(finished) NEW WQ - Zones

Intertidal zone

The area of a seashore that is above water level (exposed to air) at low tide, and submerged in water at high tide.
Home to many organisms e.g. sea stars, algae, crabs, etc. which adapted to survive the fluctuating conditions brought on by the waves (e.g. changing temps, rushing waves etc)

For example,

• muscles anchor themselves to rocks

• barnacles group together to avoid evaporation

• sea stars have suction

• limpets’ conical shells (streamlined body shape)

Thermocline

aka melimnion . A "transition" layer of water between the warmer, mixed water above and cooler water below. Area of rapid temp change.

Intertidal vs Neritic vs Oceanic zone

1 : area of the seashore between high and low tide
2 : A shallow part of the ocean between the intertidal and oceanic zone. Its lack of depth allows sunlight to reach its entire seafloor, making it a good, well-lit place for abundant marine life.
3 : The entire deep, rest of the ocean beyond the continental shelf. May experience sunlight, less nutrients, etc.

Trench

Long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that form at the boundary of tectonic plates (where one plate is pushed-- OR-- subducts beneath another.)

Photic (aka euphotic or sunlight)vs aphotic (zone)

1 : The uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight (allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis.) Has the majority of aquatic life due to this.
2: The portion of a lake or ocean with little to no sunlight. (More specifically: Less than 1% of penetrated sunlight.) Has the majority of the ocean's water, and most food here comes from dead organisms that sink down.

Benthic vs pelagic zone; what can be found in each?

1 : The "floor" or lowest part of a body of water e.g. lake, ocean, river, etc; may have sediment.
Organisms here are called bottom dwellers , and the community of organisms is called the benthos ; they can include coral, crabs, octopi, etc. Many have adapted to be into the ground.
2 : The water column that is the open ocean. Literally just all open water. Animals include sharks, jellyfish, squid, or floating seaweed.

What color of light penetrates deepest in the ocean, and what color gets absorbed fastest?

Deepest Absorption : Blue light

Shallowest Absorption : Red light

Abyssal fan

Underwater structures with large-scale sediment deposition and formed by turbidity currents (rapidly moving, sediment-laden water moving down a slope)

Continental shelf

The portion of a continent that's submerged under an area of relatively shallow water (aka a " shelf sea ".)

Wildlife corridor

aka habitat corridor or blue corridor (for aquatic ones.)
A designated area (e.g. a strip of forested land, water, etc) that connects wildlife pops that'd been separated via human processes (e.g. roads), and enable movement between them.
- Prevents inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. Also used to re-establish populations that'd been harmed/reduced, and help mitigate the effects of habitat fragmentation.

Epipelagic zone
What is it? What is its implications on the water?

Aka euphotic zone.

• Heated up by sunlight (also allows LOTS of photosynthesis!).

• Wind keeps this zone mixed, letting the heat distribute vertically.

• Has majority of aquatic life due to high phytoplankton activity.

0-200m

Mesopelagic zone and implications for life (marine snow)

Aka twilight zone.

• Only ~1% of sunlight reaches here.

• Contains thermo, halo, and pycno-clines.

• More nutrient-rich than epipelagic zone (in epipelagic, nutrients are quickly eaten/can’t build up)

CO2: Dead organisms from epipelagic zone sink (“marine snow”), and are eaten/re-converted to dissolved inorganic carbon (CO2), which becomes sequestered in the ocean.

200-1000m

Bathypelagic zone

Aka midnight zone.

• No sunlight at all; the only light here is from bioluminescence.

• Hydrothermal vents here, which deliver e.g. sulfide and methane.

• Many biochemical processes here depend on marine snow.

1000-4000m

Abyssopelagic zone

• Mostly no O2 here, making it a sort of “death trap”

• Most organisms here depend on marine snow.

  • So, biomass increases near seafloor as marine snow builds up there

• Organisms here have slower metabolism (save energy), less internal air spaces (to adapt to high pressure), bioluminescence, etc

4000-6000m

Hadopelagic zone

• Exists in v-shaped depressions/trenches.

• Most organisms here depend on marine snow.

• Life decreases in biomass and abundance with depth here

33.8-39.2F, just above freezing.

6000m-very bottom.

Pycnocline
What's a con?

Location where ocean's water density changes rapidly.

Separates the oceans upper "mixed" layer (which's less dense) with the deep layer (which is more.) Blocks nutrient-rich deep water from reaching light-filled surface waters, limiting phytoplankton growth.

Chemocline

Location where ocean's chemical composition changes rapidly. Often separates oxygen-rich surface waters from deeper, anoxic (oxygen-poor) waters (w/ higher TDS and gases like methane or hydrogen sulfide.)

Halocline

Location where ocean's salinity changes rapidly. Creates a visible boundary betwn (less dense) freshwater and (denser) saltwater, which creates a shimmery effect.

Salt-wedge estuaries

highly stratified coastal system where rapid river flow pushes fresh water over a dense, wedge-shaped layer of seawater creeping along the bottom

Marine protected areas (MPA's)

A defined region designated and managed for the long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystems services, or cultural heritage.

Delta

A typically triangular landform (created by the deposition of carried sediments) appearing at the river's mouth, where it met w/ lentic water.

Coast

Beach

Shore

1: Large regional zone where land meets ocean

2: A specific sandy or pebbly area on a shore

3: The immediate strip of land bordering any body of water

Sea

Gulf

Straight

1: A large division of the global ocean at least partly enclosed by land.

2: Mostly enclosed by land.

3: A narrow, natural passage of water that connects two larger bodies of water

4 types of estuaries. Tell me about them.

Fjord: a deep, steep-walled estuary where melted glacier water and freshwater runoff meet (as glaciers move, they create valleys of sorts.)

Tectonic estuary: formed when earthquakes or shifting earth plates cause land to sink or fold, creating a low basin that fills with water

Drowned river valley estuary: Aka coastal plain estuary. formed when rising sea levels flood and submerge an existing river valley. Usually shallow

Bar-built: formed when sandbars or barrier islands develop parallel to the coastline, creating a protected, shallow lagoon behind them