Oceans Flashcards
Pacific ocean
ocean in the pacific
Atlantic ocean
ocean in the atlantic
Indian ocean
ocean in india
Southern Ocean
ocean in the south
salinity
the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water
surface zone
any of five great divisions of the earth’s surface, bounded by lines parallel to the equator and named according to the prevailing temperature. Compare North Frigid Zone, North Temperate Zone, South Frigid Zone, South Temperate Zone, Torrid 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
Transcript of Deep Zone Ocean. Definition. Deep Zone Ocean-The deep zone ocean is a zone of the world’s oceans occupying intermediate position between the abyssalpolegic region and the sea bed.
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 a substance in a liquid state changing to a gaseous state due to an increase in temperature and/or pressure. Evaporation is a fundamental part of the water cycle and is constantly occurring throughout nature.
condensation
the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.
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 divide
a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea.
abyssal plain
underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3000 and 6000 m. Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface.
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. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
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, deep depression in the ocean floor, typically one running parallel to a plate boundary and marking a subduction zone.
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
means any process that removes the excess salt and other minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or irrigation. If almost all of the salt is removed for human consumption, sometimes the process produces table salt as a by-product
