EARS 3 Unit 3

3 Domains

Three domains: organized based on rRNA structure and differences in the nucleotide sequences

Environmental parameters affecting marine life: light

Penetration of light into water is not very far Photic zone (or euphotic zone): the depth at which 1% of light penetrates through (remember, we said blue was the least efficient color) Very little primary production existing below photic zone The ability of light to penetrate deep, depends on turbidity (the amount of suspended particles (mineral particles and phylo plankton)) Light adaptation: macroalgae floats in the light

4 Eukaryotic Kingdoms

Protista, Plantae, Aninalyia, Mycota

longshore transport

The movement of water or sediment down a shore in the direction of wave action.

sources of sediment: erosion

displacement of sediment, soil, rock and other particles) usually by wind, water, waves, glacier, gravity or organisms.

Photosynthesis

energy transfers from light to chemical bonds in sugars (and other organic C compounds). 6CO2 + 6H2O --> glucose

foraminifera

adapt depending on the temperature of the ocean -- Can be used to study climate change

KT Boundary

(Cretaceous- Tertiary) boundary (the boundary for extinction of dinosaurs);

Primary Consumers

(Herbivores): those who are eating plants

Holocene

(the past 10,000 year after the most recent deglaciation).

phytoplankton:

- AUTOTROPHS -diatom - coccolithophores - dinoflagellates - cyanobacteria

hydrogenous sediments

- Oxides and sulfides from hydrothermal vents. - Manganese nodules - Carbonates - can form a biogenically at high temperature and low CO2 concentration of seawater. --> During times when the earth was warm, they were more abundant because carbonate tends to become over saturated in warm water. - Evaporates - by evaporation of seawater

residence times

- Residence time determines on what time scale a given flex affects the reservoir - Residence time determines the distribution of a material in a given reservoir; this can be determined by comparing residence time with the mixing time - Approximate residence times for constituents so sea water - Residence times vary significantly from 1 constituent to another; major components generally have very long time (ie 1mil years) - concentration: total volume of tank * concentration of X = total amount of X - time = size / sum of influx - Residence times vary significantly from 1 constituent to another; major components generally have very long time (ie 1mil years)

calcareous ooze concentration

- more in the Atlantic than the pacific - don't do well in high biological productivity areas because they are easily corrosive, so they can't reach the bottom floor & form ooze SO carbon ooze is found more so in the Atlantic

short term causes of change of coastal environment

- storms - seasonal changes - swash - backwash

silica ooze concentrations

- there is generally more diatom and radiolaria ooze found in the productive regions - this corresponds to the cold north Atlantic water and the high upwelling in the pacific, the high biological activity implies high dissolved CO2 concentration in the water, and silica shells are more resistant so they can reach the bottom of the floor and then form ooze there

sea level change: glaciers

- think about the example of New England and where the glacier used to be - sea level rise 100m due to glacial melting

4 sources of sediment:

- weathering - erosion -transport -turbidites

problems with C-14 Dating

1. Carbon 14 is continuously produced in the upper atmosphere 2. Its daughter isotope (N-14) is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. The solution to the problem is to measure C-14 to C-12 ratios

removal of ocean salts

1. evaporation 2. biological removal of mineral matter 3. organic carbon burial 4. hydrothermal vent removal 5. bacterial removal

Carbon Sources & Sinks

1. photosynthesis & respiration (short-run, 100gt/year) 2. ocean atmosphere exchange (short-run, 100gt/year) 3. chemical weathering & volcanism (long - run)

factors important for distribution

1. proximity 2. production 3. Dilution 4. Destruction

ooze

30% of the sediments consist of biogenous material. The following organisms are common in oozes. silicious ooze: made up of coccolithophores and foraminifera calcerous ooze: made up of coccolithophores and diatoms

Composition of major ocean salts

6 Major constituents of the ocean water: Chlorite (CI-), Sodium (Na+), Magnesium (Mg2+), Sulfur (as sulfate SO41-), Calcium (Ca2+), Potassium (K+) Major means concentration greater than 100 ppm Carbon is NOT a major constituent

cross-cutting relationships

A principle or law stating that a disrupted pattern is older than the cause of disruption

breakwater

A structure protecting a nearshore area from breaking waves.

sources of sediment: turbidites

A turbidity current (= density current)—a rapidly moving flow of sediment-laden fluid moving down a slope or (in absence of slope) collapsing under its own weight through clear fluid. The current moves because it has a greater density than the clear fluid through which it flows. Such flows are triggered by earthquakes, storms, or slumps; can cause a great deal of erosion on slopes, and transfer the sediments to the deep sea, emplaced in deposits called turbidites. Turbidites often show systematic grain size changes from coarse to fine within a unit, and inter-layered by fine-grained deep ocean sediments (ooze or abyssal clay).

