Ocean Exam #2

Front 1

List and describe 4 unique (special) properties of water.

Back 1

-Presence of hydrogen bonds: + and - ends of H20 molecules hold it together
-Solid, liquid, and gas on Earth's surface: ice, water, fog, mist
-Unusual density, solid (ice) is less dense than liquid water
-High surface tension
-Resistance to changing states (i.e. liquid to gas), high latent heats
-High heat capacity, water requires a lot of energy to change temperature
-Universal solvent, ability to dissolve many substances
-High boiling point
-High freezing point

Front 2

Distinguish between covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonding.

Back 2

A covalent bond: shared electrons
ionic bond: ions are held together via opposite electrical charges
hydrogen bond: + and - electrical charges attract and hold together

Front 3

What is the marine effect? How does it affect coastal climate?

Back 3

Oceans moderate temperature changes from day to night as well as seasonal changes. The coastline weather is likely to be cooler during the day compared to inland weather.

Front 4

Define salinity and explain the principle of constant proportions.

Back 4

Salinity is the total amount of solid material dissolved in water (including dissolved gasses). The Principle of constant proportions states that the major dissolved constituents responsible for the salinity of seawater occur nearly everywhere in the ocean in the exact same proportions, independent of salinity. (the salt stays in the water at all times, while the water does not)

Front 5

Name at least two things that increase and four things that decrease ocean salinity. At what latitude(s) do you find the lowest and highest surface salinities.

Back 5

Adding more freshwater:
1. precipitation (rain...etc.)
2. runoff (storms fill streams fill oceans)
3. icebergs melting
4. sea ice melting
Surface salinities are lowest at high latitudes, and highest at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

Front 6

Discuss 3 methods of measuring salinity.

Back 6

Refractometer: measures the salt content and light refraction, least accurate approach.
chemically: measuring chlorinity and using the principle of constant proportions. 2nd most accurate way
Salinometer: an oceanographic instrument the measures the seawater's electrical conductivity, and is the most accurate

Front 7

Discuss salinity at the ocean surface in the (1) polar regions, (2) subtropical regions, (3) equator. Explain this pattern in terms of precipitation and evaporation.

Back 7

In the polar regions, the salinity is not as high as the tropical regions because of it's decrease in temperature. The temp is not high enough to cause evaporation, which cause salinity to go up because of the absence of some water. In the tropical regions, the temp is high, so the evaporation rates are high enough to increase salinity. Along the equator, there is a lot of rain, which causes runoffs, which causes a decrease in salinity because of the added water.

Front 8

How does salinity change with increasing ocean depth in low latitude regions and in high latitude regions? Define the halocline.

Back 8

In low-latitude regions, the surface salinity starts out high, then decreases as depth increases. For high-latitude regions, the surface salinity starts off low, then increases as depth increases. The salinity in both regions evens out and doesn't vary as much as surface salinity. The rapid change in salinity between the depths of 300m and 1000m is called the halocline.

Front 9

How do temperature, salinity, and pressure affect the solubility of gases? Which of these is dominant factor in the ocean.

Back 9

As temp increases, solubility decreases (dominant factor), as pressure increases, solubility increases, as salinity increases, solubility decreases.

Front 10

Oxygen concentration in the ocean is affected by biology (oxygen is a non-conservative constituent of seawater). Name two biological processes affect oxygen concentration.

Back 10

1. the interaction with the oxygenated atmosphere
2. photosynthesis in surface waters releases O2.

Front 11

Explain how the carbon dioxide cycle allows for ocean buffering.

Back 11

Allows for stable ocean pH, important for the success of life in the oceans. If water becomes too acidic, hydrogen ions are removed to form carbonic acid. If water become too basic, hydrogen ions are released to bicarbonate or carbonate favoring calcium carbonate precipitation.

Front 12

Name the four most important ocean “nutrients”.

Back 12

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Silicon, Iron

Front 13

Define residence time. Discuss the residence time for sodium ions versus iron ions. NOT DONE

Back 13

Residence time - Average length of time a substance remains dissolved in seawater.