Oceanography I – Flashcards
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what percent of the earth is covered by ocean
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70.8%
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what percent of surface water is made up of oceans
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97.2%
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Principle Oceans
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Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic/Southern
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Pacific ocean
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largest, deepest
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atlantic ocean
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2nd largest
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arctic ocean
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smallest, shallowest, ice-covered
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antarctic/southern
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connects pacific, atlantic, and indian
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sea
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smallest/shallower than ocean; true sea must have saltwater; usually enclosed by land
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Caspian sea
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not a true sea because it is freshwater
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average ocean depth
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3729m (12,234 ft)
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average ocean elevation
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840 m (2756 ft)
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deepest ocean
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Mariana Trench- 11,022 m (36,161 ft)
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deepest part of the ocean
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Challenger Deep
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Captain James Cook
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Ships- HMS Endeavor, Resolution, Adventure; mapped islands in Pacific; made 1st accurate maps of ocean
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HMS Challenger
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1st depth measurement of Mariana Trench; discovered nearly 5k new species; 3.5 year, 79200 mile voyage to discover new things about marine life
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Major advances in oceanographic technology
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WWII sonar, 1912- Scripps Oceanographic Institution established
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FLIP
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Floating Instrument Pattern; developed by Scripps; turns vertically for depth research
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Alvin
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Developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; deep sea submersible; built in 1964; discovered wreck of Titanic
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Submarine that went into the Challenger Deep
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Trieste- 1960
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ROV
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remotely operated (underwater) vehicle; unoccupied robots
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AUV
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autonomous underwater vehicle
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ABE
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Autonomous Benthic explorer; Hosted at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Can do long term studies because it can go to "sleep" on the ocean floor
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Jacques Cousteau
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created SCUBA- self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
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Nebular Hypothesis
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gravity concentrates material at center of cloud- sun; protoplanets are formed from smaller concentrations of matter- eddies; heat from solar radiation boils away initial atmosphere and nebular gases are swept away
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nebula
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cloud
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main layers of the earth
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core, crust, mantle
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physical layers of the earth
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lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere
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core
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highest density materials (center of earth)
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outer core
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liquid and capable of flowing
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inner core
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rigid; doesn't flow
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crust
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lowest density materials (surface of earth)
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mantle
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made mostly of iron and magnesium (silicate minerals)
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lithosphere
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cool, rigid, brittle; depth of 100 km from surface (62 miles); consists of two crusts and the uppermost mantle
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oceanic crust
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underlies ocean basins, made of igneous rock basalt, avg. 8 km (5 miles) thick
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continental crust
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underlies continents, made of igneous rock granite, avg. 35 km (22 miles) thick
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asthenosphere
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upper mantle, high viscosity (flows slowly), plastic (deforms by flowing)
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isostatic adjustment
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vertical movement of earth's crust; based on buoyancy- less dense floats higher; continental crust floats higher than oceanic crust
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origin of earth's atmosphere
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partial melting resulted in outgassing; mainly water vapor, CO2, Hydrogen, methane, ammonia
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outgassing
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gas emitted from mantle
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origin of earth's oceans
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water vapor released by outgassing condenses rain an accumulates in ocean basins about 4 billion years ago
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ocean salinity
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rain dissolved rocks and the dissolved compounds and ions accumulated in river basins; salinity has been nearly constant over past 4 billion years
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where and when did life originate
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in the oceans about 3.5 billion years ago
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types of life forms
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heterotrophs and autotrophs
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heterotrophs
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includes most bacteria and animals; rely on other sources of food/energy
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autotrophs
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make own food/energy; algae and plants; aka primary producers
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how old is earth
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about 4.6 billion years old
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oceanography
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the scientific study of all aspects of the marine environment
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geological oceanography
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study of the structure of the sea floor
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chemical oceanography
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study of chemical composition and properties of seawater
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physical oceanography
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study of waves, tides, and currents and the ocean-atmosphere relationship that influences weather and climate
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biological oceanography
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the study of oceanic life forms
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importance of studying oceans
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global warming, coastal erosion, coastal/ocean pollution, natural resources, ocean's influence on weather patterns, location of continents, replaces CO2 with O2, transportation
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density stratification
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when there earth was a ball of hot liquid rock, the earth's elements were able to segregate according to their densities
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why does density stratification occur
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gravitational separation
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Stanley Miller
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made an experiment that simulated primitive earth in a bottle; showed that vast amounts of organic molecules could be produced by the 'prebiotic soup'
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microorganisms
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smallest and simplest organisms on earth; represent all three biological domains; most important primary producers in marine life; bottom of marine food chain; 98% of world's oxygen
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three biological domains
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Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
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prokaryotes
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consist of archaea and bacteria; oldest life form on earth; carry out most chemical processes of more complex organisms
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how are prokaryotes different from eukaryotes
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no nucleus, circular DNA
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bacteria
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have sphere, coil, rod, and ring shapes; covered in gelatinous material (envelope/capsule)
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types of bacteria
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heterotrophic, autotrophic, cyanobacteria
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heterotrophic bacteria
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decomposers- ensure recycling of nutrients; found in water column
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autotrophic bacteria
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chemosynthetic/chemoautotrophic- use chemicals to produce energy
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cyanobacteria
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aka blue-green algae; among 1st photosynthetic organisms on earth; include stromatolites, endophytes, and epiphytes
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stromatolites
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mounds deposited by cyanobacteria; often found in fossils
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endophytes
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live inside algae
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epiphytes
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photosynthetic; live on other plants
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archaea
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about 3.8 billion years old; small spiral, spherical, or rod-shaped cells; include methanogens and extremophiles
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methanogens
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methane makes and decomposers
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extremophiles
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can inhabit (but do not depend on) extreme environments
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latitude lines run from
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0 to 90 degrees
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equator
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0 degrees latitude
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north and south pole
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90 degrees north and south latitude
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directions latitude measures
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north and south
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polaris
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north star
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polaris and latitude
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at equator near horizon- at 0 degrees it is invisible; at north pole higher in the sky (90 degrees)
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polaris altitude
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equal to your latitude
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longitude lines run from
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0 to 180 degrees
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prime meridian
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0 degrees longitude
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international dateline
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180 degrees longitude
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lines of longitude all meet at
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the north and south poles
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directions longitude measures
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east and west
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knot
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unit of speed used at sea
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crossing the prime meridian
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if you cross, you add the longitude; if you don't pass, you subtract the longitudes
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1 degree of latitude
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60 minutes of latitude; one nautical mile
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1 minute of latitude
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60 nautical miles
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1 knot
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1 nautical mile per hour
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nautical mile to km
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multiply by 1.85
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nautical mile to statute miles
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multiply by 1.15
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15 degrees longitude
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1 hour zulu time
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looking for time
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longitude
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looking for distance
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latitude
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Systems Science
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study of the complex systems in nature, society, and science
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Marine science vs oceanography
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Marine science: more focused on both the biological and the physical side; Oceanography: ocean physics, only dealing with the physical properties of the ocean
