10.1 Oceanography 1 - Bennett Earth Science

Oceanography

the study of the world's oceans

Salinity

the saltiness of a body of water

Marine

found in or relating to the ocean

Hydrothermal Vent

located in an oceanic rift; releases superheated water forming black smokers

Chemosynthesis

the process by which some organisms use the energy stored in chemical reactions to make their own food instead of sunlight

Thermocline

A narrow layer of abrupt temperature change in the ocean and in many temperate-zone lakes.

Density

A measure of how much mass is contained in a given volume; mass divided by volume.

Bathymetry

The charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor

Sonar

A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves

Challenger Deep

Deepest known point in the sea; in the Mariana Trench.

Deep Zone

The bottom layer of the ocean that extends from the base of the thermocline to the ocean floor.

Surface Zone

Warm, top layer of ocean water.

DSV Alvin

A famous submersible that set a deep-ocean record by diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and discovered hydrothermal vents.

Pycnocline

A layer of water in which there is a rapid change of density with depth.

Sediment cores

Sample gathered to study sediment and fossils of the ocean floor.

Black Smoker

A hydrothermal vent on the ocean floor that emits a black cloud of hot water filled with dissolved metal particles.