Chapter 13-14 Exploring The Oceans Vocab. Cards Flashcards
Describe the Indian Ocean and some of its characteristics.
The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean. It resides in between Africa, Asia, and Australia. The longest mountain range rests on its ocean floor. This ocean brings monsoon winds to Asia.
List some of the characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean and describe its location.
The Atlantic stretches between North America and South America’s East Coast to Africa and Europe’s west coast. The Gulf Stream is located in the Atlantic. The Atlantic is about half the area of the Pacific.
Describe the size and location of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean. It holds enough water to fill at least 1.2 quintillion bath tubs. The Pacific Ocean ranges from the west coast of the Americas to the east coast of Asia.
What is the Artic Ocean? Name some of its characteristics.
The Artic Ocean is the smallest ocean. Most of the water that makes up the Artic Ocean is frozen. The Artic extends over Europe, Asia, and North America and rests just under the North Pole.
What is Sodium Chloride and its effect on the oceans?
Sodium Chloride is simply salt. This salt is what we put on our French fries and what makes the ocean salty. Salt eroded from the land and is carried into the oceans.
What is salinity? How is it measured?
Salinity is the measure of dissolved salts and other solids in the ocean. Salinity is measured in grams of dissolved solids per kilogram of water.
Describe the Surface Zone of the ocean. How far down does it extend?
The surface zone is the uppermost part of the ocean and the warmest. This is because the sun heats the first 100m of water which mixes with the water below that. In total, the surface zone extends 300m below sea level.
Describe the Thermocline and its qualities.
The thermocline is the layer of water resting in between the Surface Zone and the Deep Zone. In the thermocline, the temperature drops quickly the deeper you go. The thermocline starts at the end of the Surface Zone (300 m) and stops at 700 m.
Describe the bottom layer of the ocean and its properties.
The bottom layer of the ocean is called the Deep Zone. This zone starts at the end of the thermocline and reaches down the the o clean floor,
What is the Water Cycle and its importance on this Earth?
The water cycle is the process that water goes through to create weather. The water cycle replenishes our water supply in lakes, oceans, rivers, and other water sources.
Name each stage of the water cycle and give an example of that stage in process.
Evaporation- Evaporation occurs when water is heated and it changes from it’s liquid state into water vapor. Ex: The sun heats water from lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. causing them to evaporate.
Condensation- Condensation is when water in its gaseous form (water vapor) cools and becomes a liquid again. An example of this is when evaporated water from lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. rises into the cool atmosphere and cools, forming clouds.
Precipitation- Precipitation occurs when water droplets in the clouds become to heavy and they fall back to the Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. A sign of precipitation forming is when you see big dark clouds in the sky.
What is the ‘Alvin’? Describe its importance to science.
The ‘Alvin’ is a min sub used by scientists to explore the ocean. The ‘Alvin’ can complete missions such as searching for sunken ships and recovering lost hydrogen bombs.
Name each stage of the water cycle and give an example of that stage in process.
Evaporation- Evaporation occurs when water is heated and it changes from it’s liquid state into water vapor. Ex: The sun heats water from lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. causing them to evaporate.
Condensation- Condensation is when water in its gaseous form (water vapor) cools and becomes a liquid again. An example of this is when evaporated water from lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. rises into the cool atmosphere and cools, forming clouds.
Precipitation- Precipitation occurs when water droplets in the clouds become to heavy and they fall back to the Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. A sign of precipitation forming is when you see big dark clouds in the sky.
What is the ‘Alvin’? Describe its importance to science.
The ‘
What is the Continental Margin? How is it different from the Deep-Ocean Basin?
The Continental Margin is made up of continental crust. Imagine a big swimming pool. The Continental Margin is the shallow end of the pool.
The Deep-
Describe the Continental Shelf and its location as apart of the Ocean floor.
The Continental Shelf starts at the shoreline and gently slopes down to the Continental Slope. The Continental Shelf is where we swim at the beach. The shelf can reach up to 200 m but is generally less than 150 m deep.
What is the Continental Slope? Where is it located on the Ocean Floor?
The Continental Slope is the steep pathway down to the ocean floor. It is located in between the Continental Shelf and the Continental Rise. The Slope is made up of sediment and mud. At its shallowest point, the shelf can be 200 m deep. It can be up to 4,000 m deep at is deepest point.
Describe the Continental Rise. What is its relationship to a continent?
The Continental Rise is the slight sloping transition from the Continental Slope to the Ocean floor. The Rise marks the boundary of a continent and the Ocean Floor.
Describe the ocean floor and some of its properties.
The ocean floor is a vast flat plain of mud, sediment, and organic matter. The ocean floor is also called an Abyssal Plain. The Plain is about
What type of oceanic crust movement creates Mid-Ocean Ridges.
Mid-Ocean Ridges are underwater mountain chains formed when oceanic crust moves apart. In fact the mountain chain on Earth is found underwater in the Indian Ocean. As these underwater mountain form, rift valleys also form where hot lava flows and then hardens into a new ocean floor.
Describe the Oceanic Crust movement needed to create an Ocean Trench.
Ocean Trenches are formed when two oceanic plates converge or come together with force. When these plates converge one plate is forced under the other and is destroyed. This is how Ocean trenches are formed. Ocean Trenches are steep, deep cracks in the ocean floor that seem to not have a bottom.
