SC.912.E.6.5
Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify
commonly found features.
• Earth Structures - The scientific theory of plate tectonics provides the framework for much of modern geology. Over geologic time, internal and external sources of energy have continuously altered the features of Earth by means of both constructive and destructive forces. All life, including human civilization, is dependent on Earth's internal and external energy and material resources.
• SC.D.1.4.4: AA (Assessed as F.2.4.3) The student knows that Earth’s systems and organisms are the result of a long, continuous change over time.
SC.D.1.4.3: CS The student knows that changes in Earth’s climate, geological activity, and life forms may be traced and compared. MC
SC.912.E.6.5 Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify commonly found features. S
• 14.2 Ocean Floor Features• Online Field Trips• Chapter Quiz• Study Guide Summary (PowerPoint presentation)• Web Quest: Where Would You Take an ROV?• Web Resources
– The Vast World Ocean: Links on oceans– Ocean Floor Features: Links on ocean floor features– Resources from the Seafloor: Links on ocean resources
• Animations
QUESTIONSAccording to the plate tectonic theory, when oceanic plates collide with
continental plates, the denser oceanic plate is forced under the lighter continental plate. Which geologic feature is a result of this type of collision?
• F. hot spot • G. abyssal plain • H. midocean ridge • I. composite volcano
DAY 1
• What are the three main regions of the ocean floor?
• How do the continental margins in the Atlantic Ocean differ from those in the Pacific Ocean?
Key Vocabulary
• Continental margin– Zone of transistion between continent and
adjacent ocean
• Ocean Basin Floor– Between the continental margin and mid-ocean
ridge
• Mid-Ocean Ridge– Found near the center of most ocean basins
Label the three main regions:Continental Margin, Ocean basin Floor, Mid-
Ocean Ridge
Mapping the Ocean Floor
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
The ocean floor regions are the continental margins, the ocean basin floor, and the mid-ocean ridge.
Continental Margins
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
In the Atlantic Ocean, thick layers of undisturbed sediment cover the continental margin. This region has very little volcanic or earthquake activity.
A continental margin is the zone of transition between a continent and the adjacent ocean basin floor.
Atlantic Continental Margin
Continental Margins In the Pacific Ocean, oceanic crust plunges
beneath continental crust. This force results in a narrow continental margin that experiences both volcanic activity and earthquakes.
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
Submarine Canyons
The continental margin is the underwater edge of a
continent. It includes the continental shelf, continental
slope, and continental rise, as well as submarine
valleys and canyons.
VOCABULARYThe Continental Margin
Lithosphere
Oceanic crustContinental crust
Sediment
Continental shelf
Continental rise
Abyssal plain
Continental slope
Continental margin
continental shelf
continental slope
continental rise
submarine canyon
DAY 2
• How do the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean differ?
Ocean Basin Floor
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
The ocean basin floor is the area of the deep-ocean floor between the continental margin and the oceanic ridge.
• Trenches form at the sites of plate convergence where one moving plate descends beneath another and plunges back into the mantle.
Deep-Ocean Trenches
Ocean Basin Floor
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
Abyssal Plains• An abyssal plain is a very level area of the deep-ocean floor,
usually lying at the foot of the continental rise.
• The sediments that make up abyssal plains are carried there by turbidity currents or are deposited as suspended sediment settles out.
Seamounts and Guyots• A seamount is an isolated volcanic peak that rises at least 1000
meters above the deep-ocean floor, and a guyot is an eroded, submerged seamount.
Abyssal Plain Cross Section
The Ocean Basin
Coral reefs can form around volcanic islands. As the
islands sink with the ocean crust, rings of coral are
left behind which continue to grow, forming barrier
reefs and atolls.
Barrier Reef Atoll
How would a profile of the pacific Ocean basin differ from the profile of the Atlantic Ocean?
DAY 3
What is formed at the mid-ocean ridge?
Create a Venn Diagram to compare/ contrast the two.
Mid-Ocean Ridges
Ocean Floor Features
A mid-ocean ridge is found near the center of most ocean basins. It is an interconnected system of underwater mountains that have developed on newly formed ocean crust.
Seafloor Spreading• Seafloor spreading is the process by which plate tectonics
produces new oceanic lithosphere at ocean ridges.
• New ocean floor is formed at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises between the diverging plates and cools.
Mid-Ocean Ridges
14.2 Ocean Floor Features
Hydrothermal Vents• Hydrothermal vents form along mid-ocean ridges. These are
zones where mineral-rich water, heated by the hot, newly-formed oceanic crust, escapes through cracks in the oceanic crust into surrounding water.
What is formed at the mid-ocean ridge?
Create a Venn Diagram to compare/ contrast the two.
DAY 4
• FCIM Quiz