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BC — moist as gets air is flown over the ocean

Tops of mountains — moist air, temps decrease as we go up — causing snow and clouds at the tops of mountains

Why the world’s tallest trees thrive on the West coast of north America

Canada = the westerly zone — most of our weather systems come from the west and are influenced by the Pacific Ocean + what happens as the air masses pass over the Rocky Mountains

As aur descends on the East side of the rocky mountains — it’s warmed — may cause the Chinook winds which MAY greatly increase local temps

The warmer temps can run into cold arctic air on the prairies — this mix can result in winter storms

Ex. an Alberta clipper — high wind chills, heavy snow falls, though they pass by rather quick

Aquatic Biomes

Biome = large area of land (on land, in water, desert, forest, etc.)

Marine:

Marine communities are defined by depth and proximity to the shore, also salt content/concentration

(Higher salt content — more buoyancy!!) ex. in dead sea you float!!

Photic zone = marks the depth at which there’s enough light for PS

Below the photic zone = not enough light for primary production to continue

Just below the photic zone = aphotic zone

• broken down into a twilight zone — still little light available

• depths greater than 1000m, there’s no light at all — home of very bizarre creatures ex. angler fish

Coral reefs: found in photic zone (area good for photosynthesis / access to light), diff. colors associated w/ diff. algae/pigments

• when conditions are too warm — become bleached

• pH of oceans — makes coral’s life harder and limits their ability to produce the structures they need to survive/grow

• about 25% of all life in the oceans can be found in the great coral reefs

  • provides breeding grounds, shelter, safety, within photic zone, relatively close to the shore

• there’s a large concern for about 75% of coral reefs

Estuary: where a freshwater stream meets the ocean — the salinity ranges a lot

• find mudflats here

• many nutrients enter the system from the land

• varies in salinity throughout the day

• breeding grounds for many shift

Benthic zone = anything that lives on the bottom or lives in the sediment

Wetlands: transitional biome b/w an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial one

Freshwater biomes: cover less than 1% of Earth’s surface — hugely diverse, contain around 6% of all described species — we depend on them for drinking water, irrigation water, sanitation and industry

Zones in a freshwater lake:

Littoral — continental shelf, enough light for PS penetrating to the bottom of the lake — very productive area (weeds growing, etc.)

• where you’d walk into the water

Pelagic — open water area, photic or not

Benthic — anything on the bottom

Limnetic — enough light for PS in the pelagic zone

Photic — enough light for PS

Temp dictates the density of the water

Extreme change in temp w/ seasons — controls chem. of the lake (ex. O2 concentration)

Temp varies as depth increases

Warm surface water — called the epilimnion

Colder water below — called the hypolimnion

Epilimnion and hypolimnion are separated by a thermocline / metalimnion— a zone of rapid temp change (more than 1 degree Celsius per meter)

Water is most dense at 4 degrees Celsius

• Most things get more dense the colder they are

BUT — water as ice is less dense than liquid water — making it float

Summer: warmer surface —

• Lentic water: Lakes and ponds — still water

• Lotic waters: rivers, streams — flowing water