key points 1. the ocean floor is mapped by bathymetry. 2. ocean-floor topography varies with...
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Key Points
1. The ocean floor is mapped by bathymetry.
2. Ocean-floor topography varies with location.
3. Continental margins are “active” or “passive”.
4. The topography of deep-ocean basins differs from that of the continental margin.
Posidonius • conducted the first bathymetric studies• 85 B.C.
http://www-groups.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/BigPictures/Posidonius.jpeg
2 km
Bathymetry = study of ocean floor contours
The early, simplest methods involved lowering a weight on a line.
HMS Challenger
(1872-1876)• made the first
systematic attempt to chart the basins of the world ocean
• made 492 bottom
soundings confirmed the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden
Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932)• Canadian inventor• in 1914, developed a
type of sonar system for locating icebergs
“Iceberg Detector and Echo Depth Sounder”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden
Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932)• Canadian inventor• in 1914, developed a
type of sonar system for locating icebergs
“Iceberg Detector and Echo Depth Sounder”
V = speed of sound in water(about 1.5 km/sec)T = time
Echo sounders sense the contour of the seafloor by beaming sound waves to the bottom and measuring the time required for the sound waves to bounce back to the ship.
During World War I (1914-1918)• used to detect enemy
submarines
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/uc97.jpg
Meteor expedition (1925-1927)• used to study the seabed
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/chapter02/Images/Fig2-2s.jpg
World Ocean Floor
http://www.panorama-map.com/Europeans/Berann/berannpacificocean500.html
Pacific Ocean
Two new techniques improved studies of the seafloor:
1) multibeam echo sounders
2) satellite altimetry
Multibeam systems combine many echo sounders.
• up to 121 beams• signal sent every 10 secs <200 research vessels are
equipped with multibeam systems
Seabed contours can be mapped using satellites.
Satellites cannot measure ocean depths directly• but, they can measure sea surface height
Sea surface
Seafloor
?Sea surface
Seafloor
Gravitational attraction “pulls” water
Over a 2000 m seamount, water rises about 2 m
Seafloor
Sea surface
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/global_grav_large.gif
Mapped by: Geosat, TOPEX/Poseidon, and Jason-1
Seafloor topography inferred from sea surface height measurements
Oceans can be divided into two major provinces: 1) continental margin2) ocean basin (deep ocean floor – Basalt)
• earthquakes• volcanic activity
Continental margins are “active” or “passive”.
Pacific-Type Atlantic-type
• no earthquakes• no volcanic activity
Three main parts of the continental margin:1. Shelf 2. Slope 3. Rise
Continental shelf: shallow submerged extension of a continent
• Average width: 1280 km (800 miles)
• Granitic rock covered by sediments
• Methane compounds
http://media.allrefer.com/s1/l/c0601400-continental-shelf.jpg
• up to 350 km
• most material comes from erosion of continent
http://www.cryingvoice.com/Evolution/gifs/hydroNA.jpg
Atlantic
active margin – often very narrow
passive margin – broad
The shelf width is usually determined by its proximity to a plate boundary.
Continental shelves are greatly influenced by changes in sea level (Ice Ages)
Sea level rise
http://whyfiles.org/shorties/202mass_extinct/images/land_bridge.gifBering Strait
http://whyfiles.org/shorties/202mass_extinct/images/land_bridge.gifBering Strait
http://whyfiles.org/shorties/202mass_extinct/images/land_bridge.gif
Allowed human migration 12,000 years ago
Bering Strait
Continental slopes connect continental shelves to the deep-ocean floor
shelf break
Submarine canyons form at the junction between continental shelf and continental slope. (Edge of ocean basins)
http://www.tahoemaps.com/files/Monterey_large.jpg
Monterey Bay canyon
http://www.marine-geo.org/gallery/images/MontereyBay3D.jpg
2000 m
Monterey Bay canyon
How do submarine canyons form?
Submarine canyons cut into the continental shelf and slope, often terminating on the deep-sea floor in a fan-shaped wedge of sediment.
turbidity current
an underwater “avalanche” of sediment
http://unit.aist.go.jp/igg/rg/igi-rg/beta/sl-support/R-formation/TurbidityCurrent.jpg
Most geologists believe that submarine canyons have been formed by abrasive turbidity currents plunging down the canyons.
Continental rises form as sediments accumulate at the base of the
continental slope
continental rise
• much sediment
• usually along passive margins
The topology of deep-ocean basins differs from that of the continental margin
Deep-ocean basins comprise mainly:
1) oceanic ridge systems
2) sediment-covered plains
Oceanic ridges circle the world
• underwater mountain ranges• stretch 65,000 km• often covered with little
sediment
http://www.berann.com/panorama/archive/image/PN_W_10.jpg
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
http://www.berann.com/panorama/archive/image/PN_W_10.jpg
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
transform faultsfracture zones
Hydrothermal vents are hot springs on active oceanic ridges•350 degrees Celsius• discovered in 1977 by Robert Ballard and J. F. Grassle
Alvin
http://www.mbari.org/molecular/images/EPR%20mussel-map.jpg
Alvin• can carry 3 people• can dive to 4000 m• 1964 – 2007• >4000 dives
manned submersible• 6,500 m
unmanned submersible• 11,000 m
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/vent/images/smoker.jpghttp://whyfiles.org/coolimages/images/csi/nur04506.jpg
“black smokers”
20 m
350oC
2,800 m depth
solutions exiting vents are acidic (pH = ~3.5) and contain up to 300 ppm hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
• a highly reduced molecule, so much energy can be obtained when it is oxidized
hydrothermal vent community
http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2005/02/050223124700.jpg
• includes snails, shrimps, crabs, tube worms, fishes
• depends on chemosynthetic bacteria for food
chemosynthesis Tube worms
deep-sea vent mussels
Abyssal plains and abyssal hills cover most of Earth’s surface.
Abyssal hills• small sediment-covered
extinct volcanoes or rock
• > 200 m (650 ft)
Abyssal plains• 40% of the ocean floor• common in the Atlantic• rare in the Pacific• covered by sediment• cold
Flat
Volcanic seamounts and guyots project above the seabed
• about 30,000• about 10,000 in the Pacific
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/25/Seamount_Locations.png/350px-Seamount_Locations.png
• >1 km in height• important
fishing areas
Emperor Seamounts
seamount
Guyot: flat-topped seamount that once reached the surface
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Guyot.jpg
Trench: arc-shaped depression on the deep-ocean floor
• occur near subduction zones
• deepest places in the ocean
• most in the Pacifichttp://geology.com/records/ocean-trench.gif
Peru-Chile trench
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Peru-Chile_trench.jpg
Puerto Rico trench
Japan Trench10,595 m
Mariana Trench11,022 m
Trieste
• reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 1960 – Challenger Deep
Kaiko
• Japanese deep-sea submarine
• sampled bacteria from the bottom (10,897 m) of the Mariana Trench in 1996
Sampling of the world's deepest sea sediment by "Kaiko" at the Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep
Bacteria collected from the Mariana Trench
Nereus
Key Points
1. The ocean floor is mapped by bathymetry.
2. Ocean-floor topography varies with location.
3. Continental margins are “active” or “passive”.
4. The topography of deep-ocean basins differs from that of the continental margin.
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