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Marine Science > polar ocean ecosystem > Flashcards

polar ocean ecosystem Flashcards

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1
Q

location

A

arctic ocean & southern ocean

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2
Q

arctic & antartic characteristics

A 
Cold !
Dry and windy
Sea ice
Oxygen-rich & nutrient-rich waters
Periods of continuous darkness (winter)
and of continuous daylight (summer) => Very productive summers
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3
Q

arctic ocean characteristics

A 
Surrounded by land
Arctic circle: 66oN
-2 to 5oC
33 to 35 ppt
Greatest influx: Norwegian current
Greatest efflux: East Greenland current
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4
Q

southern ocean characteristics

A

Surrounded by oceans

Antarctic circle: 66oS

Antarctic Circumpolar current

Isolated by Antarctic Convergence:

-2 to 2oC

34 to 36 ppt

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5
Q

antartica characteristics

A 
Cold (Coldest air temperature ever recorded on
Earth was −89.2 °C at Vostok, Antarctica on 21
July 1983)
Windy
Dry (desert–like)
50 mm snow/yr (interior)
200 mm (coasts)
mountainous
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6
Q

why is antartica colder than the artic

A

Elevation: much of Antarctica is more than 3 km
above sea level and temperature decreases with
elevation

Water covers the north, land covers the south: the
ocean’s relative warmth is transferred through the
icepack and prevents temperatures in the Arctic
regions from reaching the extremes typical of the
land surface of Antarctica

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7
Q

what are the physical adaptations to life at the poles?

A

Physical adaptations: blubber (or fat), thick

coats, small extremities, big bodies

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8
Q

what are the behavioural adaptations?

A

huddling, shelter

in dens, curl up & cover muzzle

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9
Q

what are the physiological adaptations?

A

slow
metabolism, lack of red blood cells,
antifreeze in fish blood, countercurrent
heat exchangers

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10
Q

beluga adaptations

A

Blubber – layer of vascularized fat under the skin of
cetaceans, pinnipeds & sirenians
No dorsal fin for ease of movement under the ice

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11
Q

polar bear adaptations

A

Very dense fur – undercoat plus guard hairs of varying length

Each hair is transparent (pigment-free) and hollow which reflects visible light (like snow & ice)

Black skin to absorb light energy

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12
Q

human impacts on polar sea

A

Decreasing sea ice extent

Melting ice caps & permafrost (positive feedback
through albedo effect and release of CO2 and

Warming water is less dense

Melting of ice caps also decreases density of polar
seawater

Decreased sinking / thermohaline circulation

Species distribution: pole-ward shift of some species; habitat
loss

Ocean acidification

Diffusion of anthropogenic CO2 into seawater causes 🡻 pH

Greatest impact in Bering Sea due to cold water absorbing more
CO2

Marine debris / pollution / oil spills

Overfishing / whaling

Tourism & research (garbage / sewage / disturbing
species)

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13
Q

human impacts on the arctic

A

~ 4 million humans live in the Arctic

Fishing, sealing, whaling

Pollution –PCB’s, mercury, persistent organic pollutants

Oil and gas exploration & extraction / pipelines / mining /military activities

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14
Q

human impact on the antarctic

A

Humans include scientists and tourists (no indigenous population)

Overfishing / whaling

Albatross bycatch from longlining

No mining / no military activity

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15
Q

what countries own the north pole?

A 
russia
canada
norway
iceland
denmark
US
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16
Q

What are the governmental implications and treaties regarding the Arctic?

A

Arctic Council (1996) – intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.

8 countries: USA, Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland, Denmark (representing Greenland and Faroe Islands), Iceland, Sweden

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17
Q

who owns antartica?

A

UK, Argentina, Norway, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, France

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18
Q

what’s the territory of antartica that’s unclaimed?

A

Marie Byrd Land

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19
Q

What are the governmental implications and treaties regarding Antartica

A

Antarctic Treaty (1959) – 12 original signatories

53 nations party to the treaty

14 articles related to peace (no military activity), research,
no nuclear activity, no mining

20
Q

What’s CCAMLR?

A

CCAMLR - Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (1982)

Started to address concerns about
overharvesting of krill

24 member states + EU

11 acceding states

21
Q

keystone species

A

krill

22
Q

enumerate few of the conservation efforts

A

ASOC – Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (1978)

Biggest success: mining ban

Inuit Circumpolar Council multinational NGO (1977)
- Canada, Russia, Greenland, USA – Alaska

23
Q

conservation efforts (NGOs)

A

Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd Society, Sierra Club, Nature
Conservancy, WWF

Research

Education

Activism

24
Q

arctic fox adaptations

A

Long guard hairs and very dense undercoat

Countercurrent heat exchange in legs to maintain core body temperature while walking on cold substrate

Lots of body fat

Low surface area to volume ratio to minimize heat loss – rounded body with short legs, ears & muzzle

25
Q

emperor penguin adaptations

A

Large bodies (30 kg, 1.2 m tall)

Feathers help maintain body temp.

Subcutaneous fat

Huddling to conserve heat

Slow metabolism

High oxygen-affinity hemoglobin

Solid bones & bradycardia (diving)

26
Q

what’s bradycardia

A

slower than normal heart rate to maintain homeostasis.

27
Q

why are some invertebrates gigantic?

A

Cold water, low metabolic rates, lots of oxygen leads to slow growth and gigantism

28
Q

give two examples of invertebrates

A

krill & Lion’s mane jelly

29
Q

what’s the average ice thickness in Arctic waters?

A

2-3 m

30
Q

what’s the average ice thickness in Antarctica

A

1-2 m

31
Q

ice sheet

A

a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² (thickness 216-4776 m)

32
Q

ice cap

A

ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than 50,000 km² of land area.

33
Q

ice shelf

A

permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to a landmass.

34
Q

by how much can Antarctica raise the sea level

A

by 62 m

35
Q

ice berg

A

a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water.

36
Q

bergy bit

A

a medium to large fragment of ice

37
Q

growler

A

small iceberg

38
Q

albedo

A

non-dimensional, unitless quantity that indicates how well a surface reflects solar energy

39
Q

positive feedback

A

a process wherein some initial change in the climate causes some secondary change that in turn increases the effects of the initial change, essentially magnifying the initial effect

40
Q

describe how the ice albedo is an example of positive feedback

A

with warming, ice melts this leads to ocean exposure which means less albedo => increase in sunlight => warming (ice is more reflective)

41
Q

krill adaptations

A

the ability to shrink their bodies and undergo long periods of starvation.

42
Q

lion’s mane jelly adaptations

A

tentacles are equipped with nematocysts containing poison that stun prey when they are enveloped
adapted to cold waters and human impact

43
Q

polar bears adaptations

A

Very dense fur – undercoat plus guard
hairs of varying length

Each hair is transparent (pigment-free)
and hollow which reflects visible light
(like snow & ice)

Black skin to absorb light energy

44
Q

Antarctic convergence

A

where the cold Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the subantarctic, creating a zone of upwelling nutrients. These nurture high levels of phytoplankton with associated copepods and krill, and resultant foodchains supporting fish, whales, seals, penguins, albatrosses

45
Q

Countercurrent heat exchange

A

Blood flowing from the body core to the periphery (like the legs & feet) carries heat that can be readily lost through the skin.

Marine Science (19 decks)

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