14, 15, 16 chapters 14, 15, 16 oceanography. oceanography essential questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5

Chapters 14, 14,

15, 1615, 16Oceanography

Oceanography Essential Questions1.2.3.4.5.

The Topography of the Ocean

Mapping the Ocean Floor

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

The ocean floor regions are the continental margins, the ocean basin floor, and the mid-ocean ridge.

Continental Margins


In the Atlantic Ocean, thick layers of undisturbed sediment cover the continental margin. This region has very little volcanic or earthquake activity.

A continental margin is the zone of transition between a continent and the adjacent ocean basin floor.

Atlantic Continental Margin

Continental Margins In the Pacific Ocean, oceanic crust plunges

beneath continental crust. This force results in a narrow continental margin that experiences both volcanic activity and earthquakes.


Continental Margins


Continental Shelf• A continental shelf is the gently sloping

submerged surface extending from the shoreline.• Continental shelves contain important mineral

deposits, large reservoirs of oil and natural gas, and huge sand and gravel deposits.

Continental Margins


Continental Slope• A continental slope is the steep gradient that

leads to the deep-ocean floor and marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf.

• A submarine canyon is the seaward extension of a valley that was cut on the continental shelf during a time when sea level was lower—a canyon carved into the outer continental shelf, slope, and rise by turbidity currents.

• A turbidity current is the downslope movement of dense, sediment-laden water created when sand and mud on the continental shelf and slope are dislodged and thrown into suspension.

Submarine Canyons

Continental Margins


Continental Rise• A continental rise is the gently sloping surface

at the base of the continental slope.

Ocean Basin Floor


The ocean basin floor is the area of the deep-ocean floor between the continental margin and the oceanic ridge.

• Trenches form at the sites of plate convergence where one moving plate descends beneath another and plunges back into the mantle.

Deep-Ocean Trenches

Ocean Basin Floor


Abyssal Plains• An abyssal plain is a very level area of the

deep-ocean floor, usually lying at the foot of the continental rise.

• The sediments that make up abyssal plains are carried there by turbidity currents or are deposited as suspended sediment settles out.

Seamounts and Guyots• A seamount is an isolated volcanic peak that

rises at least 1000 meters above the deep-ocean floor, and a guyot is an eroded, submerged seamount.

Abyssal Plain Cross Section

Mid-Ocean Ridges


A mid-ocean ridge is found near the center of most ocean basins. It is an interconnected system of underwater mountains that have developed on newly formed ocean crust.

Seafloor Spreading• Seafloor spreading is the process by which

plate tectonics produces new oceanic lithosphere at ocean ridges.

• New ocean floor is formed at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises between the diverging plates and cools.

Mid-Ocean Ridges


Hydrothermal Vents• Hydrothermal vents form along mid-ocean

ridges. These are zones where mineral-rich water, heated by the hot, newly-formed oceanic crust, escapes through cracks in the oceanic crust into surrounding water.

Salinity

15.1 The Composition of Seawater

Salinity is the total amount of solid material dissolved in water.

Because the proportion of dissolved substances in seawater is such a small number, oceanographers typically express salinity in parts per thousands.

Most of the salt in seawater is sodium chloride, common table salt.

Salinity


Sources of Sea Salt• Chemical weathering of rocks on the continents

is one source of elements found in seawater.

• The second major source of elements found in seawater is from Earth’s interior.

Salts in Seawater

Salinity Processes Affecting Salinity


• Processes that decrease salinity:

• Processes that increase salinity:

- Precipitation

- Runoff from land

- Icebergs melting

- Sea ice melting

- Evaporation

- Formation of sea ice

Natural Processes Affecting Salinity

Ocean Temperature Variation The ocean’s surface water temperature

varies with the amount of solar radiation received, which is primarily a function of latitude.


• The thermocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 meters and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of temperature with depth.

Temperature Variation with Depth

• The thermocline is a very important structure because it creates a barrier to marine life.

Variations in Ocean Surface Temperature

Variations in Ocean Water Temperature

Ocean Density Variation Density is defined as mass per unit volume.

It can be thought of as a measure of how heavy something is for its size.


• Seawater density is influenced by two main factors: salinity and temperature.

