Ocean Unit test part 2 Flashcards
Bathymetry
charting the depths and topography of the ocean floor
SONAR
sound navigation and ranging
Continental shelf
extends continental crust from shoreline
Continental slope
steep boundary of continental and oceanic crust
Continental rise
more gradual slope that meets the ocean floor, formed from sediments
Abyssal Plain
deep in the ocean and extremely flat, lots of fine
sediment
Trenches
deep creases in the ocean floor, where tectonic
plates converged
Seamounts
an underwater mountain with steep sides rising from the seafloor
Guyot
inactive volcanoes that are re-submerged and have flat tops, can also
create coral atolls
Mid-Ocean Ridges
A system of interconnected underwater mountain changed formed from divergent
tectonic plates. These are the longest features on Earth. Have rift valleys in the
middle. Circumvent (go all the way around) the Earth
Seafloor spreading
where the plates diverge, and magma rises creating new crust
hydrothermal vents
pump out hot mineral rich water that crazy things can live nearby
what is a huge factor in diverse ocean environments
light
The deeper you go…
the more pressure these organisms experience and they adapt to it
Photic Zone
light can penetrate the water, most life exists here
