chapter 13 Oceans and Seas

Question 1

oceans

Answer 1

vast bodies of salt that separate the continents.

Question 2

sea

Answer 2

large section of ocean mostly surrounded by land or islands.

Question 3

local sea level

Answer 3

an always changing height of the ocean surface at a given location.

Question 4

mean sea level (MSL)

Answer 4

the zero height that cartograhers and aircraft pilots use to measure elevation.

Question 5

shore

Answer 5

a strip of land that separates the coastal region from the ocean.

Question 6

beach

Answer 6

an everchanging place that extends underwater beyond the shore.

Question 7

longshore

Answer 7

and bar where large waves first break and drop any sand they have moved from deeper waters.

Question 8

Continental shelf

Answer 8

beyond the beach zone the bottom slopes out gently

Question 9

Continental rise

Answer 9

a smooth transition from the Continental slope to the deep

Question 10

abyssal plain

Answer 10

a relatively flat, deep sea floor.

Question 11

mid-ocean ridges

Answer 11

submerged mountain ranges at the margins of diverging tectonic plates

Question 12

seamounts

Answer 12

submerged volcanoes and hills taller than 1 km.

Question 13

guyots

Answer 13

seamounts with flat tops.

Question 14

challenger deep

Answer 14

deepest trench

Question 15

island arcs

Answer 15

volcanic islands

Question 16

atoll

Answer 16

a ring of low coral islands and reefs surrounding a central laggoon.

Question 17

salinity

Answer 17

oceans saltiness

Question 18

brackish

Answer 18

low salinity water

Question 19

brine

Answer 19

much saltier water.

Question 20

desalination

Answer 20

to remove minerals and salts to make the water potable.

Question 21

echolocation

Answer 21

process of animals using sound to get around instead of sight.

Question 22

benthic organisms

Answer 22

bottom dwelling animals and plants

Question 23

pelagic organisms

Answer 23

things that don’t live on the bottom.

Question 24

photic zone

Answer 24

extend 100-200 m in the open ocean.

Question 25

aphotic zone

Answer 25

extends from about a depth of 200 m down to 300-400 m. no light.

Question 26

abyssal zon

Answer 26

extends to the floor always dark and cold

Question 27

hadal zone

Answer 27

zone where the trenches are in.

Question 28

carbon cycle

Answer 28

a process operating at the surface of the earth.

Question 29

nitrogen cycle

Answer 29

ensures that there is a continuous supply of nitrogen.

Question 30

fertilizers

Answer 30

man made chemicals are a source of fixed nitrogen.