Intro to Intro to OceanographyOceanography
How does it differ from Marine Biology?
Study of the ocean, its surroundings, and life within it.
Marine bio studies marine organisms’ anatomy, physiology, behavior; more individualistic.
1.Pacific2.Atlantic3.Indian4.Arctic5.Southern or
Antarctic Ocean
The five principal oceans
Indian
Southern or Antarctic
Artic
Pacific
Atlantic
Ocean Area (square miles) Average Depth (ft) Deepest depth (ft)
Pacific Ocean 64,186,000 15,215 Mariana Trench, 36,200 ft deep
Atlantic Ocean 33,420,000 12,881 Puerto Rico Trench, 28,231 ft deep
Indian Ocean 28,350,000 13,002 Java Trench, 25,344 ft deep
Southern Ocean
7,848,300 sq. miles (20.327 million sq km )
13,100 - 16,400 ft deep (4,000 to 5,000 meters)
the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench, 23,736 ft (7,235 m) deep
Arctic Ocean 5,106,000 3,953 Eurasia Basin, 17,881 ft deep
Comparison of Oceans Size
The Seven Seas?
Physical Oceanography
How and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by wind.
Chemical Oceanography
Composition of sea water and the processing controlling and altering its
composition, including marine pollution
Organisms that live in the ocean and their relationship to the environment
Biological Oceanography
Study of rock structure in the ocean basin, properties of rocks such as
magnetism, occurrence of earthquakes.
Geological Oceanography
Design and installation of oceanographic instrumentation and vehicles
Ocean Engineering
NOAA Weather Buoy/ Tsunami
Global/Local Monitoring
Chlorophyll
Disciplinary ConnectionsBIOLOGY
BIOCHEMISTRY
OCEANOGRAPHYPHYSICS
GEOLOGY
CHEMISTRY
GEOPHYSICS
BIOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMISTRY
Average depth of ocean- 4000m
Average temperature- 39oF (3.9oC)
Age of ocean- 4 billion years old
Covers 71% of the Earth’s surface
Amazon River
Average salinity- 35 o/oo
Dead Sea
Jordan
Israel
Dead Sea
Deepest spot- Marianas Trench (10,912m)
1960- Walsh & Piccard
Marianas Trench10,912 m
Mt Everest 8,863 m
Millions of Years Before Present
Age of the ocean basin: 200 my old
It formally began in the 1800’s.Previously, it was thought that the deep ocean had no life below 550 m(Edward Forbes- Azoic Theory).
Prior to then:
1500 B.C., Phoenicians were skilled sailors and traded goods
Migration Routes of Polynesia
Voyage of Columbus (1492) and Magellan (1519)
Cook (1700’s)- sailed twice around the world
1st European to visit Hawaii
Cook
Humboldt (1800’s)- German naturalist, contributions in geophysics, meteorology, and oceanography
Voyage of the HMS Beagle
Darwin (1831):
•Subsidence theory of coral reef formation (atolls) & origin of species
Ben Franklin (1770’s)- mapped the Gulf Stream
1996
1786
• collected thousands of biological and sea bottom samples
• traveled in every ocean except arctic• cruise directed by Charles Wyville Thompson• 362 stations, 715 new genera, 5000 new
species• discovered Mariana
Trench and Mindarniad (34,000 ft deep)
Voyage of the HMS Challenger (1872-1876)
Voyage of the HMS Challenger (1872-1876)
HMS Challenger's Chemical Laboratory
Deep sea Collections
Late 19th century – early 20th century:
•Founding a number of important marine laboratories, including coastal labs and open ocean labs.
Founded 1903
Founded 1930
1888
Meteor Expedition (1925)- introduced modern optical and electronic equipment (echo sounder)
Recent:
Glomar Challenger (1968)- drilling for deep sea sediments
Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964)
Marine biologist at U.S. Bureau of Fisheries & Fish & Wildlife Service
Jacque Cousteau (1910-1997) Navy officer, explorer, film maker, inventor of scuba (1947)
"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to the earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.”
Bob Ballard (1942-)Navy officer, explorer, film maker
Waves
Ocean waves can form from something as simple as wind or as violent as an earthquakeThey can travel through water slowly or incredibly quickly
Anatomy of a Wave
Waves are made of two main parts
Crests: highest point of the waveTroughs: lowest point of the wave
Anatomy of a Wave
The distance between two adjacent wave crests or wave troughs is a wavelengthThe vertical distance between a crest and trough is the wave height
Wave Speeds
Scientists need to know the wavelength and wave period to calculate wave speedWave period is the time between the passage of two crests/troughs
Wave Speed Equation
Wavelength (m) = speed Wave period (s)
Types of Waves
Shore currents create an undertow which brings water back into the oceanLongshore currents cause waves to hit the shore at an angle
Types of Waves
Tsunamis are large waves that are formed from violent activity on the ocean floor (earthquakes, landslides)
Tides
• The rise and fall in sea level is called tide.
• A tide is caused by a giant wave produced by the gravitational pull of the Sun, Earth and Moon.
• The tidal range is the difference between the level of the ocean at high tide and low tide.
Spring Tides
When the Moon, Earth, and the Sun are lined up together, they cause spring tides.During spring tides, high tides are higher and low tides are lower than normal.
Neap Tides
Neap Tides are when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon form a right angle, High tides are lower and low tides are higher than normal.
Currents
A current is a large stream of water that flows through the ocean
Two types of currents
Surface Currents Deep Currents
Surface CurrentsDue to the Coriolis effect, currents in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
The largest and most powerful surface current in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf Stream, is caused by strong winds that blow regularly from the west. It carries more than 100 times the water of the mighty Mississippi river. It carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico northward along the east coast of the U.S. As a result of the Coriolis effect, it curves north east across the Atlantic
A surface current warms or cools the air above it, influencing the climate of the land near the coast.
Because of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, a country as far north as England can have fairly mild weather.
The average winter temperature in Newfoundland, Canada is 15°F. In England the average winter temperature is 42°F. That’s a difference of 27°, all due to the Gulf Stream.
Deep Currents
Deep currents are caused by differences in the density of ocean water.
Ocean water density depends on its temperature and its salinity.
Cold water is more dense than warm water.
Saltier water is more dense than less saltier water.
As warm surface currents near the poles the water cools and its salinity increases due to ocean water freezing and leaving the water near the poles more salty.
The cold, saltier water sinks and starts moving back towards the equator along the bottom of the ocean.
When the water reaches the equator, it warms and rises again.
Deep currents flow slowly. They may take as long as 1,000 years to flow from pole to equator and back again.
Deep Currents
Questions???????