Different Surfaces Of Oceans Floor

This is called the arbitrary reference surface.

Different surfaces of oceans floor. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate. The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. Arbitrary reference surface is an estimated surface that is calculated to factor in the shape of the earth. Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist.

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. There is plenty of light and heat within this layer although both decrease as the depth increases. The mid ocean ridges are the most extensive fea tures of the earth s surface. For instance the absolute water level height is higher along the west coast of the united states than the east coast.

Ocean floor mid ocean ridges. 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. Mid ocean ridges deep sea trenches and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. Starting from land a trip across an ocean basin along the seafloor would begin with crossing the continental shelf.

Below the ocean floor there are a few small deeper areas called ocean trenches. Features of the ocean include the continental shelf slope and rise. Features rising up from the ocean floor include seamounts volcanic islands and the mid oceanic ridges and rises. The general shape of the earth is spherical but flattened out at the north and south pole.

The ocean floor is continually being formed and destroyed. Not only is oceanic crust continually created at mid ocean ridges but it is also continually. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. Recall from the chapter on plate tectonics that the ocean floor is not flat.

However the lowest point in the world ocean is much deeper than the highest point on land. The ocean floor covers more than 70 percent of the planet s surface. As scientific knowledge has advanced the capability to envisage these remote sites has increased significantly. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.

Due to the differing depths of the ocean an approximation is made. Like dry land the ocean floor has various features including flat plains sharp mountains and rugged canyons fig. 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. Consisting of a nar row.

The epipelagic zone is known as the surface layer or the sunlight zone of the ocean ranging from the surface to 656 feet.