Plankton• Small, microscopic algae or animals that

float in the water.

• They can’t move on their own – rely on the current to carry them.

• Food for many organisms.

• #1 PRODUCER

Nekton• Any free swimming (doesn’t rely on the

current to move) animal in the Ocean.

Benthos• Organisms that live on the ocean floor.

Food Web• Feeding relationships in a habitat.

Intertidal Zone• Part of the beach that stretches from

highest high tide to lowest low tide.

Estuary• Where a river empties into the ocean.

• Mixture of fresh water and salt water.

• Important breeding ground – the “nursery”

Brackish Water• Describes water that is a mixture of salt

water and fresh water.

• Found in estuaries

Turbidity

• How cloudy or dirty water appears

• Cloudy water- test with turbidity tube.

Sonar

• Uses sound waves to calculate the distance to an object.

Upwelling and Downwelling

• Cycling of nutrients from the cold bottom of the ocean to the warm top. Fish loves this area.

Continental Shelf

• Extension out of continents edge, gently sloping shallow area.

Continental Slope

• The Ocean Floor drops off at a steep incline.

• Intertidal Continental shelf Continental Slope

Abyssal Plain

• Smooth and Flat area of the Ocean Floor.

Deep Ocean Trenches• Cut into the abyssal plain

• This is where subduction takes place and volcanoes and hot spots form.

Mid Ocean Ridge• When the sea floor spreads apart, and

lava rises to form new mountains.

Seamounts

• Mountains that are underwater in the ocean

• This is where upwelling occurs (fish love it here)

Submersible• Underwater vehicle built to see ocean floor

and resist high water pressure.

• ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicle) are submarines that are not manned (do not have humans in them)

Currents• Warm water comes from the Equator and

cold water comes from poles.

• Gulf Stream is near us (warm)

Rip Current

• Water breaks through the sandbar, and causes sand to disappear out from under you.