Karina Cruz Flores
April 1, 2015
Q1: Considering the video, and your own previous knowledge, name 3 connections between water
and geography
3 connections are waves, lakes, and canyons located in the ocean. Same goes for mammals, reptiles, and
vertebrates. Also coral reefs which is the forest of the ocean and that has a lot to do with geography. All
these subjects listed have a relation with geography because geography has to do with what interaction
it has to do with the humans.
Q2: Describe the ocean floor. Does the ocean floor look like you expected it to look? Why or why not?
How does your understanding of plate tectonics help interpret the topography of the ocean floor?
How does analyzing the ocean floor help understand the Hawaiian hot spot? Provide screenshots to
support your answers.
Yes the floor map is what I expected it to look like, because we know as a fact that the earth is a planet
consisting of 70 percent water. Plate tectonics helped me understand topography by understanding the
formation of the ring of fire and how the sea floor is always expanding and the Pacific Ocean expanding
due to the plate tectonics. By the bumpy land marks of the ocean around the Hawaiian hot spot showing
the understanding that most islands are found at tectonics boundaries pressing against one another to
form volcanoes but the hot spot right under Hawaiian islands is right on the pacific plate. The Hawaiian
Hot spots won’t move but the pacific plate will move creating new volcanoes around the hot spot.
Q3: What are trenches? What are their names? Investigate them in ArcGIS Online, identifying their
location, using the measure tool to measure their length, and examining the depth readings to
determine their depth. Provide screenshots to support your answers.
Trenches are the deepest parts of the oceans and seas it’s a long narrow ditch. The top three are Marina
trench, Philippine trench, and Tonga trench. Marina is one the deepest oceanic trenches at 36,201 feet
below sea level. The second deepest oceanic trench is the Tonga trench with 35702 feet below sea level,
third trench is the Philippine trench with 34,596 feet below sea level, fourth trench is Kuril-kamchatka
trench with 34,587 feet below sea level, fifth trench is kermadec trench with 32,963 feet below sea
level, sixth trench is Izu-bonin trench with 32,190 below sea level, and the seventh trench is the japan
trench with 31,181 feet below sea level all these trenches are located in the pacific ocean.
Q4: What are seamounts? What are their names? Investigate them in ArcGIS Online, identifying their
location, using the measure tool to measure their length, and examining the depth readings to
determine their depth.
A seamount liked defined in Wikipedia is “a mountain rising from the ocean sea floor that does not
reach the water’s surface, and thus is not an island”(Wikipedia). Seamounts have been seen in Loihi in
the Hawaiian Islands. Which attract coral reefs, fishes, and plankton. There are so many seamounts but
many are not studied as much as others. Bollons seamount, Eratosthenes seamount has a summit depth
of 2,264 feet and height of 6,562 feet, and the Axial seamount has a summit depth of 4,626 feet and
height of 3,609 feet these seamounts are some of the many. The Loihi seamount has a depth of 3,199
feet and height 10,000 feet above the ocean floor. Some seen in the map are Pukaki seamount, Union
seamount, Tucker seamount, and Eickelberg seamount.
Q5: Name three threats to ocean life, water quality, coral reefs, or threats to any other component of
in the ocean.
Over fishing is lowering the food chain. Waste product going into the sea, humans are careless and
throw trash into the oceans and fishes do consume the trash thrown into the ocean causing them to die,
also destroying the coral reefs but blowing them up when fishing for fish, since fish and sea animals do
live in coral reefs and are their food web. Fisher man tend to blow up the coral reefs to get fishes to
expose themselves to catch the fishes. Also throwing fresh water to waste well others have so less seen
in the fresh water video in the last chapter.
Q6: What pattern do you notice? How do volcanoes occur in the oceans? What are some famous
islands that are volcanoes? What oceans and seas contain the most volcanoes? Which volcanoes on
islands are the most active?
In the United States the pattern of volcanoes I see are states next to the ocean and are all together close
to the north pacific ocean also most of the active volcanoes are in the ring of fire. Volcanoes occur in the
ocean due to plate tectonics and hot spots seen in the Hawaiian islands and the pacific plate. Some
famous islands volcanoes are the Hawaiian Islands, Mount Fuji located in Japan, Mauana Loa in Hawaii,
Krakatoa located in the island of Java, Thera located in the island of Santorini, and Mount Pelee located
in the island of Martinique. The ocean that contains the most volcanoes and earthquakes is in the ring of
fire located in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, so one can say the Pacific Ocean contains most of the
volcanoes. Active volcanoes in islands are in the Hawaiian Islands one well known is the Kilauea Volcano
also volcanoes around the ring of fire. Another active volcano is Etna in Italy, and Piton de la Fournaise
on La Reunion Island.
Q7: What pattern of earthquakes do you notice? What is the pattern of plate boundaries? Through
which oceans do plate boundaries run? How do earthquakes occur in the ocean? Which plate
boundaries are most active in terms of earthquakes in the oceans?
mostly all the earthquakes happen to the continents surround by the ocean like the islands in Asia, North
and South American where it connects to the pacific ocean since California also experiences a lot of
earthquakes I would know I used to live there, there are also earthquakes in the water but not exactly where
but for sure in the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Also most of the earth quakes happen in the western cost of North
and South America. Move more further away the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the Islands of the Pacific Rim and the
eastern cost of Asia. Also below the Africa continent in the southern cost of the Atlantic Ocean. The center
of the Atlantic Ocean. Patterns seen of plate boundaries are that they all connect in surrounding waters. The
Pacific Ocean is the ocean in which plate boundaries run through same with the mid-ocean ridge formed by
plate tectonics it is well known as the oceanic spreading center. Earthquakes occur along the oceanic and
continental plates. Plate boundaries with the most active earthquakes in the ocean is the pacific boundaries.
The North American plate and the Eurasian plate which are separating Iceland.
Q8: What is the relationship between plate boundaries and earthquakes? What is the hazard
associated with earthquakes in the oceans?
The relationship between the plate boundaries and earthquakes is that they separate countries like
Iceland and they cause natural disasters. Forming and destroying landforms. Some Hazard are floods
and hurricanes. Associated with earthquakes in the ocean. Also destroying the fishes and there homes in
the water.
Q9: What is the relationship of hurricanes to oceans? What relationship is there between ocean
currents and hurricane paths? How do oceans help foster and grow hurricanes?
Hurricanes and oceans cause natural disasters leading to many deaths. Hurricanes also transfer heat
from the ocean to the atmosphere. Oceans help grow hurricanes by upwelling since the water can’t go
all the way underneath the ocean and by wind current that produce energy. Wave winds transfers
energy to the water they are very strong and blows over a long distance.
Q10: How does current weather affect ocean chemistry, wave height, and temperature? How do
oceans influence current weather? Name three ways that oceans influence long-term climate.
Current weather affects the oceans chemistry but warming the water causing fishes to die and coral
reefs to disappear and decreasing wave height which causes the waves not to produce enough energy to
the ocean. Three ways the ocean influence a long term climate is that the ocean helps cool the
environment like read in the chapter of oceans “the ocean among with the atmosphere, keep the
Earth’s surface temperature fairly constant worldwide” (Open Geography education). The ocean
transfer heat to the earth. “The ocean absorbs heat near the equator and then transfers the solar
energy to the polar region” (Open Geography Education). The ocean influences the current weathers by
not letting the world get to hot or to cold because water takes a long time to heat or cool down.
Q11: Name three ways that the ocean affects the shore. What percentage of major world cities lies
along coastlines? What threats do cities pose to ocean life? Name at least three natural hazards that
exist to cities along coastlines?
Three ways the ocean affects the shore is by bring floods and hurricanes. The oceans also brings ocean
animals to shore like whales which leads to extinction. About 40 percent of the major world cities live
along coastlines. Threats cities pose to ocean life is over fishing and floods and natural disasters brought
of oceans just like volcanoes and earthquakes also low temperatures. Three natural hazards are floods,
hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Q12: You have explored a few aspects of oceans from a spatial perspective, but much more could be
done. Write your own question about oceans, investigate it, and answer it!
What type of ocean animals have gone extinct in the ocean?
Pinta island tortoise
What type of ocean animals are endangered?
Whales, dolphins, salmon, sea birds, sea turtles, coral reefs, polar bears, and sharks
Reflection
• Name three things you have learned about oceans through any of the above investigations.
I learned that coral reefs will become extinct. I learned about the locations of earthquakes and
volcanoes and where they occur and which ones are active. I also learned about trenches and
seamounts and there locations.
• Name three things you have learned about GIS through these investigations.
I learned how to map and measure. I also learned how to add layers to see where volcanoes and
earthquakes occur. I also learned how to read the map by viewing the map in the oceanic layer. I
learned how to get further detail on given regions like the names of the volcanoes and their description.
• How has the spatial perspective about oceans influenced your understanding of it?
It helped me understand how the ocean has many trenches and seamounts that are yet to be known. I
find it amazing the statement that we know the moon more then what we know about the ocean, being
the ocean at the reach of our hands. It helped me understand how the ocean bring a lot of the natural
disasters we experienced.