Apes Unit 3 Vocabulary

Front 1

Brackish Water

Back 1

Water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater.

Front 2

Benthos

Back 2

The flora and fauna found on the bottom, or in the bottom sediments, of a sea, lake, or other body of water.

Front 3

Continental Shelf

Back 3

The area of seabed around a large landmass where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean. The continental shelf is geologically part of the continental crust.

Front 4

Hydrothermal Vent

Back 4

An opening in the sea floor out of which heated mineral-rich water flows.

Front 5

Thermohaline Circulation

Back 5

A part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes.

Front 6

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Back 6

An irregularly periodical climate change caused by variations in sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting much of the tropics and subtropics. The warming phase is known as El Niño and the cooling phase as La Niña.

Front 7

Ocean Acidification

Back 7

A term used to describe significant changes to the chemistry of the ocean. It occurs when carbon dioxide gas (or CO2) is absorbed by the ocean and reacts with seawater to produce acid.

Front 8

Hypoxia

Back 8

Oxygen deficiency in a biotic environment.

Front 9

Eutrophication

Back 9

Excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Front 10

Point Source Pollution

Back 10

Any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack

Front 11

Nonpoint Source Pollution

Back 11

Caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.

Front 12

Dissolved Oxygen

Back 12

Refers to microscopic bubbles of gaseous oxygen that are mixed in water and available to aquatic organisms for respiration—a critical process for almost all organisms. Primary sources of DO include the atmosphere and aquatic plants.

Front 13

Littoral Zone

Back 13

The near shore area where sunlight penetrates all the way to the sediment and allows aquatic plants (macrophytes) to grow. Light levels of about 1% or less of surface values usually define this depth.

Front 14

Benthic Zone

Back 14

The ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.

Front 15

Intertidal Zone

Back 15

The area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide (in other words, the area between tide marks).

Front 16

Pelagic Zone

Back 16

Begins at the low tide mark and includes the entire oceanic water column.

Front 17

Euphotic Zone

Back 17

The layer closer to the surface that receives enough light for photosynthesis to occur.

Front 18

Bathyal Zone

Back 18

The part of the pelagic zone that extends from a depth of 1000 to 4000 metres (3300 to 13000 feet) below the ocean surface.

Front 19

Open Ocean

Back 19

The main body of a sea or ocean, especially the part that is outside territorial waters and not enclosed, or partially enclosed, by land.

Front 20

Estuary

Back 20

The tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream.