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Marine sediment. v. t. e. The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of the ocean is very deep, where the seabed is known as the abyssal plain.
The terms "the ocean" or "the sea" used without specification refer to the interconnected body of salt water covering the majority of Earth's surface. [10][11] It includes the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern/Antarctic, and Arctic oceans. [19] As a general term, "the ocean" and "the sea" are often interchangeable.
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the Ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water.
Sea spray containing marine microorganisms, and all the substances and elements contained in their bodies, can be swept high into the atmosphere. There they become aeroplankton and can travel the globe before falling back to Earth. A stream of airborne microorganisms circles the planet above weather systems but below commercial air lanes. [16]
Marine geology. Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and coastal zone. Marine geology has strong ties to geophysics and to physical oceanography.
A seafloor map captured by NASA. Bathymetry (/ bəˈθɪmətri /; from Ancient Greek βαθύς (bathús) 'deep' and μέτρον (métron) 'measure') [1][2] is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (seabed topography), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography.
Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth 's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply [1][2] and 90% of habitable ...
The biosphere (from Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) 'life' and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere'), also called the ecosphere (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'settlement, house' and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere'), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on Earth. The biosphere (which is ...