Technology

Compare and contrast the various layers of ocean waters, flora, and fauna.
Ocean waters have been divided into five main layers by scientist. Also known as zones, these layers start from the ocean surface and extend to the deepest ends where light cannot reach. Creatures that survive in the extreme depths of the sea are fascinating and bizarre and as we penetrate deeper into the ocean, the pressure increase and the temperature reduce at a high rate. Epipelagic zone is the first layer of the ocean and it extends for about 200 meters (656 feet) from the ocean surface. Its also called the sunlight zone because this is the region that has most visible light. In addition, due to light, heat is present and its responsible for various degrees of temperatures within this zone.

The next layer is referred to as the mesapolagic zone and extends from 200 meters to 1000 meters. Its also known as the midwater or the twilight zone. Only extremely faint light has the potential of penetrating into this zone and bioluminescent creatures with twinkling lights are visible here. Moreover, a wide range of fishes that are strange and bizarre are found in this region, such as the melacosteid family of fishes also called the loosejaws. The third layer is called the bathypelagic, midnight or the dark zone. It extends down to 4000 meters and the only visible light that can be seen in this zone is produced by the creatures found there. Immense water pressure of up to 5,820 pounds per square inch is present (Thurman, Trujillo, 2007). Despite the presence of high pressures, creatures such as sperm whales dive into this region to look for food. The creatures surviving here are either red or black due to lack of light.

The fourth layer extends to 6,000 meters and is called the abyssopelagic or the abyssal zone. Its the Greek name for no bottom, no light is present and the temperature of the water is close to the freezing point. Minimal creature survives in this region and those that do are invertebrates like tiny squids and the basket stars. This zone is home to three quarters of the ocean floor and the deepest placed fish found in this region was in Puerto Rico at a depth of 8372meters. The hedalpelagic zone is the final layer that extends to the extreme end of the sea. This includes canyons and deep water trenches. Marina trench is the deepest point at 10,911 meters with a temperature close to freezing point and pressure of eight tons per square inch. Despite the forbidding conditions, creatures such as tube worms and star fish do survive here.

Discuss costal processes such as shoreline erosion.
Coastal erosion is a process of wearing down of a shore of a body of water that is occupied with gravel, sand, or bigger fragments of rocks by an instant or gradual action. Its a natural process whereby woody debris and erode sediments remain in coastal waters that are shallow and can enable the shoreline to evolve naturally. However, negative impacts of coastal erosion range from increased segmentation. Shoreline erosion is caused by changes in climate, relative sea level, tides, frequency of tropical storm and sediments delivered from deep seas. These factors cause long term chronic erosion or short-termstorm induced erosion (Thurman, Trujillo, 2007).

Analyze the daily fluctuations of tides and know its importance to tidal communities
Winds and tides that occur daily have a minimal effect on the shoreline but tropical storm and hurricanes cause a severe impact where huge quantities of shoreface sand is driven along or away from the coast.  Hydraulic action occurs when waves suddenly compresses air that is present in a joint, thus closing it and making the area to crack. Wave pounding occurs when waves moving with huge force attack the shoreline. Abrasion, also known as corrasion (different from corrosion), occurs when waves move sealoads along the sea cliff. Its one of the fastest and most effective forms of eroding the shoreline. Limestone cliffs are severely damaged by this kind of erosion. Attrition occurs when particles transported by the waves collide with each other and break down making them lighter to wash away. The materials are consequently deposited as sand or shingles.

Tides are the daily fluctuations of the sea levels which occur as a result of earth rotation and gravitational forces caused by the sun and the moon. The shape of the bottom of the shore also influences the size of the tides. Two high tides and two low tides occur daily in most coastal regions. The tidal forces impact force and energy in different parts of the earth resulting to relative movement of the substance in the earth, atmosphere and the ocean. Tidal forces in the ocean usually generate tidal currents that are alternating making the sea surface to be gradually displaced (Thurman, Trujillo, 2007).

The ocean and the surrounding environment have significant effects on communities living in the coastal regions. Positive impacts that accrue tidal communities include tourism and recreation opportunities which improve the economies of these regions. Fishing, hunting, boating, crabbing, and skiing are some of the recreation activities that tidal communities accrue. Tides are also important for fishing and shipping companies. Navigators must schedule to dock when the tide is high because the water will be deepest especially when heading for shallow ports. The height of tides is also important to consider since harbors and river have a bar that is shallow at the entrance that may prevent entry for boas with huge draft at certain tidal heights.

Compare and contrast deep and superficial ocean currents
Superficial currents or surface circulation are waters that consist of about ten percent of the entire water in the ocean. These waters also occupy the top 400 meters of the ocean. On the other hand, deep water current or thermohaline circulations are waters that occupy ninety percent of the ocean. The movement of these waters in the ocean basin is caused by density and gravity. The difference in density is caused by diverse levels of temperatures and salinity levels. In addition, deep waters usually sink in to the deepest ends of the ocean basin where temperature is near freezing point and causes the increase of density. Another distinction is that that surface currents are primarily driven wind while deep sea currents are driven by density found in the deep waters.

