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Journey to the Ocean Floor

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Journey to the Ocean Floor
Journey to the Ocean Floor

Oceanography is a science that draws upon the methods and knowledge of geology, chemistry, physics, and biology to study the ocean. The Pacific Ocean is the largest and the deepest ocean. Most submersible dives follow a similar pattern, emphasizing bottom transecting, collecting and photographing specimens. To understand our ocean floor exploration, you must first know something about the ocean floor. Follow along below as I summarize the parts of the ocean floor. First, to record our exploration and to submerge to the ocean’s floor, we will use Alvin, the world 's first deep-sea submersible. Alvin is a three-person, self-propelling capsule-like submarine nearly eight meters long. Since the introduction of Alvin, other manned submersibles have been built and used successfully to explore the deep ocean floor. Now for the ocean floor, the continental margin is the ocean floor. It is located between the shoreline and the deep-ocean bottom. The deep ocean basin is a depression in the ocean floor that varies in depth and includes all of the deep parts of the ocean between the continents. The continental shelf regions also contain the highest amount of plants and animals that live on the ocean floor. Next we have continental slope connects the continental shelf and the oceanic crust. It begins at the continental shelf break, or where the bottom sharply drops off into a steep slope. The continental slope together with the continental shelf is called the continental margin. Past the continental slope, we find the continental rise. As currents flow along the continental shelf and down the continental slope, they pick up and carry sediments and deposit them just below the continental slope. These sediments gather to form the large, gentle slope of the continental rise. The deep ocean basin covers 30 % of Earth 's surface and has features, such as abyssal plains, deep-sea



Cited: http://www.utdallas.edu/~pujana/oceans/guyot.html http://www.enotes.com/earth-science/abyssal-plains http:www.answers.com http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02galapagos/logs/jun04/jun04.html http://www.cliffnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleld_9605, articleld_9605.html

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