Unique Nature of Pure Water
This type of bond between water molecules gives it high surface tension and cohesion.
What is hydrogen bonding?
The measure of how easily light passes through seawater.
What is transparency?
The total amount of dissolved salts in seawater.
What is salinity?
The ocean becomes more acidic when this gas dissolves in seawater.
What is carbon dioxide (CO2)?
This process by plants and phytoplankton removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
What is photosynthesis?
This property allows water to absorb and release large amounts of heat without changing temperature quickly.
What is high heat capacity?
The property that increases by 1 atmosphere every 10 meters of depth.
What is pressure?
The two most abundant ions found in seawater.
What are sodium and chloride?
As CO2 increases, this happens to ocean pH.
What is it decreases?
The process that returns carbon to the atmosphere through decomposition or respiration.
What is respiration?
This term describes how water molecules stick to each other, creating surface tension.
What is cohesion?
The speed of this increases with higher temperature and salinity.
What is sound?
These are essential for marine plant growth and include nitrate, phosphate, and silicate.
What are nutrients?
Ocean acidification reduces the availability of this ion needed by corals and shellfish.
What is carbonate?
When carbon sinks to the deep ocean, it becomes part of this long-term carbon storage.
What is the biological pump?
This property allows water to dissolve many substances, earning it the title “universal solvent.”
What is polarity?
The layer of rapid temperature change with depth in the ocean.
What is the thermocline?
Substances found in very small amounts, but vital for marine life.
What are trace elements?
The process that converts CO2 and water into carbonic acid.
What is dissolution?
This term describes the movement of carbon among the atmosphere, ocean, land, and living things.
What is the carbon cycle?
This occurs because water expands when it freezes, making ice float.
What is lower density of ice compared to liquid water?
These tiny particles drifting downward from the surface provide food for deep-sea organisms.
What is marine snow?
The relationship between temperature, salinity, and this property determines the vertical structure of the ocean.
What is density?
This layer of the ocean is most affected by acidification because it’s where most CO₂ exchange occurs.
What is the epipelagic zone?
These organisms play a crucial role in capturing carbon through photosynthesis at the ocean’s surface.
What are phytoplankton?