Download continental shelf

Topography of the Ocean Floor
Parts of an ocean wave
•
The winds cause waves
on the surface of the
ocean (and on lakes).
The wind transfers some
of its energy to the water,
through friction between
the air molecules and the
water molecules.
Stronger winds (like
storm surges) cause
larger waves.
Guyots and Sea Mounts
• A guyot /giɘʊ/, also known as a
tablemount, is a flat-topped _________.
• Guyots are most commonly found in the
________________
•
Location and formation
• There are thought to be an estimated
50,000 seamounts in the Pacific basin.
The _________ ____________ are an
excellent example of an entire volcanic
chain undergoing this process.
• __________ show evidence of having
been above the surface with gradual
subsidence, the sinking down of land
resulting from natural shifts. Their flatness
is due to erosion by waves, winds, and
atmospheric processes.
Mid Ocean Ridge
• A ________________
or mid-oceanic ridge
is an underwater
__________ range,
typically having a
valley known as a
_____running along
its spine, formed by
________________
• The mid-ocean ridges of the world are
connected and form a single global
mid-oceanic ridge system that is part
of every ocean, making the midoceanic ridge system the
____________
__________________ in the world.
The continuous mountain range is
65,000 km (40,400 mi) long and the
total length of the system is
80,000 km (49,700 mi)[
Sea floor Spreading
• The uplifted sea floor
results from
___________
currents which rise in
the mantle as
_______ at a linear
weakness in the
_________
_________, and
emerge as ______,
creating new crust
upon cooling.
Continental Shelf
• Due to the __________ available in shallow
waters, the continental shelves teem with life
Continental Shelf Food Web
The global continental shelf,
highlighted in cyan
Continental Shelf
• The continental shelf is the extended perimeter
of each ___________and associated ________
_______, and was part of the continent during
the glacial periods, but is undersea during
interglacial periods such as the current epoch by
relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas)
and gulfs.
• The largest shelf – the __________ ________ in
the Arctic Ocean – stretches to 1500 kilometers
(930 miles) in width.
• Some continents do not have a continental shelf,
but rather directly to the slope.
• The ___________ __________
connects the continental shelf and the
oceanic crust.
Life in the Continental Slope
• As the continental slope plunges into the deeper
parts of the ocean, conditions quickly change.
The water becomes much ________ and more
sluggish. It is also devoid of life, and
_________levels decline as well. As a result, the
ocean life along the continental slope is
markedly different than that found along the
continental shelf, as it must be much more
tolerant of __________ conditions. The deeper
these animals live, the more intense the
___________ gets; organisms from shallower
depths, including humans, would literally start to
implode from the pressure
Frilled Shark
• Fang tooth fish
•
FREAKY CRITTERS
from the deep
• Frilled Shark
• Fang tooth fish
Abyssal Plain
Abyssal Plain
• Abyssal plains are ________or very
gently sloping areas of the _________
ocean basin floor. They are among the
Earth's flattest and smoothest regions and
the __________ __________.
Deep Sea Trench
• Trenches define one of the most important
natural boundaries on the Earth’s solid surface,
that between two ______________ plates.
• There are three types of lithospheric plate
boundaries: divergent (where lithosphere and
oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges),
convergent (where one lithospheric plate sinks
beneath another and returns to the mantle), and
transform (where two lithospheric plates slide
past each other).
Length North to South: 11,000 miles
Deepest point: Mariana Trench at 35,797 feet
Meaning of 'Pacific': 'Peaceful'
Average Depth: 14,000 feet
Islands in the Pacific: About 25,000
Temperature: 32 °F to 84 °F