Demonstrate understanding of processes in the ocean system
You need to show that you understand how the ocean system works — that means explaining the major processes like ocean layers, water circulation, carbon cycling, and how heat and nutrients move around. You'll need to apply these concepts to real contexts (like waters around New Zealand or Somalia) and show deeper understanding by linking different processes together and discussing how complex they are.
You explain the main processes (like thermocline formation or how upwelling works) with some indication of how ocean conditions change seasonally, and you attempt to describe carbon pump processes and chemical reactions involved.
You link temperature and density together, explain how one process causes another (like how winds and Coriolis effect combine to create upwelling), describe two chemical reactions with equations, and show detailed understanding of how the processes interact.
You comprehensively explain the causes and effects of complex phenomena — such as how seasonal wind changes affect heat distribution and layer depths, how biological and physical pumps store large amounts of CO2, and how winds, Coriolis effect, and Ekman spirals work together to move water and nutrients at scale.
Standards typically taken alongside or after this one. Same subject, grouped by level.