Seafloor Vocab
A river mouth, channel, or drowned seaward end of a valley where fresh water from land mixes with seawater
What is an estuary?
The boundary region between changes in density
What is the pycnocline?
The zone where light does not penetrate and no photosynthesis occurs
What is the aphotic zone?
This causes tides
What is the gravitational interaction between the Earth, moon, and Sun?
Deep ocean currents move through which oceans?
What is all of Earth's oceans?
A ring-shaped coral reef surrounding a lagoon
What is an atoll?
The boundary region between changes in salinity
What is the halocline?
This region of the ocean traps sound waves and allows them to travel long distances with minimal energy loss
What is the SOFAR channel?
This tide is characterized by the least difference (tidal range) between high and low tide levels
What is neap tide?
This percentage of the ocean is affected by surface currents
What is 10%?
An area of the ocean, such as a sandbar, that is too shallow to navigate
What is a shoal?
The most abundant salt in the oceans
What is sodium chloride (NaCl)?
These wavelengths of light penetrate the deepest and shallowest (respectively) in the ocean
What is blue light (deepest) and red light (shallowest)?
A disturbance that transfers energy from place to place
What is a wave?
Ocean currents affect climate by transferring heat and cold between these areas
What is the equator and the poles?
A narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses
What is an isthmus?
When ice forms from ocean water, the remaining liquid water has this property.
What is a higher salinity?
These are circular patterns of surface currents in the world's oceans
What are gyres?
This tide occurs when the ebb tide is strongest and the flood tide is weakest
What is low tide?
These currents cycle cold, nutrient-rich water to the upper layers where most ocean life resides
What are upwelling currents?
This underwater feature is primarily a result of volcanic activity beneath the ocean's surface
What is a seamount?
Differences in water temperature creates movement in the ocean because of this
What is the relationship between temperature and density? Bodies of water at different temperatures have different densities
This happens when a current comes into contact with a continent or landmass.
What is a change in direction?
The main factor responsible for the occurence of spring tides
What is the gravitational forces of the sun and moon aligning?
In polar areas, large amounts of surface water sinks to great depths as a part of this process
What is thermohaline circulation?