...Topic 12 – The Nature and Properties of Water Hydrosphere | The combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet; the liquid water component of the earth – includes atmospheric water vapor, ground water, lakes, rivers, polar icecaps, oceans * Oceans 87.54% * Ice caps 1.81% * Groundwater .63% * Everything else .02% | Condensation | The conversion of water from the vapor to the liquid state. When it occurs, the energy required to vaporize the water is released into the atmosphere. This is about 585 calories per gram of water at 20°C | Viscosity | A property of a substance to offer resistance to flow caused by internal friction | Latent heat | The quantity of heat gained or lost per unit of mass as a substance undergoes a change of state (such as liquid to solid) at a given temperature and pressure | Icecap | Ice mass that covers less than 50,000 km2 of land area | Dissolved solids | Cl, Na, SO4, Mg, Ca, K; Salinity is a measure of amount of dissolved material in water after correcting for gases and organic material | Dissolved gases | At the ocean/atmosphere interface, gases are added to seawater by diffusion and wave action. Gas composition at the ocean surface is in equilibrium with atmosphere. Gas composition changes with time and depth in the oceans | Hydrologic cycle | The cycle of water exchange among the atmosphere, land, and ocean through the processes of evaporation, precipitation, runoff, and subsurface percolation. Also...
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...Earth Science: is the name for all the sciences that collectively seek to understand Earth and its surrounding space. It includes geology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy. Meteorology: is the study of the atmosphere and the processes that produce weather and climate. Geology: the study of Earth. Geology is traditionally divided into two broad areas; physical and historical Oceanography: involves the application of all sciences in a comprehensive and interrelated study of the oceans in all their aspects and relationships. Oceanography integrates chemistry, physics, geology, and biology. Astronomy: the study of the universe (is useful in determining the origins of our own environment) Hydrosphere: is a dynamic mass of water that is continually moving, evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to the land, and flowing back to the ocean. Atmosphere: The gaseous portion of a planet; the planets envelope of air. One of the traditional subdivisions of Earth's physical environment. Biosphere: includes all life on Earth; the parts of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere in which living organisms can be found. Solid Earth/Geosphere: lies beneath the atmosphere and oceans. Extends from the Earth’s surface to the center of the planet (depth of 6,400 km) System: is a group of interacting, or interdependent parts that form a complex whole. Environment: refers to everything that surround and influences an organism. Some...
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...Kiona Allen Rosa Bettencourt Honors Inquiry April 21, 2016 Transfer Analysis | University of California Santa Cruz | University of California Scripps Institute | University of Oregon OIMB | Anual Cost | $55,335 (+Living Expenses) | $49,616(+Living Expenses) | $25,524 | Instructors/courses offered | Prof. Jonathan Zehr-Marine Microbial EcologyProf. Phoebe J. Lam-Physical & Biological Sciences | Prof. Phil Hastings- Marine conservationProf. James Leichter-Marine conservation ecology | Spring courses: Marine Bio: Marine conservation Biology, Comparative embryo and larval bio.Cell Biology, and Invertebrate Zoology | 2nd Major Option | Ecology & Evolution BS | Oceanography | Biology | Transfer? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Student Demographics | 60% students of color60% Admission Transfer | 57% student of color50% Admissions Transfer | 23% student of color2260 transfers admitted in 2015 | Some of the most important things to me when researching schools was finding strong marine science programs with professors trailblazing research in ocean conservation, fish ecology and innovation in marine and atmospheric science, and also programs that include community involvement that pertain to ocean conservation. Though sifting through schools was indeed overwhelming, I was pleased to find some places that really felt like an environment I would thrive in. From location, to courses offered and the teachers instructing them, there were a few schools that really felt like solid...
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...Inez Gonzalez Instructor: Dr. John Freytag Oceanography 101 November 4, 2015 San Francisco Bay Delta Issues 1.) Environmental problems and societal/political issues that impact delta: • Water Quality: Delta water can raise health problems (if used for drinking water) • Striped Bass: Decline in striped bass because of water (decline) • Decline of fish: Specifically Delta Smelt because of water supply and toxic algae (affects fish) • Clam infestation: removing food from water (that fish need) • Pollution: Toxic water (drinking water, fish population, toxic algae • Cut water deliveries: Causes ecological crisis • Long fin Smelt: Considered for protection because of decline of reproduction (specially no spawn of long fin smelt) • Water officials...
