ocean Flashcards
Pacific
The largest ocean- deepest and biggest in volume
Atlantic
2nd largest ocean in volume and depth
Indian
3rd largest ocean
Arctic
4th largest ocean
Southern
5th largest, found under the 60th line
Salinity
amount of salt in a mixture
Surface zone
the top layer of water, warmest
thermocline
the 32nd layer of water, temperature declines the fastest
Deep zone
3rd layer of water, very cold
water cycle
the continuous movement of water from the oceans to clouds to land to lakes back to oceans
evaporation
when water warms up into a gas
Condensation
when the gas water cools into clouds
precipitation
when the water cools further into rain or snow
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 divide
a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea
abyssal plain
An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3,000 metres and 6,000 metres.
mid-ocean ridge
A mid-ocean ridge is an underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It consists of various mountains linked in chains, typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine
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.
sea mount
A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water’s surface, and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock
Ocean trench
Oceanic trenches are topographic depressions of the sea floor, relatively narrow in width, but very long. These oceanographic features are the deepest parts of the ocean floor
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
a process that extracts mineral components from saline water
