Virginia SOL OC.3

What students need to be able to do

• Explain how the properties of seawater (pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, density, and salinity) affect biodiversity in ocean ecosystems.
• Plan and conduct an investigation to determine how salinity affects density of water.
• Make, support, and evaluate a claim about the relationship between the density and depth of seawater.
• Explain how the relationships among temperature, density, depth, and salinity can be used to predict effects on ocean currents.
• Explain how the properties of the thermocline, halocline, and pycnocline create distinct ecosystems.
• Describe the variation of the transmission of light through zones of the ocean and determine biological adaptations that allow organisms to survive within each zone.
• Analyze data to understand the relationship among dissolved gases, temperature, and pressure with increasing depth and effects on marine life.
• Develop and use a model to explain thermohaline circulation and the effect on ecosystems.
• Plan and conduct an investigation that demonstrates the ocean's capacity to serve as a buffer and predict the effects of changing pH levels on marine ecosystems.