4. Four major types of Ocean
ecosystems :
Open Ocean
Deep Sea
Upwelling region
Continental Shelf
5. Open Ocean
areas away from the coastal boundaries and above
the seabed.
encompasses the entire water column of the seas and
the oceans and lies beyond the edge of
the continental shelf.
extends from the tropics to the polar regions and
from the sea surface to the abyssal depths.
8. Continental shelf ecosystems
is characterized by a very gentle slope less than 1 degree.
The average depth is about 150 m and it has an average
width of 70 km.
local variations are common, ranging from more than 1000
km in the Arctic Ocean to a few kilometers along the
Pacific coast of North and South America.
The water above the continental shelf is called neritic
water
11. Tend to have relatively high concentrations of nitrate
and other nutrients, averaged over the year.
12. Estuaries
An area in which fresh water from a river mixes with salt
water from the ocean; a transition area from the land to the
ocean. Other names: bay, sound, lagoon, harbor, or bayou.
River bringing
freshwater to
the sea
The Ocean
Area where
fresh and salt
water mix
13. Estuary animals
Huge variety including…
Blue crab, Stone crab, Fiddler crab,
Horseshoe crab, Mosquito, Lobster,
Flounder, Stripped bass, Crane,
Flamingo, Sea gull, Ibis, Manatee,
otters, and many more.
14. Salt Marshes
A low area that is subject to regular, but gentle, tides,
dominated by grasses.
Salt marshes do not have trees or shrubs
Location: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast
Texas salt marsh
16. Coral Reefs
Structures in the shallow oceans that are built by animals
called corals; serve as a habitat for many diverse organisms
Require two things: warm temperatures and sunlight
There are many different kinds of corals:
Soft corals Hard corals
18. UPWELLING REGION
Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away.
Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the
water that was pushed away.
20. Coastal upwelling
Winds
moving water
along the
shore result in
a curl Right or
Left (N or S
hemisphere)
Figure. Productivity along the
coast of South America
21. EL NINO
a warm phase of the interannual climate
oscillation called El Niño Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) event, an example of
large-scale ocean-atmosphere interaction,
and is characterized by large-scale warming
of the surface tropical Pacific Ocean.
22. Equatorial Upwelling
The net flow of the westward currents
are north on north side of the equator,
and south on the south side, and this
water is replaced by deeper water
23. Island Mass Effect
As currents encounter islands, deeper
nutrient rich water is forced toward the
surface.
24. Deep Sea
the lowest layer in
the ocean, existing
below the
thermocline and
above the seabed, at
a depth of 1000
fathoms or more.
25. Deep sea animals exhibiting bioluminescence
Deep Sea Angler Fish
Lanternfish
26. Deep sea animals exhibiting bioluminescence
Deep Sea Angler Fish
Lanternfish
27. Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents
Figure. Black Smoker
Physical and
Chemical factors:
minerals
Temperatures
flow levels of their
plumes
Open oceans have low primary productivity because of the low concentrations of nutrients in the photic zone which is called the “ biological dessert”. The parts which corresponds to low nutrient levels and low productivity is termed as “ oligotrophic ocean”.