Water, Waves & Underwater Ocean Features Oceans Water, Waves & Underwater Ocean Features

What does the bottom of the ocean look like? Covered in sand?

Covered in Plants?

Covered in Mountains?

Lets Take A Look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpyNtxPReaw

Features of the Ocean Floor The landscapes found deep beneath the ocean are as dramatic as any found onshore! Jagged Peaks muddy plains Trenches Mountains

Features of the Ocean Floor

Basin Low Flat Also called an Abyssal Plain

Abyssal Plain ● An underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually between 3000 and 6000 m. ● Lying generally between a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface. ● They are among the flattest, smoothest and least explored regions on Earth.

Continental rise Moving upwards towards shore Made of a mixture of sediments Turbidity!!! --- how clean or dirty the water looks Murkiness is caused by small underwater avalanches of sand and sediment Less habitats

Continental Slope ● Steepest!!!! ● Minimal Habitats

Continental Shelf Shallowest What we see when we go to the beach Lots of Habitats and Creatures Warmer water (sunlight) Like a shelf !!........ before it drops off into deep ocean

Trench ●Underwater canyon ●Deepest places on Earth ●Coldest

Seamounts Underwater Mountains and Volcanoes Those that surface above water are known as islands Hawaii

What about Landforms above water created by the ocean?

Barrier Islands sea levels storms waves tides Longshore currents ● Barrier islands are constantly on the move. ● Migrating under the influence of changing sea levels storms waves tides Longshore currents They form when sediment piles up on itself and eventually reaches the surface.

Now that we know what is under the water, lets look at the water characteristics & see how that water moves…..

Ocean Water Temperature ●Salinity Amount of dissolved particles in the water ● Usually measures salt ● Parts per/thousands = 35 per 1000 Temperature Decreases with increasing depth

Waves ● A Wave is a rhythmic movement that carries energy through matter or space. ● In oceans, waves move through seawater

Crest – highest point of a wave Trough – lowest point of a wave Wave Height – vertical distance between the crest and the trough Wavelength – horizontal distance between two crests or two troughs

Wave Motion When a wave passes through the ocean, individual water molecules move up and down but they do not move forward or backward. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQrj0DNXjMY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yPTa8qi5X8&feature=related

So if a WAVE is the movement of energy … So if a WAVE is the movement of energy …..Where does the energy come from?

Fetch: the distance the wind can blow over the water Wind blows across water’s surface creating shear force Fetch: the distance the wind can blow over the water * The longer the fetch length and the faster the wind speed, the larger and stronger the wave will be.

Currents & Tides Gravitational forces caused by the Moon’s pull…… Deep ocean circulation…… Next Class!!!

Quiz Vocabulary Abyssal Plain Turbidity Continental Slope Continental Shelf Trench Seamounts Barrier Islands Salinity Wave Crest Trough Wave Height Wavelength Fetch