Download 2016-2017 Ocean resource exploration climate

Resources from the Oceans
What do we use that comes from
the world’s oceans?
Two Main Types of Resources
• Living(Biotic)
• Non-living(Abiotic)
Living Resources
Fishing in the oceans
• Fish are the largest group of organisms taken from the
ocean (about 75 million tons a year).
• Drift nets allow fisherman to catch large numbers at
one time
• Concerns:
– Overfishing: More are taken than can be naturally
replaced
– Also, other animals, like dolphins and turtles get
caught in nets and die
Living Resources
Farming the ocean
• Due to overfishing laws have been created to
create limits on what can be caught per day
• To keep up with fish demands, many species of
fish are raised in fish farms
– Require several holding ponds with all ages of fish
– Shrimp, mussels, crabs and oysters are also raised in
farms
Living Resources
Seaweed
• Many types of species of algae
• Kelp (type of seaweed) grows 33 cm/day
• Used as a thickener in jellies & ice cream
• Rich in protein and used a lot in Japanese
dishes (sushi)
Non-living Resources
Oil and Natural Gas
• Non-renewable resource – often used faster
than they can be replenished naturally
• Found deep under layers of Earth’s crust (most
commonly under the ocean)
• Must drill through rock to reach it
Non-living Resources
Fresh Water and Desalination
• Desalination – removing salt from sea/ocean
water
• Some parts of the world have limited supply of
fresh water – have to desalinate their water
• Most common in areas (like Middle East) that do
not get enough precipitation to provide fresh
water
• Saudi Arabia has largest desalination plant
Non-Living Resources
Minerals from the Sea-Floor
Used to make things like steel and fertilizer
• Mineral nodules contain minerals like
manganese, copper, iron, and phosphates
• Nodules form when dissolved substances
in water stick to pebbles (small as marbles
or big as soccer balls)
• 15% of ocean floor covered with nodules
• BUT collecting them is expensive and
difficult b/c they are located so deep
Non-Living Resources
Tidal Energy
Ocean generates a lot of energy b/c
constantly moving
• Excellent source of power since
tides move a massive amount of
water
• Clean, inexpensive and renewable
resource (can be replaced in time)
• Problem: possible only in a few
parts of the world (Cook Inlet in
Alaska is perfect b/c coastline is
shallow with narrow channels)
Wave Energy
Constant motion is an
energy resource
• Clean and renewable
resource
• Still researching in
order to decide where
the best places would
be to build power
plants to convert this
energy
Ocean exploration
Cook’s Expeditions
The Voyages of Captain James Cook largely received credit as
the first expeditions devoted to scientific oceanography.
A major contribution to Cook’s voyages was the invention of
the chronometer – clock or watch that wasn’t affected by the
waves and motion of the sea.
One of his major missions was to map the path of Venus
between the Earth and the Sun in order to calculate the
distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Although he never found Antarctica, he did find the Hawaii
islands that was his downfall. He was considered an
oceanographer, anthropologist and naturalist.
The Challenger Expedition
Recognized as the only expedition to date that was solely devoted to
marine science.
The deepest place on Earth is the Challenger Deep (35,798 ft.) in the
Marianas Trench – named after the expeditions that discovered it.
Mt. Everest – the highest point on Earth is 29,035 ft. tall by
comparison.
Challenger’s contributions to oceanography and marine science were
great. From over 4,700 new species to new habitats not previously
thought to hold life.
NASA named one of its orbiters in its honor.
Sonar
• Sound
• Navigation and
• Ranging
• Used to map ocean floor
Submersibles
• Allowed people to explorer
deeper into the ocean.
Satellites
• Provide data on rapidly changing ocean
conditions
–Temperature
–Algae growth
–patterns
–Movement of
–large fish
Remote Underwater Manipulator
• RUM III
• Maps the ocean floor without being manned
Deep Flight Aviator
• New submersibles
• Maneuvers faster
• More visibility for people
Ocean and Climate
What is the Ocean’s Role in Climate?
• the ocean covers 70% of the earth’s
surface
• the ocean stores a thousand times
more heat than the atmosphere
• seawater stores four times more heat
per unit mass than air
• it transports 25 to 50% of the energy
received from the sun
What is the Ocean’s Role in
Climate?
• it circulates slowly, on time scales of
decades to centuries
• it is the major source of heat to some
regions like the North Atlantic
• it sets long-term patterns of atmospheric
circulation affecting climate systems like
ENSO, NAO
Ocean water
• The ocean water
never stands still.
• Ocean currents are
like rivers that move
within the ocean.
• This movement
influences the
surrounding climate.
Uneven Heating of the Earth
The Earth's major source of energy is the Sun.
The Earth is constantly receiving solar energy,
but different areas of Earth receive different
amounts of solar energy. This affects weather
and climate.
OCEAN CURRENTS
The uneven heating of the Earth's surface
creates energy flow. Winds and ocean currents
flow from warmer areas to colder areas, which
means that they travel from the equator toward
the poles.
Surface Currents


