Ocean Floor
The flat part of the deep-ocean basin
Abyssal Plain
Rhythmic disturbances that carry out energy through matter or space
Wave
The periodic rise and fall of the water level in the oceans and other large bodies of water due to the gravity of the moon
Tides
microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in freshwater and marine environments
Plankton
A giant ocean wave that forms after a volcanic eruption, submarine earthquake, or landslide
Tsunamis
Long narrow valley that forms as plates separate
Rift Valley
A water current that travels near and parallel to the shoreline
Longshore Current
A subsurface current that is near shore and that pulls objects out to sea
Undertow
Begins at the edge of the continental shelf and continues down to the flattest part of the ocean floor
Continental Slope
A change in the water temperature in the Pacific Ocean that produces a warm current
El Nino
Individual mountains of volcanic material
Seamounts
Rolling waves found in the open ocean that move steadily across the ocean for thousands of kilometers
Swells
The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient rich water to the surface on the coast due to winds blowing surface water out to sea which causes deep water to come up to replace it
Upwelling
Organisms that live at the bottom of the sea or ocean
Benthos
The apparent curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to the Earth’s rotation
Extends from the edge of the continental shelf to the abyssal plain
Bathyal Zone
A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean’s surface
Surface Currents
Area between the breaker zone and the shore
Surf
Sponges, brachiopods, sea stars, echinoids, and octopuses all live in this zone
Bathyal zone
Pollution that comes from MANY sources rather than from a single, specific site
Nonpoint-Source Pollution
Name the three Temperature Zones in order
Surface
Thermocline
Deep
The area where the waves first begin to tumble downward
Breaker Zone
A tide of increased range that occurs two times a month, at the new and full moons in which the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are all aligned causing a greater gravitational force by the moon
Spring Tides
What are the two environments in the ocean where animals live
Benthic
Pelagic
1st person to study the ocean currents
Thor Heyerdahl