Ocean Vocabulary

Question 1

pacific ocean

Answer 1

is the largest and deepest of the five oceans

Question 2

Atlantic ocean

Answer 2

it covers around 20% of the Earth’s surface

Question 3

Indian ocean

Answer 3

it is bounded by Asia to the North, Africa to the west, and Australia to the east

Question 4

southern ocean

Answer 4

generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica

Question 5

Salinity

Answer 5

saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water.

Question 6

Surface zone

Answer 6

a surface zone is the uppermost level of the land or sea.

Question 7

Thermocline

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

deep zone

Answer 8

extending or situated relatively far down from a surface.

Question 9

water cycle

Answer 9

shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.

Question 10

Evaporation

Answer 10

the process of turning liquid into vapor

Question 11

condensation

Answer 11

the conversion of vapor into a liquid

Question 12

Precipitation

Answer 12

the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.

Question 13

continental shelf

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

continental slope

Answer 14

the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor.

Question 15

continental rise

Answer 15

The continental rise is a low-relief zone of accumulated sediments that lies between the continental slope and the abyssal plain.

Question 16

abyssal plain

Answer 16

An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3,000 metres and 6,000 metres.

Question 17

mid-ocean ridge

Answer 17

a long, seismically active submarine ridge system situated in the middle of an ocean basin and marking the site of the up welling of magma associated with seafloor spreading. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Question 18

rift valley

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Seamount

Answer 19

a submarine mountain.

Question 20

ocean trench

Answer 20

prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically 50 to 100 kilometers wide and 3 to 4 km below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor, but can be thousands of kilometers in length.

Question 21

Plankton

Answer 21

mall 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.

Question 22

Nekton

Answer 22

Is the actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water.

Question 23

Benthos

Answer 23

Is also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.

Question 24

desalination

Answer 24

desalination is the process of removing salt from sea water.