Ocean Terms
Terms
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- Salinity
- The term salinity describes the amount of salt in a body of water
- Upwelling
- A vertical circulaton in the ocean that brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface
- Sunlight Zone
- The top layer of the ocean that includes more than 90% of all marine animals
- Twilight Zone
- The Twilight Zone is the next layer of the ocean. The Twilight Zone increases in depth, water pressure, drops sharply in temperature, and the light gradually dims.
- Wave
- Waves transfer energy throughout the ocean, and while they do this, the ocean water moves up and down. Waves do not move ocean water forward
- Adaptation
- the adjustment to environmental conditions.
- Prevailing Winds
- Prevailing Winds are winds that blow continuously in the same general direction.
- Bioluminescence
- the production of light by a living organism
- Continental Slope
- The Continental Slope is the deep plunge from the edge of the Continental Shelf. The Continental Slope is much steeper than the Continental Shelf.
- Chemosynthetic
- Chemosynthetic is a bacteria that uses hydrogen sulfide that pours from hydrothermal vents for energy
- Deep Sea Trench
- A Deep Sea Trench is common ocean floor feature, especially in the Pacific.
- Tides
- Tides are the slow periodic rise and fall of ocean waters.
- Sodium Chloride
- Sodium chloride is the salt in the ocean. Sodium chloride is the same salt found on fries.
- Abyssal Plains
- Abyssal Plains are found beyond the shelf, slope, and rise at a depth of more than 13,000 feet. The Abyssal Plains are wide, slightly rolling plains.
- Continental Shelf
- The Continental Shelf is a sloping ledge found on the edge of most continents.
- Pressure
- Pressure is the amount of force on an object
- Current
- Currents are "rivers of water" that flow in the ocean in certain directions. They move ocean water forward
- Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a deep sea mountain range that runs from Iceland to Antarctica, which is a distance of over 10,000 miles.
- Breakers
- When a wave reaches land, it starts to drag along the bottom. As the bottom of the wave begins to drag on the ocean bottom, the lower part of the wave slows down—but the top keeps going until it topples over, causing the wave to break onto the beach. That is a breaker.
- Density
- Density is mass divided by volume