Coastal Zone A. DEFINITIONS a.

Coastal Zone: A strip of land of indefinite width that extends inland from the low tide line to the first major change in landform features b. Shore: Place where ocean meets land. On natural charts, the limit of high tides c. Coast: Zone extending from the ocean inland as far as the environment is immediately affected by marine processes d. Continental Shelf: Gradually sloping submerged extension of a continent, composed of granitic rock overlain by sediments; has features similar to the edge of the nearby continent B. TYPES OF COASTS a. Emergent: land rising relative to sea level; tend to be erosional, in which shoreline moves landward i. Relatively straight shoreline with marine terraces, rocky headlines, and beach cliffs ii. Beaches are small and poorly developed; pocket beaches iii. Sea stacks, arches, tombolo (sand bar connecting mainland with an island) iv. Geologically young sediments (coarse) b. Submergent: land sinking relative to sea level; tend to be depositional in which shoreline moves seaward i. Irregular, incised shoreline with a flat, extensive coastal plain and well developed beaches; geologically old sediment (sand) ii. Numerous bays, estuaries, lagoons iii. Barrier islands, sea islands, inlets, drowned river valleys iv. Salt marshes, mangroves, wetlands v. Chenier plains, spits, dunes, maritime forest c. Tectonically Active i. Characterized by narrow shelves, steep continental slope, no continental rise, and coastal mountain ranges

ii. Trenches, island arcs, volcanoes, earthquakes d. Tectonically Passive i. Characterized by wide continental shelves and coastal plains with a gentle continental slope and well developed rise ii. Trenches, volcanoes, earthquakes C. CHARACTERISTICS OF COASTAL ZONE CONTROLLED BY: a. Waves, tides, and tidal currents provide energy for sediment dynamics in the coastal zone, such as deposition and erosion b. Sediment Dynamics i. Erosional: shoreline moves inward 1. Geographically young sediment that is coarse ii. Depositional: shoreline moves seaward 1. Geographically old sediment that is mostly sand c. Tectonics i. Active (leading-edge coasts) ii. Passive (trailing-edge coasts) D. THREE MAIN FEATURES OF COASTAL ZONE a. Beaches and Barrier Islands i. Long-shore Currents: Current running parallel to shore in surf zone, caused by incomplete refraction of waves approaching the beach at an angle ii. Rip Currents: Strong, narrow surface current that flows seaward through the surf zone and is caused by the escape of excess water that has piled up in a Longshore trough iii. Summer Beach - Swash dominated iv. Winter Beach Backwash dominated
Summer Winter

Berm/long- shore bar Berm grows and long-shore bars shrink Longshore bars grow and berm shrinks Wave energy Low; small waves High; large waves Beach Face Steep Flat Characteristics Sandy, wide berm Coarser grained, thin berm; rocky

v. Shoreline Stabilization: decrease or stop erosion 1. Groins and Groin Fields: designed to trap sand on beach 2. Jetties: protect harbor entrances and inlets 3. Breakwaters: parallel to shore beyond surf zone 4. Seawalls: parallel to shore at the berm 5. Sandbags: parallel to shore on beach or surf zone vi. Sea Level Rise 1. Natural process related to astronomical cycles and glacial-interglacial periods 2. Primary reason for coastal erosion 3. Thermal expansion of water accounts for 80% of sea level rise b. Estuary i. Body of water partially surrounded by land where freshwater from a river mixes with ocean water, creating an area of biological productivity ii. Physiographic Types 1. Coastal Plain Estuary (Ria) - former river valley now flooded with seawater 2. Fjord former glaciated valley now flooded with seawater 3. Bar Built Estuary lagoon separated from ocean by sand bar or barrier island 4. Tectonic Estuary faulted or folded down dropped area now flooded with ocean iii. Classification by Salinity Gradient: 1. Vertically mixed a. Shallow, low volume b. No vertical salinity gradient 2. Slightly Stratified a. Deeper

b. Upper layer less salty; lower layer more salty c. Estuarine circulation 3. Highly Stratified a. Deep, relatively strong halocline b. Vertical gradient 4. Salt Wedge a. Deep, high volume b. Very strong halocline; well developed vertical gradient c. Deltas i. Deposit of sediments found at river mouth, sometimes triangular in shape ii. Three End Member Types 1. Wave Dominated (Classic or Niletype) relatively symmetrical with smooth seaward edge; low discharge, large waves and tides 2. River Dominated (Lobate or Birds Foot) - asymmetrical; irregular seaward edge; high river discharge, small waves and tides; Mississippi 3. Tide Dominated (Ganges) relatively symmetrical with irregular seaward edge; Tide dominated, large tides, small waves, large river E. COASTAL EROSION AND SHORELINE RETREAT a. Sea level rise (see above) b. Shoreline Stabilization i. Hard Stabilization: hard structures built to decrease or stop erosion ii. Renourishment: sand added to beach iii. Relocation

Biological Oceanography A. BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR LIFE a. Space the marine environment b. Energy from sun or food; absorbed or ingested c. Nutrients from environment or food; absorbed or ingested The Marine Environment A. HABITAT CLASSIFICATION a. Pelagic Realm: Water column from high tide line to deepest parts of ocean i. Neritic zone: open water near shore that is above the continental shelf (<200m) (horizontal zone) ii. Oceanic zone: open water away from shore past continental shelf (horizontal zone) 1. Epipelagic: lighted, or photic, zone in ocean (0-200m) 2. Mesopelagic: 200-1000m 3. Bathypelagic: 1000-4000m 4. Abyssopelagic: >4000m b. Benthic Realm: zone of ocean bottom {combine vertical & horizontal) i. Supralittoral: splash zone above the high tide line; not technically part of the ocean bottom ii. Littoral: portion of the coast covered and uncovered by tidal action; the intertidal zone (above water at low tide, underwater at high tide) iii. Sublittoral: (aka subneretic) ocean floor near shore. The inner sublittoral extends from littoral zone to depth at which wind waves have no influence; the outer sublittoral extends to edge of the continental shelf (low tide line to edge of shelf <200m) iv. Bathyal: ocean between 200 4000m v. Abyssal: ocean between 4000 5000m vi. Hadal: deepest zone in ocean, depth below 5000m B. DEFINITIONS

a. Environment: total set of physical, chem, and bio conditions in organisms surroundings b. Niche: description of an organisms functional role in a habitat; its job c. Tolerance: conditions under which an organism can survive d. Optimum: conditions under which an organism can grow or reproduce e. Eurythermal Zone: upper layer of water, where temperature changes with the seasons (Eury =wide tolerance) f. Stenohaline: describing an organism unable to tolerate a wide range of salinity (Steno=narrow tolerance) g. Abundance: (=biomass) amount of total number of individuals; total body weight h. Diversity: number of different kinds C. DISTRIBUTION a. Latitudinal bands i. Tropical: 0 20 ii. Subtropical: 20 30 iii. Temperate: 30 60 iv. Subpolar: 60 75 v. Polar: 75 90 b. Currents c. Nutrients D. BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION a. Five Kingdoms [MPFPA] i. Monera: simplest organisms, single-celled; prokaryotes (cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, archaea) ii. Protoctista: single and multi-celled with nucleus; eukaryotes (algae, protozoa) iii. Fungi: (mold, lichen) iv. Plantae: multi-celled photosynthetic plants (mangrove, grass) v. Animalia: multi-celled animals (simple sponges to complex vertebrates)

b. Classification Hierarchy i. Kingdom ii. Phylum iii. Class iv. Order v. Family vi. Genus vii. Species: fundamental unit; population of genetically similar, interbreeding individuals E. LIFE HABITAT CLASSIFICATION: a. Pelagic: live in water column i. Planktonic: float ii. Nektonic: active swimmers b. Benthic: live on or in bottom i. Epifaunal: (mobile or sessile) on surface of bottom ii. Infaunal: below surface, in the bottom c. Nektobentho: swim and crawl through water above or on seafloor; closely tied to bottom F. FEEDING TYPE CLASSIFICATION a. Filter feeders/suspension feeders b. Predation c. Swallowers (Deposit feeders) G. SIZE CLASSIFICATION a. Microbenthos: less than 100 microns b. Meiobenthos: 100 1000 microns c. Macrobenthos: larger than 1mm H. DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE; DISTRIBUTION a. Horizontal: basic pole to tropics pattern b. Vertical: onshore to offshore patterns

Productivity and Food Chains A. NUTRIENTS a. Basic elements for life: C, H, O, N, P b. Supply controlled by: i. Proximity to land ii. Upwelling, regional oceanography iii. Depth c. Liebigs Law: The growth of an organism or population is limited by the availability of the least abundant nutrient B. ENERGY a. Most energy comes from sun (light and heat) b. Thermal and Chemical Energy: derived from hydrothermal vents and cold sweeps mostly in the deep sea C. PHOTOSYNTHESIS a. 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 b. C6H12O6: Simple organic molecule glucose c. Photosynthesis: process by which Autotrophs bind light energy into chemical bonds of food with the aid of chlorophyll and other substances. The process of carbon dioxide and water as raw materials and yields glucose and oxygen D. STANDARD PLANKTON EQUATION a. 106CO2 + 122H2O + 16HNO3 + H3PO4 [(CH2O)106(NH3)16(H3PO4)] + 138O2 b. Add nitrates and phosphates to the basic photosynthetic reaction to produce body material c. In the green is the basic phytoplanktonic organism, everything is inorganic nutrients d. When reaction moves right (second part) i. Photosynthesis occurs ii. Phytoplankton fix carbon into complex organic molecules which stores nutrients and energy

iii. Nutrients are used and oxygen is produced iv. Moves right in surface, mixed layer of the ocean, upper 100200m e. When reaction moves left (first part) i. Respiration/mineralization occurs ii. Bacteria decomposes (oxidize) dead organic material producing inorganic nutrients iii. Nutrients are produced and oxygen is used iv. Moves left in thermocline layer, producing the oxygen minimum zone E. FOOD CHAINS a. When an organism feeds, where do energy and nutrients go? i. Portion goes to maintenance of existing biomass; lost system referred to as entropy ii. Portion goes to growth and reproduction, or productivity b. Trophic Levels: Feeding step within a trophic pyramid; feeding levels; i. Primary producers (Autotrophs) are the first trophic level, and consumers (heterotrophs) are in higher trophic levels F. PRODUCTIVITY a. Productivity: total amount of new body material created in a standing crop per unit area per unit time i. Example: grams/m2/year b. Standing Crop: biomass per unit area at any given instead c. Efficiency: how well energy is transferred through the food chain from one trophic level to another, always less than 1 i. Amount of energy (biomass) extracted from a trophic level divided by the amount of energy (biomass) supplied to that level (extracted/supplied) ii. Ranges from 5% - 40%, average 10% d. P = B*En Productivity = (productivity in first trophic level) (efficiency) number of trophic levels above first to organism of interest

G. THREE MARINE FOOD CHAINS a. Oceanic: i. Low efficiency (10%) ii. Low productivity iii. Five trophic levels b. Continental Shelf: i. Higher efficiency (15%) ii. Higher productivity iii. 3.5 4 levels c. Upwelled: i. Very high efficiency (20%) ii. Very high productivity iii. 2-3 levels Plankton A. DEFINITION: Floaters; organisms that cannot maintain their position against normal ocean currents a. Types based on life cycle i. Holoplankton: permanent members of plankton community (diatoms, copepods, krill, jellyfish) ii. Meroplankton: spends part of lifecycle as plankton (juvenile or larval stages of many larger organisms) (starfish, crab and lobster larvae, squid) iii. Tychoplankton (Tychopelagic): accidental plankton b. Size Categories i. Picoplankton/Ultraplankton: less than 2 microns
1. Bacterioplankton, virioplankton

ii. Nannoplankton: 2 20 micrometers

1. Phytoplankton, holoplankton

iii. Microplankton: 20 200 micrometers

1. Phytoplankton, zooplankton

iv. Macroplankton: 200 2000 micrometers

1.

Zooplankton, meroplankton

v. Megaplankton: greater than 2mm (2000 micrometers)

1. Jellyfish, sargassum

c. Quasi Taxonomic Categories i. Virioplankton viruses ii. Bacterioplankton bacteria iii. Phytoplankton: Plant-like, usually single-celled 1. Kingdom protista and autotrophic synthesizers iv. Zooplankton: Animal members of the plankton community 1. Protists, most all phyla of kingdom Animalia d. Adaptations i. Most important: To stay afloat and resist sinking 1. Achieved by reducing density and increasing drag (friction) ii. Decrease Modifications 1. Density by incorporating air bubbles or oil droplets in bodies 2. Most unmodified plankton organisms are denser than seawater because of shells, higher density of cell sap and large organic molecules iii. Drag Modification 1. Controlled by density and viscosity of seawater, which depend on temperature 2. Surface area to volume ratio: (SATV%) depends on side and shape, including number and size of appendages a. As SATV% increases, drag increases b. SATV% can increase by decreasing size, changing shape (flattening or elongating), adding appendages 3. Changing shape: unmodified, unsupported cytoplasm dropped in seawater will form a sphere

