| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Salinity | Measure of the dissolved salts in water |
| Density | The mass of an object divided by its volume, the density of water is 1 g/ml. |
| Continental Shelf | The flat or gently sloping submerged part of the continent; extends from the shoreline out to the continental slope |
| Continental Slope | A steep incline leading down from the edge of the continental shelf |
| Submarine Canyon | A deep valley eroded into the continental shelf. |
| Ocean Trench | Narrow, steep sided clefts in the ocean floor. |
| Abyssal Plain | Huge flat areas of ocean floor that are covered with thick layers of sediment |
| Mid-Ocean Ridge | An underwater moutain chain where new ocean floor is formed |
| Volcanic Islands | Volcanoes on the ocean floor whose peaks break the surface of the ocean |
| Sonar | The use of sound waves to detect objects underwater |
| Ocean Current | A mass of moving water |
| Upwelling | Vertical movement of deep water that brings nutrients up to the surface |
| Downwelling | Currents that move downward; carry oxygen to deep zone |
| El Nino | A weather pattern, involving a warming of part of the Pacific ocean, that occurs every five to ten years and causes a decrease in fish, and an increase in flooding in some areas |
| Longshore Current | Is movement of the water along a shore as waves strike the shore at a an angle |
| Rip Current | A rush of water that flows rapidly back to sea through a narrow opening in a sandbar |
| Tide | The periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon |
| Tidal Range | Difference in water level between high tide and low tide |
| Spring Tide | A larger than average tide occurring at the full and new moon |
| Neap Tide | A less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon |
| Habitat | The place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs |
| Intertidal Zone | The portion of the shoreline that lies between the high and low tides lines |
| Estuary | An area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean |
| Wetland | A lowland area,such as a marsh or swamp,that is saturated with moisture |
| Coral Reef | A reef consisting of built-up limestone deposits formed by large colonies of ant-sized organisms called corals. |
| Kelp Forest | A large community of kelp, a type of seaweed that can attach to the ocean floor |
| Phytoplankton | Population of small photosynthetic organisms found near surface of ocean. |
| Hydrothermal Vent | An area where ocean water sinks through cracks in the ocean floor, is heated by the underlying magma, and rises again through the cracks |
| Overfishing | Removing more fish from the oceans than can be naturally produced; catching more fish than will be born |
| By-Catch | Unwanted fish or other animals caught in fishing nets by accident, usually thrown back dead or dying. |
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