Term
| What is Equilibrium Tide Theory? |
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Definition
| The total gravitational force between the moon and the Earth causes bulges. The surface nearest the moon there is a tidal pull and where the Earth is farthest from the moon. |
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Term
| What is a semi-diurnal tide? |
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Definition
| A tide that has two high and two low tides each tidal day. The two high tides and the two low tides each are equal heights. |
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Term
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Definition
| Diurnal tides have one high tide and one low tide. These tides are equal in height. |
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Term
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Definition
| Mixed tides have two high and two low tides each day but they are not equal. |
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Term
| How many times does tidal range reach a maximum during one lunar month? |
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Definition
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Term
| How long is one lunar month? |
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Definition
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Term
| Tides with the largest tidal range during the month are ___? |
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Definition
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Term
| Tides with the smallest tidal range during the month are ___? |
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Definition
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Term
| How many sets of each (Spring and Neap) tide are there each month? |
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Definition
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Term
| What phase is the moon in during Spring tides? |
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Definition
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Term
| What phase is the moon in during Neap tides? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the dynamic theory? |
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Definition
| That the tide is a shallow water wave that travels around an ocean basin. |
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Term
| What is the average speed of a tide according to the dynamic theory? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a amphidromic system? |
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Definition
| High and low tide points (crests and troughs) move around the basin in a rotary path. |
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Term
| What direction does water move in the Northern hemisphere? |
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Definition
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Term
| What direction does water move in the Southern hemisphere? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Co-tidal lines connect all points experiencing the same phase of a tide. Co-tidal lines will not be evenly spaced or consistently shaped. |
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Term
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Definition
| Co-range lines connect all points with equal tidal range. They form irregular circles. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or by's current. |
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Term
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Definition
| In areas with a large tidal range. |
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Term
| When do tidal bores take place? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are two key features of tidal bores? |
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Definition
| Intense turbulence and turbulent mixing. |
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Term
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Definition
| Wave-worked sediment that moves along the wave-cut bench (everything). |
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Term
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Definition
| Dry, sloping region at foot of cliffs or dunes, horizontal portion of the beach back shore. |
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Term
| What is a beach face/ low tide terrace? |
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Definition
| Wet surface sloping from berm to shoreline. |
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Term
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Definition
| Longshore bars come and go seasonally. They are mounds of sand that extend parallel to shoreline and cause waves to break. |
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Term
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Definition
| The foreshore is the second zone of the beach, between the highest point reaches by the waves at high tide and the lowest point exposed at low tide. |
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Term
| Wat is a longshore trough? |
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Definition
| Lies between longshore bar and beach, it is the part of an ocean wave that is displaced below the still-water line. |
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Term
| What is a summer beach profile? |
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Definition
| Long, low, gentle waves. Steep profile, fair weather with sand being pushed up towards the coast. Berm is much wider, deeper, finer sand on shore. |
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Term
| What is a winter beach profile? |
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Definition
| Short, high waves and stormy weather. Sand is being forces out into the ocean creating a sand bar and a shorter berm. Foreshore is gently sloped and backshore is steep. Waves reach further. |
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Term
| Longshore bars more typically appear in what season? |
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Definition
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Term
| How do pebble and cobble beaches differ from fine-grained sand beaches? |
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Definition
| Pebble and cobble have 10-20 degree slopes because water can move easily through large grains. More particles are carried seaward. Fine grained sand has a small slope because water cannot trickle down. |
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Term
| When is wave energy heavier? |
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Definition
| In the fine-grained sand of the summer. |
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Term
| What are features of an erosional coast? |
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Definition
| Erosion on the shore due to wave action, rivers, and glaciers. Sea cliffs and rocky shores. |
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Term
| What are features of a depositional coast? |
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Definition
| Features created by deposition of sediments. Sediments accumulate from a local source and are transported. Deltas, mangrove swamps, salt marshes, barrier islands, and beach-sand dunes. |
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Term
| What type of coast is undergoing tectonic uplift? |
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Definition
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Term
| What type of coast is undergoing subsiding (sinking)? |
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Definition
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Term
| How is a marine terrace formed? |
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Definition
