Review Marine Science Essay

Describe the abyss and the food web of the abyss. * Immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void. Explain the difference between the theories of Plate tectonics and Continental drift. * Continental drift: The movement, formation, or re-formation of continents described by the theory of plate tectonics. * Plate tectonics: A theory that explains the global distribution of geological phenomena such as seismicity, volcanism, continental drift, and mountain building in terms of the formation, destruction, movement, and interaction of the earth’s lithospheric plates. Describe the 3 types of color patterns commonly found in fish. * Counter shading – The dorsal or top of the fish is darker than the bottom of the fish, making them difficult to see as they blend into the darkness of the deeper water when viewed from above or blend into the brightness of sunlit waters when viewed from below. Many predators use this form of coloration. * Cryptic – Bottom dwelling and reef fish often use chromatophores to blend in perfectly with their surroundings. Often, these fish are bottom dwellers that blend in with the stratum they rest on. Disruptive – Many fish use their coloration to form strongly contrasting patterns that break up the outline of their body making it difficult for predators to see them at all. Describe divergent, convergent and transform plate boundaries and tell what each results in. * Divergent Plate Movement (plates move away from each other)- Continental and continental, oceanic and oceanic. * Convergent Plate Movement (plates move towards each other)- Continental and Oceanic, Oceanic and Oceanic, Continental and Continental. Transform Plate Movement (plates sliding past each other)- Continental and Continental Explain the difference in planetary alignment and tidal ranges for spring and neap tides. * Neap tides represent the smallest tidal range. This occurs when the sun and moon are at right angles, partially cancelling out their gravitational pull. This reduction in gravitational pull results in a tidal range that is 10 to 30 percent less than the mean tidal range. This occurs twice during the 28-day lunar cycle, when the moon is one-quarter full. Spring tides occur when the Earth, moon and sun are in syzygy and represent the largest tidal range. Syzygy is an astronomical term used to describe the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in a straight line. It is commonly used to refer to the alignment of the Earth, sun and moon. When this occurs, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun are combined, producing the largest tidal ranges. As with the neap tide, spring tides occur twice during a lunar cycle, but at the full and dark moon.