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The Ocean Floor

The Ocean Floor. Studying the Ocean Floor. Scientists use sonar to determine the oceans depth The sound moves through the water, bounces off the ocean floor, and returns to the ship. Ocean Basins. Ocean basins are low areas of Earth that are filled with water

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The Ocean Floor

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  1. The Ocean Floor

  2. Studying the Ocean Floor • Scientists use sonar to determine the oceans depth • The sound moves through the water, bounces off the ocean floor, and returns to the ship

  3. Ocean Basins • Ocean basins are low areas of Earth that are filled with water • The continental shelf is the gradually sloping end of a continent that extends under the ocean to 350 m deep

  4. The Ocean Floor • Beyond the shelf, the ocean floor drops more steeply, forming the continental slope. • The continental slopeextends from the outer edge of the continental shelf down to the ocean floor.

  5. Ocean Basins • Beyond the continental slope lie the trenches, valleys, plains, mountains, and ridges of the ocean basin

  6. Ocean Basins • In the deep ocean, sediment, derived mostly from land, settles constantly on the ocean floor. • These deposits fill in valleys and create flat seafloor areas called abyssal plains.

  7. The Ocean Basins • Some areas of abyssal plains have small hills and seamounts. • Seamounts are underwater, inactive volcanic peaks

  8. Ridges and Trenches • Mid-ocean ridges can be found at the bottom of all ocean basins. • A mid-ocean ridge is the area in an ocean basin where new ocean floor is formed.

  9. Ridges and Trenches • On the ocean floor, subduction zones are marked by deep ocean trenches.

  10. Trenches and Ridges • A trenchis a long, narrow, steep-sided depression where one plate sinks beneath another.

  11. Question 1 • What is the continental shelf?

  12. Answer The continental shelf is the gradually sloping end of a continent that extends under the ocean.

  13. Question 2 • Which structure extends from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the ocean floor? A. abyssal plain B. continental slope C. oceanic trench D. seamount

  14. Answer • The answer is B. The other features lie beyond the continental slope.

  15. Question 3 • What is the area in an ocean basin where new ocean floor is forming?

  16. Answer • New seafloor forms at mid-ocean ridges as lava erupts through cracks in Earth’s crust.

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