1. Hydrosphere: the ocean environment
2. Plankton: Drifters. Tiny plants, animals, or bacteria. Animals (zooplankton)
jellyfish
3. Nekton: Swimmers. Fish, shark, dolphin. Primarily found in the neritic zone
4. Benthos: Bottom dwellers. Crabs, starfish, sea cucumber, urchins, clams
5. Pelagic zone: The ocean water. 2 zones: neritic, oceanic
6. Neritic zone: Water above the continental shelf. Contains the majority of life
in the pelagic environment.
7. Oceanic zone: Open Water Zone. Covers the entire ocean beyond the
continental shelf.
8. Benthic zone: Seafloor. 5 zones (ISBAH)
9. Intertidal zone: Benthic. The area where the tide is affected. Partially
exposed to air, and partially underwater, depending on the tide.
10.Sublittoral zone: Benthic. Area from the intertidal zone across the
continental shelf. Contains the most sea life. Entire area is penetrated by
sunlight. Temperature and pressure are consistent. Coral Reefs.
11.Bathyal zone: Benthic. The area covering the continental SLOPE.
12.Abyssal zone: Benthic. The zone covering the entire abyssal plain. The
LARGEST ECOLOGICAL zone. You might find organisms such as worms, sea
urchins, sea cucumbers, and CHEMOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA at the
HYDROSTHERMAL VENTS.
13.Hadal zone: Benthic. The DEEPEST Ecological zone. OCEAN TRENCHES. A
few worms & clams, but not much else.
14.SONAR: SOund Navigation And Ranging. Technology used to study the
ocean floor by bouncing or echoing sound waves off of the ocean floor.
LITHOSPHERE: Landforms under the ocean
15.Continental margin: Continental SHELF, SLOPE, & RISE. Continental CRUST.
16.Continental shelf: The land of the intertidal and sublittoral zones. Contains
the majority of all sea life.
17.Continental slope: Steeply inclined section of the oceanic lithosphere with a
depth of 200 to 4,000m.
18.Continental rise: Where the slope and the abyssal plain meet. This area is
covered with sediment that falls down the slope.
19.Abyssal plain: LARGEST area of the LITHOSPHERE. It can be described as
being covered in mud and the remains of tiny marine organisms (marine snow)
and has an average depth of 4,000 m.
20.Mid-ocean ridge: Underwater mountain range. They look like the seams on a
baseball. Iceland is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
21.Rift valley: The low areas that form on the ocean floor between the ridges.
22.
Seamount: Underwater volcanoes. Hawaii is an example.
23.Ocean trench: Deepest areas of the ocean floor. Typically found at
SUBDUCTION ZONES where to plates collide.