Ocean Flashcards
Pacific Ocean
It is 63.8 million mi²
Atlantic Ocean
It is 41.1 million mi²
Indian Ocean
27.24 million mi²
Arctic Ocean
It is 5.427 million mi²
Southern Ocean
It is 7.849 million mi²
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.
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.
Precipitation
the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.
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
any of the great flat sediment-covered areas of ocean floor.
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.
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.
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.