lava molten rock (MAGMA) on Earth’s surface limestone sedimentary rock containing mostly calcium carbonate lithosphere the outer rocky layer of the Earth comprising the crust and upper part of the MANTLE. About 20 plates make up the lithosphere longitude a measure of angular distance in an east-west direction. The Greenwich Meridian (an imaginary line passing north to south through Greenwich, London) is zero degrees longitude. The International Date Line is 180° longitude longshore drift the movement of sediment along a shore caused by waves, winds, and currents. magma molten rock beneath Earth’ s surface mangrove common name for any of several species of trees and shrubs that dominate the INTERTIDAL ZONE on many tropical and subtropical shores mantle the layer of dense, hot rock lying between Earth’s crust and core. The lower mantle flows slowly, like a thick molasses, causing plates to move mariculture the farming of marine organisms marine protected area (MPA) a region of the ocean under special legal protection, typically to conser ve its habitats and communities of organisms meiofauna minute animals that live between sediment particles mid-ocean ridge a mountain chain on the ocean floor formed where plates are moving apart. It is the birthplace of new ocean floor migration the mass movement of animals from one region to another , usually to find food or a breeding place monsoon a seasonal reversal in prevailing wind direction that occurs in the Tropics navigation the process of establishing location and direc- tion to find the way to a particular destination nekton aquatic animals that can swim powerfully against currents nutrients substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, that plants need in small amounts to make organic (carbon- based) substances by photosynthesis ocean the continuous expanse of salt water that covers 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The term also refers to one of the five oceans: Ar ctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern 232 OCEANS GLOSSARY 233 ocean basin a low-lying region of Earth’s CRUST that con- tains an ocean. The continental slope marks the edge of an ocean basin oceanography the scientific study of the ocean and its inhabitants overfishing harvesting a fish population at a level beyond which its numbers can be replaced by natural breeding pack ice floating platforms of ice in polar regions that form when seawater freezes pelagic having to do with organisms that live in the ocean’ s surface waters or in midwater photosynthesis the process by which plants, and some pro- tists and bacteria, trap sunlight in order to make organic (carbon-rich) substances such as carbohydrates phytoplankton plant plankton; plankton that photosyn- thesize plankton organisms that float freely in the ocean at the mer cy of currents. They swim weakly , if at all plate (tectonic or lithospheric plate) a segment of Earth’s rocky surface consisting of CRUST and attached upper MANTLE. About 20 slowly moving plates make up Earth’s surface plate tectonics the modern theory that Earth’s surface is divided into moving plates. Their movements generate continental drift and are responsible for phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanoes close to plate boundaries prokaryotes various forms of bacteria. They are single- celled organisms that lack a nucleus protists single-celled organisms that have a nucleus. They include plantlike forms, such as diatoms and dinoflagel- lates, and animal-like forms, such as radiolarians radar (radio detection and ranging) the use of radio waves to measure the size, position, and motion of objects remotely operated vehicle (ROV) a robotic under water vehicle attached to and operated by a surface vessel or a submersible respiration the process inside cells by which organisms break down food molecules to release energy salinity a measure of the saltiness of water . Most seawater has a salinity close to 35, or 35 grams of dissolved salts in 1,000 grams of seawater satellite remote sensing the use of satellites to detect fea- tures of Earth’s surface scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) a portable device for breathing air underwater. The aqualung is the best-known type sea a named part of an ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. Also, an alternative name for the water in an ocean seafloor spreading the process producing new oceanic CRUST at mid-ocean ridges sea grasses types of flowering plants, related to lilies, that grow in the sea sea ice ice that forms when seawater freezes seamount a submerged volcanic cone that rises at least 3,280 feet (1,000 m) above the ocean floor seaweeds multicelled marine algae sonar (sound navigation and ranging) a technology that uses sound to detect the direction and distance of an object underwater species the world population of genetically similar individ- uals that interbreed to produce fertile offspring subduction the process by which one plate is forced beneath another one submarine a cigar-shaped, piloted under water craft submarine canyon a steep V-shaped valley in the CONTI- NENTAL SHELF submersible a small, piloted underwater vehicle with a viewing cabin suspension feeder an animal that feeds by sifting particles out of seawater symbiosis a close relationship between individuals of dif- ferent species by which one or both benefit thermocline a layer in the WATER COLUMN across which the temperature rapidly changes trade winds prevailing winds in low latitudes that blow toward the equator transform plate boundary (transform