NEEDED: Climate (average salinity, aquatic, temperature, geography, animal life)

Marine Biome

global distribution of your biome with a description of your geographic location (geography and latitude)

Climatograph and Description of climate data (Aquatic Biomes: Average Salinity, pH, and Temperature)

Common plant and animal species in your biome

Overall description of biome and life in biome including adaptations specific to your biome

Detailed Food Web (10-20 species with images and labels) including trophic levels

Threats and/or Human Impacts to your biome including disruption specifically to your food web

Analysis of biome health, vulnerability, and biodiversity

Conservation/ Sustainable Management or Measures that are or can be taken in/for your biome

Tropical Water:

High salinity (>35) is encountered in surface waters at tropical latitudes, where evaporation is greater than at other latitudes.

The average temperature of the sea surface is about 20° C (68° F), but it ranges from more than 30° C (86° F) in warm tropical regions to less than 0°C at high latitudes.

Tropical coastal - An aquatic biome including the ocean bottom in coastal areas of tropical regions, to about 1000 m depth. Abyssal - On or near the ocean floor in the deep ocean.

Tropical oceans surround the Earth in what is known as an equatorial band between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° North latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° South latitude).

Polar Water: The Arctic Ocean is bordered by Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Alaska with the North Pole located in the middle. Due to the ice cover, it is possible to walk on 2-3 m ice flows that float on 4,000 m of water. Temperatures are -30°C in the winter and 0°C in the summer.

The Arctic region is considered to be all areas north of the Arctic Circle at 66°33″N Latitude

Unusual animals like the musk ox, polar bear, walrus, and many bird species.Tropical:

The ocean around Antarctica has a low salinity of just below 34 ppt, and around the Arctic it is down to 30 ppt in places.

Open Ocean:

The average temperature of the sea surface is about 20° C (68° F), but it ranges from more than 30° C (86° F) in warm tropical regions to less than 0°C at high latitudes. In most of the ocean, the water becomes colder with increasing depth.

The concentration of salt in seawater (its salinity) is about 35 parts per thousand; in other words, about 3.5% of the weight of seawater comes from the dissolved salts. In a cubic mile of seawater, the weight of the salt (as sodium chloride) would be about 120 million tons.

1,335,000,000 cubic kilometers (321,003,271 cubic miles) is in the ocean.

LOCATION: The marine biome is the biggest biome in the world! It covers about 70% of the earth. It includes five main oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern, as well as many smaller Gulfs and Bays. Marine regions are usually very salty! There is about one cup of salt per gallon of water in the ocean.

The ocean is divided up into three vertical zones. The top layer is called the euphotic zone and it is the area of the ocean where light can penetrate. The next layer is the disphotic zone. This area is too deep for lots of light to reach. Instead, the light here looks like our twilight on land. The deepest part of the ocean is called the aphotic zone, or deep sea. The water here is awfully cold, completely dark, and low in nutritional content. The deep sea comprises 80% of all the habitats on earth, which makes it the largest habitat on the planet. The deepest point in the ocean, the Mariana Trench is deeper than Mt. Everest is tall! The Mariana Trench is about 36,200 feet (10,000 meters) deep.

WEATHER: The marine biome has a big influence on our terrestrial climate! It provides rain for crops through evaporation, wind to help circulate air, and affects coastal temperatures. The ocean is a big influence on whether the weather may be sunny or cloudy, especially here in Santa Barbara because the ocean is right outside our back door!

The constant motion of the ocean results in currents and waves that may either be warm or cold depending on the weather and temperature of that area. Temperatures in the ocean range from just around freezing at the pole and in the deep waters, to tropical clear waters that are as warm as a bathtub. The average temperature of all oceans is about 39°F (4°C). Heat from the sun warms only the surface of the water. Deep down, oceans everywhere are cold and dark.

PLANTS: Over 1 million species of plants and animals have been discovered in the oceans, and scientists say there may be as many as 9 million species we haven't found yet. One reason the ocean is very important is because of all the algae. If it weren't for marine algae we would not be able to breathe!

The marine biome is one of the largest biomes in the world, covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface.

A marine biome is a large aquatic ecosystem that includes both saltwater and freshwater habitats. Marine biomes are found in all oceans, from the intertidal zone to the deep sea.

Marine ecosystems are incredibly diverse, home to an estimated 10 million different species of plants and animals. The two major types of marine biomes are coral reefs and kelp forests.

Coral reefs are built by tiny marine invertebrates called corals. Coral reefs support a huge diversity of other plant and animal life, including fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and sponges. Kelp forests are underwater forests of giant kelp, a type of brown algae. Kelp forests provide habitat for many animals, including fishes, octopuses, sea urchins, and sea otters.

The average temperature of the marine biome is 4 degrees Celsius, the equivalent of around 39 degrees Fahrenheit. While the waters of the marine biome are colder near the poles and warmer near the equator

Generally ocean temperatures range from about -2o to 30o C (28-86o F). The warmest water tends to be surface water in low latitude regions, while the surface water at the poles is obviously much colder