GEOL 3070 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5.2: Chlorophyll
25 Apr 2017
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Saturation concentration: maximum amount of any gas that can be held in the solution. Depends on temperature, salinity, and pressure of the water. If the pressure decreases, the saturation concentration decreases. If the temperature or salinity decreases, the saturation concentration increases. Photosynthesis: manufacture by plants of organic substances and release of oxygen from carbon dioxide and water from the presence of sunlight and the green pigment chlorophyll. Euphotic zone: depth of the water column where there is sufficient sunlight for growth of photosynthetic organisms. Shallow water -- 15 to 20 m deep. Compensation depth: the depth at which the rate of photosynthesis balances the rate of respiration. Above the depth, organisms produce oxygen at the expense of carbon dioxide. Below it, carbon dioxide is produced at the expense of oxygen. Oxygen can be added to the oceans only at the surface. Carbon dioxide enters from the atmosphere at the surface, but it also produced at all depths from respiration.
