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49 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
gulf
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a large area of the ocean that is partly enclosed by land
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sea
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a body of salty water more or less landlocked
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bay
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small area of ocean that is partly enclosed by land
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ocean
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large body of salty water that covers 3/4 of the earths surface
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precipitation
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moisture that falls from the clouds
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evaporation
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to change from a liquid to a vapor
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condensation
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to change from a vapor to a liquid
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water cycle
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movement of water between earths land air and bodies of water
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solar
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from the sun
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vapor
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a substance in the gaseous state
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coral
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a rock like deposit consisting of the calcareous skeletons secreted by various anthozoans. coral deposits often accumulate to form reefs or islands in warm seas.
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volcanism
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volcanic force or activity invasion of the earths crust by magma
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reefs
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a strip of rocks sand or coral that rises to or near the surface of a body of water
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atolls
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ring shaped island formed by coral reefs around an underwater volcano
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plate tectonics
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a theory that explains the global distribution of geological phenomena such as seismicity volcanism continental drift and mountain building in terms of the formation destruction movement and interaction of the earths lithospheric plates
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continental shelf
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gently sloping underwater edge of a continent that is beneath the oceans surface
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continental slope
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ocean floor from the edge of the continental shelf to the continental rise
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continental rise
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gentle rise at the base of the steeper continental slope
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mid ocean ridge
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underwater mountain range where sea floor spreading happens
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trench
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deep narrow valley in the ocean floor
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abyssal plain
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large flat area on the ocean floor
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ocean basin
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deep part of the ocean beyond the continental rise
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guyot
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flat top seamount
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salinity
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the total amount dissolved salts in water
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density
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amount of matter in a given volume of something
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solution
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the state of being dissolved
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surface current
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large circular streams kept in motion by prevailing winds and rotating the earth
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subsurface current
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generally at a much slower speed than a surface current and the subsurface current is driven by difference in the density of seawater
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Gulf Stream
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is an example of a surface current in the North Atlantic
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Kuroshio
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is an example of a surface current in the north pacific
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current
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like rivers of water that move through the ocean
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upwelling
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is a current created near the shore due to convection and caused deep cold currents to rise to the surface along some western coastlines
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neap tide
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a tide with the least difference between low and high tide that occurs when the sun and moon pull at right angles to eachother
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spring tide
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a tide with the greatest difference between high and low tide that occur when the sun and moon are aligned with the earth
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tide
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the daily rise and fall of earths waters on shores caused mostly by the moon's gravity
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gravitational pull
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the force or attraction between the earth sun and moon that keeps the earth rotating on its axis
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tidal bulge
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results when the moon pulls the earths waters the ocean beneath the moon the moon move toward the moon resulting in a tidal bulge
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Wave
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is a way in which energy travels from one place to another
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crest
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is the highest point the wave reaches
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trough
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is the lowest point on the wave
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wavelength
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is the distance from one crest to the next crest
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breaker
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is a wave whose crest falls forward and crashes into the trough
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benthic zone
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is the ocean floor this zone extends from the continental shelf to dark sparsely populated depths shallow lighted water extending over shelf contains 90% of marine species
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neritic zone
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this zone extends from the low tide to the edge of the continental shelf it is usually only as deep as 200m this zone has the richest life because it has the best conditions for life light is plentiful allowing plants to thrive the temperature is stable and the pressure is low
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intertidal zone
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this zone lies between the low and high tide lines sometimes it is covered in water and sometimes it is dry plants and animals that live in this zone have evolved special structures and techniques to survive in fast moving waters and changing tides
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pelagic zones
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is the water in deep oceans
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Humboldt Current
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a current off the coast of South America that feeds huge schools of fish
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Coriolis effect
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Currents north of the equator move in a clockwise direction; currents south of the equator move in a counter-clockwise direction
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fetch
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the distance wind blows over open water
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