Oceans:

1
Oceans

• Earths Amazing Resource
• Click the mouse to go to the next slide and
  follow the directions to
• learn about ocean features, ocean water, and
  ocean life.

2
Ocean Features QuestionsFind the answers on the
slides that follow and take notes.

• How much of the earths surface is covered by
  oceans?
• What percentage of the earths water is in the
  oceans?
• How many oceans are there and what are their
  names?
• Are there oceans on any other planets?
• Which ocean is the largest? the smallest?
• What geographic features are on the sea floor?
• What underwater mountain is the tallest in the
  world?
• Why is the Atlantic Ocean getting wider?
• What causes undersea trenches?
• Where is the deepest part of the ocean?

3
Ocean Facts

• Oceans cover about 70 - 75 of the Earth's
  surface (about 140 million square miles ) and
  contain roughly 97 of the Earth's water supply.
• The Earth's oceans are all connected to one
  another. Until 2000, there were four recognized
  oceans the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and
  Arctic. Then, a new ocean, the Southern Ocean
  which surrounds Antarctica was designated.

4
Locations of the Oceans
There are smaller branches of the oceans called
seas which are partly enclosed by land. The
largest seas are the South China Sea, the
Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
5
Oceans Make Earth Special

• The oceans of Earth are unique in our Solar
  System. No other planet in our Solar System has
  liquid water (although recent finds on Mars show
  that Mars may have had liquid water in the past).
  

A NASA photo showing a gully on Mars
6
Ocean Comparison Facts
7
Underwater Landforms

• Most continents are surrounded by shallow seas
  (about 650 feet deep) covering sloping
  continental shelves.
• Beyond this slope is the abyss with plains,
  mountains called ocean ridges, isolated
  seamounts, and deep ocean trenches

8
Volcanic Islands

• Mauna Kea, Hawaii, rises 33,474 feet from its
  base on the ocean floor (making it the tallest
  mountain in the world), but only 13,680 feet are
  above sea level.

• Some seamounts, called guyots, are extinct
  flat-topped underwater volcanic islands that have
  had their tops worn away by waves.

9
Ocean Ridges

• Mid-ocean ridges form a great mountain range,
  almost 40,000 miles long, that weaves its way
  through all the major oceans.

10
Rift Valleys

• The centers of some ocean ridges are rift
  valleys, with earthquakes and volcanoes.
• Some volcanoes that rise from the ridges appear
  above the surface as islands.

11
Sea Floor Spreading

• The floor of the Atlantic Ocean is getting wider
  because magma is coming up between the tectonic
  plates at the mid-ocean ridge and making new sea
  floor.

12
Plates Bend Under

• While the ocean is getting wider in one place, it
  must be getting smaller somewhere else where one
  plate bends and is destroyed as it moves under
  another plate to form a trench.

13
Deep Sea Trenches

• Trenches are all around the rim of the Pacific in
  the Ring of Fire where earthquakes and volcanic
  eruptions often occur.

• Look where the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
  occur!

14
Mariana Trench

• The Mariana Trench in the western Pacific
• Ocean is 1,554 miles long, 44 miles wide and
• nearly 7 miles deep at the southwestern end
• called Challenger Deep
• The pressure down
• there would be like a
• person trying to hold
• up 50 jumbo jets!

15
Undersea Exploration

• The bathyscaph,
• Trieste, descended to
• the bottom of
• Challenger Deep in
• 1960.
• The aquanauts,
• Piccard and Walsh,
• could see marine life
• through the viewport.

16
Did you find the answers to these Ocean Features
Questions? If not, go back!

• How much of the earths surface is covered by
  oceans?
• What percentage of the earths water is in the
  oceans?
• How many oceans are there and what are their
  names?
• Are there oceans on any other planets?
• Which ocean is the largest? the smallest?
• What geographic features are on the sea floor?
• What underwater mountain is the tallest in the
  world?
• Why is the Atlantic Ocean getting wider?
• What causes undersea trenches?
• Where is the deepest part of the ocean?

17
Ocean Water QuestionsFind the answers on the
slides that follow and take notes.

• What part do the oceans have in the water cycle?
• What makes the ocean salty and which is the
  saltiest sea?
• Which ocean is the warmest?
• What is the average temperature of all the ocean
  water?
• How do oceans affect earths land temperatures?
• What is El Niño and what does it do?
• Where and how do hurricanes form?
• What are tides and what causes them?
• Where is the biggest difference in daily tides?
• Why is the ocean usually blue and what other
  colors can it appear?
• How are waves caused and how do they move?

18
The Water Cycle

• Eighty percent (80) of the water vapor in the
  air comes from the oceans.

