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.

Recall from the chapter on plate tectonics that the ocean floor is not flat. This is called the arbitrary reference surface. The mid ocean ridges are the most extensive fea tures of the earth s surface. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.

The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. As scientific knowledge has advanced the capability to envisage these remote sites has increased significantly. The general shape of the earth is spherical but flattened out at the north and south pole. Not only is oceanic crust continually created at mid ocean ridges but it is also continually.

Mid ocean ridges deep sea trenches and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. Below the ocean floor there are a few small deeper areas called ocean trenches. The ocean floor is continually being formed and destroyed. However the lowest point in the world ocean is much deeper than the highest point on land.

You may perceive the ocean floor to be flat and sandy like the beach but the truth is there are many different surfaces. There is plenty of light and heat within this layer although both decrease as the depth increases. Pressure is also minimal and increases with depth. 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.

Due to the differing depths of the ocean an approximation is made. Features rising up from the ocean floor include seamounts volcanic islands and the mid oceanic ridges and rises. For instance the absolute water level height is higher along the west coast of the united states than the east coast. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor.

The ocean floor covers more than 70 percent of the planet s surface. Ocean floor mid ocean ridges. Features of the ocean include the continental shelf slope and rise. Starting from land a trip across an ocean basin along the seafloor would begin with crossing the continental shelf.

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 mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate. Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist.

Like dry land the ocean floor has various features including flat plains sharp mountains and rugged canyons fig.