Characteristics of the Saltwater Climate

Seashores

• Seashores are where land and oceans meet. The climate of these areas vary depending on local temperatures, the intensity of waves and, most important, what type of bottoms. Where there are hard rock bottoms, large quantities of seaweed develop, sometimes even kelp forests. These make for rich habitats for many species of small to medium-size fish. Where softer sand or mud bottoms prevail, there is usually a preponderance of mollusks and invertebrates, such as clams, oysters and crustaceans.

Continental Shelfs

• The waters of continental shelf areas are shallow and warm compared to the open ocean. Nutrients in the water are enriched by inflow from rivers and by the turbulence created on the shallow bottoms by storms. These waters are biologically rich with an abundant supply of plant and animal life. Some shelf areas are further enriched by what are called upwelling, infusions of nutrient-rich deep waters that further enrich the waters. Such areas are among the most productive fishing areas in the world.

Coral Reefs

• Coral reefs are a highly specialized type of saltwater climate. They are always in shallow waters and are dominated by corals, the hard, rock-like exoskeletons of dead coral polyps. Though coral reefs grow in fairly infertile shallow waters close to land, they nonetheless support a large diversity of fish, algae and invertebrates. The formation supports a symbiosis between plant and animal life that is very efficient at capturing and recycling nutrients. Thus, despite the relative infertility of these waters, they support an astonishingly diverse abundance of life.

Estuaries

• Estuaries are inland coastal areas where freshwater rivers, lakes, marshes and bayous mix with influxes of saltwater from shifting tidal cycles. Prominent North American Estuaries include the crab-rich Chesapeake Bay area, the marshes and bayous of southern Louisiana, which produces an abundance of crawfish, and the Florida Everglades. Estuaries provide an important habitat for many commercially important species of fish and crustaceans during their juvenile stages of development. Warm estuaries are ideal for growing rice, which requires much water and warm temperatures.

Ocean Deserts

• The climate of the open ocean is, in many ways, comparable to deserts on land. It is not rich in nutrients and is populated primarily by small or even microscopic plankton, bacteria and algae. Schools of small fish sometimes feed on the sparse pickings. Even so, some major predators such as blue fin tuna, sharks, squid and whales survive in the open ocean. Some of the whales and squid go deep and feed in great depths, where much of the ecosystem remains a mystery.