oceans Flashcards
pacific ocean
the pacific ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on earth
atlantic ocean
41 million square miles
indian ocean
27,243,000 square miles
arctic ocean
5.4 million sq miles
southern ocean
8,479,000 square miles
salinity
the concentrations of salts in water or soils
surface zone
sunlight zone
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
the largest part of the articular cartilage.
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
liquid into vapor
condensation
build up of water vapor
precipitation
rain
continental shelf
under the ocean
continental slope
the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor.
continental rise
a wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope
abyssal plain
largest habitat on earth
mid-ocean ridge
a continuous range of underwater volcanoes
rift valley
a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift.
seamount
underwater mountains that rise hundreds or thousands of feet from the seafloor.
ocean trench
The Mariana Trench, in the South Pacific Ocean, is formed as the mighty Pacific plate subducts beneath the smaller, less-dense Philippine plate.
plankton
usually microscopic, often less than one inch in length, but they also include larger species like some crustaceans and jellyfish.
Nekton
living organisms that are able to swim and move independently of currents.
Benthos
organisms living on the bottom or associated with substrata.
Desalination
the process by which the dissolved mineral salts in water are removed.
