EXPLORING THE OCEAN

A.LEARNING ABOUT THE OCEAN:1. Trading route2. Scientific Discoveries3. Exploring the ocean floor

i. Sonar- floor mapping

EXPLORING THE OCEANB. FEATURES OF THE OCEAN

FLOOR:- continental shelf- continental slope- abyssal plain- mid-ocean ridge- map on page 180-181

FEATURES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR (cont.)

1. Shallow water:a) Continental shelf: extends

from the edge of the continent outward to where the bottom sharply drops off onto a steep slope.

b) Continental slope: the steep incline between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain.

FEATURES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR (cont.)

2. Open ocean:a) abyssal plain: mostly flat portion of ocean

floor which provides a home to a variety of unique organisms that are adapted to the extreme conditions of this habitat.

b) mid-ocean ridge: A chain of undersea mountains that circles the earth through every ocean.

c) seamount: a volcanic peak that rises at least 3280 feet (1000m) from the seafloor. Completely under water.

FEATURES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR (cont.)3. Deepest depths:

a. ocean trench: the deepest parts of the ocean.

- the deepest one is the Marianas trench (South Pacific)b. hydrothermal vents: an opening in the sea floor where super-heated water and other material are discharged into the surrounding seawater.

EXPLORING THE OCEANC. MOVEMENTS OF THE OCEAN

FLOOR: 1. Layers inside Earth:

a. outer layer – crustb. between crust and core – Mantlec. center - Core

2. Earth’s plates:a. plates: solid rock that makes up Earth’s upper layer /crust- 14 major plates

EARTH’S PLATES

MOVEMENTS OF THE OCEAN FLOOR: (cont.)

3. plates moving apart:a. seafloor spreading: a process by

which new rock is added to the ocean floor along the boundary between diverging plates.

4. plates moving together:- involves one plate sinking under

another.

MOVEMENT OF PLATES

MOVEMENT OF PLATES