OCEANOGRAPHY

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OCEANOGRAPHY
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Oceanography

• The Study of the marine environment.

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Oceans

• 71 of the earths surface is covered by water.
• 97 of which consists of ocean

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OCEANS

• Pacific
• Largest and Deepest
• Covers 1/3 of the Earths surface
• Contains just about ½ of the Earths Water.

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Oceans

• Atlantic
• Second Largest
• Third Deepest
• Contains Mediterranean, Caribbean, and North
  Seas.

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OCEANS

• Indian
• Third Largest
• Second Deepest

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Oceans

• Arctic Ocean
• Smallest Ocean
• Surrounds the North Pole

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Properties of Ocean Water

• Made mostly of pure water (H2O)
• 96
• The other four percent are other dissolved
  elements.

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Properties of Water

• Salinity
• The amount of dissolved salts in ocean water.
• Causes of Salinity
• Volcanic Eruption
• Erosion
• Waves crashing on the shoreline

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Properties of Water

• Temperature
• Major source of heat
• Sun
• As a result the ocean is warmest at the surface.
• Avg. Surface Temperature
• 36 F in the Arctic
• 82 F at the equator
• Waves and currents transfer heat to greater
  depths.
• Avg. Sub surface temperature
• 34 F 37 F

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Properties of Water

• Temperature
• Thermocline Zone where there is a sharp
  difference in temperature between surface and
  deeper waters
• Pressure
• Increases as depth increases

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Properties of Water

• Color
• Natural color is blue
• Changes in color can be caused by pollutants or
  microscopic plants.

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The Ocean Floor

• Continental Shelf
• Shallow water platform that slopes gently from a
  continent to the deep ocean bottom
• Often the best fishing is done here
• Also contains large deposits of minerals, oils,
  and natural gas.

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The Ocean Floor

• Continental Slope
• Area of steeply sloping seafloor between the
  continental shelf and the deep ocean bottom.

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The Ocean Floor

• Submarine Canyons
• Deep valleys cut into the continental shelf and
  slope.
• Still learning about the origin and nature of
  these features.

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The Ocean Floor

• Abyssal Plain
• Large flat areas on the ocean floor.

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The Ocean Floor

• Seamounts
• Underwater volcanic mountains
• 1000 have been identified
• Some rise above the surface
• Hawaiian islands

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The Ocean Floor

• Guyots
• Flat topped seamounts
• Flattened by wave erosion

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The Ocean Floor

• Trench
• Long, v-shaped channels located on the edges of
  the ocean floor.
• Deepest parts of the Ocean
• Marianas Trench

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The Ocean Floor

• Mid-Ocean Ridge
• Underwater mountain ranges.
• Represent some of the largest mountain ranges on
  Earth.
• Form when molten material cools and piles up.

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Life in the Ocean

• What determines how much life there is in a
  section of the ocean?
• Amount of Sunlight
• Temperature
• Water Pressure

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Life in the Ocean

• Plankton
• Tiny organisms that float in the water and are
  carried by waves and currents
• Very small
• Some microscopic
• Food for many larger organisms

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Life in the Ocean

• Plankton
• Types
• Phytoplankton
• Plant Plankton
• Zooplankton
• Animal Plankton

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Phytoplankton
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Zooplankton
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Life in the Ocean

• Nekton
• Ocean life that swims
• Able to search for food and avoid predators.
• Found at all ocean levels.

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Life in the Ocean

• Benthos
• Organisms that live on the ocean floor.
• Mobile and Stationary

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Benthos
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Ocean Zones

• Intertidal Zone
• Lies between the low and high tide lines.
• As a result most changeable sometime Ocean and
  sometimes dry land.
• Changes 2x a day
• Difficult to live here
• Why?
• Examples
• Crabs and Clams

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Ocean Zones

• Neritic Zone
• Extends from the low tide line to the edge of the
  continental shelf.
• Ends where there is to little sunlight for
  seaweed to grow.
• Plenty of sunlight and many different animals.
• Examples
• Fish and Lobsters
• Contains most of the worlds great fishing areas.

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Ocean Zones

• Open Ocean Zones
• Broken into two parts
• Surface Zone (Bathyal)
• Begins at the continental slope and extends
  downwards about 2,000 M.
• Sunlight can not penetrate the deeper portions of
  this zone
• Animal Life
• Squid and Octopi

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Ocean Zones

• Open-Ocean Zones
• Deep Zone (Abyssal)
• Begins at about 2,000 M and extends to about
  6,000 M. This covers the large flat plains of
  the ocean.
• No Sunlight
• Makes little food available
• Great pressure
• Life does exist
• Often small, strange looking, and bioluminescent.