Factors Affecting Seawater Density

Ocean Density Variation Density Variation with Depth


• The pycnocline is the layer of ocean water between about 300 meters and 1000 meters where there is a rapid change of density with depth.

Variations in Ocean Water Density

Ocean Layering Oceanographers generally recognize a

three-layered structure in most parts of the open ocean: a shallow surface mixed zone, a transition zone, and a deep zone.


Surface Zone

• Sun-warmed zone

• Zone of mixing

• Shallow (300 to 450 meters)

Ocean Layering Transition Zone


Deep Zone

• Constant high-density water

• Temperatures are just a few degrees above freezing.

• Sunlight never reaches this zone.

• Thermocline and pycnocline

• Between surface layer and deep zone

Ocean Zones

Classification of Marine Organisms Marine organisms can be classified

according to where they live and how they move.

15.2 The Diversity of Ocean Life

Plankton• Plankton include all organisms—algae, animals,

and bacteria—that drift with ocean currents.

• Phytoplankton are algal plankton, which are the most important community of primary producers in the ocean.

• Zooplankton are animal plankton.

Plankton

Classification of Marine Organisms Nekton


Benthos

• Nekton include all animals capable of moving independently of the ocean currents, by swimming or other means of propulsion.

• Benthos describes organisms living on or in the ocean bottom.

Nekton

Benthos

Marine Life Zones Three factors are used to divide the ocean

into distinct marine life zones: the availability of sunlight, the distance from shore, and the water depth.


Availability of Sunlight• The photic zone is the upper part of the ocean

into which sunlight penetrates.

Marine Life Zones Distance from Shore


• The intertidal zone is the strip of land where the land and ocean meet and overlap, or the zone between high and low tides.

• The neritic zone is the marine-life zone that extends from the low-tide line out to the shelf break.

• The oceanic zone is the marine-life zone beyond the continental shelf.

Marine Life Zones

Marine Life Zones Water Depth


• The pelagic zone is open zone of any depth. Animals in this zone swim or float freely.

• The benthic zone is the marine-life zone that includes any sea-bottom surface regardless of its distance from shore.

• The abyssal zone is a subdivision of the benthic zone characterized by extremely high pressures, low temperatures, low oxygen, few nutrients, and no sunlight.

Marine Life Zones Hydrothermal Vents


• Here seawater seeps into the ocean floor through cracks in the crust.

• At some vents, water temperatures of 100oC or

higher support communities of organisms found nowhere else in the world.

Hydrothermal Vents

Tube Worms Found Along Hydrothermal Vents

Surface Circulation

16.1 Ocean Circulation

Ocean current is the mass of ocean water that flows from one place to another.

Surface Currents• Surface currents are movements of water that flow horizontally in

the upper part of the ocean’s surface.

• Surface currents develop from friction between the ocean and the wind that blows across its surface.

Ocean Surface Currents

Surface Circulation Gyres


• Gyres are huge circular-moving current systems that dominate the surfaces of the oceans.

• The Coriolis effect is the deflection of currents away from their original course as a result of Earth’s rotation.

Surface Circulation Ocean Currents and Climate


• When currents from low-latitude regions move into higher latitudes, they transfer heat from warmer to cooler areas on Earth.

• As cold water currents travel toward the equator, they help moderate the warm temperatures of adjacent land areas.

False-Colored Satellite Image of the Gulf Stream

Surface Circulation Upwelling


• Upwelling is the rise of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water.

• Upwelling brings greater concentrations of dissolved nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, to the ocean surface.

Effects of Upwelling

Deep-Ocean Circulation Density Currents


• Density currents are vertical currents of ocean water that result from density differences among water masses.

• An increase in seawater density can be caused by a decrease in temperature or an increase in salinity.

Deep-Ocean Circulation High Latitudes


• Most water involved in deep-ocean currents begins in high latitudes at the surface.

Evaporation• Density currents can also result from increased salinity of ocean

water due to evaporation.

Deep-Ocean Circulation A Conveyor Belt


• In a simplified model, ocean circulation is similar to a conveyor belt that travels from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and back again.

Conveyor Belt Model

Cross Section of the Arctic Ocean

14, 15, 16 chapters 14, 15, 16 oceanography. oceanography essential questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5

Documents