Surface currents are
caused by the wind
and usually move only
the upper few
hundred meters of
water.
These currents do not
move in straight lines.



Coriolis Effect
Surface Currents in
the northern
hemisphere curve
right.
Surface currents in
the southern
hemisphere curve
left.
Examples of Surface
Currents
• Gulf Stream-originates near the
equator and travels up the east
coast-it is a warm current.
• California Currents-originates in
the north and travels down the
west coast-it is a cold current.
Deep Currents
Occur when more dense seawater sinks
beneath less dense seawater.
Seawater becomes more denser when it
gets colder or becomes saltier. This
movement causes currents.
Cold salty water is very dense so it sinks
and slowly flows southward along the
ocean floor.
Upwelling
 A current in the ocean that brings deep,
cold water to the ocean surface.
 Surface winds blow parallel to the land
because of the Coriolis effect.
 Cold, deep water continually replaces
the surface water that is pushed away
from the coast.
 This cold water causes cool summers
and fog in San Francisco.
Upwelling
Causes cold, nutrient rich water from the deep ocean
to rise to the surface.
How the oceans influence climate


The oceans influence
climate over both long
and short time periods.
The oceans and
atmosphere are tightly
linked and together
form the most dynamic
component of the
climate system.


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The oceans play a critical
role in storing heat.
The oceans waters are
constantly being moved
about by powerful
currents.
These currents influence
the climate by
transporting heat.
How the oceans influence climate continued…
 Currents involved in
“deep-water formation”
are particularly
important for climate.
 An apparently small
change in just one
aspect of the oceans
behavior can produce
major climate variations
over large areas of
earth.
Climate is not weather
Climate- the average pattern
of weather in a place.
Weather- is the condition of
the atmosphere at a
particular place and time
measured in terms of such
things as wind, temperature,
humidity, cloudiness,
precipitation, and
atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric and oceanic disturbances in Pacific
Ocean
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
– Warm (El Niño) and cold phases (La Niña)
– High pressure in eastern Pacific weakens
– Weaker trade winds
– Warm pool migrates eastward
– Thermocline deeper in eastern Pacific
– Downwelling
– Lower biological productivity
• Corals particularly sensitive to warmer
seawater
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO): cool
phase (La Niña)
• Increased pressure difference across
equatorial Pacific
• Stronger trade winds
• Stronger upwelling in eastern Pacific
• Shallower thermocline
• Cooler than normal seawater
• Higher biological productivity
El Nino and La Nina
• El Nino is a change in water temperature in
the Pacific ocean that produces a warm
current.
• La Nina is a change in temperature in the
Eastern Pacific that causes surface water
temperature to be much colder than usual
• BOTH El Nino and La Nina can cause flooding
(too much rain) and drought (too little rain) in
different places on Earth. Upwelling does not
occur where it normally would and this affects
fish and sea-life.