a. Sphere has lowest SATV% of any shape (bad) b. Plankton adopt cylindrical, discoid, rod-shaped, or colonial forms to increase frictional drag c. Also grow spines and appendages Nekton A. DEFINITION: Swimmers; organisms that can maintain a position against normal ocean currents B. TYPICALLY CHARACTIZED BY: a. Complex life cycles b. Complex migration patterns C. TWO TYPES a. Pelagic i. Neritic salmon, herring, anchovy, sea bass, sea trout, mackerel, sharks ii. Shallow oceanic tuna, marlin, sharks iii. Deep oceanic lantern fish, anglerfish b. Demersal or Benthic (bottom fish) i. Flounder, cod, halibut, sturgeon, grouper, skates and rays D. SWIMMING BEHAVIOR a. Tail Fin Types i. Rounded Caudal fins: flexible, maneuver at slow speed ii. Truncate and Forked Fins: useful for both maneuvering and thrust iii. Lunate Fins: rigid, lots of thrust for fast swimmers iv. Heterocercal Fins: asymmetrical, lift for buoyancy (shark) b. Muscle Types i. White Muscle: low myoglobin content ii. Red Muscle: high myoglobin content c. Thermophysiology i. Most fish are coldblooded ii. Some are warmblooded (mainly fast-swimming fish; tuna)

1. Endothermic- generate internal heat by constant muscular activity 2. Homeothermic maintain body temperature above sea water temperature 3. Have a modified circulatory system iii. Thermopsychology Physiology Warm-blooded Body Temperature Homeothermic (Constant temp.) Poikilothermic (Variable temp.) Source of Heat Endothermic (Internal, metabolic) Ectothermic (External, environmental)

Cold-blooded

E. MARINE MAMMALS a. Classification i. Pinnepeds 1. Order: Carnivora 2. Prominent canine teeth; eat meat 3. Seals, sea lions, walrus ii. Sireneans 1. Order: Sirenia 2. Large body with sparse hair, vegetarians, toenails (on manatees only) 3. Manatees (tropical Atlantic), dugongs (Indian & Western Pacific), sea cows iii. Cetaceans 1. Order: Cetacea 2. Streamlined bodies and specialized skin structure (few hairs) for fast swimming, adoptions for deep diving 3. Communicate echolocation

4. Elongated (telescoped) skull with blowhole on top 5. Horizontal tail fin called a fluke 6. Whales, dolphins, porpoise a. Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) i. Echolocate (send sound through water) ii. Killer whale, sperm whale, dolphins, porpoises b. Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales) i. Rows of baleen plates instead of teeth ii. Communicate though songs iii. Blue whale, finback whale, humpback whale, gray whale iv. Odontoceti Echolation 1. Sound bounced off objects to determine size, shape, distance, internal structure v. Intelligence in Toothed Whales 1. Large brain relative to body size 2. Communicate with each other 3. Convolted brains 4. Trainable 5. Capable of emotional response vi. Deep Diving 1. Apnea: normal breathing 2. Eupnea: arrested breathing vii. Feeding 1. Baleen a. Hang as parallel rows from the upper jaw b. Made of keratin c. Are used as a strainer to capture zooplankton d. Allows baleen whales to eat krill and small fish by the ton

viii. Adaptations for Speed 1. Compressible skin, and fusiform shape (dolphins) Benthos A. DEFINITION: Organisms that live in, on, or closely associated with the ocean floor. Live at the interface between the water and the bottom, liquid-solid interface B. DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS a. More benthos beneath areas of high primary productivity in surface ocean (mainly continental shelves) b. Affected by ocean currents, as well as types and availability of benthic habitats (ex: rocky vs. muddy) C. GUILDS a. Mode of life; way of making a living; similar to niche b. Reflection of i. Where something lives (habitat) ii. What and how it eats (feeding type, trophic level) D. BENTHIC LIFE HABITS a. Epifaunal - lives on the surface of the bottom b. Infaunal - lives in bottom, below the surface c. Sessile - permanently attached, immobile d. Mobile - free and able to move around E. FEEDING TYPES a. Deposit feeder eats sediment, digests organics b. Filter feeder strains food from water column c. Grazer/Browser scrapes, nips, usually vegetation d. Scavenger collects dead organic material e. Predator captures living prey F. BENTHIC MARINE GUILD a. Filter Feeder

