Download Oceans

Oceans
Properties of Ocean Water
Covers over 70% of Earth
 Over 90% of all living things live in the
ocean
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Properties of Ocean Water
1.
Salty – river water dissolves minerals
and carries them to the ocean along with
11 other chemicals
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Salinity – measure of dissolved salt in a
given amount of liquid
Ocean currents are caused by salinity and
temperature differences
Properties of Ocean Water
2. Three main gases in the ocean
 CO2 = Carbon Dioxide = needed by
marine animals
 N = Nitrogen = needed by plankton
 O = Oxygen = needed by all organisms
Properties of Ocean Water
3. Clear Consistancy –
 Light penetrates
 Sun gives heat to about 100m depth
 Only 1% of sunlight that hits the water
surface reached 100m of clear water
(deepest point for photosynthesis to occur)
 Most of ocean never receives light (deeper
than 900 meters)
Parts of a Wave
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Crest – highest point of a wave
Trough – lowest point of a wave
Wavelength – distance between 2 successive points on
a wave
Amplitude – half of the wave height
Types of Waves
Capillary waves – ripples that are caused
by winds gently blowing across the water’s
surface
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Types of Waves
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Tsunami – very large
ocean wave caused
by underwater
earthquake or
volcanic eruption;
most happen in the
Pacific Ocean
Types of Waves
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Rip Current – strong
narrow current that
forms when water
returns to the ocean
through a break in an
underwater sandbar
Undertow – flow of
water back out to the
ocean after a wave
breaks on shore
Ocean Motion
Gulf Stream – a warm surface current in
the Atlantic Ocean that flows up the
Eastern Coast of North America and then
East to Europe
 Coriolis Effect - curving of moving objects
from a straight path due to Earth’s rotation
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