This slow (but large) flow of water is driven by density differences in large water masses

This color of light travels deepest in the oceans, contributing to the color of the ocean

the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

this type of survivorship curve describes populations that have relatively low mortality rates for most of their life, but mortality begins to increase exponentially at very old ages.

This ocean is growing in width by about 5 cm per year due to seafloor spreading at the mid ocean ridge.

The persistent and large scale wind patterns consistently found in latitudinal bands, driven by variations in solar radiation

The lit upper layer of the ocean where photosynthesis occurs

A group of an assemblage of organisms of more than 1 species interacting in a specific habitat or area.

This is the typical maximum size of a population based on limited resources, reproduction rates, and causes of mortality

The average depth of the oceans

This lower layer of our atmosphere, containing trees, mountains, weather and life, is thickest closest to the equator due to strong uplifting of warm humid air.

this is the name for the zone of rapidly changing temperature with depth in the ocean

The name for organisms, including bacteria, fungi and some invertebrates, capable of decomposing organic matter

These species tend to have high reproductive rates and follow "boom" or "bust" changes in population size.

The source of dissolved ions and nutrients in the ocean.

The clockwise swirling ocean currents in the Northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the counterclockwise swirling ocean currents

The zone of minimum sound velocity below the thermocline due to the pairing of decreasing temperature with depth in the ocean and increasing pressure/density with depth

The name for an organism at the top of the trophic pyramid. in marine environments these are often quaternary consumers, while terrestrial ecosystems generally max out at tertiary.

a symbiotic relationship between 2 species where one species benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed.

The percent of the biosphere that is found in the oceans.

This results in the deflection of surface winds clockwise (perceived to the right in the path of the wind) in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise (left) in the Southern Hemisphere

The zone near the bottom of the photic zone where consumption and decomposition are at their maximum.

A special group of organisms capable of producing high energy carbon compounds in the absence of solar energy.

also known as the ecological species concept, the idea that 2 species cannot occupy the exact same niche (in the same ecosystem) at the same time.

This is the scientific term for a "king tide", or spring tide that co-occurs with the moon's closest point to earth on its elliptical orbit.