19
How The Water Cycle Works

• The sun helps evaporate water from oceans, lakes,
  rivers, and other surfaces.
• It condenses into clouds, and falls back down as
  either rain or snow, much of which eventually
  flows back to the oceans either along the surface
  or under the ground.

This cycle continues over and over causing
weather.
20
Salty Water

• All water, even rain, contains dissolved
  chemicals called "salts and sea water is a
  solution of salts and decayed biologic matter.

• Most of the salts come from weathering and
  erosion of the Earths igneous rocks and the
  dissolving of salts by rains and streams which
  transport them to the sea.

21
More About Mineral Salts

• Some of the ocean's salts have been dissolved
  from rocks below its floor.
• Other sources of salts include the materials that
  escaped from the Earth's crust through volcanic
  vents.

22
The Saltiest Oceans

• Salts concentrate in the sea because the Sun
  evaporates almost pure water from the sea and
  leaves the salts behind.
• The saltiest water is in the Red Sea, the Persian
  Gulf, and the North Atlantic Ocean that have a
  lot of evaporation from the sun.
• The least salt is in Polar waters and coastal
  inlets that receive heavy runoff from melting ice
  and precipitation.

23
Ocean Temperature Facts

• The warmest ocean on average is the Indian-West
  Pacific Ocean
• The top ten feet of the ocean holds as much heat
  as our entire atmosphere
• Below 300 800 feet the temperature drops
  rapidly
• The average temperature of all ocean water is
  about 3.5 C (39 F) - only a little warmer than
  freezing!

24
Oceans Affect Earths Weather

• The oceans affect the Earths weather and
  temperature. They moderate the temperature by
  absorbing incoming heat energy from the sun.
• The always-moving ocean currents distribute this
  heat energy around the globe. This heats the land
  and air during winter and cools it during summer.

25
Worlds Ocean Currents
BLUE cold currents RED warm
currents
26
Changes in Ocean Currents

• The variable ocean temperatures cause changes in
  currents and produce unusual wind patterns called
  El Niño or the opposite, La Niña, which can
  cause strange weather such as too much or too
  little precipitation in unexpected places.

• During an El Niño the water temperature rises and
  changes the direction of the currents.

• The change in the ocean curents changes the wind
  direction which controls the weather patterns.

27
Oceans Temperatures Vary

• Air over warm water gets heated more and rises
  quickly.

28
Ocean Storms

• Huge storms such as hurricanes form over hot
  tropical water from swirling winds that contain
  large amounts of moisture.

See the circular flow around the eye of a
hurricane!
29
Ocean Tides

• Tides are periodic rises and falls of the oceans
  caused by the gravitational interaction between
  the Earth and the Moon.

30
More About Tides

• The gravitational attraction of the moon causes
  the oceans to bulge out on that side and another
  bulge occurs on the far side, since the Earth is
  being pulled toward the moon away from the water
  on that side.
• Since the earth is rotating
• while this is happening,
• two tides occur each day.

31
Special Tide Events

• Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do
  not have anything to do with the Spring season).

• They occur when the Earth, Sun, and Moon are in
  a line such as during the new and full Moon
  phases. The gravitational forces of the Moon and
  the Sun both contribute to these tides.

32
Special Tide Events

• The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of
  Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova
  Scotia in Canada.
• At some times of the year the difference between
  high and low tide is 53 feet 6 inches, the
  equivalent of a three-story building.

33
The Ocean Blue

• The ocean appears blue because it reflects the
  blue color of the sky.
• From space the oceans make Earth look like a big
  blue marble

34
All the Colors of the Ocean

• On a cloudy day, the ocean appears gray.
• The Red Sea often looks red because of red algae
  that live in this sea.
• The Black Sea looks almost black because it has a
  high concentration of hydrogen sulfide which
  appears black.
• Deep seas are bluer than shallow clear seas which
  might look aqua when the light is reflected off
  the light colored sand at the bottom.

35
Mediterranean Beach in Spain
36
Ocean Waves

• Winds cause ocean waves by transferring energy to
  the water through friction between the air and
  the water molecules. Stronger winds cause larger
  waves.
• Waves in the open ocean only move up and down and
  do not flow. Watch a floating buoy bob up and
  down with a wave and notice that it does not move
  side to side.

37
Did you find the answers to these Ocean Water
Questions? If not, go back!

• What part do the oceans have in the water cycle?
• What makes the ocean salty and which is the
  saltiest sea?
• Which ocean is the warmest?
• What is the average temperature of all the ocean
  water?
• How do oceans affect earths land temperatures?
• What is El Niño and what does it do?
• Where and how do hurricanes form?
• What are tides and what causes them?
• Where is the biggest difference in daily tides?
• Why is the ocean usually blue and what other
  colors can it appear?
• How are waves caused and how do they move?

