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6-13
Oceans
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| a measure of the amount of salt in the water | salinity |
| the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make food | photosynthesis |
| this begins at a depth of 200m and the temperature of the water drops at each layer | thermocline |
| these currents move only the upper few hundred meters of the sea-water | surface currents |
| a warm surface current that flows from Florida northeastward toward North Carolina | Gulf Stream |
| this current forms when more dense seawater sinks below less dense seawater | density current |
| a current in the ocean that brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface | upwelling |
| a rhythmic movement that carries energy through water | wave |
| the top part of a wave | crest |
| the bottom part of a wave | trough |
| the rise and fall of sea level | tide |
| these tides are created when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned | Spring tides |
| these tides are created when the Sun, Moon, and Earth form a right angle | Neap tide |
| tiny marine organisms that float in ocean currents | plankton |
| animals that can actively swim, rather than drift | nekton |
| a community of organisms and the nonliving factors that affect them | ecosystem |
| organisms that can make their own food | producers |
| process that occurs deep in the ocean where sunlight does not penetrate, bacteria make food from dissolved sulfur compounds | chemosynthesis |
| organisms that eat or consume producers | consumers |
| these organisms such as bacteria break down tissue and release nutrients and carbon dioxide back to the ecosystem | decomposers |
| the transfer of energy from producers to consumers and decomposers | food chain |