Ocean Flashcards
Pacific Ocean
the largest and deepest ocean on Earth
Atlantic Ocean
the youngest of the five oceans
Indian Ocean
third-largest Ocean in the world
Arctic Ocean
5.4 million square miles
Southern Ocean
the most southerly of the planet’s five oceans
salinity
the quality or degree of being saline
thermociline
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
the cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
evaporation
the process of turning liquid into vapor
condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
precipitation
water falling from the sky
continental shelf
the area of seabed around a large landmass where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean. The continental shelf is geologically part of the continental crust.
“extensive areas of continental shelf”
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
the largest habitat on earth.
mid-ocean ridge
continuous range of underwater volcanoes that wraps around the globe like seams on a baseball
rift valley
a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift.
seamount
a submarine mountain.
ocean trench
a long, narrow, deep depression in the ocean floor, typically one running parallel to a plate boundary and marking a subduction zone.
plankton
the small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea or fresh water, consisting chiefly of diatoms, protozoans, small crustaceans, and the eggs and larval stages of larger animals. Many animals are adapted to feed on plankton, especially by filtering the water.
Nekton
mobile organisms which are able to swim or otherwise move independently of all but the strongest water currents
benthos
depths of the sea
desalinantion
the process of removing salt from seawater.
