Seafloor Features Flashcards
What does EEZ stand for?
Exclusive Economic Zone
What 3 parts make up the continental margin? (order)
Continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise
What does the term SONAR stand for?
Sound Navigation and ranging
Swath Mapping
Makes many measures of depth within a two dimensional area of the sea floor
Territorial zone
(12mi)
Nation has right to jurisdiction within it’s territorial waters
EEZ
(200nm)
Sovereignty over resources and environmental protection
High seas (international waters)
Common property with the world
60% of the world
What were some forms of exploitation of the ocean that occurred before the 1970’s?
- oil drilling off the coastline
- mining tin in Asia
- metals off ocean floor
- diamond mining in Africa
- fishing
Contour Map
A topographic Map which the land surface shape is shown by contour lines
Outlines elevation and depths
Difficult; too many lines
Relief Map
Map indicating physical features by shading rather than contour lines
Easy to navigate
Big and too much space
An isolated undersea hill or mountain. Usually in the form of a cone.
Seamount
The land forming the shallow seafloor extending outward from the edge of a continent
Continental shelf
The area of the continental margin near the deep ocean seafloor, where sediments accumulate.
Continental rise
A river mouth or channel where freshwater meets saltwater
Estuary
A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses
Isthmus/peninsula
A ring shaped coral reef surrounding a lagoon
Atoll
An inlet of the sea; an indentation in the shoreline between headlands
Bay
The narrow tip-end of a headland
Point
A sandbar
Shoal
A deep canyon cut into the continental shelf and slope, often near an alluvial fan or delta
Submarine canyon
A broad, sloping deposit of sediments at the mouth of a river or at the foot of a submarine canyon
Alluvial fan
A seamount with a flat top
Guyot
A deep cut or hole in the seafloor
Trench
A very steep overhanging land feature
Cliff
An alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river. Many rivers merging into one.
Delta
A shallow coral formation, generally exposed at low tide
Reef
A group of islands formed from the same geological process
Island chain
A flat region of deep ocean basins
Abyssal plain
The sloping location where the continent ends
Continental slope
A large extension of land jutting out into the sea
Cape/ headland
What is the difference between passive and active margins?
Passive-occurs in stable areas and places that build sediment from rivers
Active-occurs at plate boundaries and where tectonic activity is common
Single beam mapping
Calculate water depth just beneath the boat
Multi beam mapping
Sees what’s directly beneath and more as it has more coverage due to it’s fan shape rather than a straight line (ideal for moving ships)
Shaded contour map
A topographic map that provides three-dimensional configuration of the terrain
Physical features and depths are more identifiable
Difficult to carry/read?
