Marine Science Honors 2.07 Water World DBA Study Guide

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the properties of water, ocean layers, salinity, currents, tides, and the water cycle as presented in the Marine Science DBA study guide.

Earth's Water Coverage

About $71\%$ of Earth is covered by water, with $97\%$ being saltwater and $3\%$ being freshwater.

Polarity

A property of water where oxygen pulls electrons more strongly than hydrogen, making one side slightly negative and the other slightly positive.

Hydrogen Bonds

Weak attractions between water molecules that cause many of water's unique properties.

Cohesion

The property where water molecules stick to other water molecules, such as in water droplets.

Adhesion

The property where water sticks to other surfaces, such as water climbing up a plant stem.

Surface Tension

A condition caused by cohesion that allows small insects to walk on water.

Specific Heat

The property of water meaning it heats and cools slowly, helping keep ocean temperatures stable.

Density of Ice

Frozen water is less dense than liquid water because water expands when it freezes, allowing ice to float and insulate lakes.

Surface Layer

The warm ocean layer mixed by wind that receives sunlight.

Thermocline

The ocean layer where temperature drops quickly with depth.

Deep Zone

The cold, dense ocean layer with little or no sunlight.

Salinity

The amount of dissolved salts in water; higher salinity leads to higher density.

Surface Currents

Ocean currents caused by wind and the Earth's rotation (Coriolis Effect).

Coriolis Effect

The curving of currents and winds caused by Earth's rotation, moving right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Thermohaline Circulation

Deep ocean currents driven by differences in temperature and salinity.

Weather

Short-term atmospheric conditions.

Climate

Long-term average weather patterns.

Crest

The highest point of a wave.

Trough

The lowest point of a wave.

Wavelength

The distance between two wave crests.

Wave Height

The distance from the crest to the trough.

Spring Tide

Tides with the highest highs and lowest lows, caused when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are aligned.

Neap Tide

Tides with a smaller tidal range, caused when the Sun and Moon are at right angles.

Coral Bleaching

An ecosystem change resulting from warmer water temperatures.

Transpiration

The part of the water cycle where water is released into the atmosphere from plants.

Infiltration

The process in the water cycle where water soaks into the ground.