| Cycles of uplift/erosion and sea level changes. A region rises above sea level, waves erode it, another uplift raises the region again, waves erode new areas, etc. |
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Term
| What type of coast are spits and bay-mouth bars associated with? |
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Definition
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Term
| What prcess allows spits and bay-mouth bars to grow? |
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Definition
| They are formed on coastlines where large amounts of sediments come with longshore drift. Spits are narrow strips of land, bay-mouth bars form when spits grow completely across the mouths of bays. |
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Term
| What causes barrier islands to migrate? |
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Definition
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Term
| How is sand carried to the lagoonal (back) side of a barrier island? |
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Definition
| Sea level rises, sand is washed over the island and onto the other side, island is eroded on seaward side, and grow on shoreward side. |
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Term
| Which coast (Atlantic or Pacific) is rising? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which coast (Atlantic or Pacific) is eroding? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the two causes of post-glacial sea level rise? |
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Definition
| Melting of glaciers and warming/expanding of ocean water. |
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Term
| How does sea level rise occur? |
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Definition
| When coasts are drowned and new coastlines form inland from their previous location. |
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Term
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Definition
| Emergent accumulation of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river as it flows into a standing body of water. |
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Term
| What are the depositional features of deltas? |
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Definition
| Large loads of sediment, shallow sea at river mouth, sheltered coast with weak tides and currents, absence of large lakes along the course of the river which could siphon out sediment. |
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Term
| What processes are different in a bird-foot delta (Mississippi) and a traditional fan-shaped delta (Nile)? |
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Definition
| Birds-foot deltas do not avulse often enough to form a symmetrical fan shape. (Avulse meaning to redistribute sediment). |
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Term
| What is an emerging shoreline? |
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Definition
| A coastal area that has been exposed due to a relative fall in sea level. |
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Term
| What is a submerging shoreline? |
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Definition
| A coastal area that has been covered by water as a result of rising sea level. |
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Term
| Why do shorelines become emerged/submerged? |
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Definition
| Because of isostatic or eustatic changes. |
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Term
| What is isostatic change? |
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Definition
| Continent edge rises or sinks |
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Term
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Definition
| Volume of water in the oceans changes |
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Term
| Is sea level rising where there is isostatic change or where there is eustatic change? |
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Definition
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Term
| What methods are being used to prevent erosion? |
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Definition
| Breakwaters, jetties, seawalls, and beach nourishment. |
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Term
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Definition
| Artificial structures built in the ocean to protect coastal areas from the wave damage. They are constructed offshore to absorb some of the energy of harmful waves. |
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Term
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Definition
| Structures built on either side of an inlet between two barrier islands to maintain navigation channels by preventing silting and erosion. They cause sand to accumulate on the up-current side and to erode on the down current side. |
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Term
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Definition
| Structures made to protect beachfront property from wave damage as well as to restore the beach sand by interfering with longshore drift. |
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Term
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Definition
| Structure similar to a seawall, intended to stop beach erosion. |
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Term
| What is beach nourishment? |
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Definition
| Beach replenishment by replacing sand lost to longshore drift with new sand from an outside source. Meant to protect from wave damage and reverse effects of erosion. |
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Term
| What is photosynthesis (in words)? |
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Definition
| When energy in the form of sunlight is added to Carbon Dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients), and water resulting in organic matter in the form of glucose and oxygen. |
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Term
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Definition
| Respiration is the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. |
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Term
| What is the difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity? |
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Definition
| Net primary production is the rate at which all plants in an ecosystem produce net useful chemical energy while gross primary production is the rate at which the plants in an ecosystem produce useful chemical energy. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| What factors control primary productivity? |
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Definition
| In the tropics, lack of nutrients limits PP. In the poles, lac of sunlight limits PP. |
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Term
| What is the euphotic zone? |
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Definition
| This zone is well lit by sunlight and sufficient for photosynthesis. (20m-100m). |
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Term
| What controls depth in the euphotic zone? |
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Definition
| Water clarity controls how deep light distribution is. |
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Term
| How does the euphotic zone differ in coastal areas vs. the open ocean? |
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Definition
| In open coeans, light reaches about 200 m deep and only about 50 m deep in coastal waters. Coastal waters are not as deep as the open ocean. |
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Term
| What is the role of upwelling in primary productivity? |
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Definition