i. Sessile Epifaunal Filter Feeder - oysters, corals, sponges, barnacles, muscles, annelid worms, some crinoids (sea lilies), brachiopods ii. Mobile Epifaunal Filter Feeder - scallops, sand dollars, some crinoids (sea lilies) iii. Mobile Infaunal Filter Feeder - clams (Quahog), some snails b. Deposit Feeder, Scavengers Grazers i. Mobile Epifaunal Deposit Feeder/Scavenger - Crabs, shrimp, other crustaceans, brittle stars ii. Mobile Infaunal Deposit Feeder/Scavenger - nuculid clams, annelid worms iii. Mobile Epifaunal Grazers/Browsers - snails, chitons, sea urchins, fish c. Predators i. Mobile Epifaunal Predators - crabs, lobsters, starfish, octopus, Nautilus, snails, fish ii. Mobile Infaunal Predators - snails, annelid worms G. SPECIAL BENTHIC ECOSYSTEMS a. Reefs: Wave resistant structure built and maintained by organisms which projects up above the surrounding sea floor up to a position at or near sea level i. Two Types of Corals 1. Hermatypic reef building corals with symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living in the coral tissue that secrete calcium carbonate at a rate suitable for reef production a. Mutualistic Relationship: algae provides food and chemicals, corals provide nutrients and protection 2. Ahermatypic Coral species lacking symbiotic zooxanthellae and incapable of secreting calcium carbonate at a rate suitable for reef production

ii. Reef Building Requirements 1. Water Temperature >18 degrees C 2. Sunlight and clear water (for symbiotic algae) 3. Strong waves or currents (supply nutrients and food) 4. Normal salinity 5. Water depth <150 feet b. Deep Sea Benthos: i. Highly diverse (mostly in meiofauna), low abundance ii. Deep Sea Environment 1. Advantages: a. Large area where oxygen content is rather high b. A very uniform, homogeneous, stable, predictable habitat 2. Disadvantages: a. Little to no sunlight, limited food supply b. Cold, ~2oC; CaCO3 unstable c. Enormous pressure d. No protective habitats or refuges e. Limited skeletal material iii. Adaptations 1. Gigantism a. Shape change, bag of water (holothurians) b. Large appendages (sea spiders) c. Lattice work skeleton (sponges) 2. Miniaturization 3. Morphological bizarreness 4. Physiological reproductive cycles/methods Resources and Law of the Sea A. RESOURCES a. Renewable: consumed at a rate less than or equal to the rate of production

b. Non-Renewable: consumed at a rate greater than the rate of production c. Resource Types i. Biological 1. Fisheries, 2. Mariculture/aquaculture ii. Mineral 1. Metals manganese nodules, hydrothermal sulfides 2. Salts NaCl, KCl, CaSO4, CaCO3, 3. Petroleum products and natural gas 4. Non-Metallics sand, gravel, phosphates iii. Energy 1. Waves 2. Tides 3. Currents iv. Space 1. Land-fills buildable land 2. Offshore waste disposal 3. Non-Permanent wharfs and docks B. LAW OF SEA CONFERENCES a. First and Second LOS Conference i. Four Main Conventions 1. Territorial Sea and "Contiguous Zone" - Coastal state could control fishing in this zone, but still part of the high seas for any other purpose. (12 mile limit) 2. High Sea International Seabed Authority was established to over see extraction of mineral resources from the deep sea 3. Conservation and Scientific Research 4. Continental Shelf gave coastal states ownership of the seabed and subsoil of submarine areas adjacent to the

coast *beyond the territorial sea to a depth of 200 meters, or beyond that limit to which the super adjacent waters admits of the exploitation of natural resources a. *: Exploitability Clause, which lead to problems ii. Third LOS Conference (9 Main Convention, 4 important) 1. Territorial Sea - defined as 12 miles; straits 2. High Seas and Free Passage 3. Established a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 4. Established the International Seabed Authority (ISA)