Physical Geography 2

Chapter 8: Oceanography
Reporter: Submitted To: Prof. Aizel A. Coroz
Buizo, Lino (Course Facilitator)
Sorno, Johana
Peral, Mitch

Oceanography, also called oceanology or marine science, is a huge science considered a branch of the Earth
sciences. Oceanography is an interdisciplinary science that uses insights from biology, chemistry, geology,
meteorology, and physics to analyze ocean currents, marine ecosystems, ocean storms, waves, ocean plate
tectonics, and features of the ocean floor, including exotic biomes such as cold seeps and hydrothermal vents.

Oceanography is divided into four general categories:

1. Biological oceanography (marine oceanography), the study of marine biota and their interactions.
2. Chemical oceanography (marine chemistry), which studies the chemistry of the oceans, both past and present,
and the way it interacts with the atmosphere and the carbon cycle.
3. Geological oceanography (marine geology), which studies the geological makeup of the ocean floor, including
the motion and interaction of various oceanic tectonic plates.
[Link] oceanography (marine physics), studying the physics of the oceans, including the complex ways that
light, sound, and radio waves traverse the ocean.
Oceanography is also heavily used in ocean engineering, commercial or scientific ventures involving the
construction of oil platforms, ships, harbors, and maybe in the future, floating cities.
Many of the important initial discoveries in oceanography occurred in the mid 19th century. Charles Darwin,
famous for coming up with the hypothesis of evolution, published some of the first papers on reefs and atolls in
the 1830s.
Some of the most innovative oceanographical work since WWII has been conducted by deep-sea submersibles
which have been in operation since 1964. Using these submersibles, oceanographers have explored the wreckage
of the Titanic, discovered sea floor biomes completely independent of the Sun's light, and reached the lowest point
on the Earth's surface, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench of the west Pacific.

Relief of the Ocean Basins

In the sense of Hydrology, an oceanic basin may be anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater, but
geologically ocean basins are large geologic basins that are below sea level. Geologically, there are other undersea
geomorphological features such as the continental shelves, the deep ocean trenches, and the undersea
mountain ranges (for example, the mid-Atlantic Ridge) which are not considered to be part of the ocean basins;
while hydrologically, oceanic basins include the flanking continental shelves and shallow, epeiric seas.

History
Some modern sources regarded the Ocean basins more as basaltic plains, then assedimentary depositories, since
most sedimentation occurs on the continental shelves and not in the geologically-defined ocean basins.
In hydrologic perspective, some geologic basins are both above and below sea level, such as the Maracaibo
Basin in Venezuela, although geologically it is not considered an oceanic basin because it is on the continental
shelf and underlain by continental crust.
Earth is the only known solar planet with bimodal hypsography expressed as different kinds of crust, oceanic
crust and continental crust. Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface. Because oceans lie lower than continents,
the former serve assedimentary basins that collect sediment eroded from the continents, known as clastic
sediments, as well as precipitation sediments. Ocean basins also serve as repositories for the skeletons of
carbonate- and silica-secreting organisms such as coral reefs, diatoms, Radiolarians, and for aminifera.
Geologically, an oceanic basin may be actively changing size or may be relative, tectonically inactive,
depending on whether there is a moving plate tectonic boundary associated with it. The elements of an active-and
growing-oceanic basin include an elevated mid-ocean ridge, flanking abyssal hills leading down to abyssal plains.
The elements of an active oceanic basin often include the oceanic trench associated with a subduction zone.
 The Atlantic ocean and the Arctic ocean are good examples of active, growing oceanic basins, whereas the
Mediterranean Sea is shrinking. The Pacific Ocean is also an active, shrinking oceanic basin, even though it has
both spreading ridge and oceanic trenches. Perhaps the best example of an inactive oceanic basin is the Gulf of
Mexico, Which formed in Jurassic times and has been doing nothing but collecting sediments since then. The
Aleutian Basin is another example of a relatively inactive oceanic basin. The Japan Basin in the Sea of Japan
which formed in the Miocene, is still tectonically active, although recent changes have been relatively mild.

Temperature of the Ocean Water

The top part of the ocean is called the surface layer. Then there is a boundary layer called the thermocline.
The thermocline separates the surface layers and the deep water of the ocean. The deep ocean is the third part of
the ocean.

The Sun hits the surface layer of the ocean, heating the water up. Wind and waves mix this layer up from
top to bottom, so the heat gets mixed downward too. The temperature of the surface waters varies mainly with
latitude. The polar seas (high latitude) can be as cold as -2 degrees Celsius (28.4 degrees Fahrenheit) while the
Persian Gulf (low latitude) can be as warm as 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Ocean water, with
an average salinity of 35 psu, freezes at -1.94 degrees Celsius (28.5 degrees Fahrenheit). That means at high
latitude sea ice can form. The average temperature of the ocean surface waters is about 17 degrees Celsius (62.6
degrees Fahrenheit) 90% of the total volume of ocean is found below the thermocline in the deep ocean. The deep
ocean is not well mixed. The deep sea is made up of horizontal layers of equal density. Much of this deep sea
water is between 0-3 degrees Celsius (32- 37.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Think about a pot of water heating on a stove. A small pot of water will heat quickly, while a large pot of
water at the same heat setting will heat very slowly. This is due to a difference in heat capacity. The sea has an
enormous heat capacity because of its large size. So it is like an enormous pot of water, and it takes a great amount
of heat to warm the sea. The fact that the sea has warmed significantly in 30 to 50 years is remarkable and
concerning.

