| Question | Answer |
| salinity - | a term that describes
the saltiness of water |
| surface ocean currents - | winddriven
currents that move at the
ocean surface, often for long
distances. |
| gyres - | large rotating ocean
current systems |
| deep ocean currents - | densityand
temperature-driven currents
that move slowly within the ocean;
also called thermohaline currents. |
| crest - | the high point of a wave. |
| trough - | the low point of a wave |
| amplitude - | the vertical distance
between a wave crest or trough
and the average level of motion. |
| wavelength - | the distance
between two wave crests, or the
distance between two wave
troughs. |
| period - | the time it takes for one
wavelength to pass by a single
point. |
| fetch - | the amount of open water
over which wind blows. |
| swells - | long, fast-moving waves |
| wave train - | many waves
traveling together. |
| tsunami - | a huge wave made by
a large disturbance like an
underwater earthquake, landslide,
or volcanic eruption. |
| marine - | a term that describes
things that are part of or from the
ocean. |
| beach - | an area of coastal sand
between the low tide line and the
line of permanent vegetation |
| backshore - | the part of a beach
above the high tide line. |
| foreshore - | the part of a beach
between the high and low tide
lines; also called the intertidal
zone. |
| tidal flat - | a flat, muddy area in
the foreshore |
| coast - | the boundary between
land and a body of water like the
ocean. |
| longshore drift - | the flow of
sand along a coast. |
| continental shelf - | the ocean
bottom that extends from a coast
or shoreline to the continental
slope. |