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Waves

• Waves
• Pulses that move through the ocean.
• Causes
• Winds Most Common Cause
• Earthquakes
• Gravitational pull of the moon

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Waves

• Waves
• Characteristics
• Water does not move with waves
• Energy does
• It passes from particle to particle vertically
  and horizontally
• In deep water, there are no waves

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Waves

• Waves
• Factors
• Wind Speed
• Time the wind blows
• Distance the wind blows over the water

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Waves

• Waves
• Parts
• Crest
• Highest part of a wave
• Trough
• Lowest part of a wave
• Wavelength
• Distance between two waves (crests or troughs)
• Wave Height
• Distance between a waves crest and trough
• Wave Frequency
• The number of waves that pass a point in a
  certain amount of time.

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Waves

• Waves
• Tsunamis
• Ocean waves caused by earthquakes.
• Highest ocean waves
• Can reach heights of 114 Ft or more.
• About the height of a 10 story building.

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Currents

• Surface Currents
• Currents caused mostly by wind patterns and can
  be several hundred meters deep.
• Can be cold or warm currents
• What determines this?
• Form a continuous pattern of water circulation.
• Coriolis Effect
• Winds in the northern hemisphere bend to the
  right and in the southern hemisphere to the left.
• As a result currents follow the same pattern

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Currents

• Deep Currents
• Caused mainly by differences in density of water
  deep in the ocean.
• Density does not mean heaviness
• Refers to temperature and salinity.
• For example, Cold water will move downward under
  less dense warm water.
• Move in the opposite direction of surface
  currents.
• Upwelling
• The rising of deep cold currents to the ocean
  surface.

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Currents

• Upwelling
• When the current shifts the cold water upwards it
  brings with it organisms, minerals, and nutrients.

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Tides

• The regular rise and fall of ocean water caused
  by the gravitational attraction among the Earth,
  moon, and sun.

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Tides

• High Tides
• Occur twice a day
• When the ocean water bulges as a result of the
  gravitational pull of the overhead moon.

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Tides

• Low Tides
• Occur twice a day
• When the two areas of the earth are not
  experiencing high tide.

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Tides

• Special Cases
• Spring Tides
• Occur twice a month (Full moon and New moon)
• When the moon, earth, and sun are in a straight
  line.
• High tides are higher than usual.

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Tides

• Special Cases
• Neap Tides
• Occur twice a month (First and Third Quarter
  Moon)
• When the moon, earth, and sun form a right angle.
• High tides are lower than usual.

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Instruments of Investigation

• SCUBA Gear Self-Contained Underwater Breathing
  Apparatus
• Tank(s) of compressed air strapped on a divers
  back and connected by hoses to a mouthpiece for
  breathing.

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Instruments of Investigation

• SONAR Sound Navigation and Radar
• Method of mapping the ocean floor by transmission
  and reflection of sound waves.

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Instruments of Investigation

• GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental
  Satellites
• Orbit the earth at 22,000 miles.
• Highly advanced observation platforms supplying
  detailed imagery of the Earths Oceans.

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Hurricane Frances
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Linda
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Instruments of Investigation

• Underwater Laboratories
• Aquarius
• Only underwater lab dedicated to marine science
  in the world.
• Provides life support systems that allow
  scientists to live and work underwater, in
  reasonably comfortable living quarters, with
  sophisticated research capabilities.

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Instruments of Investigation

• Deep Ocean Submersibles
• Manned and remote vessels that allow explorers to
  travel deeper in the ocean then SCUBA gear will
  allow.
• Able to withstand and protect divers from great
  heat/cold and pressure

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The Water Cycle

• Evaporation
• Heat on the surface of the Earth causes water to
  change to water vapor.
• Oceans, fresh water bodies, plants and animals
  all release water vapor
• Condensation
• Water vapor changes back into liquid
• Warm surface air rises and cools
• The cool air condenses the water into droplets
  which form clouds.

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The Water Cycle

• Precipitation
• Water that falls back to the earth when clouds
  become to heavy to stay afloat.
• Forms
• rain, snow, sleet, and hail
• Some of the precipitation returns to Earth and
  evaporates continuing the cycle.
• Some runs off into lake streams and ponds, etc.
• Some soaks into the ground
• Groundwater
• Water that remains in the ground. It flows
  underground and eventually flows into the ocean.

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