The Topography Of The Ocean Floor Causes

The ridge is a high area compared to the surrounding seafloor because of the lift from the convection current below.

The topography of the ocean floor causes. The seabed also known as the seafloor sea floor or ocean floor is the bottom of the ocean no matter how deep. Basalt the once molten rock that makes up most new oceanic crust is a fairly magnetic substance and scientists began using magnetometers to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the 1950s what they discovered was that the magnetism of the ocean floor around. A frequent misconception is that the ridge is a build up of volcanic materials. This study is extensive and it has been established that the ocean floor has similar features of mountains and valleys as on the earth.

Topographic maps of the sea floor produced at a 1 100 000 scale that contain loran c rates bottom sediment types and known bottom obstructions. From the late 19th century when the norwegian explorer fridtjof nansen first discovered an ocean in the central arctic until the middle of the 20th century it was believed that the arctic ocean was a single large basin. Like land terrain the ocean floor has ridges valleys plains and volcanoes. However the magma that fills the fissure does not flood extensively over the ocean floor and stack up to form a topographic high.

Map showing the underwater topography of the ocean floor. The topography of the ocean floor and the shoreline modifies those motions causing currents to speed up slow down or change direction. Ocean currents are driven by a range of sources. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds.

Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. Typical topography salinity of water. Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics the outer rocky layer of the earth includes about a dozen large sections called tectonic plates that are arranged like a spherical jig saw puzzle floating on top of the earth s hot flowing mantle. Arctic ocean arctic ocean topography of the ocean floor.

Explorations after 1950 revealed the true complex nature of the ocean floor. Ocean floor topography involves the study of ocean bottom features including the outer continental shelf continental slopes and ocean waves desktops. The wind tides changes in water density and the rotation of the earth.