ocean at which water density increases rapidly with depth

Question 22

What is a thermocline?

Answer 22

A layer in the ocean at which temperature decreases rapidly with depth

Question 23

What are the major subdivisions of the world Ocean horizontally?

Answer 23

Neritic zone (Continental shelf)
Oceanic zone (Open ocean)

Question 24

What are benthic organisms?

Answer 24

Organisms of the seabottom

Question 25

What are pelagic organisms?

Answer 25

Organisms that live in the open sea away from the bottom

Question 26

What are the ocean divisions based on light?

Answer 26

Photic 0-200m
Epipelagic 100-200m
Disphotic zone 200-1000m
Aphotic zone >200m

Question 27

What is the disphotic zone?

Answer 27

Zone where there is not enough light for photosynthesis but enough light for vision

Question 28

Aphotic zones, defined by depth

Answer 28

Mesopelagic 200 m to 700/1000 m
Bathypelagic from 700/1000 m TO 2000/4000 m
Abyssalpelagic deeper than 2000/4000 m
Hadalpelagic. Greater than 6000 m

Question 29

Larvae which use the plankton phase mainly for dispersal

Answer 29

Lecithotrophic

Question 30

Holoplanktonic

Answer 30

Organisms which spend whole lives in the plankton

Question 31

Meroplanktonic organisms

Answer 31

Spend part of life cycle in the plankton often the larval stage

Question 32

Three types of larval dispersal

Answer 32

Planktotrophic
Lecithotrophic
Nonpelagic

Question 33

Two types of larva produced by one type of settling plankton

Answer 33

Standard - locates adults with chemo reception and settles there

Pioneer - seeks new rock or settlement

Question 34

Differences between terrestrial and marine food webs

Answer 34

Marine show a marked by a mass per metre squared at top of food chain them bottom – Phytoplankton have fast turnover

Investment in offspring lower in marine environment

Microscopic producers and herbivores are dominant group not macroscopic producers e.g. plankton and zooplankton

Question 35

ocean divisions in pelagic terms

Answer 35

0-200m epipelagic zone
200-1000m mesopelagic zone
1000-4000m bathypelagic
4000-6000m hadalpelagic

Question 36

Planktotrophic

Answer 36

• pelagic feeding larva in plankton and bottom dwelling invertebrate adults

Question 37

Lecithotrophic

Answer 37

• pelagic nonfeeding larva in plankton and bottom dwelling invertebrate adults

Question 38

Nonpelagic

Answer 38

• bottom dwelling invertebrate adults, non-pelagic egg capsule travels p,then settles to form juvenile/adult

Question 39

what is a polar cell?

Answer 39

cold air sinks and flows south (atmosphere)

Question 40

what is a ferrel cell?

Answer 40

warm air rises at the polar front and circulates clockwise

Question 41

what is a hadley cell?

Answer 41

warm, moist air rises from the equator

tropical air carries heat north/south

Question 42

what is the coriolis effect?

Answer 42

moving object has apparent deflection to;
- right in northern hemisphere
- left in southern hemisphere
stronger effect towards poles, zero effect towards equator

Question 43

the winds from the north pole to the south pole

Answer 43

1. polar easterlies 
subpolar low
2. westerlies 
3. subtropical high
equatorial low 
4. subtropical high  
5. westerlies 
subpolar low 
6. polar easterlies

Question 44

what is Ekman spiral?

Answer 44

wind blows surface water in one direction

water beneath surface is deflected to right be decreasing decrees with decreasing power @ depths