Polar Seas
 ______________ are the active, open water areas surrounded by ice, where
life congregates.
 Because the water is ___________________________________________
 Summer Season
o _________________________________
o _________________________________
o Upwelling is frequent due to high winds over low terrain
 Dominant phytoplankton – ________________
 Dominant zooplankton – ________________
 Short food chains yield ____________________________________________
 The number of species is low as food chains do not allow for diverse niches.
North Pole
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Winter months (Dec-Jan) of ________________________________________
Summer months (June-July) of _____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Tall jagged icebergs
Average temperatures
o Winter:
o Summer:
o Siberian record:
 Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, walrus)
 ______________________
 ______________________
South Pole
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Winter months __________________________________________________
Summer months _________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Smooth, flat ice cap
Average temperatures
o Winter:
o Summer:
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o Vostok record:
Pinnipeds
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
History of Polar Exploration
North Pole - Arctic Ocean
- _____________________reached the pole (US)
- _____________________ first to fly over North Pole
- Amundsen died in air ship rescue
- US Capt. Anderson sailed under the Arctic Ocean from Alaska to
Greenland
South Pole - Antarctica Continent
- Roald Amundsen of Norway reached the South Pole
- ______________________ reached the South Pole
- Shackleton’s ship is crushed
- Ross Shelf first Navy Base
 1955 - _____________________________ - Operation Deep Freeze
established 8 stations for research during the International Geophysical Year
 1959 - ________________________________________
 1962 - First nuclear power plant built at the South Pole
Pinnipeds
Phylum: _________________
Class: __________________
Order: _________________
Suborder: _____________________________________
Examples: (33 species) ________________________________________________
General Characteristics:
 excellent swimmers
 Thick layers of blubber to _________________________________________
 Make a barking sound
 ____________________ positioned on the snout and can close for diving.
 The largest pinniped is the _________________________________________
Pinnipeds are in 3 groups:
1. Otariidae
o _______________________________________________________
o Sea lions & fur seals
o _______________________________________________________
o Very social
o Males have huge harems of up to 100 females - they fight to control
2. Phocidae
o ________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________
o Easy prey for polar bears, killer prey because they must drag their back
fins.
o Excellent swimmers
3. Odobenidae
o walruses are found only in the _______________________________
o ________________________________________________________
o Can dive to 300 ft.
o Nearly became extinct because of human hunting for their ivory tusks
Pinniped diet:
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 Leopard seals eat penguins
Pinnipeds haul-out to:
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
Most Pinnipeds (except the walrus) are covered with dense waterproof fur that
was attractive to man.
Since the Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1972, hunting is illegal. As a result,
the shark has also experienced an increase in population because its food source is
readily available.
Otters
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_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Quickly die of hypothermia when their fur is damaged
_______________________________________________________________
90% of the worlds’ otter population lived in the coastal waters from Prince
William Sound to the Aleutian Islands
Exxon Tanker, Valdez Oil Spill
o
o Only a few hundred otters were saved.
o Dozens of orphaned otters were sent to zoos and aquaria
Otter pups can’t swim so __________________________________________
Males & females only socialize for a few days a year to __________________
Otters use tools such as rocks to ____________________________________
Fisherman sometimes shoot otters because their appetites make them a
competitor for abalone and fish.
Declining abalone population is probably more often the result of overfishing and the destruction of habitat.
Otters help control the sea urchin population, who are destroying the kelp
beds where the abalone live.
Currents
 Currents are important because they:
o ____________________________________
o ____________________________________
o ____________________________________
 Currents are caused by:
o __________________________________________________________
o Elkman transport results in movement at a 90o angle to the wind
o __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
o Continents deflect _________________________________, but no air.
Gyre Currents
 The characteristic patterns of surface water currents.
 Northern hemisphere - ____________________________________________
 Southern Hemisphere - ___________________________________________
Western Boundary Currents
 Located on the western side of oceans.
 _______________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________
 Nutrient poor, infrequent upwelling
 Lower biomass
Eastern Boundary Currents
 Located on the eastern side of the ocean
 Currents bring cold water from the poles
 _______________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________
 High biomass
Thermohaline currents
 are found on the ocean floor - “thermo”= temperature and “haline”=
salinity/density
 Water slows down below the pynocynocline (area defining water masses of
different densities) to 1-2 meters/day
Penguins
There are 18 species of penguins, who all belong to the Order Sphenisciformes,
Class Aves.
 Primary Habitat:
o __________________________________________________________
o Warm coastal areas of W. South America
o Southern Africa
o Australia
o New Zealand
o Galapagos Islands
 The Emperor Penguin is the largest at _______________________________
 The Blue Penguin is the smallest at _________________________________
 Some Penguins have yellow crest feathers like the Macaroni, rockhopper,
Royal and Fjordland.
 The _____________ is the common cartoon character with its black and
white “tuxedo”.
 Penguins __________________ and can find their mate on crowded beaches
among thousands of birds by its voice or call.
 Most penguins build nests of rocks, sticks, feathers, moss - whatever is
available to lay their eggs.
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 The King & Emperor penguins ______________________________________
 In some species, the __________ cares for the egg all winter, tucked in a
brood pouch kept 80o warmer than the temperatures outside.
 Penguins lay ____________ and a few species may raise two chicks if food
supply is good. Others only care for the second “B” egg which is larger.
 Both parents help feed the chicks by ____________________
 One warms the egg or chick while the other feeds.
 Some may go over 3 months between feeding turns.
 If the hunting mate fails to return with food, the remaining parent will be
forced by hunger to abandon the chick
Penguins eat:
o _________________
o _________________
o _________________
Penguins may be eaten by:
o _________________
o _________________
o _________________
Body Structure
 Bones are not hollow - ____________________________________________
 The Emperor can dive to___________________________________________
 Penguins _______________________________________________________
 Short wings are __________________________________________________
 Dense feathers & thick fat _________________________________________
 Skin contains 70 feathers per square inch
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They molt their _________________________________________________
Do not enter the water ___________________________
High metabolism - overheating is a problem.
______________________________________________________________
Streamlined bodies aid in fast swimming (15 mph)
They travel long distances by ________________________ or swimming like
a porpoise with jumps and plunges.
 Allows them to breathe without slowing down.
Auroras
 Aurora Borealis ___________________
 Aurora Australis ____________________
 ____________________________ escaping from holes in the sun’s corona
create ___________________. When the particles collide with the ______
____________________________ the energy of the particles is turned into
__________
 Northern Hemisphere Can be seen best above the Hudson Bay during the
equinox in March & October
 Auroras often last 20 minutes and have no regular pattern of occurrence.
 To see an aurora, the sky should be cloudless and relatively dark from ground
lights.
El Nino & La Nina
 Normally trade winds blow warm surface water toward the _____________.
 Warm water piles up in the Western Pacific about 1.5 ft. higher than the
average ocean surface due to wind and Ekman transport.
 This causes the __________________________near the surface in the
Eastern Pacific.
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 Notice the warm water in a pool in the Western Pacific Ocean
 El Nino describes unusual oceanic and atmospheric conditions.
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 Because warm water evaporates faster,
 El Nino occurs primarily in the tropical Pacific Ocean but it affects global
weather.
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
El Nino
- _______________________________________________________________
- Occurs every 3-7 years
- _______________________________________________________________
- _______________________________________________________________
- Decreases forming in N. Atlantic
La Nina
- _______________________________________________________________
- Frequency unknown
- _______________________________________________________________
- Strong trade winds