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...MARINE POLLUTION & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. Semester: Code: PA-101.4 Total Hours: 45 Hours Per Week: 3 Credit: 3 COURSE DESCRIPTION GENERAL OBJECTIVES At the end of this course, students should be able to : 1. Identify key elements of the global environment. 2. Discuss how environmental elements interact locally and globally in predictable and unpredictable ways. 3. Describe the impact of human activities on the global environment. 4. Discuss issues relating to sustainable development. 5. Identify international and Caribbean regional environmental challenges 6. Identify biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and some of their possible interactions. 7. Describe physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the oceans. 8. Identify the principal marine pollutants and the threat they represent. 9. Assess the impact on the marine environment of oil pollution from the oil industry and the shipping industry. 10. Identify requirements to maintain healthy ports and harbours, and current programs to rehabilitate Caribbean ports. 11. Identify organizations and regulatory structures concerned with oceans management and costal zone management in general and within the Caribbean region, including the UNEP regional seas programme. 12. Discuss national and international marine law; the use of civil and criminal law in regulating the environment and the conflict between private property...
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...Oceans Name of student Name of institution Oceans About seventy-one percent of the planet is covered with water bodies most of which consists of the five major oceans namely: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic and the Antarctic. The word “sea” is sometimes wrongly for “ocean”, but “sea” represents the saline water body surrounded by land. In terms of hydrosphere, the oceans cover about ninety-seven percent of the earth’s water bodies. The ocean is so vast and one can sail for day without encountering land. Oceanographers state that exploration so far has only covered five percent of the world ocean. The world ocean is part of the carbon cycle and influences climatic and weather patterns, therefore, it is crucial for our existence. The ocean is home to about 200,000 known species, although estimates put it at over 2million species, because exploration has not covered most of the ocean’s depth yet. Year in year out, thousands of fishing fleets bring in millions of tons of fish and other sea creatures which are used for diverse purposes from food for human and livestock to making chemicals. The oceans and their beaches are also a good place to have fun. People tour beaches all around the world for a lot of interesting activities such as swimming, surfing and sailing. They also just lie and play in the beaches to enjoy the sun and the sand. ...
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...For example, Jeremy Jackson, a leading marine biologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, as saying that unless deep-going charges in human behaviour; otherwise, is caused by” mass extinction in the oceans with unknown ecological and evolutionary consequences”. Moreover, Dr. Wallace J Nichols, a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences, emphasizes the problem of floating plastic garbage that is “Probably every sea turtle sea turtle on the planet interacts with plastic at some point in its life.” Jo Royle, experienced skipper, can’t remember the last time she has been on a beach and not seen plastic. Author also uses policy director for the Gulf Restoration Network to explain a complex biological and phenomenon. Matt Rott explains the links between agricultural runoff, algae blooms, oxygen depletion and “dead...
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...Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change SCI/256 October 30, 2013 Edward Chargualaf Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change In San Diego, California there is a beach area known as “The Jewel” or La Jolla. The children’s pool, La Jolla shores, and La Jolla cove make up this mile long crescent of a prime sandy beach. The children’s pool is a small cove protected by a concrete wall originally built to make a safe swimming area for children. Now the area has turned into a place for seals and sea lions to beach themselves and their babies. La Jolla shores is a place for beachgoers of all interests. You will find this as a busy swimming and surfing area. During the day it is used as a launching pad for scuba diving and kayaking. At night it’s alive with the glowing of beach fires and socializing of people. Last is La Jolla cove, where cliffs have formed a small deep water bay. Here you can enjoy activities like kayaking through caves and snorkeling seeing the marine life, like Garibaldi fish. Many types of marine life can be found in the La Jolla shores water. On the floors of this ecosystem you can find crustaceans, mollusks, and invertebrates. While snorkeling you can find animals such as fish, rays, and sharks. Green sea turtles are one reptile that calls La Jolla shores home. The most common land animals are birds. Between La Jolla Shores and La Jolla cove is the San Diego-La Jolla underwater park, a marine life preservation and aquatic recreation zone with...
