Marine Science 1 - Units 1-4 Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering wave mechanics, ocean circulation, vertical zonation, marine adaptations, and ecosystem interactions including the carbon cycle and trophic dynamics.

Wave Energy

Moving energy phenomena where water particles move in temporary circular orbits while the energy passes through the water mass, leaving the water in the same net position.

Potential Energy (Waves)

Energy stored when a wave lifts water upward against gravity, which is highest at the crest.

Kinetic Energy (Waves)

The energy of motion expressed as water falls back down into the trough.

Wave Speed Equation

$S = L/T$, where speed ($S$) is determined by Wavelength ($L$) divided by Wave Period ($T$).

Refraction

The bending of waves as they approach the shore; the part of the wave touching bottom first slows down, causing the wave to rotate parallel to the coastline.

Breaker Mechanics

The process where friction slows a wave's base in shallow water, causing the height to compress upward and the wavelength to shorten until the fast-moving top tumbles forward.

Surface Circulation Driver

Driven by wind friction from global patterns (Trade Winds and Westerlies) caused by uneven solar heating of the Earth.

Coriolis Effect

The deflection of moving fluids due to Earth's rotation, moving them to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ekman Transport

The net $90$-degree movement of water relative to the wind direction, which pushes surface water toward the center of ocean basins.

Subtropical Gyres

Large, circular current loops maintained by geostrophic balance between the Coriolis Effect and gravity pulling water off central mounds.

Western Boundary Currents

Fast, narrow, deep, and warm currents located on the western edges of ocean basins, such as the Gulf Stream.

Eastern Boundary Currents

Slow, wide, shallow, and cold currents that transport water from high latitudes toward the equator, such as the Canary Current.

Coastal Upwelling

The rise of cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the surface to replace water moved offshore by Ekman transport.

Thermohaline Circulation

The 'Global Ocean Conveyor Belt' driven by density variations controlled by temperature and salinity.

Brine Rejection

The process occurring during polar ice formation where pure water freezes and concentrated salt is left behind, creating dense water that sinks.

El Niño (ENSO)

A condition where trade winds weaken or reverse, causing warm water to pile up against South America and halting coastal upwelling.

Thermal Expansion

A driver of sea-level rise where water molecules warm up, move faster, and physically expand after absorbing excess heat.

Freshwater Lens Threat

A floating 'cap' of less-dense fresh water from melting ice sheets that prevents polar water from sinking, threatening the thermohaline conveyor belt.

Vertical Zonation

The distribution of organisms into horizontal bands along a shoreline based on air and water exposure limits.

The Critical Boundary Rule

An organism's upper limit is set by Abiotic factors (e.g., desiccation), while its lower limit is set by Biotic factors (e.g., competition/predation).

Fundamental vs. Realized Niche

The difference between where an organism can physically live versus the restricted strip where it survives due to biological exclusion.

Florida Rock Shores

Unique geological intertidal formations made specifically of coquina and oolitic limestone.

Supralittoral Zone

The 'Splash/Spray Zone' that is almost always dry, receiving moisture only from salt spray.

Infralittoral Zone

The 'Low-Tide Zone' which is submerged nearly all the time and possesses the highest biodiversity.

Mole Crabs (Emerita) and Coquina Clams (Donax)

Sandy beach organisms that use rapid burrowing adaptations to survive wave shock and predation.

Anoxic Sediments

Oxygen-depleted sediments found in muddy flats where bacteria consume organic debris in areas of little water movement.

Red Mangroves (Rhizophora mangle)

Foundation species with prop roots and lenticels (breathing pores) used to extract oxygen from the air.

Coastal Squeeze

The loss of intertidal habitat caught between rising sea levels and rigid human-made structures like seawalls.

Lindeman’s 10% Rule

The principle that only about $10$% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level, with $90$% lost as metabolic heat or waste.

Chemosynthesis

The synthesis of organic molecules by bacteria using the chemical bonds of inorganic compounds like hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) in the absence of sunlight.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit, such as Boxer crabs and stinging anemones.

Commensalism

A relationship where one species benefits while the other is unaffected, such as barnacles on a whale.

Parasitism

A relationship where one species benefits at the direct physiological expense of the host, such as isopods on fish gills.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition for limited resources occurring between individuals of the same species.

Interspecific Competition

Competition for overlapping niches occurring between members of different species.

Carrying Capacity (K)

The maximum population size an environment can sustainably support given available resources.

Density-Dependent Factors

Limiting factors whose impact changes based on population size, such as infectious disease or nesting spot shortages.

Keystone Species

Species with a disproportionately strong influence on community health relative to their abundance, such as Pisaster sea stars.

Foundation Species

Structural ecosystem engineers that physically define a habitat through dominant biomass, such as reef-building corals or mangroves.

Trophic Cascade

A top-down chain reaction caused by the removal of an apex predator, such as the Otter-Urchin-Kelp cascade.

Carbon Fixation

The process by which marine autotrophs take dissolved $CO_2$ and convert it into organic sugars via photosynthesis.

Calcification

The process where organisms combine dissolved carbon with calcium to form Calcium Carbonate ($CaCO_3$) for shells and skeletons.

Deep Ocean Sink

The long-term trapping of carbon in limestone rock or biogenous sediments as shelled organisms die and sink to the floor.

Eutrophication

A process caused by excess nutrients leading to results such as phytoplankton blooms and potentially oxygen depletion.