Oceanography Terms Test Answers – Flashcards
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Intertidal
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The shallow zone of the ocean where land meets water, which is alternately covered or exposed by the tied
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Sublittoral
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Benthic zone from the low-tide line to the seaward edge of the continental shelf; the subtidal zone.
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Bathyal
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Pertaining to ocean depths between approximately 1000 and 4000 meters.
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Abyssal
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benthic environment between 4000 m and 6000 m depth
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Hadal
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of or pertaining to the greatest ocean depths, below approximately 20,000 ft.
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Plankton
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the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water
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Nekton
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the aggregate of actively swimming animals in a body of water ranging from microscopic organisms to whales
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Benthos
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organisms (plants and animals) that live at or near the bottom of a sea
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Abyssal Hill
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A hill on the slope of a mid-ocean ridge about 100m high and lineated parallel to the ridge crest, formed by faulting of the basaltic oceanic crust as it moves out of the rift valley
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Abyssal Plain
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very level area of the deep-ocean floor, usually lying at the foot of the continental rise
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Mid-Ocean Ridge
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an undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate boundary
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Rift Valley
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A deep valley that forms where two plates move apart.
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Ocean Trench
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A steep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands or a continental margin
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Continental Slope
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the steep gradient that leads to the deep-ocean floor and marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf
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Continental Shelf
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a gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends outward from the edge of a continent
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Continental Rise
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the gently sloping section of the continental margin located between the continental slope and the abyssal plain
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Guyot
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A large, flat-topped seamount resulting from erosion of an island volcano when it was above sea level.
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Seamount
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a huge, underwater volcanic mountain that may emerge from the ocean surface as an island
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Atoll
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an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
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Sea Cliff
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Steep slope produced when waves erode and undercut rock.
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Sea Cave
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formed as wave action hollows out the cliff
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Sea Arch
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Formed when sea caves on either side of a headland join.
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Sea Stack
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column of rock remaining after the collapse of a sea arch
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Wave-Cut Terrace
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A level surface formed by wave erosion of coastal bedrock beneath the surf zone. May be visible at low tide.
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Wave-Built Terrace
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An extension to a wave-cut terrace formed by erosional material deposited offshore
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Beach
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an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
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Berm
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a narrow ledge or shelf typically at the top or bottom of a slope
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Coral Reefs
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Prominent oceanic features composed of hard, limy skeletons produced by coral animals; usually formed along edges of shallow, submerged ocean banks or along shelves in warm, shallow, tropical seas
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Barrier Island
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Low, narrow, sand islands that form offshore from a coastline
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Sand Bar
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A long underwater ridge formed by sand deposited offshore
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Submergent Coastline
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A landform formed when sea level rises or when land sinks
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Emergent Coastline
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Coastline that results from either a drop of sea level or an uplifting of the land
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Lagoon
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shallow body of water or lake near a sea; lake separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs
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Spit
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a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea
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Tombolo
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a ridge of sand that connects an island to the mainland or to another island
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Density
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mass divided by volume
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Temperature
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the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)
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Thermocline
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In water, a distinctive temperature transition zone that separates an upper layer that is mixed by wind (the epilimnion) and a colder, deep layer that is not mixed (the hypolimnion)
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Salinity
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a measure of the amount of dissolved salts and other solids in a given amount of liquid
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Tsunamis
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A giant wave caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor
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Currents
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water that moves in a certain direction; the river like flow of water in the oceans
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El Nino
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(oceanography) a warm ocean current that flows along the equator from the date line and south off the coast of Ecuador at Christmas time
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La Nina
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a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.
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Sonar
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a measuring instrument that sends out an acoustic pulse in water and measures distances in terms of the time for the echo of the pulse to return
