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Chapter 13 Exploring the Oceans
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Chapter 13.1 Major Divisions of the Global Ocean
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History of Earth’s Oceans
Oceans formed 4.8 bill. yrs ago -The Solar System was only 1 bill. yrs. Old x -Earth was hot rock w/out a trace of water ! -volcano gases & ash formed atmosphere ! - Earth cooled & water vapor condensed ! -Water came from 2 sources: 1. bombardment by comets X 2. gases (ammonia, water vapor, carbon dioxide) in atmosphere which came from volcanic activity ! -Water stayed in gaseous form until surface cooled ! -4.8 bill yrs ago water condensed into rain & collected into low lying areas ! -18,000 yrs ago most of ocean was frozen in glaciers & ice caps X -5 oceans of today formed within last 300 mill yrs !
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Properties of Ocean Water
-Running water carried dissolved minerals on land to oceans -Evaporation of ocean water leaves solids behind (chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, potassium, & calcium) -Most abundant solid is sodium chloride (NaCl or SALT) -Salts have been added to ocean for bill of yrs -A measure of the amount of solids in a given amount of liquid is called salinity (measured in grams of dissolved solids per killograms of water
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What Affects Salinity? 1. Climate coastal, warm waters have hot, dry climate and high salinity b/c heat increases evaporation coastal, cool waters have low salinity 2. Water movement slow moving water (bays, gulfs, seas) have high salinity 3. Temperature Zones ocean temp decreases as depth & pressure increases *Rainfall decreases salinity near the surface.
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The Dead Sea, located between Israel & Jordan, is so dense (35% salinity) that a human can float
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The Ocean’s Temperature Zones
Pg Draw a graph of the 3 temp zones -the depth of each zone -the temp of each zone UNDER WATER PRESSURE: -At sea level air pressure is 1 atmosphere (atm) -Under water pressure increases at the rate of 1 atm every 10 m of depth (Ex. at zero m, water pressure is 1 atm; at 10 m, water pressure is 2 atm) Practice: If the ocean’s average depth is 3.8 km, what is the pressure at the bottom of the ocean?
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Interactions Between the Ocean & the Atmosphere
Water, land, & air interact in the Water Cycle--- (a continuous movement of water) sunlight heats ocean (evaporation) into water vapor rising to the atmosphere where it changes from a gas to a liquid(condensation) & gets heavy enough to fall as precipitation The ocean absorbs & releases thermal energy slowly into the atmosphere thus keeping our weather stable & regulating temp. If not for this, Earth would experience extreme weather conditions. (Ex. 100 degrees C during day & -100 degrees C at night)
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Chapter 13.2 The Ocean Floor Technologies for studying the ocean floor:
Sonar—sound pulses from ships to ocean floor & back (longer it takes for sound to bounce off ocean & return, the deeper the ocean floor) Scientists calculate depth by multiplying ½ the travel time by speed of sound in water, which is 1500 m/s. Satellites—covers more territory & more accurate than Sonar. Launched Seasat which measured direction & speed of ocean currents & Geosat which measures slight changes in height of ocean surface over underwater features.
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Technologies continued
Piloted underwater vessels -Alvin—recovers & discovers unique ecosystems (ex. tubeworms) -Deep flight underwater airplane—take pilots to depths of 11,000 m
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Technologies continued
Robotic vessels Jason II and Medea—pilot on surface guides Medea which is tethered to it & can take pressure of deepest parts of ocean floor.
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Two Major Ocean Floor Regions
Continental Margin: continental shelf, slope, & rise
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Two Major Ocean Floor Regions
Deep-Ocean basin: abyssal plain, mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, sea mounts, ocean trenches
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Chapter 13.3 Life in the Ocean
3 Groups of Marine Life Plankton: microscopic animal-like & plant-like float near ocean’s surface Nekton swim actively in open ocean mammals, whales, dolphins Benthos live on/near ocean floor crabs, starfish, coral
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2 Major Marine Environments & Their Ecological Zones
1. Benthic environment-region on bottom of ocean floor & all organisms that live on/in it. Intertidal Zone: shallowest zone; located btwn low & high tide ; organisms can live both on land & in water Sublittoral Zone: from low tide to edge of shelf; temp, pressure, sunlight remain constant Bathyal Zone: edge of cont. shelf to abyssal plain; plants scarce, animals include sponges, sea stars, octopuses Abyssal Zone: largest; on abyssal plain; no plants, few animals (worms, crabs, sea cucumbers) Hadal Zone: deepest; floor of trenches, know little about few animals
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2 Major Marine Environments & Their Ecological Zones
2. Pelagic environment-near surface & middle depths-beyond sublittoral zone & above abyssal zone Neritic Zone: covers cont. shelf; warm & sunlight; largest concentration of marine life Oceanic Zone: entire ocean beyond the shelf; cold water ; high pressure; marine life spread out; strange animals in dark, deep depths
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Chapter 13.4 Resources from the Ocean
Ways humans harvest living resources from the ocean Fishing the ocean-75 million tons of fish caught using drift nets Farming the ocean-raise ocean fish, oysters, shrimp & crabs in holding ponds Harvested kelp (seaweed)from the ocean-rich in protein; used as thickener in jellies & ice cream
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3 Nonliving Resources in the Ocean
Nonrenewal resources: (used up faster than can be replenished naturally) ex. oil & natural gas-must drill under layers of impermeable rock ; use seismic tools to find oil Water-remove salt thru desalination; costly Minerals-nodules on deep ocean floor contain manganese, iron, copper, nickel, cobalt ; costly Tidal energy-renewable (replenished in time) power generated from movement of tide; clean, inexpensive; limited to coastlines with shallow, narrow channels Wave energy-renewable; generates clean electricity in certain areas
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Chapter 13.5 Ocean Pollution
Nonpoint-source pollution: comes from many sources: oil/gasoline from cars/boats & pesticides/fertilizers from yards/gulf courses leak into sewers/waterways Point-source pollution: comes from 1 source oil tanker/factory/wastewater treatment plant 3 Types of point-source pollution Trash dumping-can affect organisms (plastic materials) Sludge dumping-raw sewage solids can pollute beaches Oil spills-can harm animals, plants, people
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Controlling Ocean Pollution
International treaties signed by 64 countries-1989 treaty prohibits dumping of metals, plastics, oils, & radioactive waste Volunteer cleanups-1980 citizens organized beach cleanups 1972 U.S. Laws: the Clean Water Act & the US Marine Protection, Research, & Sanctuaries Act
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