PHSC 11000 Environmental History of the Earth Spring 2020

Lecture 4: The Ocean

These notes summarize the pertinent points of the lecture. You are encouraged to supplement these notes
with your own notes from the lecture. Many of the points touched upon here will be further discussed during
other lectures and/or labs.

The Ocean
• Covers almost 71% of Earth’s surface.
• Comprises diverse marine environments.
• Plays a major role in determining climate, and thus influences terrestrial surface
environments.

This Lecture Covers…

1. Basic properties of the ocean:
• Seawater composition.
• Ocean structure.
• Seafloor profile.
• Waves, tides.
2. Marine environments.
3. Effects on Earth’s climate.
• Land-water heating differences.
4. Transfer of energy around the planet.
• Wind-driven surface currents.
• Thermohaline circulation.

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 1. BASIC PROPERTIES OF THE OCEAN

Ocean Temperature
• Sea surface temperature is largely determined by insolation pattern.

Figure from http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov

Vertical Temperature Profile

• The ocean is warmed by insolation from above.
• Seawater temperature decreases with depth.
• Steepest part of temperature gradient is called thermocline.

Seawater Composition
• 96.5% water (H O) 2

• 3.5% salt ions (e.g., Na , Cl , Ca , Mg )

+ - 2+ 2+

Salinity
• Salts and minerals are eroded from continental rocks and carried by rivers to the
ocean.
• When seawater evaporates, salt ions are left behind.
• Higher salt concentration in areas of high evaporation rate.
• Ocean salinity averages 35 parts per thousand (3.5%).
• Varies spatially depending on evaporation rate.

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Figure from Wikipedia; data from World Ocean Atlas

Vertical Salinity Profile

• Seawater salinity changes with depth.
• Steepest part of salinity gradient is called halocline.

Seawater Density
• A function of temperature and salinity.
• Colder water is denser.
• Saltier water is denser.

Vertical Density Profile

• The density profile of ocean water is determined by temperature and (to a lesser
extent) salinity profiles.
• Steepest part of density gradient is called pycnocline.

Ocean Stratification
• The ocean is vertically zoned (stratified) into layers based on vertical gradients in
temperature and salinity (and thus density).

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Light Penetration
• Water absorbs light energy.
• Depth to which sunlight penetrates defines the base of the photic zone.
• Below this depth the ocean is dark (aphotic zone).
• Photosynthesis cannot take place.
• Depth of photic zone depends on season, latitude, time of day, water clarity, and
weather.
• Typically less than 200 meters below sea surface.

Seafloor Profile
• Sea level is higher than the continental margins.
• The flooded portion of a continent is called the continental shelf.
• An epicontinental (= epeiric; = inland) sea is a shallow sea covering the central area
of a continent.
• Only a few present-day examples (e.g., Hudson Bay, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea).
• Seafloor profile consists of three parts:
• Continental shelf (0 meters to c. 200 meters deep).
• Continental slope.
• Abyssal plain (ocean basin; 4,000 meters to 6,000 meters deep).

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Waves
• Waves are driven by the wind blowing over a fluid surface (“wind waves”).
• Size depends on wind speed, time and distance (fetch) over which wind blows, and
water depth.
• Depth to which water is agitated depends on size of wave.
• Wave base is deeper during storms than during fair weather conditions.
• Affects area of shelf disturbed by wave action.

Tides
• Gravitational pull of the Moon on Earth produces high tide in the ocean.
• Earth’s rotation results in each location experiencing two high tides per day.
• The Sun also exerts a (weaker) gravitational pull on the oceans.
• High tide is even higher when the Moon and Sun align.
• New and full moons.
• Two spring tides per month.

2. MARINE ENVIRONMENTS
Spatial:
• Pelagic realm (within the water column):
• Neritic province (above the continental shelf).
• Oceanic province (above the continental slope and ocean basin).
• Benthic realm (at the seafloor):
• Shelf zone (on the continental shelf).
• Bathyal zone (on the continental slope).
• Abyssal zone (on the abyssal plain [deep ocean floor]).
Light:
• Photic zone (above depth to which light can penetrate).
• Aphotic zone (below depth to which light can penetrate).

