Science Ocean Vocabulary
Terms
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- Tide
- Tides are the slow periodic rise and fall of ocean waters.
- Salinity
- Salinity describes the amount of salt in a body of water.
- Current
- A current is like a river that flows through the ocean in certain directions.
- Sunlight zone
- The sunlight zone is the top layer of the ocean.
- Chemosynthetic
- Chemosynthetic is bacteria that uses hydrogen that pours for engergy to make food.
- Breakers
- Breakers are ocean waves that move water forward when they hit the shore.
- Continental slope
- The continental slope is steeper and closer to the bottom of the ocean than the continental shelf.
- Bioluminescence
- Bioluminescence is the production of light by living cretures.
- Upwelling
- Upwellings are waters that move up the cotinental slope, from deep in the ocean.
- Twilight zone
- The twilight zpne is the second layer of the ocean.
- Sodium chloride
- Sodium chloride is the salt in the ocean.
- Adaptation
- An adjustment to environmental conditions.
- Mid-ocean ridge
- The mid-ocean ridge is a deep sea mountain ridge that runs from Iceland to Antartica. The mid-ocean ridge is more than 10,000 miles long.
- Abyssal plains
- Abyssal plains are wide, slightly rolling plains in the ocean at depths of more than 13,000 ft.
- Density
- Density is when you can get the density of objects by dividing mass by volume.
- Waves
- A wave moves energy through the water.
- Deep sea trenches
- Deep sea trenches are common ocean-floor features that seperate the continental slope from the deep-ocean basins. Deep sea trenches are the deepest spots on earth.
- Prevailing winds
- Prevailing winds are winds that blow continously in the same direction.
- Pressure
- Pressure is caused by the weight of water.
- Continental shelf
- The Continental shelf is a gently sloping ledge that has formed from the edge of most continents.