The Earth is often referred to as the blue planet since it is seventy-one percent oceans and marginal seas with only twenty-nine percent comprising the continents and islands. There are three principal topographic features of the planets ocean floor: continental margin, ocean basin floor and mid-ocean ridge. The continental margin is the most extensive feature of the ocean floor divided into two kinds: a.) the active continental margins which are primarily located around the Pacific Ocean with slopes descending abruptly into a deep-ocean trench. There are usually accumulations of deformed sediment and scraps of ocean crust forming accretionary wedges. Some subduction zones have little or no accumulation of sediments; and b.) the passive continental margins usually found along most coastal area that surround the Atlantic Ocean. These are not associated with plate boundaries and experience very little volcanism and few earthquakes. It is comprised of three features: the continental shelf, which is the flooded extension of the continent mostly consisting of thick accumulations of shallow-water sediments. Basically sloping gently and varies greatly in width. It contains important mineral deposits like oil, natural gas, sand and gravel with some areas mantled by extensive glacial deposits.
The continental slope is relatively steep structure marking the boundary between continental crust and oceanic crust. It also signifies the seaward edge of the continental shelf. While the continental rise are continental slopes merging into a more gradual incline. These are found in regions where trenches are absent and there is a usual thick accumulation of sediments. The second topographic feature is the ocean basin floor which is composed various distinct elements: a.) deep-ocean trenches, relatively narrow features and deepest parts of the ocean associated with volcanic activity and are mostly located in the Pacific Ocean; b.) the abyssal plains, the site of thick accumulations of sediments and the most level places on Earth found in all oceans; and c.) seamounts and guyots are any form near oceanic ridges — isolated volcanic peaks that may sink and form flat-topped seamounts. The mid-ocean ridge, the third topographical feature of the ocean, is characterized by an elevated position, extensive faulting and numerous volcanic structures that have developed on newly formed crust.
The Essay on The major ocean surface current patterns
An ocean surface current is a constantly directed and continuous movement or flow of ocean water. Major ocean surface current patterns are powered by the wind. However, these patterns are also largely influenced by other factors such as the Corolis effect, which is the deflection of the water to the direction of the wind, the differences in heating across the globe, and the structure of the ...
This is an interconnected ridge system that is the longest (over 70,000 kilometers in length) topographic feature on the Earths surface (Turback and Lutgens, 1990) There are three types of seafloor sediments; each possessing different compositions and have varying formations. The Biogenous Sediments are mostly composed of common are calcareous oozes produced from microscopic organisms that inhabit warm surface waters, shells and skeletons of marine animals and plants, siliceous oozes from skeletons of diatoms and radiolarians and phosphate rich materials derived from the bones, teeth, and scales of fish and other marine organisms. The Hydrogenous Sediments are made up of minerals that crystallize directly from seawater; common types includes manganese nodules, calcium carbonates, metal sulfides and evaporates. These sediments comprise only a small portion of deposits in the ocean. The last one, Terrigenous Sediments are materials weathered from continental rocks and virtually every part of the ocean receives some of these fine particles which remain suspended for a long time. The process of oxidation often produces red and brown colored sediments.
The coarse terrigenous deposits dominate the continental margin areas while the fine-grained terrigenous material is common in deeper areas of the ocean basin. There are basically two major oceanic current systems that operate in all the worlds water, the surface and the deep current. Warm water is chilled in the far North Atlantic and sinks to form the deep current system flowing south and slowly floating near the bottom to form the surface current system that will flow back north to begin the cycle. According to study, the ocean’s system of currents takes 1,000 years to go full cycle (Simon and Wellnitz, 2000).
The Term Paper on Water Distribution System
CHAPTER 8 WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS Distribution system is a network of pipelines that distribute water to the consumers. They are designed to adequately satisfy the water requirement for a combination of o Domestic o Commercial o Industrial o Fire fighting purposes. A good distribution system should satisfy the followings: o Adequate water pressure at the consumer's taps for a specific ...
Both types of currents exist at all depths in the ocean; there are even times, in some regions, where two or more currents flow in different directions at different depths at the same time. The oceans current system process is complex but basically they are driven by two forces: the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.
The salinity of oceans water comes mainly from minerals including salt weathered from the Earth’s crust delivered into the sea. The amount of salt in the water can have a very dramatic effect on the water cycle and ocean circulation. A very small variation on the Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) can affect the Earths water cycle and the oceans current system circulation including the worlds climate. The average salinity of the ocean generally ranges between 32 and 37 practical salinity units but it should be noted that SSS varies spatially. The process of evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice both increase the salinity of the ocean. These are continually counterbalanced by processes that decrease salinity such as the continuous input of fresh water from rivers, precipitation of rain and snow, and the melting of ice.
Works Cited Ford, Brent A., Project Earth Science: Geology. Arlington: National Science Teachers Association, 1996. Simons, Barbara Brooks, and Thomas R. Wellnitz. Science Explorer: Earth’s Waters. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. Tarbuck, Edward J. and Frederick K.
Lutgens. Earth Science. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000..
The Essay on ocean water
1. Introduction to open water waste disposal. 2. Introduction of oil into marine environments. 3. Introduction of plastics/pollutants into marine environments. 4. Possible solutions to waste disposal into our water systems. The oceans and the life they sustain have had enough. They can no longer endure the unwanted pollution of careless, inconsiderate people worldwide. The societies of this world ...