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 3. EFFECTS ON EARTH’S CLIMATE

Oceanic Effects on Climate

• Oceans affect climate through their different thermal and physical properties
compared to land.
• Evaporation.
• Transparency.
• Specific heat capacity.
• Fluid flow.

Evaporation and Heat Absorption

• Water surfaces absorb energy when evaporating.
• Energy is stored in water vapor as latent heat.
• Adjacent environment cools.
• Primary source of water vapor to the atmosphere.

Transparency and Heat Absorption

• Land surface absorbs heat because it is opaque.
• Heat absorption restricted to upper few centimeters.
• Transparency of water means that radiation penetrates to greater depth.
• Heat is absorbed over a much greater volume.

Specific Heat Capacity and Heat Absorption

• Water has higher specific heat capacity than land.
• Water can hold about four times as much heat than can an equal volume of
rock or soil.

Fluid Flow and Heat Absorption

Water is fluid and can flow; land cannot.
• Flow results in mixing of cooler and warmer waters, spreading available
energy over a greater volume.
• Water redistributes heat internally, so loses its energy less rapidly than land.

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Maritime Effect on Climate
• Water masses gain and lose heat more slowly than equivalent land masses.
• Temperature variation is moderated on and near water masses (“maritime
effect”).
• Maritime versus continental effect is clear in global annual temperature ranges.

4. TRANSFER OF ENERGY AROUND THE PLANET

Energy Surpluses and Deficits

• Imbalance of energy drives vast global circulation of energy and mass.
• Meridional (poleward) transfer of energy and mass is achieved by:
• Global winds.
• Ocean currents.
• Dynamic weather systems.

Surface Currents in the Ocean

• Surface currents in the ocean are driven by frictional drag from surface winds.
• Large-scale circulations (gyres) form around subtropical high-pressure belts.
• Driven by trade winds and westerlies.
• Generally rotate to right in northern hemisphere, to left in southern
hemisphere.
• Trade winds push water westwards near the equator (equatorial current).

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Surface Currents in the Ocean
• Ocean currents are deflected by continents.
• Along equator, sea level is 15 cm higher at western margin of oceans than
eastern margin.
• Equatorial current spills into currents running along eastern continental
margins (e.g., Gulf Stream, Kuroshio Current, Brazilian Current).

Deep Ocean Currents

• Cooling or net evaporation causes surface water to become dense enough to sink
(downwelling; deep water formation).
• Primarily in cold polar regions.
• This cold or salty water flows sluggishly around bottom of ocean basins
(thermohaline circulation).

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Upwelling
• Deep ocean water rises to the surface at sites of divergence of surface waters.
• Deep water is rich in nutrients, so sites of upwelling are ecologically rich.
• E.g., along Pacific coast of South America.

El Niño Southern Oscillation

• Weakening of trade winds results in decreased upwelling (El Niño conditions).

TAKE-HOME MESSAGES

1. The ocean comprises diverse environments.

• Pelagic realm (with neritic and oceanic subdivisions).
• Benthic realm (with shelf, bathyal, and abyssal zones).
• Photic versus aphotic zones.
2. The ocean affects climate (even on land) because of its thermal properties and ability
to flow.
• Maritime effect.
3. The ocean plays a key role in Earth’s energy budget by transferring energy around the
planet.
• Wind-driven surface currents.
• Thermohaline circulation.

REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READING:

Books:
Many introductory geology or physical geography textbooks contain chapters relating to
the material covered in this lecture. For example:

Christopherson, R. W., and G. E. Birkeland. 2018. Geosystems: An Introduction to

Physical Geography. Tenth Edition. Pearson.

Web Sites:
Browse the following web sites for reliable information relating to the material covered
in this lecture:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
https://www.nasa.gov/content/water-and-ice
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml