APES Quiz 3 Review (4.6 Watersheds & Ocean Currents)

Gyres

large ocean circle patterns deu to global wind

What direction do gyres move in the Northern hemisphere?

Clockwise

What direction do gyres move in the Southern hemisphere?

Counterclockwise

Upwelling Zones

Areas of ocean where wind blows warm surface water away from a land mass, drawing up colder, deeper water to replace it.

What does upwelling bring to the surface?

Oxygen, nutrients = productive fishing

Thermohaline Circulation

Connects all of the world’s oceans, mixing salt, nutrients, and temperature throughout

Warm water from the Gulf of Mexico moves toward the _____

North Pole

As warm water moves toward the North pole, what happens to it as it reaches the poles

Cools & evaporates

Saltier & colder water at the poles is ________

Denser, making it sink and spread

The cold water __________ into shallow warm water ocean currents at upwelling zones

Rises back up

Brackish Water

Fresh water dumps into what will eventually dump into salt water; salt water + freshwater converge/mix

Hypoxia/hypoxic

Low/no oxygen

Effects of clear-cutting on watersheds

Soil erosion, increased soil & stream temperature

Watershed

All of the land that drains into a specific body of water (river, lake, bay, etc.)

Watersheds are determined by:

Slope; ridges of land divide Watersheds (different runoff directions)

What factors play a large role in how Watersheds drain?

Vegetation, soil composition, and slope

More vegetation for Watersheds =

More infiltration & ground water recharge

Greater slope for Watersheds =

Faster velocity of runoff & more soil erosion

Soil permeability in Watersheds =

Determines runoff vs. infiltration rates

What types of human activities impact H2O quality

Agriculture, clear-cutting, urbanization, dams, mining

Two most important elements/nutrients

N (Nitrogen) P (Phosphorous)

MIx of fresh & salt water + nutrients in sediment =

Estuary habitat that is highly productive

Eutrophication

Over-richment of nutrients (N & P) in water