Oceans And Seas Flashcards
Where is the Pacific Ocean located?
The far west of the map, west to north and South America (comes round to east of Asia)
Where is the Arctic Ocean located?
Far north
Where is the Atlantic Ocean located?
Closer to the centre of the map, between the Americas and Africa/Europe
Where is the Indian Ocean located?
To the east of Africa, south of Asia, west of Australia
The five oceans are connected by…
Water currents
Features of the ocean floor
- continental slope
- seamount
- abyssal plains
- mid-ocean ridge
- volcanic islands
- continental shelf
- trenches
What are volcanic islands?
They exist in the ocean floor. When they erupt, they create mountains which are taller than the surface of the ocean. Then when lava cools, an island is formed above the ocean
What are abyssal plains?
Underwater land which can be found 3,000 to 6,000 metres deep
What is bathymetry?
The study of underwater, depth of water floors
Ocean currents distribute ________ around the world
Heat
What is latitude?
The distance of a place from the equator, measures in degrees
What is altitude?
the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level.
What is the thermohaline circulation cycle?
A part of the large scale ocean circulation that is driven by surface heat and freshwater.
Deeper water are ………… (more/less) saline
more
Shallower water are ……… (more/less) saline.
less
What is ocean acidification?
Ongoing acidification is the ongoing decrease in the Ph of the Earth’s ocean
Describe the process of ocean acidification.
- carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean (adds carbon to the water)
- when co2 mixes with water it creates a weak acid called carbonic acid which means there is less carbon available for building shells and coral
- over time, as humans add more co2 to the oceans, they become more and more acidic
What is the impact of ocean acidification on coral reefs?
The decrease in carbon availability in the oceans (happening from ocean acidification) means that seashells and corals are built more slowly and with more difficulty
