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Ch 19 ES Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
abyssal plain | flat seafloor area from 4,000 m to 6,000 m below the ocean surface, formed by the deposition of sediments |
chemosynthesis | food-making process using sulfur or nitrogen compounds, rather than light energy from the Sun, that is used by bacteria living near hydrothermal vents |
continental shelf | gradually sloping end of a continent that extends beneath the ocean |
continental slope | ocean basin feature that dips steeply down from the continental shelf |
estuary | area where a river meets the ocean that contains a mixture of freshwater and ocean water and provides an important habitat to many marine organisms |
mid-ocean ridge | area where new ocean floor is formed when lava erupts through cracks in Earth's crust |
photosynthesis | food-making process using light energy from the Sun, carbon dioxide, and water |
plankton | marine organisms that drift in ocean currents |
trench | long, narrow, steep-sided depression in the seafloor formed where one crustal plate sinks beneath another |