Oceanography

Front 1

absorption

Back 1

taking in of a substance by chemical of molecular means; change of sound or light energy into some othe form, usually head, in passing through a medium or striking a surface

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abyssal

Back 2

pertaining to the great depths of the ocean below approx. 4000 meters

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abyssal hill

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low, rounded submarine hill less that 1000 m high

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abyssal plain

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flat, ocean basin floor extending seaward from the base of the continental slope and cintinental rise

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adsorption

Back 5

attraction of ions to a solid surface

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advection

Back 6

horizontal or vertical transport of sea water, as by a current

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advective fog

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fog formed when air saturated w. water vapor moves over cold water

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agar

Back 8

substance produced by red algae. the gelitin like product of these algae.

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algae

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marine and fresh water plantlike organisms (inc. seaweeds) that are single-celled colonial or multi-celled w. chorophyll but no true root stems or leaves and w. no flowers or seeds

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algin

Back 10

complex organic substance found in or uptained from brown algae

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amplitude

Back 11

for a wave the vertical distance from sea level to crest or from sea level to trough or 1/2 the wave height

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anion

Back 12

negatively charged ion

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anoxic

Back 13

deficient in oxygen

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antarctic bottom water

Back 14

densest oceanic water type formed at the surface below sea ice, flows northward along the floor of the atlantic ocean

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antarctic intermediate water

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water w. the salinity of 34.4 o/oo and a temp. of 5 degrees C. produced at the 40 degrees S. surface convergence at the atlantic

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antinode

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portion of a standing wave w. maximum vertical motion

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aphotic zone

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back part of the ocean in which light is insufficient to carry on photosynthesis

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aqua culture

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cultivation of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions

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artic and antarctic circles

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lattitudes 66 1/2 degrees N & 66 1/2 degrees S respectivly marking the boundaries of light and darkness during the summer and winter solstices

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asthenosphere

Back 20

upper deformable portion of the earth's mantel, the layer below the lithosphere; probably partially molton; maybe site of convection cells

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atmostpheric pressure

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pressure exerted by the atmostphere due to the weight of the column of air lying directly above any point of like earth

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atoll

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ring-shaped choral reef that encloses a lagoon in which there is no exposed pre-existing land and which is surrounded by the open sea

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attenuation

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decrease in the energy of a wave or beam of particles occuring as the distance from the source increases; caused by absorption scattering and divergance from a point source

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backshore

Back 24

beach zone lying b/w the foreshore and the coast acted upon by waves only during severe storms and exceptionally high water

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baleen

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whalebone; horny material growing down from the upper jaw of plankton feeding whales; forms a strainer, or filtering organ, consisting of numerous plates w. fringed edges.

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bar

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ofshore ridge or mound of sand, gravel, or other loose material, which is submerged, @ least at high tide; located especially at the mouth of the river or estuary, or lying a short distance from and parallel to the beach.

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barrier island

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deposit of sand, parallel to shore and raised above sea level; may support vegetation and animal life .

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barrier reef

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choral reef that parallels land but is some distance offshore, w. water b/w reef and land.

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basalt

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fine-grained, dark igneous rock, rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium; charachteristic of ocean crust

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basin

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large depression of the sea flooooor having about equal dimensions of length and width.

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bathometric

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pertaining to the study and mapping of seaflooor elevations and variations of water depth; pertaining to the topography of the sea floor period.

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beach

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zone of unconsolidated material b/w the mean low water line and the line of permanent vegetation which is also the effective of storm waves; sometimes includes the material moving in off shore, onshore, and long shore transport

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beachface

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section of the foreshore normally exposed to the action of waves.

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benthic

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of the sea florr, or pertaining to organisms living on or in the sea florr

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benthos

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organisms living on or in the ocean bottom

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berm

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nerly horizontal portion of a beach(backshore) w. an abrupt face; formed from the deposition of material by wave action at high tide

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berm crest

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ridge marking the seaward limit of a berm

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bigenous sediment

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sedimnet having mor than 30% material derived from organisms

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bioluminescence

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production of light by living organisms as a result of a chemical reaction either within certain cells or organs or outside the cells in some form of excretion

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biomass

Back 40

the total mass of all or specific living organsims, usually expressed as dry weight or grams of carbon per unit area of unit volume

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bioturbation

Back 41

reworking of sediments by organisms that burrow and ingest them

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blade

Back 42

flat, photosynthetic, "leafy" portion of an alga or seaweed

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bloom

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high concentration of phytoplankton in an area, caused by increased reproduction; often produces discoloration of the water

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breaker

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sea surface-water wave that has become too steep to be stable and collapses

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breakwater

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structure protecting a shore area, harbor, anchorage, or basin from waves; a type of jetty

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buffer

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substance able to neutralize acids and bases, therefore able to maintain a stable pH

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buoyancy

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ability of an obj. to float due to the support of the fluid the body is in or on

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calcareous

Back 48

containing or composed of calcium carbonate

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calorie

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amount of heat required to raise the temp. of 1 gram of water 1 degree C at 15 degress to 16 degrees C

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carbonate

Back 50

an ion composed of on carbon and 3 oxygen atoms COm to the 2-...?

