Oceanography Chapter 2

Front 1

1. Atoll

Back 1

A ring-shaped coral reef growing upward from a submerged volcanic peak

Front 2

2. Barrier Reef

Back 2

Linear or circular reefs separated from the landmass by a well-developed lagoon

Front 3

3. Continental Accretion

Back 3

Growth or increase in size of a continent by gradual external addition of crustal material

Front 4

4. Continental Arc

Back 4

Created by andesitic volcanic eruptions and by the folding and uplifting associated with plate collision

Front 5

5. Continental Drift

Back 5

Term applied to early theories supporting the possibility the continents are in motion over Earth’s surface

Front 6

6. Continental Transform Fault

Back 6

A transform fault that cuts across a continent

Front 7

7. Convection Cell

Back 7

A circular-moving loop of matter involved in convective movement

Front 8

8. Convergent Boundary

Back 8

Found where plates are moving together and one plate subducts beneath the other

Front 9

9. Charles Darwin

Back 9

Noticed a progression of stages in coral reef development

Front 10

10. Divergent Boundary

Back 10

Found along oceanic ridges where new lithosphere is being added

Front 11

11. Fringing Reef

Back 11

Initially develop along the margin of a landmass (island or continent) where the temperature, salinity, and turbidity (cloudiness) of the water are suitable for reef-building corals

Front 12

12. Tablemount/Guyot

Back 12

Volcanoes that are flat on top and are not found on land

Front 13

13. Heat Flow

Back 13

Heat from Earth’s interior is released to the surface

Front 14

14. Harry Hess

Back 14

Published History of Ocean Basins, suggesting sea floor spreading and suggested that new ocean crust was created at the ridges split apart, moved away from the ridges, and later disappeared back into the deep Earth at trenches

Front 15

15. Hotspot

Back 15

Areas of intense volcanic activity that remain in more or less the same location over long periods of geologic time and are unrelated to plate boundaries

Front 16

16. Island Arc

Back 16

A linear arrangement of islands, many of which are volcanic, usually curved so that the concave side faces a sea separating the islands from a continent

Front 17

17. Magnetic Anomaly

Back 17

Distortion of the regular pattern of Earth’s magnetic field resulting from the various magnetic properties of local concentrations of ferromagnetic minerals in Earth’s crust

Front 18

18. Magnetic Dip

Back 18

The degree to which a magnetite particle points into Earth

Front 19

19. Magnetic Field

Back 19

A condition found in the region around a magnet or an electric current, characterized by the existence of a detectable magnetic force at every point in the region and by the existence of magnetic poles

Front 20

20. Magnetite

Back 20

Naturally magnetic iron mineral found in nearly all igneous rocks

Front 21

21. Mantle Plume

Back 21

Columnar areas of hot molten rock that arise from deep within the mantle

Front 22

22. Frederick Vine and Drummond Matthews

Back 22

They interpreted the pattern of above-average and below-average magnetic polarity episodes embedded in sea floor rocks to be caused by Earth’s magnetic field alternation between “normal” polarity and “reversed” polarity

Front 23

23. Mesosaurus

Back 23

An extinct, presumably aquatic reptile that lived about 250 million years ago

Front 24

24. Mid-Ocean Ridge

Back 24

A continuous underwater mountain range that winds through every ocean basin in the world and resembles the seam on a baseball

Front 25

25. Nematath

Back 25

A chain of extinct volcanoes that is progressively older as one travels away from a hotspot

Front 26

26. Ocean Trench

Back 26

The deepest parts of the ocean floor and resemble a narrow crease or trough

Front 27

27. Oceanic Ridges

Back 27

Steeper-sloping and slower-spreading areas of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 28

28. Oceanic Rise

Back 28

Gently-sloping and fast-spreading parts of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 29

29. Oceanic Transform Fault

Back 29

A transform fault that occurs wholly on the ocean floor

Front 30

30. Paleogeography

Back 30

The study of historical changes of continental shapes and positions

Front 31

31. Paleomagnetism

Back 31

The study of Earth’s ancient magnetic field

Front 32

32. Plate Tectonics

Back 32

The outermost portion of Earth is composed of a patchwork of thin, rigid plates that move horizontally with respect to one another, like icebergs floating on water

Front 33

33. Polar Wandering Curve

Back 33

A curve that shows the change in position of a pole through time

Front 34

34. Polarity

Back 34

The directional orientation of the magnetic field

Front 35

35. Rift Valley

Back 35

A central downdropped linear depression

Front 36

36. Rifting

Back 36

Further splitting apart of the land

Front 37

37. Sea Floor Spreading

Back 37

A process producing the lithosphere when convective upwelling of magma along the oceanic ridges move the ocean floor away from the ridge axes at rates between 2 to 12 centimeters per year

Front 38

38. Seamount

Back 38

A tall, volcanic peak that is cone-shaped

Front 39

39. Spreading Center

Back 39

The axis of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 40

40. Subduction

Back 40

The process by which one litospheric plate descends beneath another as they converge

Front 41

41. Subduction Zone

Back 41

The sloping area from the trench along the downward-moving plate

Front 42

42. Transform Boundary

Back 42

Found where litospheric plates slowly grind past one another

Front 43

43. Transform Fault

Back 43

A fault with side-to-side motion that offsets segments of a mid-ocean ridge

Front 44

44. Transform Faulting

Back 44

The movement of one plate past another

Front 45

45. Volcanic Arc

Back 45

An arc-shaped row of highly active and explosively erupting volcanoes that parallels the trench and occurs above the subduction zone

