AICE MARINE AS LEVEL

for mock / final

Dipolar Nature of Water

Water has a partial positive charge on hydrogen atoms and a partial negative charge on the oxygen atom allowing for hydrogen bonding

Specific Heat Capacity

The high energy required to change water temperature which creates a stable environment for marine organisms

Solubility of Gases

As temperature increases the solubility of gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide decreases

Ice Density

Ice is less dense than liquid water because hydrogen bonds fix molecules into a rigid open lattice allowing it to float

Run-off

Water flow from land to ocean that carries nutrients or pollutants and decreases salinity in coastal areas

Oceanic vs Continental Crust

Oceanic crust is thinner and denser basalt while continental crust is thicker and less dense granite

Isostasy

The buoyancy of Earth's crust floating on the mantle where denser or thicker crustal plates sink deeper

Divergent Boundary Process

Plates move apart and magma rises to fill the gap cooling to create new seafloor and mid-ocean ridges

Convergent Boundary Subduction

A denser oceanic plate sinks beneath a continental plate forming deep-ocean trenches and volcanic arcs

Hydrothermal Vent Formation

Cold water seeps into cracks is heated by magma dissolves minerals and rises to precipitate and form a chimney

Binomial Nomenclature

The two-part scientific naming system consisting of the Genus and the species name

Dichotomous Key

A tool used to identify organisms based on a series of choices between alternative physical characteristics

Plankton

Organisms that drift with ocean currents including phytoplankton producers and zooplankton consumers

Nekton

Marine organisms that can swim actively against currents such as fish and whales

Benthos

Organisms that live on or buried in the seabed like crabs and sea cucumbers

Echinoderms

Marine invertebrates with pentaradial symmetry and a water vascular system with tube feet

Crustaceans

Organisms with a hard chitinous exoskeleton jointed limbs and two pairs of antennae

Bony Fish Osteichthyes

Fish with a bony skeleton an operculum covering gills and a swim bladder for buoyancy

Symbiosis in Corals

A mutualistic relationship where Zooxanthellae provide glucose while coral provides protection and carbon dioxide

Darwin-Dana-Daly Theory

A fringing reef forms around a volcanic island which then sinks to leave a barrier reef and finally an atoll

Reef Erosion

The wearing away of reefs caused by abiotic factors like storms or biotic factors like Crown-of-Thorns starfish

Artificial Reefs

Man-made structures that reduce coastal erosion by dissipating wave energy and providing new habitats

Nutrient Cycle

The movement of nutrients from the reservoir of dissolved nutrients to food chains and back to the seabed

Upwelling

The movement of cold nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface caused by wind or seafloor topography

Magnesium Use

An essential nutrient used by marine producers to synthesize chlorophyll for photosynthesis

Calcium Use

A nutrient used by marine organisms to build bones coral skeletons and shells

Productivity

The rate of production of biomass by producers in an ecosystem measured in grams of carbon per square meter

The 10 Percent Rule

The principle that only about 10 percent of energy is transferred to the next trophic level due to heat loss and waste

Spring Tide

A tide with the greatest tidal range occurring when the Earth Moon and Sun are in a straight line

Neap Tide

A tide with the smallest tidal range occurring when the Moon and Sun are at right angles to the Earth

Coriolis Effect

The deflection of moving air and water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere

El Nino

A climate pattern where warm water builds up in the Pacific decreasing upwelling and collapsing local fisheries

Mangrove Adaptations

Specialized roots like pneumatophores for oxygen and prop roots for stability in unstable sediment

Rocky Shore

A high-energy environment with stable substrate but high stress from wave action and drying out

Sandy Shore

A low-biodiversity environment with unstable substrate where organisms must burrow to survive

Succession

The gradual process of change in the species structure of a community over time such as at a new hydrothermal vent

Niche

The specific functional role of an organism within its ecosystem including its habitat and feeding relationships

Thermocline

A layer in the ocean where temperature changes rapidly with increasing depth

Halocline

A layer in the ocean where salinity changes significantly with increasing depth

Pycnocline

A layer in the ocean where water density changes rapidly with increasing depth

Abyssal Plain

A flat and smooth area of the deep ocean floor covered in layers of sediment and marine snow

Desiccation

The process of drying out which is a major stress factor for organisms living in the upper intertidal zone