Chapter 13 Vocabulary Flashcards
The continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean
Water Cycle
The gentle sloping section of the continental margin located between the shoreline and the continental slope
Continental Shelf
The steeply inclined section of the continental margin located between the continental rise and the continental shelf
Continental Slope
A measure of the amount of dissolves salts in a given amount of liquid
Salinity
The gently sloping s cation of the continental margin located between the continental slope and the abyssal plain
Continental Rise
A large, flat, almost level area of the deep-ocean basin
Abyssal Plain
A long, undersea mountain chain that forms along the floor of the major ocean
Mid-ocean ridge
A long, narrow valley that forms as tectonic places separate
Rift Valley
A submerged mountain on the ocean floor that is at least 1,000 m high and that has a volcanic origin
Seamount
A steep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands or a continental margin
Ocean Trench
The mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in freshwater and marine environments
Plankton
All organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents
Nekton
The organisms that live at the bottom of the sea or ocean
Benthos
The region near the bottom of a pond, lake, or ocean
Benthic environment
In the ocean, the zone near the surface or at middle depths, beyond the sublittoral zone and above the abyssal zone
Pelagic environment