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...The ocean can produce two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun's heat, andmechanical energy from the tides and waves. Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth's surface, making them the world's largest solar collectors. The sun's heat warms the surface water a lot more than the deep ocean water, and this temperature difference creates thermal energy. Just a small portion of the heat trapped in the ocean could power the world. Workers install equipment for an ocean thermal energy conversion experiment in 1994 at Hawaii's Natural Energy Laboratory. Credit: A. Resnick, Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. Ocean thermal energy is used for many applications, including electricity generation. There are three types of electricity conversion systems: closed-cycle, open-cycle, and hybrid. Closed-cycle systems use the ocean's warm surface water to vaporize a working fluid, which has a low-boiling point, such as ammonia. The vapor expands and turns a turbine. The turbine then activates a generator to produce electricity. Open-cycle systems actually boil the seawater by operating at low pressures. This produces steam that passes through a turbine/generator. And hybrid systems combine both closed-cycle and open-cycle systems. Ocean mechanical energy is quite different from ocean thermal energy. Even though the sun affects all ocean activity, tides are driven primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon, and waves are driven primarily by the winds. As a result, tides and waves are intermittent...
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...Introduction Climate change is increasingly becoming a local issue as cities and counties consider its affects and implement mitigation and adaptation strategies in an attempt to limit its potential damage. Florida is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The state has over 1,200 miles of coastline, almost 4,500 square miles of estuaries and bays, more than 6,700 square miles of other coastal waters, and a low-lying topography. In addition, most of the state’s 18 million residents live within 60 miles of the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. Florida’s diverse and productive coastal and marine ecosystems are imperative to the state’s present and future. These ecosystems provide food and other products for its habitat as well as valuable and irreplaceable ecological functions. These systems also attract visitors from all over the world who wish to experience the beauty and recreational opportunities these locations offer. The state’s life-support system, economy, and quality of life depend on preserving and sustaining these resources over the long term . Of prime interest to Florida is the climate changes impact on rising sea levels. Sea Level Rise (SLR) has been identified as a major global problem. SLR has two causes, the melting of mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets and thermal expansion of the oceans. At present, the mean global rate of sea level rise is approximately 3 mm per year. However, within a relatively broad band of certainty...
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...Jake Saville SCIN136 Week 1 NOAA vs. NASA If I were to testify before congress as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) I would lobby for more money for my program on the pretense that increasing funding would lead to more oceanic research, which in turn could help find new treatments, and potentially a cure for cancer. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention “Each year globally, about 14 million people learn they have cancer, and 8 million people die from the disease”. In the United States alone the number of deaths from cancer totals over 1,500 daily. What if some of these lives could be saved by furthering scientific exploration of the Earth’s oceans? “The National Cancer Institute estimates that about 65 percent of all cancer drugs come from marine life and plants - their bark, roots, leaves and fruits”. Currently the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the only federal organization with a mission to explore our planets unknown oceans. In 2012 NOAA “received $4.5 billion” (Nnamani, S) from congress, which was $1billion less than their requested amount, and less than a quarter of the $18.7 billion NASA received that same year. $18.7 billion is a enormous amount of money for any government funded organization to receive, but is especially egregious when considering NOAA cannot even get the money they request, and their research may have the potential to save countless lives. Finding these treatments...
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...Ari Nummela and Heikki Rusko carried out this study from the research institute for Olympic Sports in Jyvaskyla, Finland. For this study, they hypothesized that living at altitude would improve the performance of athletes that compete in the 400-meter dash at sea level. Altitude training is a form of exercise that athletes use to enhance their performance. When training at a greater altitude, it is more difficult for oxygen to reach the muscles because of the thin air. After the training period, a return to sea level can lead a body to acclimatize to the lower level of oxygen, which results in improving the delivery of more oxygen to the muscles and an increase of their VO2 max. Athletes from many different sports use this kind of training to aid them. However, there is debate in which altitude might just have a physiological benefit. Critics question whether it is just a psychological advantage that helps athlete’s performance once they return back to sea level. Nummela and Rusko’s aim of this study was to “establish the effects of living high and training low on sea-level performance in sprint athletes”(2000, p411). The chosen subjects were made up of eighteen 400m runners or hurdlers, all of which were well-trained and performing at high intensities (Nummela & Rusko, 2000,p412). The participating subjects were split into two groups for the study: six men and two women, who ran for the Finnish national team. They were required to live at altitude and to train at sea level...