Primary Producers

Aka primary producers: take energy from sun or chemicals to produce their own chemical energy/food Primary production → Energy used by autotrophs and supplies to consumers of all trophic levels Absorb solar energy and then via photosynthesis (goes from h2O + CO2 → Glucose + O2), then uses that energy for life Producers convert solar energy into chemical energy and store it in organic compounds; when they are consumed, energy is transferred to the consumers Not a 100% efficient energy transfer process

Nutrient Flow

Along with the energy flow through the ecosystem is the nutrient flow. Plants use inorganic nutrients, while animals cannot make proteins and DNA using inorganic nutrients. Therefore they have to feed on organisms of lower trophic levels or dead organic matter. Eventually, bacteria and fungi return nutrients back to the inorganic forms so that plants can use them again. Several terms are used for breaking down organic matter and converting them back to inorganic matter. decay of organic matter aka decomposition of organic matter aka mineralization of organic matter. Plants take inorganic nutrients; nitrogen in the form of NO3- or NH4+; or phosphorous in the form of POa3-; they make these inorganic minerals into organic nutrients for animals to consumer With each trophic level, nutrients are used by animals that feed on plants or animals of lower trophic levels After plants and animals die, microbial organisms use the energy still stored in organic matter and in the meantime mineralize nutrients back to inorganic matter Plants are capable of converting inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous into organic matter for eating

What is the connection between clay's settling velocity and abyssal clay found at the middle of ocean basins?

As a result, coarse particles deposit closer to the shore than fine particles.

Prokaryotic

Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic

C- 14 Decay

C-14 Decay: C14 spontaneously decays to Nitrogen 14 Nitrogen 14 is the most abundant isotope in the atmosphere, so the solution is to use the C14/C12 ratio to determine time C12 is stable and is predictable,

Cambrian explosion

Cambrian Explosion: NOT a major explosion Trilobites: used to be in the very successful (ocean animals) Ediacaran Fauna: 570-543 million years ago Very diverse Burgess Shale: there are animals that are so bizarre that they have to be given their own classification because they are so unlike whatever we have still They have no clear signs of ancestral linkage to any surviving group

C - 14 Dating

Carbon 14 Dating: allows you to date something that old using half lives Carbon 14 is inside the rock; C-14 is constantly produced in the upper atmosphere; Bombarding with nitrogen → causes nitrogen to lose a proton and gain a neutron causes it to become C14 (has 8 neutrons; compared to normal 6 neutrons in regular carbon) Half life: 5730 years C-14 combines with O2 and forms 14CO2

cold seep community

Cold seep is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and methane (CH4) and other hydrocarbons rich in fluid seepage occurs -- often in the form of a brine pool Energy source is the S oxidation and methane oxidation Animals incl: tube worms, clams Very stable environment

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs come in many form; coral animals construct reefs by secreting hard skeletons of calcium carbonate Mostly in the low latitudes; normal salinity levels Coral polyp: the animal that lives in the skeleton Need to live in shallow water for photosynthesis Eating methods: using the tentacles Coral polyps have symbiotic relationship with the zooxanthellae Zooxanthellae are single celled animals Coral have solid protected environment in the zooxanthellae; the coral helps filter to allow the skeleton to build Mensen filament materials: the guts digest food out of the cavity to eat other corals to create more living space for itself; have a really productive ecosystem

depositional coasts

Depositional coasts: where coasts are steadily growing because of predominant flux and transports of materials in Sediment supply is generally from rivers, Generally very stable beaches Compartments form because: rivers supply sediment, then the longshore transport moves sand, and finally the offshore canyons is where sand is drained away from the beach Within each compartment, the beach is narrow in the north and widens at the south because south is where it accumulates Marked by the presence of river deltas; but it changes overtime; but because we don't want direction to change because of existing deltas, so build levies

diatoms

Diatoms: Diatoms single cell eukarya; does photosynthesis; lives inside its silicon shell It is a yellow green single cell algae which is found in freshwater and in sea water Very efficient energy converters: 55% of solar energy can be converted Diatoms store energy as fatty acids and oils Shells can form porous and light shells

removal of ocean salts: evaporation

Dissolve salts precipitate out of water -- These forms evaporates

Ecological Efficiency

Ecological efficiency: : a measure of the efficiency of the energy transfer from one trophic level to the next level, often is expressed as a percent (can sometimes be less than 10%) Ex: ecological efficiency from grass to cow: 5% how much primary production do you consume when you eat a .5 lb burger → To solve: 20 * 20 * 0.5 Rule of thumb, it is more energy favorable to consumer lower trophic levels rather than higher Ie eating sardines is more efficient than tuna

