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Oceans: Chapter 12

Vocabulary

worddefinition
salinity measure of the amount of dissolved salts in seawater
photosynthesis process in which organisms use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food and oxygen.
thermocline layer of ocean water that begins at a depth of about 200 m. and becomes progresively colder with increasing depth.
surface current ocean current that usually moves only the upper few hundred meters of seawater.
density current forms when more dense seawater sinks beneath less dense seawater.
upwelling a current in the ocean that brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface.
wave rhyrhmic movement that carries energy through the water.
tide rise and fall in sea level.
plankton tiny marine organisms, such as diatoms, that float in the surface waters of every ocean.
nekton marine animals, such as fish and turtles, that actively swin in ocean waters.
ecosystem all of the communities in a given area and the abiotic factors that affect them.
producer organizers that make their own food.
chemosynthesis process that occurs in deep ocean water where sunlight does not penetrate, in which bacteria make food from dissolved sulfur compounds.
consumer organism that gets its energy from eating producers.
decomposer organism that breaks down tissue and releases nutrients and carbon dioxide back into the ecosystem.
food chain model that describes how energy in the form of food passes from one organism to another.
Four reasons the ocean is important to us food, medicines, salt, oxygen, water cycle.
How were Earth's oceans formed? Water vapor from volcanoes cooled and condensed, rains filled basins.
Why does ocean water taste salty? It contains dissolved substances.
How and why do temperature and pressure vary with ocean depth? Solar energy heats the upper 200 m. Below 200 m., temperature drops rapidly. Pressure increases with depth because of the force of the water molecules pushing down.
How do winds create surface currents? They push the water.
How does the rotation of Earth modify ocean currents in the northern hemisphere? Surface currents curve to the right.
Why is surface water cooler newar San Diego, California than Charleston, South Carolina? California: currents originate in northern latitudes. SC: currents originate at the equator.
What causes the density current in the Mediterranean Sea? Surface evaporation produces salty, dense water. It sinks and less dense Atlantic water flows in to replace it.
How does wind create waves? Friction from the wind pushes the water along.
What factors determine the size of waves? Speed of the wind, length of time the wind blows, and distance over which the wind blows.
How does a water particle move in a wave? Water particles move in a circle.
What causes a wave to break? A wave breaks when its top overtakes its bottom.
What causes tides? gravitational attraction of Earth and the Moon and Earth and the Sun.
How do spring tides and neap tides differ? spring ides have large tidal range, neap tides have small tidal range.
How can waves erode shorelines? the force of breaking waves removes sediments.
List the characteristics of producers make own food
Characteristics if consumers eat other organisms
characteristics of decomposers break down tissue, release nutrients and CO
characteristics of plankton float in currents
characteristics of nekton actively swim
characteristics of bottomo-dwelling organisms live on bottom, some attached, some walk or swim
Explain why every ecosystem must include producers as well as other organisms. Producers make food and oxygen that other organisms need to survive.
Created by: kgillsmith
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