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benthos

Back 51

organisms living on or in the ocean bottom

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berm

Back 52

nerly horizontal portion of a beach(backshore) w. an abrupt face; formed from the deposition of material by wave action at high tide

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berm crest

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ridge marking the seaward limit of a berm

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bigenous sediment

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sedimnet having mor than 30% material derived from organisms

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bioluminescence

Back 55

production of light by living organisms as a result of a chemical reaction either within certain cells or organs or outside the cells in some form of excretion

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biomass

Back 56

the total mass of all or specific living organsims, usually expressed as dry weight or grams of carbon per unit area of unit volume

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bioturbation

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reworking of sediments by organisms that burrow and ingest them

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blade

Back 58

flat, photosynthetic, "leafy" portion of an alga or seaweed

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bloom

Back 59

high concentration of phytoplankton in an area, caused by increased reproduction; often produces discoloration of the water

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breaker

Back 60

sea surface-water wave that has become too steep to be stable and collapses

Front 61

breakwater

Back 61

structure protecting a shore area, harbor, anchorage, or basin from waves; a type of jetty

Front 62

buffer

Back 62

substance able to neutralize acids and bases, therefore able to maintain a stable pH

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buoyancy

Back 63

ability of an obj. to float due to the support of the fluid the body is in or on

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calcareous

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containing or composed of calcium carbonate

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calorie

Back 65

amount of heat required to raise the temp. of 1 gram of water 1 degree C at 15 degress to 16 degrees C

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carnivore

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flesh eating organism

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carrageenan

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substance produced by certain algae, useed as a thinkening agent

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cation

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positively charged ion

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centrifugal force

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outward-directed force acting on a body moving along a curved path or rotating about an axis

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cetacean

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any member of the order Cetacea, mostly marine mammals, includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises

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chemosynthesis

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formation of organic compounds with energy derived from inorganic substances such as ammonia, sulfur, and hydrogen

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chlorinity

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measure of the chloride content of seawater in grams per kilogram

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chlorophyll

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group of green pigments that are active in photosynthesis

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cilia

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microscopic, hairlike processes of living celss, which beat in coordinated fashion and prodcuce movement

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cnidaria

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phylum of radially symmetrical marine organisms w. tentacles and stinging cells; includes jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals

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coast

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strip of land of indefinite width that extends from the shore inland to the first major change in terrain that is unaffected by marine processes

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coastal circulation cell

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longshore transport cell pattern of sediment moving from a source to a place of deposition

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coastal zone

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land and water areas including cliffs, dunes, beaches, bays and estuaries

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colonial (organism)

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organism consisting of semi-independent parts that do no exist as seperate units; groups of orgaisms w. specialized functions that form a coordinated unit

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commensalism

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an intimate association between different organisms in which one is benefited and the other is neither harmed nor benefited

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conduction

Back 81

transfer of heat energy through matter by internal molecular motion; also heat transfer by turbulance in fluids

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conservative ions

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seawater ions whose concentration changes only as a result of physical processes and not as a result of biological or chemical processes; for example, salinity

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continental drift

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motion of the continents due to plate tectonics

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continental margin

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zone separating the continents from the deep-sea bottom, usually subdivided into shelf, slope, and rise

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continental rise

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gentle slope formed by the deposition of sediments at the base of a continental slope

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continental shelf

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zone bordering a continent, extending from the line of permanent immersion to the depth at which there is a marked or rater steep descent to the great depths

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continental shelf break

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zone along which there is a marked increase of slope at the outer margin of a continental shelf

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continental slope

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relatively steep downward slope from the continental shelf break to depth

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contour

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line on a chart or graph connecting the points of equal value for elevation, temp., salinty, and so on

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convection

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transmission of heat by the movement of a heated gas or liquid; vertical circulation resulting from changes in density of a fluid

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convection cell

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density-driven transfer of heat by circulation of liquid or gas in which warm, loq-density material rises and cold, high density material falls

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convergence

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situation in which fluids of different origins come together, usuually resulting in the sinking, or downwelling, or surface water and the rising of air

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copepod

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small, shrimplike members of the zooplankton

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coral

Back 94

colonial andima that secretes a hard, outer, calcareous skeleton; the skeletons of coral animals form in part the framework for warmwater reefs

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core

Back 95

vertical, cylindrical sample of bottom sediments, from which the nature of the bottom can be determined; also the central zone of the earth, thought to be liquid or molten on th eouside and solid on the inside