BSC

seamount

a volcanic mountain rising from the ocean floor that doesn't reach the surface

azoic zone

part of the deep that was thought to be lifeless

HMS Challenger

Proved the azoic theory wrong

Layers of the ocean

EMBA (epipelagic, Mesopelagic, Bathypelagic, Abyssopelagic)

sea

large body of water completely or partly surrounded by land

continental shelf

A gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends outward from the edge of a continent

continental slope

a steep incline of the ocean floor leading down from the edge of the continental shelf

continental rise

the gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope

abyssal plane

a smooth, nearly flat region of the deep ocean floor (76% of ocean floor)

mid ocean ridges

underwater mountains

trenches

where abyssal plane is cut by deep narrow canyons

Deepest part of the ocean

Mariana's Trench at 11,022 Meters Deep

Nertic Zone

over the continental shelf

oceanic zone

past continental shelf

pelegic zone

open ocean/ water column (free swimming organisms)

benthic zone

Bottom, organism live either on or under sediment

intertidal zone

shallow (effected by tides)

bathyl zone

middle region with insufficient light for photosynthesis (1000-4000m)

abyssal zone

very cold region of the open ocean (4000-6000m)

hadal zone

any area of the sea that exceeds 6000 meters in depth

photic zone

Portion of the ocean that is shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate.

aphotic zone

below 200m, little to no light

The light that penetrates the deepest in the ocean is

blue light

euphotic zone

Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis (down to 200m)

dysphotic zone

the dimly lit, deeper and less biologically productive portion of the photic zone (down to 1000m)

areas that have less light due to turbidity

coastal areas

1 atm is equal to

10 meters

Thermocline

zone of rapid temperature change

Thermocline in tropical waters

strong and non-seasonal

Thermocline in temperate waters

Seasonal (established in summer and ends in fall/winter)

thermocline in polar water

none

saltwater contains

Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Silicon dioxide, iron

does air or seawater have less oxygen

seawater has less oxygen

what temp water holds more oxygen

cold

is oxygen distributed evenly in the oceans?

No

what layers have more oxygen

surface layers

oxygen minimum zone

where oxygen is depleted by animals but not replaced by photosynthesis (200-1000m)

what happens to oxygen below the oxygen minimum zone

it increases (oxygen rich water from poles sinks to bottom)

what occurs in seawater below 7.5 Ph

ocean acidification

what generates ocean currents

gyres (wind) and thermohaline circulation (temp.)

North Atlantic Drift currents

south carolina to northern europe

Canary Current

Cooler gyre turns southward along western edge of Europe and Africa

North equatorial current

westward along equator

Stratification

denser water is at the bottom

Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity (moves cold water to pacific to warm, takes about 1000 yrs, moderates climate)

Wavelength

Horizontal distance between the crests or between the troughs of two adjacent waves

Crest

Highest point of a wave

Trough

Lowest point of a wave

Period

Amount of time it takes one wave to pass a point

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

high tide

when point is under bulge

low tide

when point is not bulge

what tides does the earths 24 hr rotation create

2 high and 2 low/ day

mixed semidiurnal tide

a tidal pattern with two successive high tides of different heights each day (most west coast and north america)

semidiurnal tide

A tidal cycle of two high tides and two low tides (east north america, most of europe and Africa)

diurnal tide

A tidal cycle of one high tide and one low tide per day (coast of antarctica, parts of the gulf of mexico and caribbean)

spring tide

sun and moon are aligned and create the lowest and highest tides (full moon and new moon)

neap tide

sun and moon cancel each other out creating less than average tide (first and third quarters of the moon)

Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O ------> C6H12O6 + 6O2

bottom trophic level

primary producers capable of photosynthesis (e.g. phytoplankton)

Herbivorous Consumers

plant eaters (zooplankton, mollusks etc.)

1st level consumer

carnivores (fish, marine mammals, crustaceans etc. )

2nd level consumer

eats first level consumer (bigger fish)

Level 5 and 6 consumers

Top carnivores

original energy input

sunlight

What is lost during every transition to a new level

energy

What organisms are present at all levels

decomposers

Laws of Thermodynamics dictates that

there is a loss of usable energy moving from level to level (lost as heat)

Cyanobacteria

photosynthetic bacteria, one of the first photosynthetic organisms on earth, contains no chloroplasts, can live alone or in colonies

mucilage

slimy substance secreted by cyanobacteria

Stromatolites

coral like mounds that trap sediment in tropical seas, only seen in bahamas and australia due to competition with grazers

eukaryotic autotrophs: Coccolithophores, Dinoflagellates & Diatoms

mostly photosynthetic, primary producers, DO contain chloroplasts, NOT plants

Diatoms

unicellular algae enclosed by walls made of silica that forms a frustule, brown from carotenoid pigments, responsible for a large portion of marine primary production

Blooms

Large algal population caused by the sudden presence of large amounts of essential nutrients

diatomaceous ooze

Dead diatoms which have sunk to the bottom (biogenous sediment)

Amnesic shellfish poisoning

Serious neurological condition that occurs in humans who eat high concentrations of domoic acid (biotoxin created by diatoms that bioaccumulates in shellfish)

Dinoflagellates

possess two flagella to move, both photosynthetic and heterotrophic

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

dinoflagellates produce a neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in shellfish causing health issues in those who consume them

Ciguatera

Neurological symptoms occur after eating higher trophic level coral reef predators that have accumulated toxin from Gambierdiscus toxicus

cocclithophores (Haptophyta):

unicellular and very small, found in all warm seas and responsible for large portion of primary production.

Coccoliths

small plates embedded in cell wall that protect from too much sun

Phytoplankton issues

need to stay in photic zone and require sufficient nutrients but lack controlled locomotion

why are phytoplankton so small

to maintain a high surface area to volume ratio and allow for direct diffusion of nutrients and waste material across cell membrane

why are phytoplankton buoyant

to decrease sinking, flat surface, high surface area to volume ratio, and spikes

What limits photosynthesis?

light and nutrients

High nutrient low chlorophyll regions

area of the ocean where there is light and nitrogen but not enough nutrients like iron so photosynthesis is limited

geo-engeneering

hypothesis that adding more iron to the ocean will increase primary production, create carbon sink (lowering levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) and help climate change

nitrogen-fixing bacteria

provide N source to other marine organisms

nitrogen fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

Nitrification

The conversion of ammonia (NH4+) into nitrite (NO2-) and then into nitrate (NO3-) by other bacteria

bacteriophages (phages)

A virus that infects bacteria

microbial loop

Bacteria infected by viruses will lyse, releasing large amounts of Dissolve Organic Material (DOM) which is eaten by bacteria and small microbes and enters the food chain

Particulate Organic Matter (POM)

fecal pellets and plankton remains form base of detritus food chain (can be consumed by zooplankton or sinks to the bottom to be eaten)

nutrient rich deep water

dead material that builds up on the ocean floor provides high levels of nutrients

vertical mixing

circulation that brings nutrients from the bottom to higher levels (can be blocked by thermocline)

polar primary production

very seasonal, winter-light limiting and summer- nutrient limiting

tropical primary production

no vertical mixing, plenty of light but nutrient limited

temperate primary production

seasonal but not as dramatic as poles:

spring bloom: enough light and vertical mixing (nutrients)

summer: nutrients become limited