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EAS > Lecture 15: Oceans 1 > Flashcards

Lecture 15: Oceans 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Global distribution of the ocean?

A

Most of the southern hemisphere is ocean and most of the northern hemisphere is land

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2
Q

How much of the earth’s surface does ocean cover?

A

71%

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3
Q

What is the maximum depth of the ocean?

A

11km

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4
Q

What is the average depth of the ocean?

A

4.5km

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5
Q

What is Salinity?

A

The measure of the proportion of dissolved ions in ocean water

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6
Q

What are the primary ions dissolved in water?

A

Chloride, Sodium, Sulfate, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Bicarbonate

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7
Q

What are the main dissolved ions in oceans?

A

Chloride and Sodium

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8
Q

What is the Source of Ions in the ocean?

A

Ions enter into the ocean primarily from the dissolved loads of rivers and from submarine volcanic activity at mid ocean ridges

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9
Q

What are Ocean Sinks?

A

When ions are removed from sea water by precipitation of minerals, sequestration by living organisms to produce shells, sorption to clay minerals, in sea spray and reactions with basaltic seafloor rocks

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10
Q

What does the Residence time of ions mean?

A

The average time an ion spends in seawater

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11
Q

What does the residence time of ions in water depend on?

A

The flux of an ion into sea water (sources) and the rate at which the ions is removed from sea water as well as the solubility of the ion

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12
Q

Why do Organisms remove ions from the ocean?

A

The remove ions in order to build their shells with calcium carbonate and silica

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13
Q

How do Mid-ocean ridges affect ions in the ocean?

A

They at Calcium and Potassium to the water and remove Magnesium and Sulfate

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14
Q

Which ions have to longest residence times in oceans?

A

Sodium, Potassium and Calcium

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15
Q

Why do Manganese, Iron and Aluminium how lower residence times in oceans?

A

Because they are less soluble in water

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16
Q

Where in oceans is Salinity high?

A

In regions of high evaporation and/or low precipitation

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17
Q

Where in is salinity of oceans low?

A

Where river water enter into the ocean

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18
Q

What was the composition of ocean water back in history?

A

Salinity was probably lower early in earth history and iron concentrations were higher as banded iron formation were deposited as atmospheric oxygen increased and iron oxidized

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19
Q

What is the distribution of temperature in the ocean?

A

Temperatures are hotter near the equator and temperature decreases poleward

20
Q

What causes the distribution of ocean surface temperature on earth?

A

Ocean circulation patterns and amount of sunlight

21
Q

How is ocean temperature affected by depth?

A

Temperature decreases with depth and the cold water is denser and sinks

22
Q

What is the Thermocline?

A

The zone of rapid temperature change in the ocean

23
Q

How does depth affect the salinity of water?

A

Salinity increases with depth because saline water is denser and sinks

24
Q

What is the Halocline?

A

The region of rapid salinity change in the ocean

25
Q

What are the causes of ocean density increasing with depth?

A

Decreasing temperature, increasing salinity, and compression of liquid water

26
Q

What is the Pycnocline?

A

The zone of rapid density change in the water

27
Q

What are ocean surface Currents caused by?

A
  • Air currents interacting with the surface of the oceans
  • The sinking of denser (colder or saline) water
  • Effects resulting from rotation of the earth
28
Q

What are Deep Ocean currents caused by?

A

Dense, cold, high salinity water that descends at the poles

29
Q

What occurs is the Conveyer belt in the Atlantic Ocean?

A

Water freezes and loses salt at the antartic and the remaining water is more dense and becomes bottom water under the north atlantic deep water. As the north atlantic deep water approaches antarctica it interacts with warmer water to become intermediate water

30
Q

What is the Thermohaline circulation a result of?

A

Density driven movement of water in the oceans

31
Q

What does the Thermohaline Circulation play a critical role in?

A

Controlling global climate

32
Q

What causes Surface currents?

A

The sun unevenly heating the planet causing different wind directions that pass over the water and cause currents

33
Q

What is Surface circulation dominated by?

A

Gyres driven by the Coriolis effect

34
Q

What are Gyres?

A

Circular patterns of surface water movement

35
Q

Where is the surface of earth not rotating?

A

Its rotating everywhere but the equator

36
Q

Which direction is the surface of earth rotating in each hemisphere?

A
  • CCW in the northern hemisphere

* CW in the southern hemisphere

37
Q

What direction do objects that are going straight appear to be going in each hemisphere?

A
  • Right (CW) in N. hemisphere

* Left (CCW) in S. Hemisphere

38
Q

How does the Coriolis effect affect wind drive currents in the northern hemisphere?

A

It causes them to be 90º clockwise

39
Q

What occurs in Ekman transport?

A

Wind causes the surface water to be blown away but instead of going straight it goes clockwise. As that water gets blown away, water from underneath comes and fills the spot and also gets rotated clockwise in 90º

40
Q

What does Ekman transport cause?

A

Upwelling of deep nutrient rich water to the surface where transport direction is offshore

41
Q

When do areas of Downwelling occur?

A

Where Ekman transport is onshore

42
Q

What is El Nino?

A

When the circulation system of the oceans change and upwelling declines, reducing fish and bird populations and trade winds reverse in the west specific

43
Q

What occurs in a normal year and not an El nino year?

A

Surface currents off the coast of South america move northward and Ekman transport (CCW in the southern hemisphere) cause upwelling and movement offshore

44
Q

What causes El Nino?

A

Atmospheric pressure changes that cause trade winds to reverse which stops upwelling

45
Q

How does El Nino affect fisheries?

A

The top 100 meters of ocean water in the intertropical convergence zone warm up, lowering oxygen concentration causing fish to go deeper to survive or die off due to red algae

46
Q

How often does El Nino occur?

A

Every 4 years with variable severity

EAS (33 decks)

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