Thurman Glossary Flashcards
Abiotic
Pertaining to nonliving factors, not life.
Nadir
Point on celestial sphere directly opposite the zenith and directly beneath the observer.
Nannplanktoon
Plankton less than 50 microns (0.002 inch) in length that can’t be captured in plankton net and must be removed from water by centrifuge or special microfilters.
Nansen bottle
Device use by oceanographers to obtain samples of ocean water from beneath the surface.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFLP)
prevents costly federal aid after a natural disasters by discouraging building in risk-prone areas.
Natural selection
only organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genes
Nauplius
Microscopic free-swimming larva stage of crustaceans. Have three pairs of appendages.
Abiotic environment
The nonliving components of an ecosystem
Abyssal clay
Deep-ocean deposits containing less than 30% biogenous sediment. Often oxidized and red in color, thus commonly termed red clay.
Abyssal hill
A volcanic peak rising less than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) above the ocean floor.
Abyssal hill province
A deep-ocean region, particularly in the Pacific Ocean, where oceanic sedimentation rates are so low that abyssal plains do not form and the ocean floor is covered with abyssal hills.
Abyssal plain
A flat depositional surface extending seaward from the continental rise or oceanic trenches.
Abyssal storm
Storm like occurrences of rapid current movement affecting the deep-ocean floor. They are believed to be caused by warm and cold core eddies of surface currents.
Abyssal zone
The benthic environment between 4,000 and 6,000 meters (13,000 and 20,000 feet).
Abyssopelagic
The open-ocean environment below 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) in depth.
Acid
A substance that releases hydrogen ions in solution.
Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC)
The measurement of ocean wide changes in water properties such as temperature by transmitting and receiving low-frequency sound signals.
Active margin
A continenal margin maked by a high degree of tectonic activity, such as those typical of the Pacific Rim. Types of active margins include convergent active margins and transform active margins.
Neap tide
A tide just after the first or third quarters of the moon phase (occurred every two weeks)
Nearshore
Zone of a beach that extends from low tide shoreline seaward to where breakers begin forming.
Nebula
Diffuse mass of interstellar dust and/or gas.
Nebular Hypothesis
Model that describe formation of solar system by contraction of a nebula.
Negative feedback loop
The feedback is negative if the loop gain AB is negative.
Nektobenthos
Members of bethos that can actively swim and spend much time off the bottom.
Nekton
active swimmers that can determine their position in the ocean by swimming.
Calcareous
Containing Calcium Carbonate
Calcite
A mineral with the chemical formula CaCO₃
Calcite Compensation Depth
The depth at which the amount of calcium produced is equal to the amount of calcium dissolving in the water.
Calcium Carbonate
A chalk like substance secreted by organisms in the form of coverings or skeletal structures
California Current
The cold eastern boundary current of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Calorie
A unit of heat defined as the energy required to to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree
Fact (scientific)
An occurrence which has been repeatedly confirmed
Faculae
A bright spot on the Sun that is associated with magnetic storms
Fahrenheit temperature scale
A temperature scale whereby the freezing point of water is 32° and the boiling point of water is 212°
Falcate
Curved and tapering to a point; sickle-shaped
Falkland Current
A northward-flowing cold surface current that occurs off the southeastern coast of South America
Fall bloom
A middle-latitude bloom of phytoplankton that occurs during the fall and is limited by the availability of sunlight
Fall equinox
The passage of the Sun across the equator as it moves from the Northern Hemisphere into the Southern Hemisphere, approximately September 23
Ultraplankton
Plankton with the greatest dimension of 5 microns (.0002 in.) they are very difficult to separate from water.
Ultrasonic
Sound waves that can be heard by humans (above 20,000 cycles per second)
Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
Shorter than visible radiation but longer than X-rays. .001 - .4 micron
United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
A series of meetings to establish legal rights in the sea, particularly in regards to seafloor mining.
Upper Water
Near the ocean surface. Includes the mixed layer and the permanent thermocline. Top 1000 meters.
Upwelling
Deep, cold, nutrient-laden water is brought to the surface. usually by diverging equatorial currents or coastal currents that pull surface waters away from the coasts.
Valence
Combining capacity of an element measured by the number of hydrogen atoms with which it will combine.
Van der Waals force
A weak attractive force between molecules resulting from the interaction of one molecule and the electrons of another.
Vapor
The gaseous state of a substance that is liquid or solid under normal conditions.
Vent
An opening on the ocean floor that emits hot water and dissolved minerals; vent type is based on water temperature and includes hydrothermal (hot water) vents and warm-water vents.
Ventral
pertaining to the lower surface.
Vernal Equinox (spring equinox)
The passage of the sun across the equator as it moves from the southern hemisphere into the northern hemisphere, approximately March 21st. During which everywhere in the world experience equal amounts of sunlight.
Vertebrata
The subphylum of chordates that includes those animals with a well-developed brain and a skeleton of bone or cartilage.
vertically mixed estuary
very shallow estuaries such as lagoons in which freshwater a marine water are totally mixed from top to bottom so that the salinity at the surface and the bottom is the same as most places within the estuary.
Virioplankton
Viruses that live as plankton
Viscosity
Property of a substance to offer resistance to flow caused by internal friction.
Volcanic arc
An arc-shaped row of active volcanoes directly a subduction zone. Can occur as a row os island (island arc) or mountains on land (continental arc)
Walker Circulation Cell
a Pattern of atmospheric circulation that involves the rising of warm air over the East Indies low-pressure cell and it’s decent over the high-pressure cell in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile. It’s weakening accompanies an El Nino event which led to the term El Nino-Southern Oscillation event.
Nematath
A linear chain of islands and/or seamounts that are progressively older in one direction. It is created by the passage of a lithospheric plate over a hotspot.
Nematocyst
The stinging mechanism found within the cnidoblast of members of the phylum Cnidaria.
Neritic Province
That portion of the pelagic environment from the shoreline to where the depth reaches 200 meters (660 feet).
Neritic Sediment
Sediment composed primarily of lithogenous particles and deposited relatively rapidly on the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise; also called neritic deposits.
Net primary production
The primary production of producers after they have removed what is needed for their metabolism.
Neutral
A state in which there is no excess of either the hydrogen or the hydroxide ion.
Neutron
An electrically neutral subatomic particle found in the nucleus of atoms that has a mass approximately equivalent to that of a proton.
New moon
The phase of the moon that occurs when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction; that is, they are both on the same side of Earth. During this time, the dark, unlit side of the Moon faces Earth.
New production
Primary production supported by nutrients supplied from outside the immediate ecosystem by upwelling or other physical transport.
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
An equation that quantifies gravitational force between two bodies; it states that the gravitational force is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the two bodies and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two masses.
Niche
The ecological role of an organism and its position in the ecosystem.
Niigata, Japan
The site of mercury poisoning of humans in the 1960s by ingestion of contaminated seafood. Minamata disease.
Nitrogen narcosis
A sickness that affects divers. It results from too much nitrogen gas being dissolved in the blood and reducing the flow of oxygen to tissues. The threat of this problem increases with increasing pressure (depth).
Node
The point on a standing wave where vertical motion is lacking or minimal. If this condition extends across the surface of an oscillating body of water, the line of no vertical motion is a nodal line.
Non-native species
Species that are introduced into waters in which they are alien and often cause severe problems by displacing native species. Also called exotic, alien, or invasive species.
Non-point source pollution
Any type of pollution entering the ocean from multiple sources rather than from a single discrete source, point, or location. Examples include urban runoff, trash, pet waste, lawn fertilizer, and other types of pollution generated by a multitude of sources. Also called poison runoff.