Exploring the Oceans Flashcards
Pacific ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world’s five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 km². It covers approximately 20% of Earth’s surface and about 29% of its water surface area.
Indian ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world’s five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km² or 19.8% of the water on Earth’s surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east
Arctic ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km² and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea.
Southern ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.
Salinity
the concentrations of salts in water or soils.
surface zone
restricts the display of surface models and their caps to zones around selected atoms or markers.
Thermocline
a steep temperature gradient in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures.
deep zone
extending or situated relatively far down from a surface.
water cycle
shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.
Evaporation
the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
Condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
precipitation
the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.
continental shelf
a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water known as a shelf sea.
continental slope
the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor.
continental rise
a wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope.
abyssal plain
a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise
mid-ocean ridge
a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics
rift valley
a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift.
Seamount
an underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity.
ocean trench
prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor.
Plankton
Plankton are marine drifters — organisms carried along by tides and currents.
Nekton
living organisms that are able to swim and move independently of currents.
Benthos
the assemblage of organisms inhabiting the seafloor.
desalination
the process of removing salts or other minerals and contaminants from seawater, brackish water, and wastewater effluent
