1. Oceans The student will understand...
that the ocean is a dynamic system in which many chemical, biological, and physical changes are taking place
that estuaries are areas where fresh and salt water mix, producing variations in salinity and high biological activity
that from the seashore to the deepest depths, oceans are home to some of the most diverse life on Earth
that in the ocean there are innumerable individual food chains overlapping and intersecting to form complex food webs
how winds have a powerful effect on the oceans and are an important force in creating ocean currents
that seawater has many different gases dissolved in it, especially nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide
that carbon dioxide is one of the most important gases that dissolve in the ocean, and
that the ocean is one of Earth's most valuable natural resources

2. Largest reservoir of water on Earth Largest reservoir of heat on Earth
The ocean is a dynamic system where many chemical, biological, and physical changes are taking place.
Largest reservoir of water on Earth
Largest reservoir of heat on Earth
Stored heat drives weather
Causes climate near ocean to be milder
Summer: heat energy is absorbed
Winter: heat energy is released
92 elements are found in the Ocean: Sodium and Chlorine are most abundant

3. Why is the ocean salty?
Dissolved chemicals eroded from the earth’s crust and washed into the sea
Solid and gaseous ejections from volcanoes
Particles swept from the land by winds
Materials dissolved from sediments deposited on the ocean floor

4. Salinity changes Salinity
The measure of the amount of dissolved salt contained in water
Every 1000 grams of seawater contains an average of 35 grams of salt
The ocean salinity has actually stayed constant for the past 1.5 billion years
Salinity changes
Increased by evaporation and freezing
Decreased by rainfall, runoff, or melting ice
How Stuff Works: Why is the Ocean Salty

5. How is the ocean “zoned”?
Temperature
Light
Plant/animal life
Distance from shore
Oceanic Zones and Layers

6. Temperature Three layers Surface Layer Thermocline Deep Water
Heated by sun
Mixed by wind/waves
Thermocline
Temperature drops fast with depth
Deep Water
Cold all year, anywhere on the globe

7. Light
A lot of sunlight
Little to no sunlight

8. Distance From Shore
1. Intertidal Zone (Closest to shore) 2. Neritic Zone 3. Oceanic Zone (Farthest from Shore)

9. Oceans are home to the some of the most diverse life on Earth.
Oceanographers divide the ocean into zones according to how far down sunlight penetrates.
Plants are only in the sunlit zone, where there is enough light for photosynthesis however animals are found at all depths in the ocean.
All life is dependent on plants- only plants have the ability to manufacture food out inorganic substances.
Algae are an important food source in the ocean, as well as an important source of oxygen in the atmosphere.
In order to grow, phytoplankton need nutrients from the sea water as well as an abundance of sunlight.

10. Estuaries Areas where fresh and salt water mix
Trap nutrients and sediment from land (rivers) and ocean (tides)
Nutrients are constantly being mixed because of tides and river flow
One of the most productive ecosystems on earth
Shallow waters= sunlight can reach the bottom =more plants
Good nurseries for species to hatch and grow, with a lot of diversity

11. Estuaries
Environmental filter : Plants and animals filter pollutants out of the water
Salt Marsh Plants: trap chemicals and move them to soil
Oysters: collect contaminates in bodies as they eat
Bacteria: eat organic matter in sediment and release into atmosphere to prevent build-up in estuary
The Pamlico Sound is the largest estuary in North Carolina What is an estuary?

12. Upwelling Movement of ocean water upwards
Happens when warm surface water near the coast is blown offshore by winds
Cold water along the ocean floor rises bringing sediment and nutrients with it
Phytoplankton uses these nutrients to grow and reproduce at a rapid rate.
This attracts organisms that rely on phytoplankton, and their consumers.
Areas of upwelling are areas of rich biological activity
Approximately ½ of the fish caught in the world come from areas where there is upwelling.

14. Hydrothermal Vents
Hydrothermal vents are driven by heat from volcanism beneath the seafloor.
They are a diverse environment
Aphotic zone (little to no sunlight)
Contains cracks in earth’s crust that release gases
Bacteria use the chemical to produce “food”
Chemotrophs (get their energy from oxidation of organic or inorganic compounds) Hydrothermal Vents

15. What gases are in ocean water?
Oxygen and other gases dissolve in water
Oxygen, Nitrogen, CO2
Same gases as air
Ocean animals take in Oxygen and give off CO2 (cellular respiration)
Plants and algae convert CO2 and H2O into food and release Oxygen (photosynthesis)
Most Common Gases Dissolved:
Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon Dioxide

16. Seawater and Dissolved Gases
The action of ocean wind and waves agitates the ocean surface, stimulation the exchange of these gases between the ocean and the atmosphere. Marine plants depend on dissolved carbon dioxide in order to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis releases oxygen into ocean water which is in turn used by ocean organisms for respiration. Respiration releases energy from stored carbohydrates and produces carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.

17. Some properties of seawater affect how much gas can be dissolved in it
Cold water holds more gas than warm water. Seawater with low salinity holds more gas than high salinity water. Deep water, which has a high pressure, holds more gas than shallow water.

18. Carbon Dioxide Most important gas in the ocean
Most reacts to form bicarbonates, which removes dissolved CO2 from water
Marine organisms use bicarbonates to form calcium carbonate shells

19. Deep Ocean
At one time, scientists thought life could not exist on the deep ocean floor
Submersibles- small vehicle that operates underwater
Alvin- 1977
Scientists discovered new community of organisms
Can withstand tremendous pressure, high temperatures, darkness, and toxic chemicals
Chemosynthetic- create food using chemicals (oxygen) rather than light
Found near hydrothermal vents
The Deep Sea

20. Mapping the Ocean Floor
Sonar
Uses sound waves to measure distances and locate objects
For mapping small areas
Satellite imaging
Detect tiny bumps and dips in the oceans height
Seeing the Ocean Floor with Sonar

21. Natural Resources from the Ocean…
Removes CO2 from atmosphere and provides O2, regulating Earth’s climate
Source of biomedical organisms with potential for fighting disease
Food- fish!
Shipping- moving cargo between seaports
Tourism
Can have negative impact on ocean (garbage and sewage)
Can promote conservation (ecotourism)
Mining: Diamonds, Gold, Silver, Metal Ores
Can have negative impact on ecosystems (dredging pulls up the ocean floor- the sediment rises in the water interfering with the photosynthesis process.
Oil

22. Marine Food Chains and Food Webs
Food web: Shows feeding relationship between organisms in a habitat
Energy transfer represented by arrows
Amount of energy decreases as you move up the web
Phytoplankton: main producer
Most marine creatures eat a variety of foods. If one link in a chain is depleted, the other consumers in the chain have alternate food sources.

23. Marine Food Chains and Food Webs
Ocean organism generally belong to several different food chains that are linked to form a food web.
Links to terrestrial food chains and webs when land animals eat fish.