click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
lessons 1-3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| salinity | the total amount of dissolved salts in a water sample |
| sonar | a system that uses reflected sound waves to detect and determine the distance between objectts underwater |
| seamount | a steep-sided volcanic mountain rising from the deep ocean floor |
| trench | a deep,steep-sided canyon ocean 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 of the ocean floor that extends outward from the edge of a continent |
| abbysal plain | a smooth,nearly flat reigon of the deep ocean floor |
| mid ocean ridge | a undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced;a divergent plate boundary under the ocean |
| wave | the movement of energy 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 an earthquake beneath the ocean floor |
| longshore drift | the movement of water and sendiment down a beach 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 outward from a beach t prevent erosion |
| current | a large stream of moving water that flows through the ocean |
| Coriolis effect | the effect of earths rotation on the direction of the winds currents |
| climate | the average annual conditions of tempature,precipitation ,winds, and clouds in the area |
| El nino | an adnormal,climate event that occurs every two t seven years in the Pacific ocean,causing challenges in winds,currents,and weather patterns for one to two years |
| la nina | a climate event inn the eastern Pacific ocean in which the surface waters are colder than normal |