oceans Flashcards
(25 cards)
Pacific ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s five oceanic divisions.
Atlantic ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world’s five oceans
Indian ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world’s five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km² or 19.8% of the water on Earth’s surface
Arctic ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans
Southern ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.
Salinity
the concentrations of salts in water or soils.
surface zone
restricts the display of surface models and their caps to zones around selected atoms or markers.
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
1 extending or situated relatively far down from a surface.
water cycle
shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere
Evaporation
the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor
Condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
Precipitation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.
continental shelf
a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water known as a shelf sea
continental slope
the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor.
continental rise
a wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope
abyssal plain
a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000
mid-ocean ridge
a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics
rift valley
a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift.
Seamount
an underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity
ocean trench
Oceanic trenches are prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor.
Plankton
marine drifters — organisms carried along by tides and currents.
Nekton
living organisms that are able to swim and move independently of currents
Benthos
the assemblage of organisms inhabiting the seafloor.