38
Ocean Life QuestionsFind the answers on the
slides that follow and take notes.

• How much of the earths living space is in the
  ocean?
• How does algae help the animals in the ocean?
• What is the biggest and loudest ocean animal?
• How large was the biggest blue whale ever?
• Are whales and dolphins fish or mammals?
• What is the largest fish in the ocean?
• Describe 3 reasons why Great White sharks are
  dangerous?
• What is the fastest fish? The slowest?
• What are coral reefs made of and why are they an
  important ocean ecosystem?
• Define univalves and bivalves and give an example
  of each.
• Name some crustaceans.
• What are intertidal zones and what happens there?

39
Oceans Support Life

• Earths salty seas are home to an incredibly
  diverse web of life.
• The ocean contains 99 of Earths living space
  and supports more animals than the land.

40
Seaweed - A Form of Algae

• Seaweed is green, brown or red algae that grows
  in the ocean
• They range from microscopic plants to giant
  floating or anchored plants.
• Cheese, chocolate milk, peanut butter, pudding,
  frozen desserts and fruit drinks may all contain
  algae.

There are more than 7000 species of algae.
41
More About Algae
Green algae produce oxygen and food for animal
food webs by photosynthesis.
42
The Biggest Animal in the Ocean

• The Blue Whale is the biggest animal that ever
  lived. Its also the loudest animal on Earth -
  even louder that a jet plane.

43
Blue Whale Facts

• Blue whales are mammals and are about 80 feet
  long and weigh about 120 tons on average.
• The largest was 94 feet long and weighed over
  174 tons.
• Its heart weighed about 1,000 pounds and was the
  size of a Volkswagon car with 14,000 pounds of
  blood circulating in its body.

44
More Blue Whale Facts

• When they breathe a stream of water rises 40-50
  feet above the ocean.
• They are found worldwide, living near the surface
  in small groups, but are in danger of extinction.
  
• This giant eats tiny crustaceans and small fish.

45
A Very Popular Sea Animal

• The well known dolphins are not fish either, but
  mammals
• They are among the most intelligent animals known
  and are usually very sociable toward humans.
• Some scientists believe they can talk to each
  other and to people.

46
The Biggest Fish in the Sea

• The whale shark is the largest fish.
• It is NOT a whale and unlike some other sharks,
  is harmless to man

47
Other Types of Sharks

• The most dangerous sharks are the Great White
  shark, the Tiger shark and the Hammerhead shark.

48
Great White Shark Facts

• Its skeleton is made of flexible cartilage
  instead of bone.
• It averages 12-16 feet long and the female is
  usually larger than the male.

• It is a streamlined swimmer with a torpedo-shaped
  body, a pointed snout, a crescent-shaped tail, a
  white underbelly and a grey or blue-grey top
  surface which helps it blend in with the ocean.

49
More Great White Shark Facts

• They have been observed along the coastlines of
  California to Alaska, the east coast of the USA
  and most of the Gulf coast.

• They can smell one drop of blood in 25 gallons of
  water, but they breath using gills.

• They have 3,000 triangular, razor-sharp, 3 inch
  long teeth that they replace with new ones when
  they are lost, but they rip their food into
  pieces and swallow it whole without chewing.

50
Ocean Speed Records

• Fastest Fish Sailfish 68.18 mph Mako Shark
  60 mph Marlin 50 mph Wahoo 48.5
  mph Bluefin Tuna 43.4 mph Blue Shark 43
  mph Bonefish 40 mph Swordfish 40 mph
• Slowest Fish Seahorse 0.01 mph

51
Unusual Sea Life
Seahorse
Electric Ray
Sea Turtle
Giant Sea Weed
52
Coral Reefs

• Coral reefs are warm, clear, shallow ocean
  habitats. They are formed from tiny coral polyps
  (tiny animals) that live in colonies and leave
  behind hard limestone skeletons.

53
Coral Reef Ecosystems

• Reefs provides shelter for many animals including
  sponges, fish, eels, jellyfish, anemones,
  starfish, crabs, shrimp, lobsters, turtles, sea
  snakes, snails, octopi, nautilus, and clams.
  Birds feast on coral reef animals.

• The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of
  Australia is the largest coral reef in the world.
  It is over 1,257 miles long.

54
Colorful Reef Fish
55
Mollusks Univalves Bivalves

• Mollusks are soft bodied animals
• Some have one-piece univalve shells like snails
• Some have two-pieced bivalve shells like clams
• Some have no shell like this octapus
• Many mollusks are eaten by people!

56
Crustaceans

• Crustaceans have hard shells and jointed legs.
• Some have pinchers or claws.
• Common crustaceans are lobsters, shrimp and
  crabs.

