Exam 2023

1) Name the three main basins of the world oceans. Which of these is the largest? Where else than in the oceans do we find water on our planet?

Answer: the three main basins are the Atlantic ocean, Pacific ocean, and the Indian ocean. The largest out of all these ocean basins is the Pacific ocean. Other than the oceans, water can be found in glaciers, lakes, underground, in permafrost, and water inside the living beings.

2) Describe how the density of seawater varies with salinity and temperature. What is a pycnocline, and why is this important for how the ocean works?

Answer: when salinity increases, the density of seawater increases. this is because there are more ions in the water mass than water molecules, hence making it heavier. With temperature, when the temperature increases the water becomes less dense, and vice versa when the temperature decreases. The changes in temperature and salinity two factors that are important for driving the MOC (merdional overturning circulation), trasnporting nutrient rich, saline, and oxygenated cold water from the poles to the equator and around the world. The change in salinity within a water column can be seen when taking a vertical profile of the water column. This is defined by the pycnocline, where you can see the drastic change in salinity, separating the upper and lower water masses.

3) How does the solubility of dissolved gases like N2 or O2 change with water temperature? What would be the consequence of water heating for gill-breathing vertebrates?

Answer: