Oceanography 2 Flashcards
Define RESIDENCY TIME.
The length water spends in a certain stage of the hydrological cycle
Explain the concept that WATER IS VISCOUS.
It has a thick, sticky consistency for marine animals
Causes morphological adaptations to combat this
What are the PROPERTIES OF WATER?
It’s a solvent
It’s a metabolite
It’s cohesive
It’s incompressible
High specific heat capacity
Which two properties determine OCEAN STRUCTURE?
Temperature
Salinity
Explain the three LAYERS OF OCEAN OF TEMP.
The mixed layer: surface zone mixed by waves and wind, less salty because of rainfall and ice melting
The thermocline: sudden cooling
The deep: much colder with higher pressures
What is the HALOCLINE?
The layer where there is a rapid change in salinity
What is the PYCNOCLINE and why is it important?
The layer with a rapid change in density
It prevents live phytoplankton sinking to the deep water where there is insufficient light
Allows dead phytoplankton to sink to the bottom then controls if nutrients come back to the surface
What does HIGH THERMAL INTERIA mean?
Water takes a long time to heat up and cool down
Define the MIXED-LAYER SEASONAL CYCLE.
Mixed layer deepens and darkens in the winter ( wind mixes the water which eats away at the pycnocline)
Then the phytoplankton bloom in the spring because light intensity and temperature increase as does wind mixing the water and bringing nutrients back to the surface
What are the important SEAWATER NUTRIENTS for phytoplankton?
Nitrogen (ammonium/nitrates)
Phosphorous (phosphate)
Silicon (silica)
Describe the effects of INCREASING SALINITY.
Density increases
Boiling point increases
Freezing point decreases
How would you define SALINITY?
The total amount of solid inorganic material dissolved in seawater including gases
How is salinity MEASURED?
Niskin bottle water samples
Electronic meter
