Oceans and Seas

Oceans: a belt of water circling Antarctica with 3 huge northward extensions- Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian

Climate and Continents

Waters stores and transport heat

Plate tectonics drive the geographic regions of a continent such as river mouths and the size of the continental shelves

Challenger Expedition1872 - 1875

Origin of Modern Oceanography

Collected data on:• Temperatures• Ocean chemistry• Currents• Marine life• Geology of the sea floor

Research vessel

3 Classes of Organisms

Plankton: drifters1. autotrophs2. heterotrophs

Nekton: swimmers

Benthos: bottom dwellers

Marginal Seas

Separate coastal zones from open waters.

Arctic Ocean

Smallest shallowest

Best Known Oceans

Inland Seas, Historic Shores

Strait- a narrow passage that connect two larger bodies of water.

Strait of Gibralter

Tethys Sea

• Caspian and Aral sea are the stranded remnants of the tethys sea.

• They are called endorheic because they lack a drainage outlet

• They are very salty

Famous Shores- Atlantic Ocean

Georges Bank- broad, shallow submarine plateau.

• Habitat for over 100 different species of fish.

• Lucrative fishing industry for the East coast.

Pacific Ocean- Western Seas

Pugent Sound- Washington- a large inlet from the Pacific Ocean- usually parallel with the coast.

Warm Ocean DesertsSargasso Sea

Underneath the sargassum- barren as a desert!

Northern Waters of the Indian Ocean

Mangrove forests support a large diversity of life.

Semi-Enclosed Marginal Seas

Cariaco Basin

Giant Squid

Data: 43 ft. long, may weigh as much as a ton. The inhabit the dark, deep regions of the oceans.

Line of LifeThe Indonesian

Archipelago has 1,700 islands. (W)

Galapagos Islands (E)

Galapagos Islands

Eastern Pacific Barrier

Southern Oscillation “ENSO”

A regularly occurring climate feature that affects weather around the world= changes in the temperature of the pacific waters.

Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs

Central Oceans: Pelagic realm

Living Relics

Unknown Oceans

Great Southern OceanWeddell Sea

Adaptations

Glycoprotein in the blood of certain fish protect them from freezing in these frigid waters.

Blood antifreeze