fault) the bound- ar y where two plates slide alongside each other trench a deep region of the ocean floor that forms where one plate is being forced (subducted) beneath another one tsunami (seismic sea wave) a giant wave or series of waves, produced by an earthquake, volcano, landslide, or other major water displacement turbidity cur rent an underwater avalanche of sediment that forms or enlarges a submarine canyon 234 OCEANS GLOSSARY 235 upwelling the rising of cool, nutrient-rich, deep water to the surface waters vertebrate an animal with a backbone (vertebral column) or similar structure water column the vertical expanse of seawater from sur- face to seabed wave (sea wave) a vertical disturbance that travels along the sea surface wetland a flat, low-lying area of land that is covered in water or has water-saturated soil zooplankton animal plankton [...]... Organization (FAO) 208 food chains and webs 101 102 , 135–138 bacteria in 102 103 fishing and 207 heavy metals in 205 phytoplankton in 101 102 , 135–137 sea grasses in 109 seaweed in 108 structure of 135–138 zooplankton in 105 106 , 136–137 foraminiferans 79, 104 Forbes, Edward 169–170 forests in carbon cycle 66–67 kelp 108 , 133–134 fossil fuels burning of 192–193 in carbon cycle 66 and greenhouse effect... phytoplankton 103 104 in carbon cycle 66 color of 58 in deep-ocean sediments 42 definition of 101 El Niño and 80 in food chain 101 102 , 135–137 islands and 28 pollution and 202–203 seamounts and 28 in sulfur cycle 65 upwelling and 79 Piccard, Auguste 175 Piccard, Jacques 175 pinnipeds 131–133 placer deposits 191 250 OCEANS plankton 67–68, 100 101 See also phytoplankton; zooplankton plants 106 – 110 in carbon... currents 75 and waves 84 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) 172, 177 World Conservation Union (IUCN) 209, 210 worms 25, 105 , 108 , 109 , 111, 141, 142, 150, 158 Z Zheng Ho 163, 165 zooplankton 104 106 in deep-ocean sediments 42 definition of 101 in food chain 105 106 , 136–137 iron-seeding and 66 islands and 28 in Mediterranean Sea 20 ... of 1, 59–60 distribution of life in 100 evolution in 97–98 first 33 formation of 33, 38–42 layers of 55–57 life cycle of 38–39, 39 origin of life in 97 regions of 5, 5 v sea 9 size of 4 oceanic islands 26–28 oceanography Challenger in 170–171 international cooperation in 171–172 modern 172–173 origins of 168–170 satellites in 175–177 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) 194 offshore islands 26–27 oil... 98–99 Ortelius, Abraham 33 OTEC See Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion overfishing 171, 207– 210 overhunting 182–185, 210 oxygen 53, 63, 97, 98 oysters 211 ozone layer 70, 223–224 P Pacific Ocean 10 12, 11 boundaries of 5, 5, 10 coral species in 19 as declining ocean 38–39 El Niño in 80–81 249 exploration of 166–168 islands of 26 shores of 22–23 trenches in 6, 10, 11 tsunamis in 87 upwelling in 79 Pacific... zone 202 declining ocean 38–39 decomposers 136 deep-ocean floor 6–7 organisms inhabiting 156–157 seamounts on 7, 28 sediments on 7, 42–44 treaty on 217–218 Earth See also crust amount of water on 1 formation of 30 magnetic field of 35, 130 movement of plates of 34–38, 37, 45, 173 rotation of 71–73, 72, 82–83 structure of 30–32, 32 view from space 2 earthquakes 31, 34, 36, 37, 45, 86 East African Rift... migration of 147–148 parasites on 155 protection of 222 structure of 112 in tsunamis 89 upwelling and 79 use of term 112 in wetlands 26 fisheries in continental shelves 7 during El Niño 80, 81 management of 220–221 overfishing of 171, 207– 210 sea grasses and 110 upwelling and 79 wetlands and 26 fishing 185–188 commercial 186–188 (See also fisheries) pollution from 206 quotas for 209– 210, 220 small-scale... 88, 90 oceans in circulation of 3 heavy metals 26, 204–205 Heezen, Bruce 34 Henry (prince of Portugal) 163–164 hermaphroditism 146 Herodotus (Greek historian) 160–161 herring 171 Hess, Harry 34–35 heterostrocan 112–113 Heyerdahl, Thor 160, 200 Himalayas, formation of 40 holdfasts 106 , 108 holoplankton 105 horse latitudes 74 hot spots 14 Hudson, Henry 166 Hudson Bay 46, 166 hunting 182–185, 210 hurricanes... jawed fishes 114 jawless fishes 113–114 jellyfish 105 , 110 111 junks 163 juvenile ocean 38 K Katrina, Hurricane (2005) 13 kelp 107 , 107 108 , 195 kelp forests 108 , 133–134 keystone species 133–134, 199 knots 162 Kon-Tiki (boat) 160 krill 104 , 111, 147 Kuroshio Current 75, 194 Kyoto Protocol (1997) 93 L laboratories, marine 172 Labrador Current 18, 91 Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory 34, 173 lampreys... future of 226–227 global warming and 45, 51, 93 in tides 44, 82–83 sea lions 131–133 seals 131–133, 206, 222 seamounts 7, 11, 28–29 sea otter 133–134, 222 seawater amount on Earth 1 chemicals in 63, 64, 192 color of 57–59 composition of 62–64 desalination of 179 in estuaries 23, 24 freezing point for 54–57 in hydrothermal vents 9 light in 57–59, 58 salinity of 62–64 sound in 60 INDEX seaweeds 106 108 . webs 101 102 , 135–138 bacteria in 102 103 fishing and 207 heavy metals in 205 phytoplankton in 101 102 , 135–137 sea grasses in 109 seaweed in 108 structure of 135–138 zooplankton in 105 106 , 136–137 foraminiferans. Pacific, and Southern 232 OCEANS GLOSSARY 233 ocean basin a low-lying region of Earth s CRUST that con- tains an ocean. The continental slope marks the edge of an ocean basin oceanography the scientific. organic (carbon- based) substances by photosynthesis ocean the continuous expanse of salt water that covers 71 percent of Earth s surface. The term also refers to one of the five oceans: Ar ctic,