Oceans Austin Science Earth
Oceans Austin Science Earth
Oceans Austin Science Earth
Most of our planet, about 70% is occupied by the ocean. The ocean floor is not totally
uniform and is full of different topographic structures. Oceanographers have established
three main units: ocean margins, deep ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges.
As for the continental margins these are classified into passive margins and active
margins. The passive margins are the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, including the eastern
coasts of North and South America, as well as the coastal areas of Europe and Africa.
They are called passive because they do not lie on the margin of an active continental
plate and therefore have little seismic and volcanic activity. However, the passive
continental margins consist of the continental shelf, the continental slope and the foot of
the slope. Of these three formations, the continental shelf is of great importance,
constituting a gently sloping, submerged surface that extends from the coastline to the
edge of the deep ocean basins. And although in relation to the whole ocean it represents
a small proportion, it has great relevance as it is the source of many valuable resources
such as minerals, fish shoals, among others. Active continental margins occur where the
oceanic plate is being subducted beneath a continental plate. They are located mainly
around the Pacific Ocean,
Deep ocean basins. There are flat regions, known as abyssal plains; there are also high
volcanic peaks, called seamounts and submarine trenches, which are very deep linear
depressions. The latter have reached depths of more than 11,000 meters in the Mariana
trenches located in the Pacific Ocean, and are of great importance from a geological
point of view since they are points of plate convergence where the lithospheric plates
subduct and sink back towards the mantle. Finally, at the divergent plate edges located
in the ocean, an elevation called the mid-ocean ridge is formed. The system of
interconnected mid-ocean ridges is the largest topographic formation on the Earth's
surface and can be as high as some continental mountains and are therefore often
described as structures of a mountainous nature.