Sea Kelp Forest Molly Fisher http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/kelp-forest.jpg

What is a sea kelp forest What is a sea kelp forest? Sea kelp forests are groups of algae (kelp) densely packed in an area, like a forest in the ocean.

Hydrosphere Grows in saltwater and more specifically, the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America stretching from Alaska to California More prominent in areas where upwellings occur (when nutrient-rich, cold water is pushed to the surface) California Current (cold water) flows through the areas where sea kelp forests are most prominent Cold water is needed for sea kelp forests to thrive which means the dissolved oxygen levels must be high as well

Biosphere Kelp forests are the producers and biotic factor in a food chain Kelp forests provide food and shelter for many organisms near by which include: seals, sea lions, whales, sea otters, gulls, terns, snowy egrets, great blue herons, cormorants, and shore birds. (NOAA) Harbors a very large biodiversity of plants and animals and are very important to the many food chains and webs that depend on them. Food Chain Example: "Sea urchins like kelp and, if their populations get too big, they may graze a kelp forest to death; if they remain, they may also inhibit the kelp's ability to grow again in that area. Sea otters like sea urchins which is a good thing because they can keep the urchin population under control, thus helping to preserve the kelp forests." (NPS.gov) To clarify, sea kelp is the producer, sea urchins are the primary consumer, and sea otters are the secondary/tertiary consumer .

Lithosphere "Kelp does not have roots. Instead, it is secured by holdfasts that lock onto substrates made of rock, or cobble. Although it functions in a way like a root, holdfasts do not absorb nutrients" (NPS.gov) In summary, kelp forests do not need any kind of sediments/soils from the ocean to grow but they do however need rocks to secure themselves to replace their missing roots and since the kelp forests are located along the coast, we can assume these rocks are sedimentary.

Atmosphere Kelp forests are very sensitive to extremely strong ocean currents and storms which can destroy them easily so we can assume that they are mostly located on the west coast of North America due to the fact that the area seems to not have much hurricane activity. They are dependent on the sun's radiant energy to use for photosynthesis in order to grow and eat.

Space "Because of their dependency upon light for photosynthesis, kelp forests form in shallow open waters and are rarely found deeper than 49-131 feet." (NOAA)  In summary, since they need plenty of sunlight to thrive and grow by using the process of photosynthesis, radiation from the sun is very important.

Works Cited: "What is a Kelp Forest?" National Ocean Service.  1 May 2017. Web. 16 May 2017 http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/kelp.html "Kelp Forest Background". National Park Service. 2017. Web. 16 May 2017. https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/education/kelp-forest- background.htm