Different Surfaces Of Oceans Floor

You may perceive the ocean floor to be flat and sandy like the beach but the truth is there are many different surfaces.

Different surfaces of oceans floor.

The ocean floor covers more than 70 percent of the planet s surface. For instance the absolute water level height is higher along the west coast of the united states than the east coast. There is plenty of light and heat within this layer although both decrease as the depth increases. Mid ocean ridges deep sea trenches and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains.

Pressure is also minimal and increases with depth. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate. Not only is oceanic crust continually created at mid ocean ridges but it is also continually. Most people are surprised to learn that just as the surface of the earth is not flat the surface of the ocean is not flat and that the surface of the sea changes at different rates around the globe.

Another major structural feature of. The general shape of the earth is spherical but flattened out at the north and south pole. The epipelagic zone is known as the surface layer or the sunlight zone of the ocean ranging from the surface to 656 feet. Below the ocean floor there are a few small deeper areas called ocean trenches.

However the lowest point in the world ocean is much deeper than the highest point on land. The east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american plate the cocos plate the nazca plate and the antarctic plate. As scientific knowledge has advanced the capability to envisage these remote sites has increased significantly. Consisting of a nar row.

In fact earth s tallest mountain is mauna kea volcano which rises 10 203 m 33 476 ft meters from the pacific ocean floor to become one of the volcanic mountains of hawaii. Features of the ocean include the continental shelf slope and rise. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. Starting from land a trip across an ocean basin along the seafloor would begin with crossing the continental shelf.

Features rising up from the ocean floor include seamounts volcanic islands and the mid oceanic ridges and rises. Like dry land the ocean floor has various features including flat plains sharp mountains and rugged canyons fig. The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. The mid ocean ridges are the most extensive fea tures of the earth s surface.

This is called the arbitrary reference surface. Recall from the chapter on plate tectonics that the ocean floor is not flat. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. The ocean floor is continually being formed and destroyed.

Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist.