...Differences in air pressure are caused by unequal heating of the atmosphere. Cool air has higher air pressure so it flows underneath the warm, less dense air. Winds that blow over short distances and are caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a small area. Waves Waves start in the open ocean The size of a wave depends on the strength of the wind, the length of time that it blows, and the distance over which it blows Waves move energy, not water. The water in a wave does not actually move forward, just the energy generated by the wind. The wind affects the water at the surface more than it does the deep water. As waves approach the shore, the water becomes shallower. The bottom of the waves begin to touch the sloping ocean floor. Friction between the ocean floor and the water causes the waves to slow down. As the speed of the wave slows down the shape of the wave begins to change Near the shore wave length decreases and wave height increases. When the wave reaches a certain height, the crest of the wave topples. CURRENT: A current is a large stream of water that flows through the ocean Two types of currents Surface Currents Driven mainly by the wind They follow Earth’s major wind patterns which move in a circular pattern Due to the Coriolis effect, currents in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere A surface current warms or cools...
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...overall trend toward increased precipitation and evaporation, and more intense weather systems, in the form of violent rainstorms, blizzards and sun-baked, drier soils. The Facts—What Do We Already Know About Changing Global Conditions (Global Warming)? Global temperatures are rising. Observations collected over the last century suggest that the average land surface temperature has risen 0.45-0.6°C (0.8-1.0°F) in the last century. Precipitation has increased by about 1 percent over the world's continents in the last century, with more rain in high latitudes and less rain in many tropical areas. Sea levels have risen approximately 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) worldwide in the last century, due to melting mountain glaciers and ocean expansion from warmer ocean temperatures. The Future—What Predictions Can We Make About...
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...The Ocean The ocean makes up around 70% of the Earth’s surface. It is divided into several separate oceans which interconnect bodies of salt water. The major oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Artic Ocean. The ocean has many functions. It keeps the Earth’s temperature moderate by absorbing solar radiation. It is then stored as heat energy which is distributed around the globe by the ocean currents. This keeps the land and air warm during the winter and cools it down during the summer. According to MarineBio, temperature and density share an inverse relationship. As temperature increases, the density—spaces between the water molecules—decreases. On the other hand, salinity and density share a positive relationship. As density increases so does the salinity—the amount of salt in the water. Temperature will always change within the depths of the ocean because warm seawater floats and cold seawater sinks. When the temperature, density, or salinity of a layer of ocean changes rapidly, the region is known as a cline. Thermoclines are areas of rapid change in temperature, where most people swim in the ocean and are the most important. Pycnoclines are areas of rapid change in density and haloclines are areas of rapid change in salinity. Living in San Francisco, the ocean is pretty hard to ignore. Around my neighborhood tons of people head out to Ocean Beach on a hot sunny day. Watching the waves go back and forth from the shore to the ocean is hypnotizing...
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...Causes of Global Warming and its present and future impacts on South-West Western Australia Global Warming is an issue at the heart of modern civilisation. The prospect of a rapidly changing global enviroment is enough to cause considerable concern towards life on earth for future generations. Therefore it is important to understand how climate change works, what is causing the climate to change, what effects these changes are having, and how they may continue to affect the global environment. What causes the environments on earth unable to support life? What can be done about these predictions of climates in the future? How will these climate changes affect South-West Western Australia? How does climate change work? Climate change is a natural process that has been functioning on earth for billions of years, it is the regulator of the earth's abililty to support life by the cycles of The Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect has made the earth an environment for supporting life through the cycling of energy from the sun via short-wave radiation, which heats the earths surface, then is released into the atmopshere as long-wave radiation. This cycle is made possible by the prescence of Greenhouse gases, which redside in the earths atmopshere, and absorb most of the long-wave radiation given off by the earth, with the remainder being expelled into space. This process cycles the heat from the sun around the earths atmosphere and a climate is the result, without this circulation...
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...rays from the sun are absorbed by water vapor that is naturally in our atmosphere. Water vapor accounts for ?80 percent of natural greenhouse warming. The remaining 20 percent is due to other gasses that are present in very small amounts? (Murck, Skinner and Porter 488). Carbon dioxide is also a big absorber of the sun?s heat rays. Humans can cause a lot of carbon dioxide to be released. Every time we burn fossil fuels, we release more carbon dioxide. Emissions from cars also increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere more rays from the sun are absorbed. This will cause the atmosphere and the earth?s temperature to warm. The warming of the earth will cause the oceans to become warmer. When they heat up, more water is evaporated, causing more carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere. Once this process starts, it is extremely hard to control. If the temperature keeps rising, more carbon dioxide will...
