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.