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Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from an introductory oceanography lecture.
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World Ocean
The most prominent feature of Earth, covering approximately 71% of its surface and the origin of life.
Oceanus/Hydrosphere
Alternative names that may better describe our planet considering 97.2% of surface water is ocean water.
Four Principal Oceans
Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans.
Southern/Antarctic Ocean
The ocean surrounding Antarctica, distinguished by a major shift in global wind belts and ocean circulation.
Pacific Ocean
The largest and deepest ocean, making up about half of the Earth's ocean area.
Atlantic Ocean
About half the size of the Pacific Ocean and separates the old world from the new.
Indian Ocean
Smaller than the Atlantic Ocean, as deep, and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Arctic Ocean
A very small and shallow ocean with a permanent layer of sea ice.
Mariana's Trench
The deepest part of the ocean, located in the Pacific Ocean, with a depth of 36,000 feet.
Seven Seas
Large bodies of water that are smaller and shallower than oceans and are enclosed by land with a direct connection to the ocean. Includes: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea, Adriatic Sea, Caspian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean.
Sargasso Sea
Unique sea east of the United States characterized by floating sargassum algae.
Pacific Navigators
The earliest and best navigators, populating islands from Southeast Asia to Micronesia and Polynesia, demonstrating skilled voyaging.
Phoenicians
Credited as the first explorers in the Western Hemisphere, exploring the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, and developing the alphabet.
Greeks
Advanced scientific thought and sailing by determining latitude using the North Star and calculating the Earth's circumference.
Eratosthenes
Greek scientist who accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth around 300 years before the common era.
Arabs
Dominant navigators in the Mediterranean Sea during the Middle Ages, trading with East Africa, India, and Southeast Asia using monsoon winds.
Vikings
Explored Iceland, Greenland, and parts of Canada (Vinland/Newfoundland) and credited as the first European cultures to settle in the Americas.
Prince Henry the Navigator
Portuguese figure who trained explorers and sparked interest in finding new trade routes, leading to the Age of Discovery.
Christopher Columbus
Explorer financed by Spain who landed in Hispaniola and the Caribbean, but never set foot in North America.
Ferdinand Magellan
Led the first attempt to circumnavigate the globe, though killed during the voyage; his crew completed the journey.
Captain James Cook
English navigator who led voyages strictly for scientific purposes, measuring ocean characteristics and benefiting from the chronometer.
Scurvy
A disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, which was mitigated by Captain Cook through the introduction of sauerkraut to sailors' diets.
Oceanography
An interdisciplinary science combining geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy to understand the oceans.
Scientific Method
A logical method involving observation, hypothesis, testing, and theory development to understand and predict natural phenomena.
Nebular Hypothesis
The theory that bodies in the solar system formed from a nebula, a cloud of gases and space dust, primarily hydrogen and helium.
Protoplanets
Formed through the collision of mass material in the rotating disk surrounding the proto-sun, including Earth.
Density Stratification
The formation of distinct chemical layers on Earth due to the sinking of denser materials (iron and nickel) to the core and the rising of lighter elements.
Lithosphere
The rigid outer layer of the Earth composed of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.
Asthenosphere
The hot, weak, and plastic layer in the mantle that the lithosphere floats on.
Continental Crust
The thicker and less dense type of crust composed primarily of granite.
Oceanic Crust
The thinner and denser type of crust composed primarily of basalt.
Outgassing
The process by which gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and sulfur dioxide are expelled from volcanic vents, forming the Earth's early atmosphere.
Stromatolites
Fossilized remains of ancient photosynthesizing bacteria, providing evidence of early life on Earth.
Great Oxidation Event
The time in Earth's history when photosynthesizing organisms caused a dramatic increase in atmospheric oxygen.
Heterotrophs
The earliest forms of life that require an external food supply.
Autotrophs
Organisms that manufacture their own food through processes like photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Chemosynthesis
A process used by some bacteria to generate their own food using chemicals from volcanic or hydrothermal vents.
Radiometric Age Dating
A method used to determine the age of rocks and minerals based on the decay of radioactive elements.