Eukarya

Eucarya: 4 categories 1. Fungi: mushroom like, responsible for decomposition; multi cell consumers 2. Complex animals: multi cell consumers 3. Complex plants: multi-primary producers 4. Complex many cell organisms with nucleus: both consumer and producer

Eukarya

Eukarya are eukaryotic.

factors affecting erosion

Hardness/resistance of the rocks. For example, granite is difficult to erode. Erosion rate: about mm/year; Limestone is easy to erode. Erosion rate: up to meters per year. Wave action. Higher energy environment, coast of Maine; Lower energy environment, Gulf of Mexico. Tidal range. Small tidal range can cause high erosion rate due to the concentrated wave action on a small vertical range of the coastal rock. Frequency and size of storms. Vegetation. Longshore transport

removal of ocean salts: hydrothermal systems

Hydrothermal systems - important for Mg. Understand this in the broader context of plate tectonics, and its control on ocean chemistry. Exchange in hydrothermal circulation systems; important sink for magnesium Magnesium problem: before 1977; the input of Mg into oceans was 2x as the estimated output; BUT since the discovery of deep sea hydrothermal vents, it is know known that up to 50% of river input Mg is removed by vent circulation

sources of the ocean salts: excess volatiles

Importance source of Cl, CO2 and other volatiles. This makes the ocean different from salt lakes on land that do not obtain these volatiles from volcanisms. One of the important missing components which is missing in freshwater is chloride; rivers have low concentrations of Chloride Chloride produced by volcanic eruptions from underwater volcanoes or from the MOR Outgassing: The process of releasing volatile elements form the mantle

Kingdom Protistsa

Kingdom Protista (single-celled eukaryotic organisms). 1. Diatoms 2. Radiolarians 3; coccolithophores (coccoliths) 4.foraminifera (forams) belong to this kingdom.

Environmental parameters affecting marine life: nutrients

NISP: Nitrogen, silicon, iron, phosphorous As animals die in the ocean they sink and the decomposing nutrients is no longer in the photic zone -- The photic zone is very limited in nutrients because everything is being used for photosynthesis But the lower levels have high nutrient levels because this is where dead animals are dying and decomposing, thus releasing nutrients -- This is why upwelling is very important Nutrients relating to thermohaline circulation: Older water contains more nutrients than younger water, this is because it has more time for it to receive and allow the organic matter to decay So consider the thermohaline conveyor of water, so the oldest water in the pacific will have the highest nutrients Low nutrients, means high oxygen; high nutrients means low oxygen → all because of respiration Factors affecting nutrient supply: - Upwelling & downwelling: upwelling brings nutrients from the bottom up to the surface to promote biological activity High upwelling zones in the equator; Subtropical gyres are so low in nutrients because downwelling due to Ekman spiral Divergence means deep water comes up, so subpolar has high nutrients && When there is density mixing, brings up nutrients

Carbon cycle sources & sinks: photosynthesis & respiration

Photosynthesis & respiration SHORT RUN CYCLE approx 100 gt/ year CO2 + H2O CH2O + O2 100 gigatons per year (1/7 of avg annual)

sources of sediment: weathering

Physical weathering - breaking down rocks into smaller pieces without changing its chemical composition. Chemical weathering - chemical decomposition of rocks and their minerals through direct contact with the earth's atmosphere and water. One important reaction of chemical weathering is reaction with weak carbonic acid formed by dissolution of CO2 in water. Through geological history this is an important process for atmospheric carbon balance.

radiolarians

Radiolarians: single cell eukarya; silica hardshell; adapt to water temp -- Can be used to study climate change

Carbon cycle sources & sinks: ocean - atmosphere exchange

SHORT RUN CYCLE approx 100 gt/ year large fluxes. You need to know how atmosphere exchange occurs and how it is linked to physical and biological processes. Ocean contains 50-60x more carbon than atmosphere Changes to oceans can significantly affect the atmosphere However, most carbon is located in the deep ocean with limited exchange with the surface ocean Flux for ocean - atmosphere exchange: 100gt/year Remember that gasses have higher solubility in cold water than in warm water -- this applies to CO2 Ie higher CO2 in polar regions because colder water Lower CO2 at the equator because of upwelling Deep water has higher CO2 because: Biological pump: bacteria respires and produces CO2, which causes deep water having more time to produce CO2 has higher compensation Ocean circulation Thermohaline circulation is the engine for exchange between ocean & atmosphere Upwelling moves deep water to the surface causing CO2 to escape

