Basics of oceanography vocab

Question 1

What is the Pelagic Zone?

Answer 1

The open water in the ocean, lakes, and rivers that’s not near the shore or the bottom.

Question 2

What is the Benthic Zone?

Answer 2

The lowest ecological zone in a body of water, such as an ocean, lake, or stream.

Question 3

What are Gyres?

Answer 3

A large, circular system of ocean currents that rotate around a central point. Gyres are caused by wind patterns, Earth’s rotation, and the Coriolis effect.

Question 4

What is a Mid Ocean Ridge?

Answer 4

Occurs along divergent plate boundaries, where new ocean floor is created as the Earth’s tectonic plates spread apart, normally in the middle of the ocean.

Question 5

What is a Subduction Zone?

Answer 5

Occurs when an oceanic plate runs into a continental plate and slides beneath it.

Question 6

What is a Cetacean?

Answer 6

Any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals.

Question 7

What is Crust?

Answer 7

The thin, dense layer of Earth’s crust that lies beneath the oceans, made of dark-colored rocks like basalt and gabbro, formed at mid-ocean ridges.

Question 8

What is the Mixed Zone?

Answer 8

The upper layer of the ocean that is mixed by wind, evaporation, and other processes, creating a layer of water with a relatively uniform temperature and salinity.

Question 9

What is a Thermocline?

Answer 9

A layer in the ocean where the temperature changes rapidly with depth, separating the warmer surface water from the cooler water below.

Question 10

What is Outgassing?

Answer 10

The process by which gases are released from the ocean into the atmosphere.

Question 11

What is the Mantle?

Answer 11

The layer of silicate rock that sits between the Earth’s crust and core.

Question 12

What is sediment?

Answer 12

The accumulation of small particles of rock, soil, and other materials on the ocean floor, transported to the ocean by wind, ice, rivers, and other processes.

Question 13

What is Atmospheric Pressure at Sea level?

Answer 13

The force exerted by the Earth’s atmosphere on the surface of the ocean at sea level, typically defined as 1 atmosphere (atm).

Question 14

What is Density in the context of seawater?

Answer 14

The ratio of the mass of seawater to the mass of fresh water, a measure of how much matter is in a given volume of water.

Question 15

What is Phytoplankton?

Answer 15

Microscopic organisms that live in water and are the foundation of the aquatic food web.

Question 16

What is Zooplankton?

Answer 16

Tiny animals that live in water and are part of the plankton community; they eat phytoplankton.

Question 17

What is the Surface Zone?

Answer 17

Also known as the epipelagic zone or sunlight zone, it’s the top layer of the ocean, extending from the surface to about 200 meters deep.

Question 18

What is the Deep Zone?

Answer 18

The area of the ocean that extends from 1,000 meters to the seafloor, including the bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadalpelagic zones.

Question 19

What is the Coriolis Effect?

Answer 19

The deflection of objects moving around the Earth due to the Earth’s rotation, affecting ocean currents, weather patterns, and air travel.

Question 20

What is a Riptide?

Answer 20

A strong current of water that flows out to sea through an inlet or narrow passage, caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet or embayment.

Question 21

What is Upwelling?

Answer 21

The process by which cold, nutrient-rich water rises to the surface of the ocean, occurring when wind pushes surface water away from the shore.

Question 22

What is a Spring Tide?

Answer 22

A tide that occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are aligned, causing significantly higher high tides and lower low tides than average.

Question 23

What is a Neap Tide?

Answer 23

A moderate tide that occurs when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other relative to Earth, resulting in a smaller difference between high and low tides.