ENV100Y5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Pearson Education, Marine Protected Area, Overfishing
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Environment: the science behind the stories, second canadian edition. Approximately 71% of earth"s surface is covered by ocean waters containing, on average, about. Water temperature declines with depth, and density increases slightly at lower temperatures and higher salinities. Therefore, deep water tends to be colder, saltier, and denser than the surface water. Ocean currents are driven by the prevailing wind currents at the surface at the surface, by gradients in water temperature, by gravity, and by the coriolis effect. Surface currents move horizontally in large circulation patterns. Vertical currents (upwellings and downwellings) slowly mix the deep waters with the surface waters, affecting the distribution of nutrients and primary productivity. Biologically productive areas are concentrated in areas of upwelling, in the shallower waters along continental margins, and at hydrothermal vents of the deep mid-ocean ridges. Along the coasts there are kelp forests that shelter invertebrates, smaller fishes, seals, and top carnivores such as great white sharks.
