Unit 2 Flashcards
What atoms are combined to make water?
2 hydrogen atoms bonded to an oxygen atom with a covalent bond
Name 3 properties of water
Polar = uneven distribution of charge
Cohesion = tendency of molecules of the same kind to stick to one another
Adhesion = attraction between molecules of a different types
What are three different states of water?
Solid Liquid Gas
What is turbidity?
the quality of being cloudy, opaque, or thick with suspended matter.
What is pressure and why does it change with debth?
Water pressure is the result of the weight of all the water above pushing down on the water below.
What is sound propagation
The TRANSMISSION of acoustic energy through a medium via a SOUND WAVE.
Be able to explain salinity
the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water
What is salinity’s impact
crop yield declines, coastal forest loss, salt-tolerant invasive species takeover, eutrophication and marsh migration.
How does salinity change
“Evaporation takes freshwater from the ocean into the atmosphere and increases the ocean salinity; precipitation puts freshwater into the ocean and reduces its salinity
What is the current ocean pH?
about 8.1
How is the current ocean pH changing?
as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic.
What is causing the pH to change?
human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Be able to explain how pH changes can impact organisms
If the pH of their body or their environment fluctuates too much the organism can die
Identify the different generating forces, as well as which is the most common
wind, displacement of large volumes of water
Identify which wave type forms first and how it develops
capillary waves, The ruffling of the water’s surface due to pressure variations of the wind on the water
Understand how different generating forces, as well as which is most common
The gravitational attraction between Earth and the moon and sun, and (2) the rotation of the Earth-moon and Earth-sun systems
Understand how different aspects impact the wave (Fetch, wind speed/duration, land masses, bathymetric features, restoring forces, etc.)
Wave Height - The vertical distance between crest and trough.
Wavelength - The horizontal distance between successive crests or troughs.
Wave Period - The time it takes for one complete wave to pass a particular point.
Wave Frequency - The number of waves that pass a particular point in a given time period.
Be able to identify the anatomy of a wave, how it moves, and how that changes as it approaches the shore
The highest part of the wave is called the crest. The lowest part is called the trough. Wave height is the overall vertical change in height between crest and trough. The distance between two successive crests (or troughs) is the length of the wave, or wavelength.
Be able to differentiate between wave cancellation and wave reinforcement
Reinforcement occurs when the waves are in-phase with each other, cancellation occurs when the waves are out-of-phase with each other
Understand differences between deep, intermediate, and shallow water waves
A deep water wave is one that occurs at depths greater than half a wave’s wavelength. A shallow water wave is one that occurs at depths shallower than the wavelength of the wave divided by 20
Be able to identify the impact of wave refraction and longshore transport
Wave refraction causes wave fronts to parallel the shape of the coastline as they approach shore and encounter ground.
Be able to differentiate between standing waves internal waves, and surface waves
Internal waves form at the boundaries of water masses of different densities (i.e. at a pycnocline ), and propagate at depth. These generally move more slowly than surface waves, and can be much larger, with heights exceeding 100 m. However, the height of the deep wave would be unnoticeable at the surface.
Explain the cause of tides, and which cause has the strongest impact
The major tidal constituent is the moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth.
Differentiate spring tides/neap tides (height, moon phase, sun/moon positions)
Spring tides occur twice each lunar month all year long without regard to the season. Neap tides, which also occur twice a month, happen when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other.
Define each of the tidal patterns: semidiurnal, mixed semidiurnal, diurnal
When the two highs and the two lows are about the same height, the pattern is called a semi-daily or semidiurnal tide. If the high and low tides differ in height, the pattern is called a mixed semidiurnal tide
Understand terms: high water, low water, ebb tide, flood tide, slack tide Be able to define “tidal range,” identify what areas have the largest tidal ranges
- another term for high tide
- another term for low tide
- the tidal phase during which the water level is falling
- an incoming tide.
- the short period in a body of tidal water when the water is completely unstressed
Explain what a “tidal bore” is and where it typically occurs
along a coast where a river empties into an ocean or sea.
Define each atmosphere layer
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere
Understand uneven heating of the earth and its impact
This uneven heating causes Earth’s surface and atmosphere to be warmer near the equator than near the poles
Be able to describe the greenhouse effect
the process through which heat is trapped near Earth’s surface by substances known as ‘greenhouse gases.
Understand the Coriolis effect/force, and its impacts on both the ocean and
atmosphere
The Coriolis effect makes storms swirl clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
Be able to identify the different types of heat transfer and how they impact atmospheric and oceanic temperatures
convection, conduction, and radiation
Understand the connections between Ekman spiral/layer/transport
Each layer of water molecules is moved by friction from the shallower layer
Be able to differentiate between the impacts of Ekman transport (upwelling,
downwelling, equatorial upwelling)
Ekman transport piles up surface water in some areas of the ocean and removes water from other areas, producing variations in SSH
Define “gyre”
Is a circular or spiral motion or form
Understand what a stable water column is, and what factors can change the stability, causing overturn
f a change in temperature or salinity occurs that results in a layer of dense water being above less dense water
Be able to define and understand the causes and impacts of the Great Ocean
Conveyor
a combination of thermohaline currents (thermo = temperature; haline = salinity) in the deep ocean and wind-driven currents on the surface.
Understand how oceans help regulate the earth’s temperature
Ocean currents act as conveyer belts of warm and cold water, sending heat toward the polar regions and helping tropical areas cool off
Be able to define “oscillation”
the process of repeating variations of any quantity or measure about its equilibrium value in time.
Understand and be able to identify the impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation
wetter conditions than usual in the Southern U.S. and warmer and drier conditions in the North
how El Nino differs from La Niña
El Niño refers to the above-average sea-surface temperatures that periodically develop across the east-central equatorial Pacific. It represents the warm phase of the ENSO cycle. La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific.
Be able to define cyclonic storms, know their name in different regions, and how they are classified
- a warm-core low pressure system, without any front attached, that develops over the tropical or subtropical waters and has an organized circulation.
- In general, tropical cyclones are named according to the rules at regional level
- depending on how extreme they are is how its defined
Identify which greenhouse gases humans are creating the most
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Be able to define “anthropogenic”
of, relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature.
Know which anthropogenic sources are creating greenhouse gas emissions
burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation.
Be able to identify the reasons for sea level rise
the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
Understand the major impacts of climate change on organisms and humans
affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience.
Understand the correlation between salinity, temperature, and density
The warmer the water, the more space it takes up, and the lower its density. When comparing two samples of water with the same salinity, or mass, the water sample with the higher temperature will have a greater volume, and it will therefore be less dense.
Define what a buffer is
A buffer is a solution that can resist pH change upon the addition of an acidic or basic components
What do buffers come from
Simply put, a buffer is a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid
What buffers impact
Buffers play a vital role in maintaining stable pH levels in chemical systems.
