Exam 3: The Ocean Floor

Which statement accurately describes active continental margins?

The study of the ocean's past is referred to as .

The discovery and study of ocean floor contours is called .

An example of terrigenous sediment is the manganese nodule.

Hydrothermal vents such as black smokers are found at spreading centers.

What is the calcium carbonate compensation depth? Briefly explain why calcareous oozes are not found below this depth.

What is the deepest feature in the ocean? Where is this feature located, and how did it form? Is this feature, and others like it, tectonically stable or tectonically active?

Where is the widest continental shelf located?

Flat-topped seamounts that once rose near or above sea level are called .

What is sediment and what are the four classifications of marine sediments based on their origin?

The white cliffs of Dover are chalk-like deposits of coccolithophores that are around 100 million years old.

The submerged outer edge of a continent is called the .

What type of information can scientists derive from observing deep-ocean cores?

Abyssal plains and abyssal hills cover about 25% of the surface of Earth. What are the characteristics of each of these features?

Describe neritic sediments and explain what you would expect in the composition of a typical neritic sample.

Which type of sediment is most abundant in neritic deposits?

Manganese nodules .

The transition between the shelf and the deep seafloor is the .

How can a satellite sense the contours of the ocean bottom from space?

The analysis of layered sedimentary deposits in the ocean is known as .