Oceanography Vocabulary

A flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000.

A

A boundary between a continent and the ocean that is also a tectonic plate boundary.

A

A group of predominantly aquatic, photosynthetic, and nucleus-bearing organisms that lack the roots, stems, leaves, and specialized multicellular reproductive structures of true plants.

A

A ring-shaped carbonate (or coral) reef or series of islands.

A

A long, thin island parallel to the shore, created through the deposition of sand.

B

A volcanic rock that makes up much of the oceanic crust.

B

The measurement of depth of water in oceans, seas, or lakes.

B

The sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier, iceberg, ice front, ice shelf, or crevasse.

C

The shallow (typically less than 200 m) and flat sub-marine extension of a continent.

C

An underwater ecosystem characterized by colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate.

C

The movement of water from one location to another.

C

The major surface current flowing northwards along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. and Canada.

G

A relatively large piece of floating sea ice, i.e., ice that has formed from frozen ocean water.

I

A large, floating piece of glacial ice.

I

A small shrimplike crustacean of the open seas eaten by a number of larger animals, including baleen whales.

K

The Earth’s crust underlying the oceans (as opposed to continental crust).

O

Any of several continuous submarine mountain chains rising from the ocean floor.

O

The small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea or fresh water, consisting chiefly of diatoms, protozoans, small crustaceans, and the eggs and larval stages of larger animals.

P

The amount of dissolved salts present in water.

S

The base level for measuring elevation and depth on Earth.

S

A submerged mountain rising from the seafloor.

S

Unconsolidated particles of mineral or rock that settle to the seafloor.

S

A system for the detection of objects under water and for measuring the water's depth by emitting sound pulses and detecting or measuring their return after being reflected.

S

The natural separation of an ocean's water into horizontal layers by density.

S

A long, narrow depression on the seafloor.

T