Oceans Exam 2

Grain size, origin, sorting, and maturity

Four major ways of sorting sediment.

Gravel

Largest grain size.

Silt

Smallest grain size.

Well-sorted

Sediment particles of similar size.

Poorly-sorted

Sediment particles of different size.

Neritic sediments

Shallow water deposits formed close to land, usually terrigenous.

Pelagic sediments

Deep-water deposits, mostly oozes and windblown clays.

Terrigenous

Sediment derived from land.

Biogenous

Sediment derived from organisms.

Hydrogenous

Sediment precipitated out of water by chemical or biochemical reactions.

Cosmogenous

Sediment that originated from outer space.

Rivers and wind

Primary ways terrigenous sediment is transported to the ocean.

Calcareous and Siliceous ooze

Primary types of biogenous sediment.

Forminifera, pteropods

Primary species contributing to calcareous ooze.

Diatoms, radiolarians

Primary species contributing to siliceous ooze.

Lysocline

Depth in the ocean below which the solubility of calcium carbonate increases dramatically, crucial for understanding marine sedimentation and the preservation of marine calcifying organisms' remains.

Carbon composition depth

The depth, in the oceans, at which the rate of supply of calcium carbonates matches the rate of solvation.

Carbonates

Hydrogenous sediment found in ooliths

Phosphorites

Hydrogenous sediment found in coastal upwelling zones and submerged mountains.

Salt deposits

Hydrogenous sediment often found near hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Manganese nodules

Hydrogenous sediment found on the seabed at depths ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 meters.

Sand, gravel, phosphorite, oil, gas, and sulfide

Six major seabed resources.

Gas hydrate

Crystalline solids formed from water and gas, resembling ice but containing significant amounts of methane.

Temperature

A measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules in a substance.

Heat

A measure of the total kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules in a substance; measured in calories.

Specific heat

The quantity of heat required to produce 1°C change of temperature 1 gram of material.

Heat capacity

The ratio of the heat capacity of a substance to the heat capacity of water.

Cohesion

The molecular force between particles within a substance that acts to hold the particles together.

Surface tension

Measure of how difficult it is to
stretch or penetrate the surface of a liquid.

Viscosity

Resistance to motion or internal friction

Decreases

As temperature increases viscosity…

Increases

With lower temperature, higher salt content, and higher pressure density…

Conduction

The transfer of heat between objects through direct contact.

Convection

The transfer of heat through the movement of fluids.

Radiation

The process of heat transfer through electromagnetic waves.

Attenuation

Makes fluids less dense.

Light

What does a Secchi disk measure?

Sofar channel

Horizontal layer of water in the ocean at which depth the speed of sound is at its minimum.

Salinity

The measure of dissolved salts in water.

Sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate

Two most common salts in the ocean.

Principles of Constant Proportions

A chemical compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by mass, regardless of its source or method of preparation.

Decrease

As depth increases, oxygen levels…

Biological pump

A process that transfers organic carbon from the surface to the deep ocean.

Buffer

An ionic compound that resists changes in its pH.

Nutrient

Any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue.

Redfield ratio

The ratio of carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus (106:16:1)