A | B |
Salinity (def) | The amount of dissolved solids in seawater |
Pressure (def) | The force per unit area |
Density (def) | The mass per volume of an object |
Therm- (def) | temperature (heat) |
-cline (def) | Rapid change with depth |
Photic Zone (def) | The sunlit upper layer that receives adequate light for photosynthesis; area where algae grows |
Aphotic Zone (def) | Area below the photic zone where too little light penetrates for plants ot survive. |
Water Mass (def) | A large volume of seawater that is relatively uniform in density and is identifiable based on its temperature, salinity, and other properties |
Thermohaline Circulation (def) | Subsurface movements of water masses, generated by density contrasts that arise from differences in temperature & salinity |
Continental Margin (def),  | Area of the ocean that includes the Continental Shelf, Slope, and Rise |
Continental Shelf (def),  | Ocean zone closest to the beach; gentle slope, nearly flat |
Submarine Canyons (def) | Steep-sided slices in the continental slope believed to be caused by turbidity currents |
Turbidity Currents (def) | Down-slope flow of water heavily laden with suspended sediment form rivers; denser than normal seawater; resembles an underwater avalanche |
Continental Rise (def),  | Transitions zone between the steep slope and flat ocean bottom |
Submarine fan (def) | Accumulated sediments at the bottom of the Continental Rise |
Seamounts (def) | Formed by significant underwater volcanic peaks rising more than 1000m above the ocean floor; |
Examples of Seamounts | The Hawaiian Islands |
Guyots (def) | Flat-topped mountains |
Coral Atolls (def) | A ring-shaped island surrounding a seawater lagoon; formed as coral built up around an island as the island was sinking |
Directly Proportional (def) | Relationship between two factors where one increases in quantity & the other also increases. |
Inversely Proportional (def) | Relationship between two factors where one increases in quantity & the other decreases. |
Inversely Proportional (Syn) | Indirectly Proportional |
Continental Slope (def),  | Steeply sloping zone;area where continental crust changes to ocean crust |
Mixed Layer (def) | Top most layer of the ocean where winds circulate the waters down to a max depth of about 1500 ft. |
Main Thermocline (def) | Transition zone between the warmer water of the mixed layer & the colder water of the deep layer. |
Deep Layer (def) | Lowest layer of the ocean usually colder than 4 degrees Celsius. |
Argo Profiling Array (def) | A group of ocean sensors that collect information on salinity,density, pressure, depth & temperature at different ocean depths, over a period of 14 days. |
Ultimate cause of the direction of current flow in each hemisphere. | Earth's Rotation |
Upwelling (def) | The flow of cold, nutrient rich water to the surface from the ocean bottom; caused by winds blowing the surface currents away from the shoreline. |
Eddies (def) | Large rotating warm or cold water rings that form as meanders in the current become pinched off |
Meanders (def) | Bends or folds in a current that may pinch off to form eddies. |
Downwelling (def) | The flow of warm, nutrient deprived water to the coastline. The current hits land and is directed towards the ocean bottom; caused by wind blowing the surface currents toward the shoreline. |
Deep sea trenches (def) | Formed where one plate submerges under another; Ex Mariana Trench, Peru-Chile Trench |
Submarine Mountain Ranges (def) | Mid-ocean ridges form on either side of the rift zone where the plates are pulling apart. Magma rises here, hardens and forms mountains. |
Coriolis Effect (def) | Effect caused by Earth's rotation; deflects all free-moving objects such as air & water to the right north of the equator & to the left south of the equator. |
Gulf Stream (def) | Warm, fast, deep, narrow current found in the western basin of the Atlantic Ocean |
First person credited with mapping & studying the Gulf Stream | Ben Franklin |
Four major Oceans of the World | Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, & Arctic |
If salinity increases what is its effect on density? | Density increases; Salinity & Density are directly proportional |
If temperature increases, what is its effect on density? | Density decreases; Temperature & Density are inversely proportional |
Largest Ocean in the World | Pacific Ocean |
Smallest Ocean in the World | Arctic |
3 main gases dissolved in seawater | Nitrogen, Oxygen, & Carbon dioxide |
2 most abundant ions dissolved in seawater | Chloride & Sodium ions |
Average Salinity of Seawater | 34.5 parts per thousand |
Factors that decrease salinity | Glaciers entering an ocean, rivers entering an ocean, heavy rainfall falling on an ocean |
Factors that increase salinity | Sea ice forming, dry hot climates, |
Sources of Ocean Salinity | Volcanoes, Erosion carried by glaciers, streams or waves breaking on the shoreline |