Oceans 5 Flashcards
What percentage of Earth is covered by oceans?
70%
What is the more gradual slope that is made by the sediment that has rolled down the steep continental slope?
continental rise
What is the area of the ocean floor that is located just off the coast?
continental shelf
What is the steep drop from the continental shelf to the ocean floor called?
continental slope
What is the deep flat part of the ocean bottom called?
abyssal plain
What is a break in the ocean floor that creates a deep canyon called?
an ocean trench
What do gases and dissolved salt water create?
ocean water
What geographic features are located near the continents?
continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise
What is the measure of the amount of salt in water?
salinity
What are the continental shelf, slope, and rise covered with?
sand, mud, and rocks
Where is salinity higher?
where there is more evaporation
Where is the lowest ocean water salinity found?
where a river enters the ocean
What are the basic motions of ocean water?
waves, ocean currents, tides
What is a river of water that moves through the ocean?
an ocean current
What is the rise and fall of the ocean’s surface level caused by the Moon’s gravity called?
tides
What is a pattern caused by vibration?
a wave
Wind patterns and differences in water densities act together to create __________.
ocean currents
Navigation routes, plant and animal life, and the mixing of ocean water are all affected by __________.
ocean currents
When ocean depth increases, what happens to water pressure?
it increases
When ocean depth increases, what happens to the amount of sunlight?
it decreases
What is most of the Earth’s oxygen produced by?
phytoplankton
What does the temperature, water pressure, and the amount of light at various ocean depths affect?
The type of plant and animal life found there.
What serves as the base for the ocean’s ecosystem?
phytoplankton
Where can plankton survive the best?
Where water that is rich in nutrients swells up from the deep
Do everyday activities of people affect the ocean?
yes
