Unit 2 Flashcards
What are Continental Margins consisted of?
Shelves-Slopes-Rises SSR
Describe everything about Shelves
The edges of the continents slope down from the shore into the ocean.
The part of the continent located under the water is known as the continental shelf.
In some places, the continental shelf is fairly shallow and in other places it becomes very deep.
Covered in sediments from land.
Most commercial exploitation from the sea, such as metals and hydrocarbons and oil, takes place at the continental shelf.
Sunlight penetrates the shallow waters, and many kinds of organisms flourish from microscopic algae to giant kelp; this the brings lots of animals.
Describe everything about slopes.
Gets deep quickly- where shelf goes down to the sea floor.
The steep slope where the continental shelf drops to the bottom of the ocean floor is called the continental slope.
Describe everything about Submarine Canyons
A steep-sided valley cut into the sea floor of the continental slope.
Some are large extensions of terrestrial rivers.
Describe everything about Ocean Basins
Located on either side of the mid-ocean ridge is the ocean basin.
Also known as the abyssal plain- lots of sediments are found here.
It’s made up of low hills (abyssal hills) and flat plains (abyssal plains).
This is the deepest part of the ocean floor.
Describe everything about Seamounts.
Steep sided, underwater volcanoes that do not reach the surface- biological hotspots that support a dazzling array of marine life.
Describe everything about Guyots
Flat-topped seamounts; wave erosion has flattened them.
Describe everything about Mid-Ocean ridges
An area where the earth’s plates are separating.
Rift Valley: steep sided central valley.
Longest ridge is the mid-Atlantic ridge.
Fastest ridge is the East Pacific Rise.
LMFE
MS
Describe everything about Rift Zones
In the center of the highest part of the mid-ocean ridge is a narrow trench called a rift.
An area of frequent earthquakes- divergent plate boundary.
Slides are steep down to abyssal plain/ deep ocean floor. RED
Describe everything about Trenches.
There are many steep-sided canyons and deep, narrow valleys in the bottom of the ocean.
Occur where two plates converge; denser plate sinks.
Ocean trenches are the deepest part of the ocean basin and are deeper than any valley found on land.
Trenches are found in areas in the Pacific called the rings of fire where there’s a lot of volcanic activity and earthquakes. TC
_____ of the US is underwater.
50%
Early mariners believed that oceans were large, featureless _____ or _____ in the earth’s crust. s we have seen there are huge underwater mountain ranges (_____), great canyons (_____) and deep valleys (_____). Early depth measurements (_____) allowed surveys to determine the depth of the water in fathoms (the length between a person’s fully outstretched hands-6 ft).
Depressions-Basins-Mid Atlantic Ridge-Monterey Canyon- Mariana Trench-Soundings.
Define Hydrography
Is defined as the science that measures and describes the physical features of bodies of water and the land areas adjacent to those bodies of water.
Sound waves use _____ to move through gases, liquids, and solids.
Pressure
How do light and sound travel in water and air?
In water, sound travels faster and more than light; the reverse is true in the air.
Describe everything about sound.
Light cannot be used —> absorbed by water very quickly; usually lighting no further than 30 meters.
In air, sound moves at around 340 meters per second but in seawater, is zooms along at around 1500 meters per second.
Describe everything about Multi-Beam Sonars
Measures the depth of the sea floor by analyzing the time it takes for sound waves to travel from a boat to the sea floor and back. MS
Describe everything about Side-Scan Sonars
Creates an image of the sea floor by analyzing the strength of a return echo over a short period of time and paints a picture. SE
Describe everything about light.
Light is easily absorbed by water very quickly; can usually travel no further than 30-50 meters.
Describe everything about Lidar
With good water clarity, these systems can reach depth of 50 meters. Lidar survey systems are typically aircraft mounted and provide seamless coverage between land and sea.
Describe everything about Direct Observation
Using remotely operated vehicles (ROVS) or submersibles.
What are some characteristics of mammals?
Endothermic (aka: warm blooded)/ control their own body temperature
Heart with 4 chambers
Use Lungs to breathe
Produce milk with mammary glands.
Hair
3 Ear Bones E4LM
What are some examples of mammals?
Hippos-Monkeys-Dogs-Bats HMDB
Why does California have great whale watching?
Food
The cold CA current mixing with warmer water from the south brings nutrients that are used by Krill and plankton that whales eat.
Upwelling of deep ocean water from central Pacific also brings nutrients.
FCU
Describe everything about Baleen Whales
Mysticeti: Baleen Whales MB
Use Baleen to filter small animals (Krill from the water).
Pair of blow holes for breathing.
Blue, Gray, Humpback, and Minke. BGHM
Describe everything about Toothed Whales
Odontoceti: Toothed Whales OT
Have teeth that enable them to eat larger pray.
Single Blowhole.
Sperm Whale, Orca, Narwhal, Dolphin. SOND
What does the Baleen Whale Diet and Feeding look like?
Gulp in large volumes of water than contain prey.
Tongue forces water past baleen plate which trap prey which are then swallowed.
Bubble Netting.
GTB
Define Sediment
Particles from land, living organisms, the atmosphere, or the ocean itself that accumulate on the ocean floor.
LOAO
What information can be received from sediments?
Can use information to study past climate to make predictions about future.
Can provide information about location of oil, natural gas, and mineral resources. OGM
Study pollution patterns and how to protect our coasts.
How can sediments be classified?
Size-Origin SO
Explain how sediments can be classified by size.
Determines how grains are transported and where they accumulate.
Small particles (ie. clay/silt) sink more slowly than larger particles (ie. pebble/cobble).
Explain how sediments can be classified by origin.
Lithogenous (aka terrigenous) sediments come from land.
Biogenous sediments come from organisms.
Hydrogenous sediments come from chemical reactions in the water.
Cosmogenous sediments come from space.
List the sediments from largest to smallest.
Boulders-Cobbles- Pebbles- Sand-Silt-Clay BCPSSC
Describe everything about Lithogenous Sediments.
From the Land.
Rivers, wind, ice, and the geological processes erode and transport rocks and minerals into sea. RWIG
Make up most of the sediments near islands and continents.
Light-Weight —> Travel far
Describe everything about Biogenous Sediments.
From living organisms.
Dead plankton, shells, bones, and teeth of marine organisms. PSBT
Calcareous Ooze: made up of calcium carbonate plankton skeletons. Foraminifera, Coccolithophores CFC
Siliceous Ooze: made up of silica plankton species. Diatoms SD
Describe everything about Hydrogenous Sediments.
From chemical reactions in the ocean.
Form very slowly in seawater through chemical reactions.
Minerals and chemicals that dissolve in seawater.
Define Plankton.
Bacteria, algae, protozoa that drift about, cannot swim against a current; usually small. BAP
Define Passive Continental Margin
No active plate boundary/ no active removing of earth, just stationary. EAST PE
Define Active Continental Margin
Where two plates are coming together; when two plates are coming together, one of them sink. AC WEST
What are the 7 Continents?
North America-South America- Asia-Africa-Antarctica-Australia-Europe 6AE
What are the 5 oceans?
Pacific-Arctic-Atlantic-Southern-Indian PAASI
