Marine Bio CH 2
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Created by:
Michael92 on August 18, 2008
Classes:
Randolph class of '11, 2011 Randolph
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33 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Anoxia | without oxygen |
| Aphotic zone | the portion of the ocean where the absence of sunlight prevents plant growth |
| Atmosphere | a unit of pressure equal to 14.7 lb/in and equivalent to the pressure created by a 10 m column of water |
| Benthic division | pertaining to the sea bottom and the organism that live there |
| Buffer | a chemical substance that tends to limit changes in pH levels |
| Continental boundary current | a surface ocean current flowing generally north or south along a continental edge |
| Coriolis effect | changes in direction in moving objects based on the rotating of the earth |
| Countercurrent | an ocean current that flows directly back into another current |
| Diurnal tides | a tidal pattern with one high tide and one low tide each lunar day |
| Fetch | the extent of the ocean over which winds blow to create waves |
| Fjords | a deep coastal embayment caused by glacial erosion |
| Gyre | the large loop of interconnected surface ocean currents within a single ocean basin usually spanning 20 to 30 in latitude |
| High tide | the highest tide level reached by the rising tide |
| Intertidal effects | the vertical extent of the shoreline between the high and low tide lines |
| Low tide | the lowest level reached by the falling tide |
| Mixed semidiurnal division | tidal pattern during a lunar day with unequal high tides and unequal low tides |
| Neap tides | sets of moderate tides that alternate with spring tides and recur every two weeks |
| Neritic province | the portion of the marine environment that overlies the continental shelf |
| Oceanic province | the portion of the marine environment that overlies the deep ocean basins |
| O3 minimum zone | the ocean layer below the photic zone dissolved oxygen concentration is lowest |
| Pelagic division | pertaining to the waters of the ocean and the organisms that inhabit the water column |
| Period | in ocean waves, the time required for 2 successive waves to pass a reference point |
| Photic zone | the portion of the ocean where light intensity is sufficient to accommodate plant growth |
| Polar easterlies | winds that blow from east to west at very high latitudes |
| Semidiurnal tides | tidal patterns with 2 high tides and two low tides each lunar day |
| Spring tides | extremely high tides and low tides that alternate with neap tides and recur every 2 weeks |
| Surface currents | long-term directional flow of water at the sea surface |
| Trade winds | subtropical winds that blow from northeast to southwest in the northern hemisphere and from southeast to northwest in the southern hemisphere |
| Tide | a long period wave noticeable as a periodic rise and fall of the sea surface along coastlines |
| Tidal range | vertical distance between high and low tides |
| Upwelling | the process that carries nutrient-rich subsurface water upward to the photic zone |
| Wave | a periodic, traveling undulation of the sea surface |
| Westerlies | winds that blow primarily from the west in the mid-latitudes |
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