4 factors determining sediment distribution

Source dilution production destruction

sediment distribution: destruction

So, in general cold water with high dissolved CO2, which is corrosive to CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)-- so in these environments, organisms with silica shells have a competitive edge against those with carbon shells; meaning that there will be high concentrations of siliceous diatom ooze because they are destroyed more easily (see dark green in map) Because these carbon shells are more resistant to corrosion, they can therefore reach the bottom floor, causing high concentrations of the silica ooze in the productive polar regions and productive equator If survive the surface then reach the bottom; hence why there is silica ooze in the CCD does not apply to salacious ooze -- the formation of salacious ooze is ALL due to the high concentration of Co2

removal of ocean salts: removal by bacteria

Sulfate reduction bacteria that turn SO42- (sulfate) to S2-. (sulfide). Sulfides are much less soluble than sulfate and so they precipitate into the sediments of seafloor. On land S2- (sulfide) is oxidized by oxygen in air and turns back to SO42- (sulfate) which is then carried into the ocean by rivers. Imagine what would have happened before life existed. There was no oxygen and no sulfate reduction bacteria.

sources of ocean salts: river

The concept of chemical weathering - chemically breakdown of rocks Important reactions of chemical weathering - reactions of rocks with carbonic acid. Consequences of chemical weathering 1. producing dissolved constituents which become one of the sources of marine salts. 2. drawing CO2 and affects the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, and thus affects the earth's climate.

Calcite Compensation Depth (CCD)

The depth at which the amount of calcite CaCO3 produced by the organisms in the overlying water column is equal to the amount of calcite the water column can dissolve. No calcite deposition occurs below this depth, which, in most parts of the ocean, is at a depth of 4500 meters (15,000 feet). the lower the CCD: the shallower the depth: SOO So the Pacific < Indian< Atlantic because of deep circulation, meaning that N Atlantic is youngest water, so by the time it is the oldest, the water will have the highest concentration of CaCO3; the older the water, the shallowest CCD the older the water the shallower the CCD, because most nutrients

hydrothermal vent communities

The reaction in the hydrothermal vents as in photosynthesis, but different energy source. The reaction is done inside bacteria and archaea which forms the lowest trophic level of the vent community Tubeworms are part of the hydrothermal vent community; the worms provide food for them via chemosynthesis -- tubeworms and the vents are a symbiotic relationship Vets are very fast growing community

classification of marine environment: location

You need to know the coast environments that are influenced by tidal changes.

coastlines

a line along the cliff that marks the highest points affected by wave action.

Cyanobacteria

a prokaryotic cell; can live as single cell or in a colony; they are responsible for putting oxygen in atmosphere They change local pH in water They form stromatolites: the geology record of cyanobacteria Photosynthesis takes dissolved CO2 in the water causing local alkaline (high pH) conditions. This promotes the precipitation of carbonates such as calcite forming limestone

beach

a sediment deposit of the shore area.

Faunal Succession

as animals evolve they become more complex

Residence time: biogeochemical cycles

biogeochemical cycles: how long the chemical ingredients stay in the ocean

removal of ocean salts: organic carbon burial

biological removal as organic matter -- Two important factors control the rate of organic matter burial Biological productivity and Availability of oxygen. Controls for organic material: related to supply of oxygen in the deep ocean Oxygen is important for destruction; so deep water with fast flushing means it is very oxidized Think about what controls the biological productivity and amount of dissolved oxygen, and make sure that you understand how biological and physical conditions affect formation of black shales.

Trophic Levels

bottom of the food chain -- the primary producers

Secondary Consumers

carnivores eat other animals

erosional coasts

common ones are Northern California or Northern New England - 70% of coasts in US

Prokaryotes

do NOT have a nucleus, no membrane bound organelles -- far smaller bacteria & archaea

removal of ocean salts: Biological removal of mineral matter

example of organisms that remove carbonates (e.g., CaCO3) and silica (SiO2) Biological removal of mineral matter: Silica and calcium carbonate contain hard parts of living organisms that drift slowly down to the seabed and deposit as sediments. Some of these sediments are removed from the ocean and drawn into the mantle subduction zones by cycling of lithospheric plates This is why it's important to know what animal shells are made of (ex silicon vs carbon shells)

