Water and Weather

2. Water and Weather

3. Chapter Seven: Oceans • 7.1 Introduction to Oceans • 7.2 Waves • 7.3 Shallow Marine Environments • 7.4 The Ocean Floor

4. Investigation 7A Global Winds and Ocean Currents • How do temperature and salinity cause ocean layering?

5. 7.1 Introduction to Oceans • Ocean water is about 3.5 percent salt. • The word salinityis a measure of the dissolved salts in water. • Most of the salt in ocean water is sodium chloride.

6. 7.1 Introduction to Oceans • In some places, special ponds called salt evaporation ponds harvest salt from the ocean.

7. 7.1 Introduction to Oceans • The salt in the oceans comes from: • minerals in the ocean floor • gases released by volcanoes, and • rivers that carry dissolved minerals out to sea.

8. Can you name Earth’s five oceans?

9. 7.1 Importance of oceans • Oceans are an important source of water for the water cycle. • Oceans spread energy and heat from the hot equator to the colder poles. • Phytoplankton produce most of the oxygen in the atmosphere.

10. 7.1 Earth’s energy • The oceans are able to store heat energy. • The water on Earth prevents the planet from getting too hot or too cold.

11. 7.1 Oceans and Earth’s climate • The climates on the coastline are milder than they are inland because ocean-warmed air masses move over the oceans toward the land.

12. 7.1 Surface currents and gyres • The Sun’s unequal heating of Earth and the Coriolis effect cause permanent global wind patterns. • Surface ocean currents to form large rotating systems called gyres.

13. 7.1 Oceans and Earth’s climate • Deep ocean currentsmove below the surface of the ocean. • They are slower than surface ocean currents.