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The tides are the daily, periodic rise and fall of water level caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Most waves on the ocean surface are generated by: Wind. Some ocean currents are: convection currents. Sea level falls when glacial ice caps grow and rises when the ice caps melt. Upwellings bring cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface and are areas of rich biological activity. Estuaries, like the Chesapeake Bay are areas where fresh and salt water mix, producing variations in salinity and high biological activity. Algae in the oceans are an important source of: atmospheric oxygen. The oceans are an important source of food and raw materials. Pollution and over-fishing can harm or deplete valuable resources. The stored heat in the ocean drives much of the Earth's weather. The stored heat in the ocean causes climate near the ocean to be milder than climate in the interior of continents. Features of the seafloor that are related to plate tectonic processes include mid-ocean ridges and trenches. Other major topographic features of the oceans are continental shelves, continental slopes, abyssal plains, and seamounts.