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The Caribbean Sea by Kyle Evans for Oak Ridge Oceanography
- 1. The Caribbean Sea By Kyle Evans
- 2. The Caribbean Sea ● A.k.a the West Indies ● Extension of the Atlantic Ocean ● Named after the Caribs, an indigenous group who lived in the Lesser Antilles ● More than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays ● Naturally and ethnically diverse ● Several gulfs ● Sits on the Caribbean plate
- 4. Oceanography - Temperature ● Hydrology → the movement, distribution, and management of water. ○ High level of homogeneity (unchanging) throughout the Caribbean sea ● Only 3 phases in the past 50 years - all associated with El Nino and La Nina ○ Cooling until 1974 ○ Cool state until 1986 ○ Warming state until present (0.6 C increase per year) ● Temperature increase propagated by climate change
- 5. Oceanography - Currents ● North Equatorial Current enters from east. ● Caribbean trade winds blow north, creating an upwelling near Yucatan. ● Depth and temperature similar to all the Atlantic
- 6. Geology
- 7. Geology - island arcs ● The east side of the Caribbean plate is a subduction zone, creating several volcano islands which form the Lower Antilles and the Virgin Islands ● Includes Mount Pelee, The Quill, and La Soufriere. ● The larger, northern islands are on an older island arc. Virgin Islands Lower Antilles
- 8. Geology - Seafloor ● Red Clay Sediments on seafloor ● Calcareous silts on continental slopes and ridges ● Divided into 5 basins ● Cayman Trough is the deepest point at 7,686m of depth ● Puerto Rico Trench and Cayman Trench incite earthquakes
- 10. Flora ● Although it has a tropical climate, the topography, soil, and climate conditions permit unique species diversity. ● 13,000 Species of plants (6,500 are endemic) ● Coconuts, black mangrove, red mangrove ● Flora concentrated around Coral Reefs (without bleaching) ● Lots of seagrasses Lignum Vitae
- 11. Fauna ● ~1000 documented species of fish ● ~90 species of mammals (including whales) ● ~500 species of reptile (94% are endemic) ● ~170 species of amphibian ● ~660 species of bird
- 12. Geography
- 13. Countries ● Mainland ○ Belize ○ Bay Island Departments of Honduras ○ Nicaragua ○ Limon Province of Costa Rica ○ Colon Province of Panama ○ Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, Colombia ○ Guyana ○ French Guiana ○ Suriname
- 14. Countries ● Islands ○ The Bahamas ○ Turks and Caicos ○ Cuba ○ Haiti ○ Dominican Republic ○ Puerto Rico ○ Virgin Islands ● Martinique ● Trinidad and Tobago ● Guadalupe ● Anguilla ● Jamaica ● The Caymans
- 15. Divisions of Regions Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Lucayan Archipelago Windward Islands Leeward Antilles
- 16. Environmentalism
- 17. Pollution ● The Pan American Health Organization estimated in 1993 that only about 10% of the sewage from the Central American and Caribbean Island countries is properly treated before being released into the sea ● the Caribbean Sea is the second most polluted sea. Pollution (in the form of up to 300,000 tonnes of solid garbage dumped into the Caribbean Sea each year) is progressively endangering marine ecosystems, wiping out species, and harming the livelihoods of the local people, which is primarily reliant on tourism and fishing.
- 18. Preservation Efforts ● A Protocol of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region ○ protect the various endangered marine life of the Caribbean through forbidding human activities that would advance the continued destruction of such marine life in various areas ● Caribbean Conservation Corporation seeks to study and protect sea turtles while educating others about them.
- 19. Elections!
- 20. T-Shirts? LMK
- 22. IMPORTANT!!
- 24. Thanks for Coming! Google Classroom code: zh432cd Remind code: @oceans24