Different Surfaces Of Oceans Floor

Arbitrary reference surface is an estimated surface that is calculated to factor in the shape of the earth.

Different surfaces of oceans floor.

Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. 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. Pressure is also minimal and increases with depth. 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.

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

The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate. Another major structural feature of. Features rising up from the ocean floor include seamounts volcanic islands and the mid oceanic ridges and rises. Below the ocean floor there are a few small deeper areas called ocean trenches.

Mid ocean ridges deep sea trenches and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. Like dry land the ocean floor has various features including flat plains sharp mountains and rugged canyons fig. The general shape of the earth is spherical but flattened out at the north and south pole. Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist.

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. Due to the differing depths of the ocean an approximation is made. Consisting of a nar row. For instance the absolute water level height is higher along the west coast of the united states than the east coast.

The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. Recall from the chapter on plate tectonics that the ocean floor is not flat. The ocean floor is continually being formed and destroyed. This is called the arbitrary reference surface.

Not only is oceanic crust continually created at mid ocean ridges but it is also continually. You may perceive the ocean floor to be flat and sandy like the beach but the truth is there are many different surfaces. Features of the ocean include the continental shelf slope and rise. However the lowest point in the world ocean is much deeper than the highest point on land.

There is plenty of light and heat within this layer although both decrease as the depth increases.