Zoo Plankton

floating animals. -- heterotrophs foraminifera radiolarians copepods krill

Food Chain

food chain, who eats who, those on the top are those who eat everyone else But complex and more of a web; non linear

cosmogenous sediment

fragments of meteorites Rained down all over the world, but do not see them very often in concentrations

lithogenous material

fragments of rocks from terrestrial sources -- is this related to the term lithosphere & rocks

major categories of rocks

gravel: biggest, lowest settling time sand: medium, medium settling time (ie days) silt and clay: most fine, LONG settling time (ie years)

Eukaryotes

have a nucleus or many other membrane bound organelles eukarya

angular unconformity

horizontal rock, gets tilted and then horizontal rock falls on top of it → can be caused by multiple things Typically is not super well preserved

sediment distribution: source

ie lithogenous material comes from the land, so therefore it is abundant in the continental margins

sediment distribution: dilution

ie: not a lot of ooze in the continental margins although it is high in biological productivity because it is diluted by the large amounts of lithogenous material

Taxonomic Classification

largest to small Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genius, species

3 classification of marine environment:

light behavior location

Environmental parameters affecting marine life:

light nutrients temperature tides primary proudction other

jetties and groins

low walls extending seaward from the shoreline, constructed to protect harbor and channels from deposition or to protect beaches from erosion

sources of sediment: transport

movement of sediment, rock and soil particles by wind, water, glaciers, currents, etc.

Heterotrophs

obtain energy from consuming organic matter

Respiration

organic matter + O2 --> CO2+H2O the reverse reaction of photosynthesis. As respiration occurs, the chemical energy is used and transferred to other organisms and eventually turns to heat. All life respires. This applies to plants themselves, animals of all trophic levels, and bacteria and fungi that also use the energy stored in organic matter.

original horizontality

original horizontality: Horizontality: most sediments deposited at a relatively flat basin, to they are organized in horizontal layers

Benthic vs pelagic

pelagic: living in the water column - affected by light the high level of biological productivity benthic: bottom creatures; living on the ocean floor

3 Sources of the Ocean salts

river excess volatiles recycled salts

regression

sea level decline: so in your sediment core you see that the younger material is the coarse stuff on top and the older material on the bottom is the fine stuff

transgression

sea level increase; in your sediment core you see that the older material is the coarse stuff at bottom, but newer stuff on top is fine material

Autotrophs

self feeders; convert solar or chemical energy to produce their own food in the form of carbon energy

Dinoflagellates

slightly bigger, they can be plants or animals; they are single celled autotrophs, done have hard mineral matter body like diatoms They can cause red tide when they are abundant

Carbon cycle sources & sinks: chemical weathering & volcanism

small fluxes but important for geological history. Chemical weathering and volcanism (plate tectonics) & Volcanism: release CO2 as excess volatiles Chemical weathering: takes CO2 and erodes rocks and transports them to the ocean where they sink to the floor and are then subducted and eventually emitted as vulcanism again -- thus cyclical Involves a flux that is 0.1gigaton of carbon/year When talking about geological processes this is important, but when talking about climate change you can ignore the long term carbon cycle

sources of the ocean salts: recycled salts

some salts are recycled -- cruising waves send small water droplets into the atmosphere and then they (may be dried up and) and carried into the land by the wind. Rivers carry them back to the ocean

super position

superposition if you look at the position, the oldest has to be on the bottom, and the youngest is on the top

swash vs backwash

swash: when breaking waves towards the beach backwash: when the water moves away

5 major extinctions

tertiary, jurassic, triassic, carboniferous, silurian

coast

the area landward from the coastline.

classification of marine environment: behavior

the concept of pelagic, benthic, plankton, nekton. Pelagic: suspended within the ocean Benthic: living on the seafloor Plankton: passive swimmers Nekton: active swimmers

classification of marine environment: light

the concept of photic and aphotic zones. Euphotic zone: (eu = good) the upper part of the photic zone where there is sufficient light for plant production by photosynthesis to exceed loss of carbohydrates through respiration Disphotic zone (dys = difficult) the zone where animals can see but not good enough for productive photosynthesis Aphotic zone: no light; have to use chemosynthesis

grain settling velocity

the greater (and the denser) the grain size of a particle, the higher the velocity at which it settles (sinking to the bottom). Clay sized particles can remain suspended for 50 years.

shore

the zone lies between the lowest tide level and the coastline.

Archaea

these are simple life forms with some genetic characteristics of Eukarya and Bacteria; often found in extreme environments;

Bacteria

these are single cells without a nucleus; they are basis for life

coccolithophores

tiny single celled photosynthesizing organism which is covered with discs of calcium carbonate in the Kingdom Protista -- eukaryotic They make the white cliffs of Dover

seawalls

walls built parallel to the coast to block waves before they hit the shore