16.1--Ocean Exploration

I: Oceanic Research Vessels

1. HMS Challenger
2. Meteor
3. Glomar Challenger
4. JOIDES Resolution

II: Tools and Methods

1. coring-When a drilling rig drives long metal tubes down into the ocean floor.
2. sonar-Uses sound waves to map the ocean floor.
3. satellite-Seasat, launched in 1978, was used to study the oceans from space.
4. submersibles-Underwater research vessels.

   16.2-Ocean Floor Topography

   I: Continental Margins

   1. Continental Shelf-A gently sloping surface
   2. Continental Slope-Drops off rather steeply toward the ocean floor.
   3. Continental Rise-Area from continental slope to the deep ocean floor
   4. Submarine Canyon-What cuts off continental margins in many places

      II: Ocean Floor Features

      1. abyssal plains-flat deep ocean areas formed by sediment
      2. ridge-eventually forms mtn. ranges
      3. seamounts and guyots-Volcanic mtns, 1,000 m above the ocean floor; guyots flatten the mtns and preent them from growing
      4. reefs and atolls-Coral reefs formed from limestone
      5. plate boundaries and trenches-Where 2 plates end and either converge, diverge, or subduct. Trenches are the deep cracks in the crust.

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