Unit 2 The Solar System

Unit 2 Oceanography

Lesson 1 Earth’s Ocean and the Ocean FloorLesson 2 Ocean WavesLesson 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