Unit5OceanFloorStructureandPlateTectonics.docVIP

Unit 5: Ocean Floor Structure and Plate Tectonics Sea Floor Features: Earths rocky surface is divided into two types: oceanic crust, with a thin dense crust about 10 km thick, and continental crust, with a thick light crust about 40 km thick. The deep, lighter continental crust floats higher on the denser mantle than does the oceanic crust. The diagram below illustrates the basic set up of the ocean floor. Remember, however, that this is just an overall view of what exists. Continental Shelves – zones adjacent to a continent (or around an island) and extending from the low-water line to the depth, usually about 120 m, where there is a marked or rather steep descent toward great depths. The volume of the water in the ocean exceeds the volume of the ocean basins, and some water spills over on to the low lying continental shelves, forming shallow seas. Some, such as the South China Sea, are more than 1100 km wide. Most are relatively shallow, with typical depths of 50-100 m. A few of the more important continental shelves are: the East China Sea, the Bering Sea, the North Sea, the Grand Banks, the Patagonian Shelf, the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Siberian Shelf. The shallow seas help dissipate tides, they are often areas of high biological productivity, and they are usually included in the exclusive economic zone of adjacent countries Continental Slope - extends from the continental shelf at an average depth of about 135 meters . Both the continental shelf and slope are considered structurally part of the continents, even though they are below the sea surface. Ridges – Ridges are long, narrow, continuous mountain chains on the sea floor. Individually, ocean ridges are the largest features in ocean basins. Collectively, the ocean ridge system is the most prominent feature on the Earth’s surface. The East Pacific Rise is the largest oceanic ridge Seamounts - isolated or comparatively isolated elevations rising 1000 m or more from the sea floor and with s