Front 46

46. The Wilson Cycle

Back 46

Uses plate tectonic processes to show the distinctive life cycle of ocean basins during their formation, growth, and destruction over many millions of years

Front 47

Atoll

Back 47

A ring-shaped coral reef growing upward from a submerged volcanic peak

Front 48

Barrier Reef

Back 48

Linear or circular reefs separated from the landmass by a well-developed lagoon

Front 49

Continental Accretion

Back 49

Growth or increase in size of a continent by gradual external addition of crustal material

Front 50

Continental Arc

Back 50

Created by andesitic volcanic eruptions and by the folding and uplifting associated with plate collision

Front 51

Continental Drift

Back 51

Term applied to early theories supporting the possibility the continents are in motion over Earth’s surface

Front 52

Continental Transform Fault

Back 52

A transform fault that cuts across a continent

Front 53

Convection Cell

Back 53

A circular-moving loop of matter involved in convective movement

Front 54

Convergent Boundary

Back 54

Found where plates are moving together and one plate subducts beneath the other

Front 55

Charles Darwin

Back 55

Noticed a progression of stages in coral reef development

Front 56

Divergent Boundary

Back 56

Found along oceanic ridges where new lithosphere is being added

Front 57

Fringing Reef

Back 57

Initially develop along the margin of a landmass (island or continent) where the temperature, salinity, and turbidity (cloudiness) of the water are suitable for reef-building corals

Front 58

Tablemount/Guyot

Back 58

Volcanoes that are flat on top and are not found on land

Front 59

Heat Flow

Back 59

Heat from Earth’s interior is released to the surface

Front 60

Harry Hess

Back 60

Published History of Ocean Basins, suggesting sea floor spreading and suggested that new ocean crust was created at the ridges split apart, moved away from the ridges, and later disappeared back into the deep Earth at trenches

Front 61

Hotspot

Back 61

Areas of intense volcanic activity that remain in more or less the same location over long periods of geologic time and are unrelated to plate boundaries

Front 62

Island Arc

Back 62

A linear arrangement of islands, many of which are volcanic, usually curved so that the concave side faces a sea separating the islands from a continent

Front 63

Magnetic Anomaly

Back 63

Distortion of the regular pattern of Earth’s magnetic field resulting from the various magnetic properties of local concentrations of ferromagnetic minerals in Earth’s crust

Front 64

Magnetic Dip

Back 64

The degree to which a magnetite particle points into Earth

Front 65

Magnetic Field

Back 65

A condition found in the region around a magnet or an electric current, characterized by the existence of a detectable magnetic force at every point in the region and by the existence of magnetic poles

Front 66

Magnetite

Back 66

Naturally magnetic iron mineral found in nearly all igneous rocks

Front 67

Mantle Plume

Back 67

Columnar areas of hot molten rock that arise from deep within the mantle

Front 68

Frederick Vine and Drummond Matthews

Back 68

They interpreted the pattern of above-average and below-average magnetic polarity episodes embedded in sea floor rocks to be caused by Earth’s magnetic field alternation between “normal” polarity and “reversed” polarity

Front 69

Mesosaurus

Back 69

An extinct, presumably aquatic reptile that lived about 250 million years ago

Front 70

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Back 70

A continuous underwater mountain range that winds through every ocean basin in the world and resembles the seam on a baseball

Front 71

Nematath

Back 71

A chain of extinct volcanoes that is progressively older as one travels away from a hotspot

Front 72

Ocean Trench

Back 72

The deepest parts of the ocean floor and resemble a narrow crease or trough

Front 73

Oceanic Ridges

Back 73

Steeper-sloping and slower-spreading areas of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 74

Oceanic Rise

Back 74

Gently-sloping and fast-spreading parts of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 75

Oceanic Transform Fault

Back 75

A transform fault that occurs wholly on the ocean floor

Front 76

Paleogeography

Back 76

The study of historical changes of continental shapes and positions

Front 77

Paleomagnetism

Back 77

The study of Earth’s ancient magnetic field

Front 78

Plate Tectonics

Back 78

The outermost portion of Earth is composed of a patchwork of thin, rigid plates that move horizontally with respect to one another, like icebergs floating on water

Front 79

Polar Wandering Curve

Back 79

A curve that shows the change in position of a pole through time

Front 80

Polarity

Back 80

The directional orientation of the magnetic field

Front 81

Rift Valley

Back 81

A central downdropped linear depression

Front 82

Rifting

Back 82

Further splitting apart of the land

Front 83

Sea Floor Spreading

Back 83

A process producing the lithosphere when convective upwelling of magma along the oceanic ridges move the ocean floor away from the ridge axes at rates between 2 to 12 centimeters per year

Front 84

Seamount

Back 84

A tall, volcanic peak that is cone-shaped

Front 85

Spreading Center

Back 85

The axis of the mid-ocean ridge

Front 86

Subduction

Back 86

The process by which one litospheric plate descends beneath another as they converge

Front 87

Subduction Zone

Back 87

The sloping area from the trench along the downward-moving plate

Front 88

Transform Boundary

Back 88

Found where litospheric plates slowly grind past one another

Front 89

Transform Fault

Back 89

A fault with side-to-side motion that offsets segments of a mid-ocean ridge

Front 90

Transform Faulting

Back 90

The movement of one plate past another

Front 91

Volcanic Arc

Back 91

An arc-shaped row of highly active and explosively erupting volcanoes that parallels the trench and occurs above the subduction zone

Front 92

The Wilson Cycle

Back 92

Uses plate tectonic processes to show the distinctive life cycle of ocean basins during their formation, growth, and destruction over many millions of years