Oceans

• 74% of the Earth’s surface• 3.5% Salinity• Major oceans are: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian,

Southern, Arctic• Average depth of 3790 m (12,430 ft.)• Color blue because the water absorbs red

photons.

• Most waves are caused by surface winds.

How does a wave move?

ENERGY

Wave/Wind Simulation

The main difference between

Waikiki and the North

Shore

The exception to wind-caused waves would be a tsunami.

Destructive Force of Tsunami Waves

How Waves Affect the Shoreline

• Longshore drift

Waves create currents

Back to Salinity• The Ocean can vary from 34-37

parts/thousand. These variations occur because of rivers, freezing ice and evaporation.– Dead Sea can be

up to 300-400 parts/thousand(*GSL is 50-270)

Salinity and Gases

• Lowers freezing temperature (acts as antifreeze)

• Increases density, thus it has greater buoyancy

• Most oxygen found at surface (less than air)• CO2 is 60 times greater than in air! Helps with

photosynthesis and to build coral.

Currents

• Move because of winds and the spin of the EarthCoriolis effect.

• Winds are able to move the top 400 m of the ocean. Some currents move slow, some move deep.

• Ocean currents carry heat from place to place.• Sun warms water more at equator

Coriolis Effect• Because of the rotation of the Earth, currents t

urn to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.

Intertidal Zone

Neritic Zone

Surface Zone

Deep Zone

Layers of the Ocean

• The sun can only penetrate so far, and most life depends on photosynthesis.

• Most biotic factors will be found near the surface (sunlit zone). Even higher concentrations of life are found near the shore where upwelling occurs.

Upwelling

El Niño

• Occurs every 2-7 years in the Pacific Ocean• Lasts for 1-2 years.• Normally temps are 60ish off the coast and up

to 80s in the central and west Pacific.

• Fish along the American coast die off.• Creates strange weather patterns throughout

the hemisphere and around the world.

Opposite event is La Niña

• Results from buildup of subsurface cold water. • Increases the upwelling on the coast of S.

America.• This cycle happens after El Niño and especially

after a really strong one.