Discuss causes and effect of waves
Wind is the major cause of waves in the ocean surface. This occurs when wind energy is transferred into the water causing friction of water molecules and air molecules. Powerful winds such as storms cause huge waves. Movement of waves is not horizontal and it neither represents a straight flow of water. Tsunamis which are also called tidal waves are not similar to surface waves and they are mainly caused by volcanic eruptions, underwater earthquakes or landslides. Waves can cause coastal flooding especially when there are storm surge. Strong waves such as tsunami can cause devastating effects such as destruction of property and loss of lives. A positive effect of waves is that they can be converted to electricity (Thurman, Trujillo, 2007).

Understand the origins of the oceans
The origin of oceans can be dated back to the formation of the earth close to 4.6 billion years ago when the planet was being formed by accumulation of small substances called planetesimals. Water found in the ocean is believed to have originated from condensation after the outgassing of vapor that came from the earth surface. Some of the water was delivered by the collision of comets. Some researchers argue that a major portion of oceanic water was supplied by the forceful bombardment that occurred in the solar system billions of years ago.

Oceans have often been discussed in relation to deuteriumhydrogen ratios (dh) of different water sources in the solar system. The major source of water in the ocean is believed to be carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) or correct mixing of solar nebula and comets. Due to the closeness of the DH ratio in CCs to that found in the earths ocean, the CCs origin of water is largely accepted by many scholars.

Discuss the history of oceanography and know key events of the study.
Oceanography can be defined as the study of the world underneath the ocean and air that is above. However, for over a hundred fifty years now, oceanography actually was recognized as one of the disciplines in formal scientific. It might be considered as one of those newest fields in science, though its background come from way back like thousands of years, the time when individuals began venturing in rafts from coastlines. The first explorers, oceanographers and navigators started paying their attention concerning the ocean in different ways. They were observing storms, waves, tides and current which used to carry rafts in different direction. Around 2,850 years ago is when philosophers from early age and naturalists began to try in making senses of water body that they got from the land (Gregory, 1999). Since people could only see ocean that did not have an end observed from the shoreline, they then believed that the entire world was flat. In late 1400s and also early 1500s, explorers of the sea were not kept together with Columbus and concluded that the world is actually not flat rather it is round- with surface of nearly  spheres full of oceans.

To be precise, modern oceanography started as a science field about 130 years before in the 19th century, after the launching of expeditions by British, Europeans and Americans in order to explore currents in ocean, seafloor and ocean life away from they coastlines. Challenger Expedition was first among the scientists in expedition in exploring seafloor and ocean in the world since the year 1872 to 1876.

Compare and contrast oceanic plates and identify the margins.
Normally, there are three kinds of boundaries of tectonic plate Convergent boundaries Divergent boundaries and Transform boundaries. As the movement of giant plates occurs, converging or diverging along borders, there comes out unleashing of tremendous energies that result in tremors transforming the surface of the earth.

Divergent boundaries
Here, there is creation of new crust while two plates or more pull each other away. As a result, oceans are formed and end up growing wider and plates pull apart and diverge. When this occurs on the surface of the land, there rises a separation or a rift and with long duration of time, that land mass breaks to pieces of land masses and water comes to fill the vacant space in between them.

Convergent Boundaries
Crust, here is normally recycled back and destroyed into the earths interior as a plate lies below the other. What results in called subdection Zones- volcanoes and mountains are often found when plate converges. Convergent boundaries are of three types Oceanic-Oceanic Oceanic-Continental and Continental-Continental Convergent- Oceanic-Continental Convergent occurs when there is pushing of oceanic plate and sub-ducting beneath continental plate, there results lifting of continental plate that has overridden and there is creation of mountain range. The sub-ducting plate at the deeper part breaks down into pieces that are smaller where these pieces are locked for much longer time before there is generation of earthquakes that are large. Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence on the other hand is an oceanic trench that is deep is formed caused by convergence of oceanic plates where one is sub ducted below the other. They also come as a result of undersea volcanoes (Gregory, 1999).

Continental-Continental Convergence basically occurs when there is head-on meeting of two continents but none gets subducted since continental rocks are light, and do not follow downward motion like colliding icebergs do. The crust, instead, buckles and gets pushed sideways or backwards.
Transform-Fault Boundaries This is where two plates horizontally slide along one another. Most of the transform faults are normally found on floor of the ocean. Active ridges spreading are caused by theses transform faults that produce plate margins that are ziz-zag, and generally are explained by earthquakes that are shallow (Gregory, 1999).    

The role of oceans earths climate
In past years, the earth has been believed that it has size that is infinite, has a capacity of absorbing emissions unlimitedly to oceans from pollutants and atmosphere. Also in years recently, many discussions have been made on desert expansion and earth warning which might have resulted due to global destruction in the environment. Anomalies like these are caused by heat upset balance matters arising from atmosphere interactions, ocean, etc. The earth that people live is normally caused by interactions among ocean and atmosphere among other causes.

The system of the ocean
The ocean capacity of heat is 1000 times as the size of the atmosphere. Heat is transported through air currents, energy is supplied to atmosphere, substances are dissolved creating reactions chemically, creatures are supported, thus plays a role dominant to help in stabilizing environment globally and life maintaining on the earth. Atmospheric system though on the earth is omnipresent, little atmosphere data is obtained above ocean, hence resulting into difficulty in analyzing phenomena meteorologically. The oceans role in acting as a source of heat and water is considered as predominant (Thurman, Trujillo, 2007).

IceSnow System.
Ice and snow normally occupy large areas in terms of the surface of the earth and therefore they have albedo that is high. There is large effect on flow of heat and water and they therefore influence earth climate and meteorology.