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...“Disappointment is an inevitable consequence of discovery” To what extent is this true in Jean Spracklands poem International Year of the Oceans? Discovery is something that can be good or bad. The concept of disappointment being an inevitable consequence of discovery refers to discovery in a light that seems to ruin or denote something. This idea can be explored in Jean Spracklands poem International Year of the Oceans in which many this significant concept can be viewed. Discovery is able to disrupt the natural ways of the universe. The beauty of undisturbed nature is something that is able to provoke an emotional response from someone, especially if little is known about it. Immediately in the poem the audience is invited to imagine what it was like for the author’s grandparents. That is, “Our grandparents lived with a romantic moon.” Similarly, later the audience imagines where “a warm ocean sleeps.” Sprackland’s use of soft sounds in these two phrases reflects a peaceful and fully undisrupted moon and ocean, inviting the audience to imagine what it would be like. This is contrasted in the last stanza when Sprackland mentions “nuclear submarines”, suggesting abandonment, war and the eventual destruction of this sleeping ocean for our needs. The idea of disappointment being an inevitable consequence of discovery is supported throughout the poem. This disappointment is evident throughout the poem, thus being through harsh imagery (“Nuclear Submarines”) and intruding language...
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...Earth is a blue planet as about 71% of its surface is covered by water. But, not all water is usable for human life. According to one study, Oceans, sea and bays comprise 96.54% of total ground water. 1.74% is locked up in glaciers, icecaps and permanent snows. Only 1.69% of total water is ground water which includes both saline and fresh water. Fresh water hardly comprises 0.76% of total water resources of the world. Ground water is essential for sustenance of human life. Ground water is part of water cycle. When natural recharge is less than rampant extraction, it causes depletion of ground water, drying up of aquifers. Groundwater in India is a critical resource. India has over 17% of world's population but only 2.4% of world’s geographical area and less than 4% of the world’s fresh water resources. With India slated to become world's most populated country by 2022 (with a population of 1.70 billion people by 2050 A.D. and anticipated to grow till 2070 A.D. according to the UN estimates), there is looming danger of groundwater crisis of gigantic proportions. Groundwater supports more than 55% of our irrigation requirements, 85% of domestic requirements in rural areas and over 50% of requirements in urban and industrial uses in the country. However, an increasing number of aquifers are reaching unsustainable levels of exploitation. If current trends continue, in 20 years about 60% of all India’s aquifers will be in a critical condition, says a World Bank report...
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...Our oceans are a biome of mass complexity and diversity. Within this complexity lies a gentle balance of chemistry, cycles and the bizarre miracle behind the ocean’s existence. I was given the opportunity to embark on a marine excursion with my professors, Dr. Meile and Dr. Castelao, their teaching assistant, David Miklesh, and Dr. Medeiros. Throughout the course of this weekend, the fantastic four opened up a world to me that previously appeared all too familiar. Sapelo, Island, being practically in my backyard, encompasses what I view as home. However, my appreciation for my home grew vastly over the course of these three days. The Sapelo Island research retreat opened my eyes to various issues connected to groundwater, ocean salinity, tides and currents, and ocean acidification by stepping into ecosystems that were once so strong, yet are beginning to feel the repercussions of man. Dr. Meile’s experiment consisted of measuring the permeability of various soils and how that relates to groundwater filtration and dispersion. We did this by taking the measurement of water output verses water input. In my group’s particular experiment, our hypothesis was, “If the speed of groundwater is affected by the type of soil, then the water will flow faster through rocks (due to the cracks) than it will through the sand.” When we conducted our experiment, we used the materials that were presented to us which included: PVC pipes, chicken wire, gravel, sand and food coloring. We determined...
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