Earth S. The Ocean Floor
Terms
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- turbidity current
- a downslope movement of dense, sediment-laden water created when sand and mud on the continental shelf and slope are dislodged and thrown into suspension
- seamounts
- an isolated volcanic peak that rises at least 1000 meters above the deep-ocean floor
- manganese nodule
- rounded lump of hydrogenous sediment scattered on the ocean floor, consisting mainly of manganese and iron and usually containing small amounts of copper, nickel and cobalt
- ocean basin floor
- area of the deep-ocean floor between the continental margin and the oceanic ridge
- continental shelf
- the gently sloping submerged portion of the continental margin, extending from the shoreline to the continental slope
- submersible
- a small underwater craft used for deep-sea research
- terrigenous sediment
- seafloor sediment derived from eroded rocks on land
- abyssal plains
- very level area of the deep-ocean floor, usually lying at the foot of the continental rise
- biogenous sediment
- seafloor sediment of biological origin, such as shells and skeletons of marine life
- gas hydrates
- a gas; such as methane, trapped in a lattice-like structure of water molecules
- submarine canyon
- a seaward extension of a valley that was cut on the continental shelf during a time when sea level was lower; a canyon carved into the outer continental shelf, slope, and rise by turbidity currents
- continental margin
- that portion of the seafloor adjacent to the continents; it may include the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise
- hydrogenous sediment
- seafloor sediment consisting of minerals that crystallize from seawater; an important example is manganese nodules
- oceanography
- the scientific study of the oceans and oceanic phenomena
- sonar
- an electronic depth-sounding mechanism; an acronym for sound navigation and ranging/ calculates ocean depth by recording the time it takes for an energy pulse to reach the ocean floor and return
- bathymetry
- the measurement of ocean depths and the charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor
- seafloor spreading
- the process by which plate tectonics produces new oceanic lithosphere at ocean ridges
- mid-ocean ridge
- see oceanic ridge
- continental rise
- the gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope
- continental slope
- the steep gradient that leads to the deep-ocean floor and marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf
- calcareous ooze
- ooze thick, common biogenous sediment produced by dissolving calcium carbonate shells
- siliceous ooze
- biogenous sediment composed of the silica based shells of single-celled animals and algae