Ocean Flashcards
Pacific ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s five oceanic divisions
Atlantic ocean
he Atlantic Ocean is the youngest of the five oceans
Indian ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world’s five oceanic divisions
Arctic ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans
Southern ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean
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
the process of turning from liquid into vapor.
Evaporation
the process of turning from liquid into vapor.
Condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf se
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 wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope
mid-ocean ridge
a continuous range of underwater volcanoes
rift valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift
Seamount
underwater mountains that rise hundreds or thousands of feet from the seafloor
ocean trench
Oceanic trenches are prominent, long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor
Plankton
usually microscopic, often less than one inch in length, but they also include larger species like some crustaceans and jellyfish
Nekton
living organisms that are able to swim and move independently of currents
Benthos
organisms living on the bottom or associated with substrata
desalination
the process by which the dissolved mineral salts in water are removed
