Ocean Vocabulary

Question 1

this extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

Fact
it is the largest and deepest of Earth’s five oceanic divisions.

Answer 1

Pacific ocean

Question 2

is the second-largest of the world’s five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 km²

fact
it covers approximately 20% of Earth’s surface and about 29% of its water surface area.

Answer 2

Atlantic ocean

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Indian ocean

Question 4

is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km²

Answer 4

Arctic ocean

Question 5

also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean

Answer 5

Southern ocean

Question 6

This surface layer is also called the sunlight zone and extends from the surface to 200 meters (660 feet). It is in this zone that most of the visible light

Answer 6

surface zone

Question 7

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.

Answer 7

Thermocline

Question 8

1 extending or situated relatively far down from a surface.

Answer 8

deep zone

Question 9

condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration.

Answer 9

water cycle

Question 10

is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapot

Answer 10

Evaporation

Question 11

water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.

Answer 11

Condensation

Question 12

the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.

Answer 12

Precipitation

Question 13

a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow

Answer 13

continental shelf

Question 14

the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf

Answer 14

continental slope

Question 15

is a wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope.

Answer 15

continental rise

Question 16

a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000

Answer 16

abyssal plain

Question 17

is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics

Answer 17

mid-ocean ridge

Question 18

is a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift. Rift valleys are found both on land and at the bottom of the ocean

Answer 18

rift valley

Question 19

is an underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity

Answer 19

Seamount

Question 20

are prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically 50 to 100 kilometers wide and 3 to 4 km below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor

Answer 20

ocean trench

Question 21

marine drifters — organisms carried along by tides and currents.

Answer 21

Plankton

Question 22

living organisms that are able to swim and move independently of currents

Answer 22

Nekton

Question 23

the assemblage of organisms inhabiting the seafloor

Answer 23

Benthos

Question 24

the process of removing salts or other minerals and contaminants from seawater, brackish water, and wastewater effluent

Answer 24

desalination