ocean 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 Oceania in the west and the Americas in the east.
Atlantic Ocean
For centuries the Atlantic Ocean has been a key avenue of trade and travel. Stretching from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, the Atlantic Ocean is bordered by the Americas to the west and Europe and Africa to the east. It’s more than 41 million square miles, the second-largest ocean on Earth after the Pacific Ocean
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 quality or degree of being saline.
surface zone
a the uppermost level of the land or sea.
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 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.
Evporation
the process of turning from liquid into vapor.
Condensation
the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.
Precipitation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.
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.
continental slope
the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor.
Continental rise
A wide, gentle incline from an ocean bottom to a continental slope.
abyssal plain
a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000
mid-ocean ridge
a long, seismically active submarine ridge system situated in the middle of an ocean basin and marking the site of the upwelling of magma associated with seafloor spreading. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
rift valley
a large elongated depression with steep walls formed by the downward displacement of a block of the earth’s surface between nearly parallel faults or fault systems.
Seamount
a submarine mountain.
Ocean Trench
a long, narrow ditch.
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
aquatic animals that are able to swim and move independently of water currents.
Benthos
the flora and fauna found on the bottom, or in the bottom sediments, of a sea, lake, or other body of water.
desalination
the process of removing salt from seawater.
