AICE Marine Earth's Processes 2.1 Vocab

Estuary

A habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean.

Littoral zone

area closest to the shore

Earthquake

The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.

Crust

The thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth

Mantle

The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.

Core

Center of the earth

Seismic

relating to or caused by an earthquake

Ocean Crust

Dense layer made up of primarily basaltic rocks filled with iron and magnesium

Continental crust

Layer of the earth's crust that primarily contains granite, is less dense than oceanic crust

Continental drift

Wegner's theory that the continents slowly moved over Earth's surface and once were joined into a single landmass known as Pangea

Plate tectonics

The process where large sections (plates) of the Earth's crust are in constant movement over the fluid mantle, causing earthquakes and volcanoes at the borders between the plates

Lithosphere

The outermost layer of the Earth's crust

Mid-ocean ridge

a mountain range with a central valley on an ocean floor at the boundary between two diverging tectonic plates, where new crust forms from upwelling magma

Paleomagnetic stripes

The pattern of magnetic stripes on the ocean floor due to reversals in the Earth's magnetic field and seafloor spreading

Polarity

having two opposite states of being on either end (such as North and South pole, or the positive and negative end of a magnet)

Divergent Boundary

where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other

Convection current

the movement of fluids or air based on density differences caused by differing temperature

Convergent boundary

when two or more tectonic plates come together

Subduction

the process where one lithospheric plate slides below another at a convergent plate boundary

Trench

a long, narrow and deep depression on the ocean floor with relatively steep sides; caused by convergent plate boundaries

Volcano

a mountain or hill with a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour and gas are being forced from the Earth's crust

Tsunami

a seismic sea wave created by an underwater earthquake or volcanic event; not noticeable in the open ocean but building to great heights in shallow water

Hydrothermal Vent

an area where cold ocean water that has seeped into the Earth's crust is superheated by underlying magma and forced through vents in the ocean floor

Transform Boundary

when two plates are moving in an antiparallel direction, creating friction between them

Abyssal Plain

a flat, sandy region of the ocean floor found between trenches and continental rise