Oceanography chapter 1

What are the 5 oceans?

Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Artic, Southern

Which ocean connects the pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans?

The southern ocean

What are the differences between and ocean and sea?

ocean is a large body of water that covers a large portion of the earth;s surface while a sea is a smaller body of saltwater thats partially or fully enclosed by land and is often found where land and ocean meet

Which ocean is mostly in the southern hemisphere?

The southern ocean

What areas of the oceans are the deepest?

the challenger deep

What is the name of the space dust that formed our solar system?

solar nebula

Describe the important events of oceanography and the “Age of Discovery”

Prince Henry the Navigator's establishment of a marine science center, Bartholomew Diaz's circumnavigation of Africa, Columbus's westward Atlantic voyages, and Ferdinand Magellan's first global circumnavigation

What are the steps of the Scientific Method?

1. observation

2. question

3. research

4. hypothesis

5. experiment

6. analyze results

7. conclusion

8. communicate results

What is the Hypothesis scientist came up with to describe the origins of our solar system?

nebular hypothesis

How do you define density?

mass/volume

What measure of density do we use in class?

sigma-t

Earth’s internal structure can be divided into two different properties, what are they?

1. crust- the outermost, thinnest layer of solid rock

2. mantle- thick layer, hot, dense

3. core- metallic center

Be able to identify the different layers?

1. Lithosphere- described cold, strong, brittle rock

2. Astheosphere- gooey, plastic-like, movement

3. Lower mantle- “mesosphere”, solid

4. Outer core- liquid

5. inner core- solid

What is the difference between ocean and continental crust?

Oceanic crust is younger, thinner, denser made of basalt while continental crust is older, thicker, less dense, made of varied rocks like granite

What are the lithosphere and asthenosphere?

The lithosphere is the Earth's hard, rigid outer shell, composed of the Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. Beneath it lies the asthenosphere, a hotter, softer, and more ductile layer of the upper mantle that flows slowly, allowing the rigid lithospheric plates to move

Know which sphere is solid and slides over which sphere?

The lithosphere is the Earth's hard, rigid outer shell, composed of the Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. Beneath it lies the asthenosphere, a hotter, softer, and more ductile layer of the upper mantle that flows slowly, allowing the rigid lithospheric plates to move

Isostasy Principle

describes the gravitational equilibrium between the Earth's rigid lithosphere and the underlying, more fluid asthenosphere

adjustment

the processes by which the ocean responds and adapts to changes in its forcing, such as wind stress, buoyancy fluxes (heating and evaporation), and large-scale shifts in climate

rebound

post-glacial isostatic rebound, the process of land rising after the immense weight of Ice Age glaciers has been removed

How was the atmosphere created?

primarily from gases released by volcanic activity (outgassing) and volcanic eruptions

How was the ocean created?

as Earth's molten surface cooled, allowing water vapor from volcanic outgassing to condense and rain for centuries, filling the planet's basins

Respiration

the vital biological process where marine organisms consume dissolved oxygen from the water and organic matter (carbon or other energy sources) to release energy (ATP) for their metabolic functions, producing carbon dioxide and water as byproducts

Photosynthesis

the process used by green plants, algae, and some bacteria to convert light energy into chemical energy, transforming carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates (like sugars) and releasing oxygen as a byproduct

What is the equation for respiration and photosynthesis?

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Light Energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

How old is the Earth?

approximately 4.54 billion years old

What is several ways to tell the Earth’s age?

radiometric dating of rocks and minerals from Earth, meteorites, and the Moon

What is the mountain building process?

primarily involves plate tectonics, where tectonic plates converge, causing crustal deformation, folding, faulting, and uplift to create mountains

What process is trying to remove the mountains?

human caused process mountaintop removal mining

natural prcoesses denudation

open system

energy flows in and out (Earth & Sun).

closed system

matter stays in system, no exchange.

Isolated system

no energy or matter exchange (theoretical).

What are the 4 spheres?

• Atmosphere: thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.

• Biosphere: all living things.

• Geosphere (Lithosphere): solid Earth—surface, rocks, interior.

• Hydrosphere: dynamic body of water on Earth.

What are the cycles?

• Hydrological (Water) Cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff.

• Rock Cycle: formation, breakdown, and reformation of rocks.

Mountain building?

• Driven by plate tectonics:

  • Mountain formation

  • Volcanoes

• After formation:

  • Weathering → breakdown of rocks

  • Erosion → transport of materials

What percentage of the Earth’s surface is water?

70.8% of earth’s surface is water

What are the major oceans?

• Pacific → largest & deepest.

• Atlantic → ~½ size of Pacific, separates Old & New World.

• Indian → smaller than Atlantic, mostly in Southern Hemisphere.

• Arctic → ~7% of Pacific, shallowest, permanent sea ice.

• Southern/Antarctic → encircles Antarctica, includes parts of Pacific, Atlantic, Indian.

Proto-earth

early earth formation

density stratification

earth’s layering of rocks, water, air organized by density

salinity

dissolved solids, affected by acid rain

ocean basin

shaped by tectonics

ocean water

vital to lfe & climate

What are constant gases?

Nitrogen (N₂), Oxygen (O₂), Argon (Ar)

Variable gases

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Water vapor (H₂O), Methane (CH₄)

What are the feedback mechanism?

• Negative feedback loop: stabilizes, keeps equilibrium.

• Positive feedback loop: amplifies change, pushes system out of equilibrium.