GEOL 003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Abyssal Plain, Tropical Cyclone, Mid-Ocean Ridge
Document Summary
About 71% of earth is covered with sea water. The oceans were mostly in place by 4 billion years ago. They are the final frontier for research on earth. The four major depth zones = continental shelf abyssal plane, oceanic ridge, oceanic branches. The shallow ocean floor adjacent to the continent. Submerged continental crust that slopes away from coast. Maximum depth is a few hundred meters. Wide when adjacent to passive passive margins, narrow when adjacent to active margins. The width of the shelf decreases as sea level fails and increases as sea level rises. The continental slope and rise are the transition to the abyssal plain. Rapid deepening of the ocean (continental slope) leads to a gentler slope (continental rise) that ends at the abyssal plain. The continental slope is marked by a rapid deepening of the ocean (couple thousand meters) Continental rise is where sediments swept off the slop accumulate.
