Unit #5: Earth’s Geological Processes
Date:
Page 1
Ocean Properties, Structure and Geological
Features
Part A: Introduction
 The oceans cover two-thirds of the Earth's surface to an average depth of almost 4km. The
deepest point discovered so far is almost ______ deep.
 The oceans provide about ______ times as much living space as all of the Earth's other
environments - soil, air and fresh water - put together.
 The giant squid, Architeuthis dux, has the largest eyes of any animal on Earth. They are up to
about __________ across - the size of a dinner plate.
 The record for the deepest fish goes to Abyssobrotula galatheae, a member of Ophidiidae
family. It was dredged from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of ________ in
1970.
 The largest known deep sea fish is the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, which
grows to over ______ in length. However, it doesn't spend all its time in the deep sea. It also
comes up to the surface to eat offal thrown overboard from fishing boats.
 Life in the sea is incredibly rich. There are creatures from ______ major groups of animals
living in the sea, including sponges, crustaceans and molluscs, whereas only _______ major
groups of animals live on land.
Part B: Ocean Properties

Ocean water is _____% salt. But the actual concentration depends on
your location.

Light can only penetrate a _________________________. So
photosynthesis can only occur near the surface.

There are 3 layers to ocean water
o
o
o

_________ of the ocean’s water is below the thermocline.

Types of ocean currents
o Surface Currents are caused by the ________________.
They can have a speed of up to ____________.
o Deep ocean currents are caused by differences in
_____________ and __________________. They move at
a slow speed of _________________.

Upwelling brings _________________________ from
_____________ to the _____________________.
Date:
Unit #5: Earth’s Geological Processes
Part C: Ocean Features
Page 2
1. Sunlight Zone
(__________________ Zone)
o Located around the
coastline is the continental shelf. It stretches out about _______ from the coasts
and drops down to around _________ deep.
o
2. Twilight Zone (______________)
o It is the middle zone. It is dimly-____________________________________ here
and the level of ___________________________. Many zooplankton and smaller
fish live here
3. Abyssal Plain
o At a depth of around ______________ the sea bed flattens out. This is the abyssal
plain, the largest habitat on Earth. It covers over half the ocean floor and depths
reach down to _________.
Part D: Shore Line Features
1. Erosional Features
o There are three things that determine the degree of coastline erosion
i.
ii.
iii.
Date:
Unit #5: Earth’s Geological Processes
Page 3
o Coastline erosional features include ________________, ___________________,
and _______________________________.
2. Depositional Shoreline Features
o When wave break on the shore, the water continues
to rush up the beach (at the same angle as the
waves) as ____________, but when it stops it runs
back down the beach along the greatest slope as
_____________.
o This swash/backwash motion will result in a
___________________________of the water with a
net direction that is the same as the approaching
waves and which will produce a
________________________.
o The geological features include
i. Sand Spit
ii. A Bay Mouth bar or Bay Mouth Barrier
iii. Tombolo
iv. A barrier Island