Mariculture

The cultivation of marine organisms.

Glossary of Terms

Refers to an environment that contains little or no dissolved oxygen and hence little or no benthic marine life. These conditions often arise in deep water locations where physical circulation of seawater is limited.

Dynamic Equilibrium

A system in flux, but with influxes equal to outfluxes.

Coastal Erosion

The wearing away of coastal lands, usually by wave attack, tidal or littoral currents, or wind. Coastal erosion is synonymous with shoreline (vegetation line) retreat.

Photic Zone

The zone extending downward from the ocean surface within which the light is sufficient to sustain photosynthesis. The depth of this layer varies with water clarity, time of year and cloud clover, but is about 100m in the open ocean.

It may be considered the depth to which all light is filtered out except for about one percent and may be calculated as about two and a half-times the depth of a secchi disk reading.

Berm

A geomorphological feature usually located at mid-beach and characterized by a sharp break in slope, separating the flatter backshore from the seaward-sloping foreshore.

BOD

Biochemical (or Biological) Oxygen Demand - high figures suggest pollution or eutrophication.

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Mariculture