Ocean Flashcards
(25 cards)
Pacific ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s oceanic divisions.
Atlantic ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world’s oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 square kilometers.
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world’s oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km².
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s oceanic divisions.
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean.
Salinity
the quality or degree of being saline.
surface zone
any of five great divisions of the earth’s surface with respect to latitude and temperature
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
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 turning from liquid into vapor.
Condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
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 rise
The continental rise is an underwater feature found between the continental slope and the abyssal plain.
abyssal plain
An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor
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.
