Plate Tectonics
The Earth’s crust is divided into ____ major plates which are moved in various directions.
12
List three ways humans increase the amount of carbon in the oceans.
What are the common units of salinity?
PPT and PSU
What is the biogeochemical cycle?
The biogeochemical cycle is the continuous flow of elements and compounds between organisms and the earth
What does DO stand for? What are the common units for measurement of DO?
Dissolved Oxygen
mg/L
Describe what happens at a transform boundary and give an example of one.
Plate boundaries where plates slide past each other.
Ex. San Andreas Fault
The lower the pH of a substance, the ___________ H+ ions, and the ___________ acidity
More, higher
What are the two primary types of ocean currents?
Surface Currents and Deep Currents
The biogeochemical cycle involves the movement of elements and compounds among these four spheres....
1.Land (lithosphere)
2.Organisms (Biosphere)
3.Air (atmosphere)
4.The Oceans (hydrosphere).
How are hypoxic conditions defined? Anoxic conditions?
Hypoxic- low oxygen
Anoxic- no oxygen
Volcanos are formed by.....(3)
Subduction
Rifting
Hotspots
The capture and storage of carbon is known as....
carbon sequestration
What are the ocean’s three layers?
Mixed or surface layer
Thermocline
Deep Ocean
What 6 elements are important to all marine life?
Carbon (C)
Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (P)
Silicon (Si)
Iron (Fe)
Trace metals
Describe what happens during El Niño conditions?
Trade winds reduce
Causing warm water in the eastern pacific due to reduced upwelling.
Ocean heat alters the jet stream, causing rains to occur beyond their normal location
What are the three styles of convergent plate boundaries? Provide an example of each type.
-Continent-Continent Collision
-Ex. European Alps and Himalayas
-Oceanic-Continent Collision
-Ex. Andes
-Oceanic-Oceanic Collision
-Ex. Mariana's Trench
How is marine life affected by ocean acidification?
Sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs may decline due to change in pH and slower construction of coral exoskeletons.
Reduced abundance of small shelled organisms may cause problems for those larger species that prey upon them for food and shift food webs and reduce biodiversity. How coral reefs will survive in an era of rapidly acidifying ocean
What drives ocean currents?
Density gradients (differences) drive deep ocean currents
Upwelling brings cold, nutrient-rich water from the depths up to the surface
Wind is one of the primary drivers of surface currents
What proof do we have of global warming?
Temperature and CO2 Data
Glaciers melting
Sea level rise
Describe what happens during La Niña conditions?
Tradewinds increase causing more cold water to upwell in the eastern pacific.
Increased rainfall in the western tropical Pacific
Describe how the Hawaiian island chain was formed.
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by such a hot spot occurring in the middle of the Pacific Plate. While the hot spot itself is fixed, the plate is moving. So, as the plate moved over the hot spot, the string of islands that make up the Hawaiian Island chain were formed.
If Temperature or salinity increases what happens to the amount of gas seawater can absorb?
It decreases
List four reasons ocean currents so important?
Influence world climate and weather
Ocean navigation and transportation
Support marine life (transport mechanism, food source)
Transport of materials (both helpful and harmful) and energy to different regions and depths of the ocean
What is the difference between global warming and climate change?
GLOBAL WARMING
Is the increase of the Earth’s average surface temperature due to a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Is the long-term changes in climate, including average temperature and precipitation. It recognizes that, although the average surface temperature may increase, the regional or local temperature may decrease or remain constant.
How do plankton blooms lead to dead zones?
When plankton die, they sink to the bottom and decompose
Bacteria use up oxygen as they decompose the plankton
Hypoxic or anoxic conditions cause mobile species to leave and others to die