Oceanography Chapter 5
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Conversion of sediment into sedimentary rock by pressure or by the introduction of a mineral cement.
- lithification
- Solid mass of hydrogenous sediment, most commonly manganese or ferromanganese nodules and phosphorite nodules.
- nodule
- Deposit formed by the evaporation of ocean water.
- evaporite
- Ooze composed mostly of the hard remains of silica-containing organisms.
- siliceous ooze
- Sediments of oceanic origin.
- pelagic sediment
- The zone of open water near shore, over the continental shelf.
- neritic zone
- Sampling device used to take shallow samples of the ocean bottom.
- clamshell sampler
- Sediment of biological origin. Organisms can deposit calcareous (calcium containing) or siliceous (silicon-containing) residue.
- biogenous sediment
- Ooze composed mostly of the hard remains of calcium-carbonate-containing organisms.
- calcareous ooze
- The depth at which the rate of accumulation of calcareous sediments equals the rate of dissolution of those sediments. Below this depth, sediment contains little or no calcium carbonate.
- calcium carbonate compensation depth:
- A naturally occurring inorganic crystalline material with a specific chemical composition and structure
- mineral
- One of a group of planktonic amoebae-like animals with a calcareous shell which contributes to biogenous sediments.
- foraminiferan
- Sediment derived from the land and transported to the ocean by wind and flowing water
- terrigenous sediment
- Sediment formed directly by precipitation from seawater. Also called hydrogenous sediment.
- authigenic sediment
- Sediment of extraterrestrial origin.
- cosmogenous sediment
- The branch of geology concerned with the composition, origin, and areal and age relationships of stratified rocks.
- stratigraphy
- Sediment formed directly by precipitation from seawater. Also called authigenic sediment.
- hydrogenous sediment
- The Earth's most abundant, successful, and efficient single-celled phytoplankton. Diatoms possess two interlocking valves made primarily of silica. The valves contribute to biogenous sediments.
- diatom
- Hydrogenous sediments formed when calcium carbonate precipitates from warmed seawater as pH rises, forming rounded grains around a shell fragment or other particle.
- oolite sands
- A terrigenous sediment deposited by a turbidity current; typically, coarse-grained layers of nearshore origin interleaved with finer sediments.
- turbidite
- The study of the ocean's past.
- paleoceanography:
- Sediment particle between 0.004 and 0.062 millimeter in diameter.
- silt
- Sediment of at least 30% biological origin.
- ooze
- Particles of organic or inorganic matter that accumulate in a loose, unconsolidated form.
- sediment
- Small planktonic mollusk with a calcareous shell, which contributes to biogenous sediments.
- pteropod
- A sediment in which particles of many sizes are found.
- poorly sorted sediment
- A seabed-sampling device capable of punching through up to 25 meters (80 feet) of sediment and returning an intact plug of material.
- piston corer
- Sediment particle smaller than 0.004 millimeter in diameter; the smallest sediment size category.
- clay
- A sediment in which particles are of uniform size.
- well-sorted sediment
- One of a group of usually planktonic amoebae-like animals with a siliceous shell, which contributes to biogenous sediments.
- radiolarian
- Sediment particle between 0.062 and 2 millimeters in diameter
- sand
- A supposed living slime - primordial ooze - discovered by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1868. He believed that this animal jelly carpeted the deep floor of the ocean.
- bathybius
- A very small planktonic alga carrying discs of calcium carbonate, which contributes to biogenous sediments.
- coccolithophore