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...CHICKENS OF THE SEA Not long ago, a friend once told me that he heard Jessica Simpson say on television, that a brand of canned tuna called “Chicken of the Sea” literally means, chickens that live in the sea. As we all know chickens cannot naturally live in the sea due to their physical deficiencies in water. In other words, the only way chickens could live under the sea is if the company invested billions into undersea chicken farms. For example, They could build giant undersea domes just like Sandy Peaches, in the hit kids television show “Spongebob Squarepants”. Furthermore the labeling itself states quite clearly that the food product contained in the tin is in fact tuna. Now, if the label didn’t say anything about tuna on the front It would be very easy to confuse the product with chicken, but that is not the case for this specific brand. In addition, tuna in general is very different from chicken in so many aspects, that it is really hard to confuse tuna with chicken. The textures, colors, and taste are so different that anyone who has ever eaten both tuna and chicken, could easily differentiate between the two products. Jessica Simpson’s statement is a falsehood that can be proven wrong with simple observation. First, chickens cannot live in the sea due to the fact that they have evolved on land for millions of years. Everything about their bodies have been finely tuned for living life on the surface of the world. Resulting in different organs compared to marine...
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...result of cleaning up oil. In this report, type of oil and quantity of oil spills are controlled. Same materials and methods are used on two different simulate environments, Open Ocean and sandy beach. 50 mL of oil made from vegetable oil with a little bit of food coloring simulates the crude oil. Plastic tub with a bag and filling with 1900 mL of cold tap water simulates the ocean space. Sandy Ocean environment is the ocean space added a sand dune in one corner of tub made by a full cup of sand. In each environment, 50mL Formula 409 and 25 cotton balls are worked together to absorb the oil as much as they can. How much oil is removed is calculated by volume measured by counting cup. About 60% oil should be removed from Open Ocean. And in Sandy Ocean, about 50% should be removed because portion of oil may absorb by sand. Formula 409 is a common cleanser which mainly ingredient is surfactants. “ Surfactants are amphiphilic; which means they both are water loving (hydrophilic) and water hating (hydrophobic) in equal measures and can join two liquids which are solely hydrophilic or hydrophobic.” (“Surfactants: the clean way to clear oil”). Surfactants should bring “wrapped oil” to the surface of water through emulsification. Cotton balls would absorb the “wrapped oil” thus the oil is cleaned. Methods Open Ocean 1. Line the plastic tub with a bag. Fill the tub with 1900 mL of cold tub water. 2. Obtain exactly 50 mL of “crude oil,” made from vegetable oil with a little bit of...
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...The Prestigious Ocean World Waves hitting against the shore, gulls freely wandering around the sand, and sea creatures swimming liberally above or below the abyss are common characteristics which describe the world of the ocean. However, ocean life is by far too enormous to know its ceaseless evolution. Therefore, the nonscientist should gain knowledge through unbiased interpretations of the sea to know what occurs above the ocean or what it holds in its deeps. In Lost Woods, Rachel Carson attempts to eliminate human perspectives of the sea by entering vicariously into the world of the ocean and its strange creatures. The world of the ocean is filled with incredible forms of life that live instinctively by day and night. Rachel Carson helps us understand this world better through a lyrical piece which demonstrates the ordinary and fantastic lives of sea creatures. “Undersea” paints the non-scientific reader a clear picture of ocean life by interpreting two important themes, “the ancient and enduring ecology that dominates ocean life, and the material immortality that encompasses even the smallest organism” (Lear “Intro to Undersea” 3) But in order to comprehend the different worlds that coexist with each other “we must shed our human perceptions of length and breadth and time and place and enter vicariously into a universe of all pervading water” (Carson “Undersea” 4). Rachel Carson mentions the underwater traveler as an example of a human perception. If the underwater traveler...
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...Birch Aquarium Report Humans cause threats to ocean life. Valuable fish stocks, as well as other marine life, are severely threatened by overfishing. People are taking far more fish out of the ocean than can be replaced by those remaining. It's not just the fish we eat that are affected. Each year, billions of unwanted fish and other animals - like dolphins, marine turtles, seabirds, sharks, and corals - die due to inefficient, illegal, and destructive fishing practices. Important reserves of oil and gas are located under the sea floor in many parts of the world. However, prospecting, drilling, and transport can seriously damage sensitive marine areas and disturb marine species. From plastic bags to pesticides - most of the waste we produce on land eventually reaches the oceans, either through deliberate dumping or from run-off through drains and rivers. Oil speels cause huge damage to the marine environment - but are responsible for only around 12% of the oil entering the seas each year. According to a study by the US National Research Council, 36% comes down drains and rivers as waste and runoff from cities and industry. Fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns is a huge problem for coastal areas. The extra nutrients cause eutrophication - flourishing of algal blooms that deplete the water's dissolved oxygen and suffocate other marine life. In many parts of the world, sewage flows untreated, or under-treated, into the ocean. For example, 80% of urban sewage discharged...
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...animal is introduced to a different area from their natural habitat and cause environmental or economical harm. Giving this definition I will discuss Caulerpa Taxifolia. Caulerpa Taxifolia is a macro algae invader that is a multicellular plant native to warm saltwater. It is one of the most invasive green alga in the seas. It is considered invasive because it has the ability to spread over large areas in the ocean while forming dense mats, causing ecological and economic issues such destroying sea weed, sea grasses, fishes, commercial fishing, boating. Caulerpa is a salt-water plant with structures that look jut like roots, stems and leaves. The roots of Caulerpa are called rhizoids, which grow into the ocean floor to absorb water and nutrients. Caulerpa have leaf like structures that stick up called fronds, which are a bright green color and are photosynthetic. The stems of Caulerpa are called stolon, which grow above the ocean floor; the stolon when fragmented grows a new Caulerpa plant. Its normal habitat is in tropical waters around the world such as the Indian Ocean. Caulerpa taxifolia is not invasive in its native habitat and reproduces sexually. Grazing marine predators that co-evolved with the alga controls its rapid growth in its native habitat. It was typically used in aquariums for decorations and was cloned in Germany for display then sent to France & Monaco where Zoo employees accidentally introduced it to the Mediterranean Sea when they were cleaning their aquarium...
