Marine Biology - Quiz 4

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inner core

soild core about 733 miles in diameter, made mostly of iron crystals

outer core

same elements as inner core, but liquid because it is under less pressure; about 1410 miles thick

mantle

mostly silicon and oxygen with some iron and magnesium; made of hot, dense magma (molten rock); thick and fluid like; about 1800 miles thick

crust

mainly oxygen, silicon, magnesium and iron, rigid solid layer, on average 5 miles (oceanic) to 25 miles thick (continental)

oceanic crust

about 70 to 180 million years old, 4-7 miles, mostly basalt, which has a dark, fine and gritty volcanic structure. it is formed out of liquid lava that quickly cools.

continental crust

3 billion years old; 20-25 miles, mostly igneous rock, the upper part is mostly granite rocks, while the lower part consists of basalt and diorite, lightly colored, coarse grain magma

lava

molten rock that has exited through an opening in the earth’s crust

igneous rock

rock solidified from cooled magma or lava or below the surface of the earth

erosion

the process that carries weathered rock, soil, and organic material from one place to another, for example, through wind, water, and glacial movement

sediment

accumulated organic and inorganic particles

magma

molten rock beneath earth’s surface

rift valley

a deep valley formed by the divergence of tectonic plates, often found at mid-ocean ridges or continental boundaries.

seafloor spreading

is the process by which new oceanic crust forms as magma rises to the surface / divergent boundaries

subducted

where one plate sinks beneath another

transform fault

a boundary where 2 plates slide past another

seasat

the first satellite for ocean studies

alvin

ocean submersible

sonde

slightly more complex than a ctd

goes

satellite type that orbits yet stays in place

jason2

the most recently launched low orbit satellite