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Chemical Oceanography
Objectives: Define salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature, and their influence on marine life. Discuss chemical properties of ocean water and their influence on marine life.
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Where do the ions in seawater come from?
Weather of rocks Carried to the sea by rivers Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium Hydrothermal vents and volcanoes (to rain) Chloride, Sulfide
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Composition of Seawater
96.5 % hydrogen and oxygen (H2O) Solids dissolved in seawater 85% = chlorine, sodium magnesium, sulfur, calcium, potassium, carbon, silicon, and nitrogen Ca and Mg carbonates are used by organisms to build shells, bones, and coral skeletons
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Salinity – the total amount of dissolved salts in the water
Average salinity of the ocean is between 33 and 35 parts per thousand (ppt) Ppt = parts per thousand = # of grams of salt left if 1,000 water is evaporated 2. Salinity and temperature determine the density of seawater Increase in salinity - increase in density Decrease in temperature - increase in density
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Salinity – cont. Salinity and temperature help form currents called thermohaline circulation bring up nutrient- rich, deep water to the surface
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Dissolved Oxygen Sources: Adaptations to get oxygen: Phytoplankton
O2 diffuses into the atmosphere from the ocean Adaptations to get oxygen: gills are respiratory surfaces that have evolved large surface areas to maximize diffusion
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Application to Ecosystems
Estuaries Salinity highest at the mouth of stream or river Higher the salinity, less dissolved oxygen Extremes Red Sea > 40 ppt (very productive) Dead Sea >300 ppt (bacteria) Great Salt Lake ppt (brine shrimp
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Transparency Allows sunlight to penetrate
Sunlight contains all colors of the visible spectrum Not all penetrate seawater equally well Most transparent to blue light
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Application to deep sea
After m A “blue world” due to absorption Animals are adapted to see blue not reds Dragon Fish Illuminate red light, other fish won’t see it
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Temperature ocean temperature ranges from 28F to 86F
Heat from the sun drives winds, that control ocean surface currents Currents affects the distribution of marine organisms
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