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...hurt Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star Would choose to light the way For my ever wandering heart Not because of who I am But because of what You’ve done Not because of what I’ve done But because of who You are I am a flower quickly fading Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean Vapor in the wind Still You hear me when I’m calling Lord, You catch me when I’m falling And You’ve told me who I am I am Yours, I am Yours Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin Would look on me with love and watch me rise again Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea Would call out through the rain And calm the storm in me Not because of who I am But because of what You’ve done Not because of what I’ve done But because of who You are I am a flower quickly fading Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean Vapor in the wind Still You hear me when I’m calling Lord, You catch me when I’m falling And You’ve told me who I am I am Yours Not because of who I am But because of what You’ve done Not because of what I’ve done But because of who You are I am a flower quickly fading Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean Vapor in the wind Still You hear me when I’m calling Lord, You catch me when I’m falling And You’ve told me who I am I am Yours I am Yours Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear ‘Cause I am Yours I am Yours The song who am I by Casting crown is a poetry song. It is about the love of God for his...
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...components is really important for life, for it is here that the entire life is confined and the basic processes of life like photosynthesis and respiration occur. Living organisms are, mostly, confined to the parts of biosphere that receive solar radiation during the day. As stated above this includes atmosphere, the surface of land, the few meters of soil and the upper layers of water of oceans, lakes and rivers. The illuminated zone may be a few centimeters in turbid water of a river, and up to about 100 meters in clearest part of an ocean. In the ocean, the biosphere does not end where light ceases as gravity enables the energy flow to continue downward, since fecal pellets, cast skins and organisms dead and alive are always falling from the illuminated regions into the depths. In addition to the extension of the biosphere downwards, there is a limited extension upwards also. On very high mountains, like Himalayas, the limit above which chlorophyll-bearing plants cannot live appears to be about 6,200 meters. In simple words, biosphere can be viewed as the part of the earth consisting of oceans and the surface of the continents, together with the adjacent atmosphere (i.e. the troposphere). However, polar ice caps and the higher mountains slopes above the snow line are known as parabiosphere. Since living organisms require inorganic metabolites from each of the subdivision of the biosphere, water from the hydrosphere, mineral from lithosphere and chemical elements from atmosphere...
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...lose yourself in the service of others. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed” “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems” “All crime is a kind of disease and should be treated as such” “They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.” “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result” A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it. In a gentle way, you can shake the world. An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding. Those who know how to think need no teachers Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable...
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...health of the human race. Global warming is a phenomenon that is causing the general temperature of the earth to rise. This is affecting the earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Scientists have noted significant changes developing more rapidly in the last thirty years. These changes are a counteraction to global warming that is affecting life on the entire planet. No one or nothing is safe from the impact of global warming, plants animals, humans we are all subject to server changes of evolutionary proportion. One might ponder how global warming affects the average man; some say they see no difference. The changes are not apparent in ones day to day routine unless you become aware of the signs or symptoms of a changing planet (Time, 2006). Time magazine recently did a story called Global Warming: How It Affects Your Health. This article puts the affects of global warming on humans very plainly. According to this article the death toll that is related to climate change is going to double by the year 2030. The climate change is going to cause the population to encounter more frequent and impacting heat waves, the intense heat will have an affect the reproduction and migration of the insect population which will in turn increase the spread of disease. The rise of the ocean levels will not only impact ocean life but human survival as well, the air we breathe is even an issue due to global warming (Time, 2006). According to Time’s article one way oxygen intake will be...
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...GLOBAL WARMING: Energy, Fall 2005 v30 i4 p36(2) It could get a lot warmer. (GLOBAL WARMING) Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Communications Company, Inc. If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the next few centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar to 14.5 degrees warmer than current day. These are the stunning results of climate and carbon cycle model simulations conducted by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By using a coupled climate and carbon cycle model to look at global climate and carbon cycle changes, the scientists found that the earth would warm by 8 degrees Celsius (14.5 degrees Fahrenheit) if humans use the entire planet's available fossil fuels by the year 2300. The jump in temperature would have alarming consequences for the polar ice caps and the ocean, said lead author Govindasamy Bala of the Laboratory's Energy and Environment Directorate. In the polar regions alone, the temperature would spike more than 20 degrees Celsius, forcing the land in the region to change from ice and tundra to boreal forests. "The temperature estimate is actually conservative because the model didn't take into consideration changing land use such as deforestation and build-out of cities into outlying wilderness areas," Bala said. Today's level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is 380 parts per million (ppm). By the year 2300, the model...
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