Unit 2 Oceanography Lesson 1 Earth’s Ocean and the Ocean Floor Lesson 2 Ocean Waves Lesson 3 Ocean Currents
a movement of ocean water that follows a regular pattern ocean current
the distance from any point on a wave to the corresponding point on the next wave wavelength
a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid salinity
a giant ocean wave that forms after a volcanic eruption, submarine earthquake, or landslide tsunami
the movement of deep, cold, and nutrient rich water to the surface upwelling
a layer in a body of water in which water temperature drops with increased depth faster than it does in other layers thermocline
a wave that requires a medium through which to travel mechanical wave
any movement of matter that results from differences in density; may be vertical, circular, or cyclical convention current
the shallow sea floor that is located between the shore-line and the deep ocean bottom; it is divided into the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the continental rise continental margin
a horizontal movement of water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean’s surface surface current
the highest point of a wave crest
the ocean floor under the deep- ocean water deep-ocean basin
time required for corresponding points on consecutive points on consecutive waves to pass a given point wave period
a long under-sea mountain chain that forms along the floor of the major oceans mid-ocean ridge
a disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another; a wave can be a single cycle or it can be a repeating pattern wave
the lowest point of a wave trough
the curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth’s rotation Coriolis Effect
a long, narrow, and deep depression on the ocean floor that forms when one tectonic plate subducts beneath another plate; trenches run parallel to volcanic island chains or to the coastlines of continents; also called a trench or a deep ocean trench ocean trench
a stream-like movement of water far below the surface deep current
a disturbance on the ocean that transmits energy and takes the shape of a swell or a ridge ocean wave