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The oceans
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| salinity | The total amount of dissolved salts in a water sample. |
| sonar | A system that uses reflected sound waves to locate and determent the distance to objects underwater. |
| seamount | A steep sided volcanic mountain rising from the deep-ocean floor. |
| trench | A deep steep sided canyon in the oceans floor. |
| continental slope | A steep incline of the ocean floor leading down from the edge of the continental shelf. |
| continental shelf | A gently sloping shallow area on the ocean floor that extends outward from the edge of a continent. |
| abyssal plain | A smooth, nearly flat region of the deep ocean floor. |
| mid-ocean ridge | An undersea mountain range where a new ocean floor is produced; A divergent plate boundary under the ocean. |
| wave | A movement of energy that through a body of water. |
| wavelength | the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave, such as the distance between two crests. |
| frequency | The number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time. |
| wave height | The vertical distance from the crest of a wave to the trough. |
| tsunami | A giant wave usually caused by a earthquake beneath the ocean floor. |
| longshore drift | the movement of water and sediment caused by waves coming into shore at an angle. |
| rip current | A strong narrow current, that flows briefly from the shore back toward the ocean through a narrow opening. |
| groin | A wall made of rocks or concrete that is built out was from a beach to refuse erosion. |
| current | a large stream of moving water that flows through the oceans. |
| Coriolis effect | the effect if earths rotation on the direction of winds and currents. |
| climate | The average annual conditions of temperature, perspiration winds, and clouds in the area. |
| El Nino | An abnormal climate event that occurs ever two to seven years in the pacific ocean, causing changes in winds, currents, and weather patterns for one to two years. |
| La Nina | A climate even in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which surface waters are colder than normal. |
| intertidal zone | An area between the highest high tide on on land and the point on the continental shelf exposed by the lowest low tide line. |
| neritic zone | The area of the ocean that extends from the low tide line out to the edge of the continental shelf. |
| open-ocean zone | The deepest darkest area of the ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. |
| plankton | Tiny algae and animals the float in water and are carried by waves and currents. |
| nekton | Free swimming animals that can move throughout the water column. |
| benthos | Organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean or another body of water. |
| food web | The pattern of overlapping feeding relationships or food chains among the amount the various organisms in an ecosystem. |