Salinity

Salinity refers to the dissolved salt content of a substance like soil or water. It may be measured in a number of
ways; parts per thousand and parts per million are the two most common measurements, and it is sometimes
expressed as a percentage as well. A number of devices are designed to be used in the assessment, as the salinity of
a substance is a very important characteristic. Many people think of it in terms of salty water, but high salinity in
soils is also a major issue.

In sea water, salinity is more properly termed halinity, since a group of salts known as halides are dissolved in the
sea. Some people are surprised to learn that sea salinity varies around the world, and that deeper water as a general
rule tends to be saltier. The movement of water around the world's sea s is known as thermohaline circulation, a
reference to the factors of temperature and halinity which lead to differing densities. Some scientists have
expressed concerns about interruption of the thermohaline circulation system.

In other types of water, salinity is a perfectly accurate measure. Generally, when the level is less than 500 parts
per million, the water is considered to the fresh water Brackish water is somewhat saltier, with levels of up to
30,000 parts per million. Saline water has a salinity of between 30-50,000 parts per million, while even saltier
water is considered brine. The dissolved salt content of water can be measured with a variety of tools, most of
which can be used in the field by scientists.

Since salts have a profound impact on many living organisms, water salinity is an important concern for
biologists. In an estuary, for example, a zone where salt and fresh water mix, the levels vary widely, supporting a
wide range of flora and fauna. If this balance is disturbed by something like a storm surge or a flood of freshwater,
it can have unpleasant results for some of the animals that call the estuary home.
 In soils, salt can prevent crops from growing a major concern in several countries where soil salinity is on the
rise. Levels in soil are generally increased through poor land management, such as over farming and excessive use
of chemical fertilizers, compounded with extremely dry conditions. If the rise in salinity is not checked, the land
can become useless for farming, and it may take decades to recover.

Ocean Deposits
Sea deposits are blanket of sediments ling on sea floor. Unconsolidated material lying over sea floor covering
some of its features. Sea deposits pattern differs from one area to another area.

Marine deposits are of two types

- Material derived from wear and tear of rocks

-Deposits of marine animals and plants
Ocean deposits can be broadly classified in two categories
-Terrigenous(Deposits on continental shelf)
-pelagic( Deep sea deposits)
Volcanic deposits (consists of lava material instead of quartz)

Ocean Currents
Sea currents are the vertical or horizontal movement of both surface and deep water throughout the world's
oceans. Currents normally move in a specific direction and aid significantly in the circulation of the Earth's
moisture, the resultant weather, and water pollution.
Oceanic currents are found all over the globe and vary in size, importance, and strength. Some of the more
prominent currents include the California and Humboldt Currents in the Pacific, the Gulf Stream and Labrador
Current in the Atlantic, and the Indian Monsoon Current in the Indian Sea These are just a sampling of the
seventeen major surface currents found in the world's oceans.

The Importance of Ocean Currents

Sea currents circulate water worldwide, they have a significant impact on the movement of energy and
moisture between the oceans and the atmosphere. As a result, they are important to the world's weather. The Gulf
Stream for example is a warm current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and moves north toward Europe. Since
it is full of warm water, the sea surface temperatures are warm, which keeps places like Europe warmer than other
areas at alike latitudes.
The Humboldt Current is another example of a current that affects weather when this cold current is
normally present off the coast of Chile and Peru, it creates extremely productive waters and keeps the coast cool
and northern Chile arid. However, when it becomes disrupted, Chile's climate is altered and it is believed that El
Niño plays a role in its disturbance.
Currents plan an important role in navigation as well. In addition to being able to avoid trash and icebergs,
knowledge of currents is essential to the reduction of shipping costs and fuel consumption. Today, shipping
companies and even sailing races often use currents to reduce time spent at sea.
Lastly, sea currents are important to the distribution of the world's sea life. Many species rely on currents to
move them from one location to another whether it is for breeding or just simple movement over large areas.
Today, sea currents are also gaining significance as a possible form of alternative energy. Because water is
dense, it carries an enormous amount of energy that could possibly be captured and converted into a usable form
through the use of water turbines. Currently this is an experimental technology being tested by the United States,
Japan, China, and some European Union countries.
Whether sea currents are used as alternative energy, to reduce shipping costs, or in their natural to state to
move species and weather worldwide, they are significant to geographers, meteorologists, and other scientists
because they have a tremendous impact on the globe and earth-atmosphere relations.