The OceanUnit 10 is presented by: Melanie Meyers, Kayla

Alday & Emily Watkins

Climate & Ocean Interaction

Students will know the interactions between the

climate and the ocean.WWK

What’s the ocean?More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is the

ocean.On average, the ocean is about 2.5 miles

deep The ocean is apart of the hydrosphere (the

water on or surrounding the surface of the globe, including the water of the oceans and the water in the atmosphere)

How do they interact?The ocean helps regulate the weather (the

state of atmosphere in respect to air temperature, cloud coverage, precipitation, wind, moisture, air pressure at any place) and the climate (the overall picture of weather during a period of time) of Earth.

An old saying goes, “Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”.

How do they interact?The ocean and the climate exchange energy

in the form of moisture, heat and momentum (speed of movement).

Prime examples of too much or not enough momentum!

Momentum

How do they interact? Exchanging energy = the water cycle!Water cycle = evaporation (the process of

changing from a liquid or solid to a vapor), condensation (the act of making more dense), precipitation (the act of casting down).

What is one example of

weather?KS

Ocean Currents

WWK

Students will learn about the different ocean

currents such as coastal, surface and sub-surface

currents.

Vocabulary Terms

• Upwelling • Gulf Stream• Tides• Coriolis Effect

• The rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water that has been moved away is an example of upwelling.

• The Gulf Stream is a current that is just a portion of a huge, slowly moving, circular whorl, or gyre.

• The periodic change in the elevation of the ocean surface is known as tides.

• The Coriolis Effect is the deflective force of Earth’s rotation on all free moving objects, including the atmosphere and oceans.

K.S.

When cold water rises from deeper layers to replace warmer surface

water that has been moved away is an example of __________.

Video Clip

http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/mutant-planet/videos/mutant-planet-ocean-currents.htm

Ocean Floor Features

WWKStudents will know the formations and

features of the ocean floor such as trenches, plains and ridges.

Vocabularydeep-ocean trenchesabyssal plainsseamountsmid-ocean ridgescoral reefs

One structure on the ocean floor is a deep-ocean trench. A deep-ocean trench is a long, narrow trough that is one of the deepest parts of the ocean.

Ex.: Marianas TrenchThe deepest point in the Marianas Trench is the

Challenger Deep.Prior to the 1970’s, scientists thought that no

life could exist in the Marianas Trench.

Abyssal plains are flat, level spans of the ocean floor.

These make up almost 1/3 of the Earth’s surface

Ex.: Argentinian Abyssal PlainThis is one of the most level places on Earth.

Seamounts are isolated volcanic mountains on the ocean floor. These are common in the Pacific Ocean.These provide habitats for ocean lifeA.K.A. Underwater Island

Ex.: Davidson SeamountNear Monterey Bay, CAOne of the largest known seamounts in U.S.

waters

A mid-ocean ridge is an almost continuous mountain range where the seafloor spreads.

These are formed from divergent boundaries.Ex.: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

This is one of the largest mid-ocean ridges on the planet.

Coral reefs are made of built up skeletal remains of coral. These provide homes to many aquatic animals.

A.K.A. Rainforests of the OceanThe coral that produces the reefs are

considered endangered speciesEx.: Great Barrier Reef

This is the largest reef on the planet.This is off the coast of Australia.This can be seen from the Moon.

K.S.Which ocean floor feature made from a

divergent boundary?

Ocean Video