| Upwelling brings nutrient-rich water up to the surface of the water, which increases primary productivity. |
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Term
| What is the difference between eutrophic vs oligotrophic conditions? |
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Definition
| Oligotrophic conditions include deficient plant nutrients, low PP, small amounts of organic matter, clear water, and deep water. Eutrophic conditions are efficient plant nutrients, high PP, high amounts of organic matter, less clear water, and shallower water. |
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Term
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Definition
| Red tide is caused by algal blooms during which algae become so numerous that they discolor coastal waters, deplete oxygen, and release toxins. |
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Term
| What type of marine organisms carry out photosynthesis? |
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Definition
| Plants, phytoplankton, and cyanobacteria. |
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Term
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Definition
| Unicellular algae with external skeletons. They vary in size. They form large blooms and form chains. |
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Term
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Definition
| They are microscopic planktonic algae with calcareous disks called coccoliths. They form large blooms. |
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Term
| What are dinoflagellates? |
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Definition
| Single celled microscopic organisms considered Protista. Can form blooms known as red tides. |
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Term
| What is the carbon cycle? |
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Definition
| Circulation of carbon from the ocean surface to sea floor. |
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Term
| How does the biological pump work? |
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Definition
| Circulates carbon by taking atmosphere Carbon Dioxide, dissolving it, phytoplankton turning it into dissolved organic matter, matter sinks. |
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Term
| What is the biological pump? |
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Definition
| It transfers carbon from the surface of the ocean to it's depths through processes such as downwelling. |
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Term
| What factors control primary productivity between the poles, equator and mid-latitudes? |
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Definition
| PP varies with latitude. Tropics are not limited by sunlight, poles are isothermal and less likely to be limited by nutrients. Mid-latitudes are limited in getting nutrients because of thermocline. |
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Term
| What is the red field ratio? |
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Definition
| The ratio of carbon to nitrogen to phosphorous that is necessary to sustain photosynthesis. |
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Term
| Wat dies a red field ratio represent? |
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Definition
| It is the stoichiometry of photosynthesis. Inorganic carbon, nutrients, water, and sunlight. |
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Term
| What is the main reason that Nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for photosynthesis? |
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Definition
| Nitrogen atoms are a part of all protein molecules and the molecules of chlorophyll. It is the limiting nutrient because decomposition of particulate organic matter to ammonium is a much slower process than the release of phosphorus. |
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Term
| What is meant by trophic levels and transfer efficiency? |
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Definition
| A trophic level is defined as each step in the food chain. Transfer of energy is inefficient because only 10% transfers from level to level. |
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Term
| What is the difference between food chains and food webs? |
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Definition
| A food chain is a single line of organisms where each is preceded by something that consumes and is followed by something that consumes it. A food web branches out in all directions with arrows pointing from organisms to any number of consumers. |
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Term
| What is the variation of salinity and temperature in the coastal oceans, tropics, mid-latitudes, and poles? |
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Definition
| Salinity is higher in mid-latitudes because evaporation exceeds precipitation. Salinity is higher in restricted areas of the oceans like the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Salinity is lower near the equator because precipitation is higher. Salinity is low near the mouths of major rivers because of fresh water input. Temperature of surface water varies with latitude. Density and salinity increase with depth. Temperature decreases with depth. |
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Term
| Where does cooler water come from and where is it heated? |
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Definition
| Cool water circulates towards the equator where it s warmed adnt hem circulates back to the poles. |
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Term
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Definition
| An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it. |
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Term
| What is a bar-built estuary? |
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Definition
| Bar built estuaries are formed when sandbars build up along the coastline. These sand bars cut off the waters behind them from the sea. They are usually shallow. Wind-driven. |
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Term
| What is a tectonic estuary? |
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Definition
| Where there are large cracks and faults in the earth, land sinks and tectonic estuaries are created when the sea fills in the area. (San Francisco Bay) |
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Term
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Definition
| A long narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, crated in a valley carved by glacial activity. Formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley. |
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Term
| What is vertically homogenous tidal mixing? |
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Definition
| When forces exceed river output, resulting in a well mixed water column and the disappearance of the vertical salinity gradient. (Delaware Bay, Raritan River, New Jersey) |
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Term
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Definition
| River output becomes less than the marine input. Current-induced turbulence causes mixing of the whole water column such that salinity varies more longitudinally rather than vertically. |
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Term
| What is inverse-inverse mixing? |
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Definition
| Occur in dry climates where evaporation greatly exceeds the inflow of fresh fresh water. A salinity max zone is formed and both river and ocean water flow close to the surface in this zone. Water is pushed down and spread along the bottom. (Spencer Gulf) |
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