Importance of the Ocean / Deepest Place on Earth

Magnetic "zebra stripes"

patterns of crystals in rocks at either side of the East Pacific Ridge that is evidence that the Earth's poles reverse

phytoplankton

photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean; form the base of the Oceanic food web; produce about 50% of all Oxygen found in our atmosphere

hydrothermal vents

spots on the ocean floor where hot gases and minerals escape from earth's interior into the water

James Cook

A navigator and ship captain who explored and claimed land in Australia for England in 1770

Mariana Trench

deep trench in the South Pacific near Guam; area where oldest oceanic crust is being destroyed by subduction

Challenger Deep

deepest point in the ocean; located at the southern end of the Mariana Trench

subduction

when one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate

Charles Darwin

English naturalist who sailed on the HMS Beagle and was an expert in studying barnacles; Also developed the idea of Evolution by Natural Selection based on his observations in the Galapagos Islands.

Challenger Expedition (1872-1876)

First major exploration devoted to the study of marine organisms. The crew discovered thousands of species previously undescribed and published 50 volumes of information from the data collected over the next 19 years; first discovered the depths of the Mariana Trench in 1875

Plate Tectonic Theory

Idea that the lithosphere is made up of moving tectonic plates

SONAR

SOund NAvigation Ranging ; the use of sound waves to determine the distance of object away from the source.

SCUBA

Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus - device that allows divers to breathe underwater for long periods of time; developed by Jacques Costeau and Émile Gagnan.

seafloor spreading

The process that creates new sea floor as plates move away from each other at the mid-ocean ridges

Aristotle

ancient Greek philosopher; "Father of Marine Biology" because of his study of ocean dwelling organisms; first one to recognize the gills as the breathing organ of fish

Ocean's Importance to the Atmosphere

around 50% of the Oxygen gas is produced by phytoplankton (microscopic photosynthesizers) that live in the surface layer of the Ocean

Ocean's Importance to the Water Cycle

largest storage of water and where most evaporation takes place; where most of the precipitation falls

bioluminescence

production of light by living organisms as a result of a chemical reaction either within certain cells or organs or outside the cells in some form of excretion

Harry Hess and Robert Dietz

proposed the idea of seafloor spreading; responsible for explaining how new ocean floor is created at the ridges where tectonic plates are being pulled away from each other which allows magma to seep up from the mantle to cool.

Wilkes Expedition (1838-1842)

represents the first time the U.S. government paid for scientific research

Trieste (tree - est)

submarine used by Walsh and Piccard that first explored the Challenger Deep during January 1960 (there have been 27 visits to the Challenger Deep since then). The most recent was this year when Dawn Wright (first black person and 5th woman to make the voyage)

Ocean's Effect on Climate

the Ocean absorbs radiant heat from the Sun at the equator and distributes it toward the North and South poles by a global system of currents

Piccard and Walsh

the first people to travel by submarine (Trieste) to the Challenger Deep

East Pacific Rise

the main section of ridge (underwater mountain range) in the Eastern Pacific roughly follows the west coast of North and South America and extends almost to Antarctica.