Transcript Ocean Water - Perry Local Schools

Ocean Water
• The salt has seeped
into the oceans by
dissolving out of the
rocks, and being
carried down rivers
into the ocean for
millions of years.
• Salinity- the
concentration of all
dissolved salts it
contains.
– It is lower in places
with high amounts of
rain and where rivers
flow into the ocean.
Temperature Zones
• Surface Zone – warmer, sunlight heats
the top of it
– In places where the sun never reaches
temperatures can be just above freezing
– In between these two is the thermocline.
• Water temperatures rapidly fall with depth making
the thermocline this boundary between warm and
cold water.
• WE can feel the thermocline in a lake.
Oceans Importance
• One of the most important functions of the
world’s oceans is to absorb and store
energy from sunlight –this helps to
regulate temperatures in Earth’s
atmosphere.
– Absorb over half of the Energy from the sun
– Absorbs and releases it slower than the
geosphere
– Helps to regulate the temperature throughout
the world.
Ocean Currents
• Surface currents: stream-like
movements of water that occur at or
near the surface of the ocean
– Wind driven
– Could be warm or cold water
• Do not easily mix with one another;
therefore, warm water can travel hundreds of
miles through cold air.
• Can influence the climates of land areas they
pass
• Deep currents: flow very slowly
along the ocean floor.