57
Echinoderms

• Echinoderms are spiny-skinned invertebrates
  that live on the ocean floor.
• Modern-day echinoderms have five-fold symmetry.
• They include sea stars, brittle stars sea
  cucumbers, sea urchins, and sand dollars.

58
Intertidal Zones

• The intertidal area is where the land and sea
  meet between the high and low tide zones along
  coastlines. It is rich in nutrients and oxygen
  and hosts a variety of organisms.

59
Did you find the answers to these Ocean Life
Questions? If not, go back!

• How much of the earths living space is in the
  ocean?
• How does algae help the animals in the ocean?
• What is the biggest and loudest ocean animal?
• How large was the biggest blue whale ever?
• Are whales and dolphins fish or mammals?
• What is the largest fish in the ocean?
• Describe 3 reasons why Great White sharks are
  dangerous?
• What is the fastest fish? The slowest?
• What are coral reefs made of and why are they an
  important ocean ecosystem?
• Define univalves and bivalves and give an example
  of each.
• Name some crustaceans.
• What are intertidal zones and what happens there?
• Go on to the next slide where you will be
  directed how to review the answers.

60
Many more amazing creatures call the ocean home.
Check the answers to your questions now Ocean
Features Questions Set 1 Ocean Water Questions
Set 2 Ocean Life Questions Set 3
61
Answers to Ocean Feature QuestionsCheck over
your answers and correct them.

• About 70 75 of the earths surface is covered
  by oceans.
• About 97 of the earths water is in the oceans.
• There are five oceans the Pacific, the
  Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic, and the
  Southern
• There are no oceans currently known on any other
  planets but Mars may have had them in the past.
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest and the Arctic
  is the smallest.
• Beyond the shallow shelves surrounding the
  continents is the abyss with plains, mountain
  ridges, seamounts, and trenches.
• Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is the tallest mountain on
  earth, but only part of it is visible above the
  ocean surface.
• The Atlantic Ocean is getting wider because magma
  is coming up between the plates at the
  Mid-Atlantic Ridge pushing them apart and making
  new sea floor.
• Undersea trenches are caused by plates bending
  and going under the edges of other plates.
• The deepest part of the ocean is the 7 mile deep
  southwestern end of the Mariana Trench in the
  Pacific known as Challenger Deep. Go to
  Question Set 2

62
Answers to Ocean Water Questions

• The Indian West Pacific Ocean is the warmest
  ocean.
• The average temperature of all the ocean water is
  3.5 C or 39 F.
• The ocean currents moderate the earths
  temperature by absorbing heat energy from the sun
  and then distributing it around the world.
• The water cycle causes ocean water to evaporate
  contributing about 80 of the water vapor in the
  atmosphere
• Most of the salts in the ocean come from rocks
  that are dissolved by the rain and then flow down
  rivers into the ocean where water is constantly
  being evaporated from it which makes it saltier.
  The Red Sea is the saltiest ocean.
• Hurricanes form over hot ocean water when warm
  winds filled with moisture swirl around.
• El Niño is a change in ocean currents caused by
  variable ocean temperatures that makes strange
  weather in different places.
• Tides are the rise and fall of the ocean water
  due to the gravitational pull of the moon and sun
  on the earth.
• The biggest difference in daily tides is in the
  Bay of Fundy in Canada.
• The ocean reflects the blue sky but it can look
  red, gray, black or aqua depending on lighting
  and chemicals or algae in the water.
• Waves are caused by the wind on the surface of
  the ocean and they only cause the water to move
  up and down, and not flow sideways.
• Go to Question Set 3

63
Answers to Ocean Life Questions

• About ninety-nine percent (99) of the earths
  living space is in the ocean.
• Algae helps animals by making oxygen and food.
• The blue whale is the largest animal on earth and
  the loudest.
• The largest blue whale was 94 feet long and
  weighed over 174 tons with a heart the size of a
  Volkswagon car.
• Whales and dolphins are both mammals, NOT fish.
• The largest fish in the ocean is the harmless
  whale shark.
• Sharks are dangerous because they swim well, can
  smell blood, have sharp teeth, and swim near the
  coastline where people also swim.
• The fastest swimming fish is the sailfish and the
  slowest is the seahorse.
• Coral reefs are made of hard limestone skeletons
  left behind by colonies of tiny animals called
  coral polyps and they provide shelter and food to
  many sea creatures.
• Univalves are soft bodied mollusks with
  one-pieced shells like snails and bivalves are
  ones with two-pieced shells like clams.
• Some crustaceans are crabs, lobsters and shrimp.
• An intertidal zone is the area between the high
  and low tide zone where the land and sea meet and
  many animals live.
• The End How did you do?