1	The Ocean Environment SOL 5.6 Oceans cover more than 70% of the surface of the earth. It has an average depth of over 12,000 feet. The Pacific ocean is the deepest ocean. The Atlantic ocean is the shallowest.
2	Geological Characteristics of the Ocean Floor
3	The Continental Shelf Is the undersea ledge that forms the rim of a continent, which slopes underwater to an average depth of about 430 feet.
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5	In some spots it extends hundreds of miles from land.
6	In other spots, the coastline drops almost straight down into deep water. The shelf covers only 10% of the ocean floor.
7	The Continental Shelf Is home to most of the living things in the ocean.
8	Most of the ocean’s organisms live on the continental shelf because
9	"And the plants provide living..." And the plants provide living areas and food for other ocean dwellers.
10	There is a greater diversity of life in the tropical waters near the equator.
11	Light More light is able to reach this shallower portion of the ocean. Thus more plants can live on the continental shelf and the top few meters of the open ocean than in deep ocean water. The entire food chain which depends on those plants exists there, too.
12	Phytophankton
13	Phytoplankton flourish where nutrient-rich water wells up from the deep. use sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis. Are eaten by zooplankton, or animal like plankton, swimming organisms, and sea life from the ocean bottom.
14	Zooplankton
15	Continental Slope The steep slope between the continental shelf and the ocean floor. It angles down sharply to depths of over two miles.
16	Continental Rise The continental rise is made up of the sediment from the shelf and slope, which gathers at the base of the slope which is the boundary between the slope and the abyssal plain.
17	Abyssal Plain The flat or gently sloping region of the ocean floor below 2 miles deep.
18	It is covered by layers of mud called oozes, which contain shells and skeletons of dead plants and animals, formed over millions of years.
19	Abyss Only creatures adapted to cold, dark and very high pressure can exist in the deeper water of the open ocean.
20	Abyss Deep Sea Dragon Fish Deep sea Hairy Angler Fish
21	Fangtooth Fangtooth or ogerfish live at 16,000 feet below sea level.
22	Viper Fish
23	Great mountains and volcanoes rise from the abyssal plain. If one sticks above the surface of the ocean it forms an island.
24	Trenches Trenches are long, narrow valleys found in the abyssal plain. Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific is 36,198 feet deep. It is the deepest known spot in all the oceans.
25	Trieste The vessel that went the deepest into the ocean. It explored the Mariana Trench.
26	As the depth of the ocean water increases: The temperature decreases The pressure increases The amount of light decreases
27	Different ecosystems form based on: the depth of the water temperature of the water the amount of light reaching the water the currents flowing through the area.
28	What is ocean water made of? It is a complex mixture of gases (air) and dissolved solids (table salt and other chemicals).
29	Why is the ocean salty? The salinity or saltiness is caused by the breaking down of rocks on land.
30	The salinity (density of salt) varies depending on rates of evaporation and runoff from nearby land.
31	Undersea volcanoes and springs release minerals into the water.
32	What are currents? Rivers of water that move through the ocean constantly.
33	What causes currents? Wind patterns Temperature differences Water densities due to salinity (the amount of salt in the water)
34	What do ocean currents affect? The mixing of ocean waters Plant and animal populations Navigation routes
35	The Gulf Stream Is the second largest ocean current Begins in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico Flows northeastward toward Europe, after passing around southern Florida to join the Atlantic Ocean
36	"Flows as fast as 138..." Flows as fast as 138 miles a day Warms the climate of Great Britain and northwestern Europe Is used by large ships to go from South America to Atlantic coastal harbors, thereby saving valuable shipping time
37	Human Impact Everyday human activities affect he health of the ocean. More ocean animals are being harvested and killed by humans than nature can restock.
38	"Chemicals used in farming and..." Chemicals used in farming and manufacturing filter through landfills, streams and rivers, eventually reaching the ocean, poisoning marine life.
39	"Ships discharge wastes into ocean..." Ships discharge wastes into ocean waters. Ships, such as oil tankers, pollute ocean waters when they break up and sink.
40	It is important to keep the world’s oceans healthy. Scientists count marine animal populations to find out how humans are affecting ocean life.