Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
31 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
salinity
|
the measure of dissolved salt in a given amount of liquid
|
|
crest
|
the highest point of a wave
|
|
trough
|
the lowest point of a wave
|
|
wavelength
|
the distance between two successive points on a wave
|
|
amplitude
|
half of the wave height; the change in height or depth from the water level
|
|
tsunami
|
a very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption
|
|
undertow
|
a flow of water back out to the ocean after a wave breaks on shore
|
|
rip current
|
a strong, narrow current that forms when water returns tot he ocean through a break in an underwater sandbar
|
|
gulf stream
|
a warm surface current in the Atlantic ocean that flows up the eastern coast of North America and then east to Europe
|
|
Coriolis effect
|
the curving of moving objects from a straight path due to the earth's rotation
|
|
tidal range
|
the difference in water height between high and low tide
|
|
spring tide
|
a tide with a wide daily tidal range that occurs when the sun and the moon are aligned and pull at the oceans together
|
|
neap tide
|
a tide with the lowest daily tidal range that occurs when the sun and the moon are at a right angle to each other
|
|
continental margin
|
the part of the earth's surface beneath the ocean that is made of continental crust
|
|
continental shelf
|
the flattest part of the continental margin
|
|
continental slope
|
the steepest part of the continental margin
|
|
continental rise
|
the base of the continental slope
|
|
trench
|
a deep underwater valley
|
|
abyssal plains
|
vast stretches of flat land at the bottom of the continental slope
|
|
seamount
|
an underwater volcanic mountain on the ocean floor
|
|
midocean ridges
|
the mountain chains that form on the ocean fllor where tectonic plates pull apart
|
|
submersible
|
a small underwater vessel
|
|
echo sounders
|
instruments that measure ocean depth by bouncing sound waves off the ocean floor
|
|
plankton
|
microscopic organisms that live near the surface of the water
|
|
nekton
|
free-swimming ocean organisms
|
|
benthos
|
organisms that live on or in the ocean floor
|
|
intertidal zone
|
the marine environment between the land and where the tides go in and out
|
|
bathyal zone
|
the ocean zone that extends from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the abyssal plain
|
|
abyssal zone
|
the ocean zone on the abyssal plain
|
|
hadal zone
|
the deepest ocean zone which consists of the floor of the ocean trenches
|
|
desalination
|
the process of removing salt from ocean water to obtain fresh water for drinking, irrigation, or industrial use
|