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| within plates and are separated from the oceanic ridge plate margin by an expanse of oceanic crust that was generated after rifting |
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| The coral starts forming because it is attracted to the heat from the hydrothermal vents |
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| The reef continues to grow, but the volcanic island starts to eroded away leaving a stub of island left. |
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| The island has disappeared completely only leaving traces of the once island. The coral still remains and the island is now a lagoon |
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| The term thermohaline circulation refers to the part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is thought to be driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes |
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| A gyre in oceanography is any large system of rotating ocean currents, particularly those involved with large wind movements. Gyres are caused by the Coriolis Effect; planetary vorticity along with horizontal and vertical friction, which determine the circulation patterns from the wind curl (torque). Five major gyres are: Indian Ocean Gyre, North Atlantic Gyre, North Pacific Gyre, South Atlantic Gyre, and South Pacific Gyre. |
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| Coastal currents are, predictably, currents that flow along/around the coastline. These currents are affected by wind, waves, and the land by which they flow. There are two main types of coastal current: longshore currents and rip currents. |
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| Longshore currents are affected and generated by waves hitting the coastline. As waves approach the coastline, parts of the wave hit the coastline first due to irregularities in the land. These parts of the wave are slowed down, while the other parts of the wave are not. |
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| Rip currents are strong channels of water that flow away from the shore. They are sometimes mistakenly called "rip tides," and are generated by the movement of longshore currents along/on and off of irregularities in the coastline such as low spots, sandbars, and piers. Rip currents flow at a perpendicular (or nearly perpendicular) angle to the coastline, and generally break up not far off the shore |
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| This is the process where water and nutrients from the bottom of the ocean rises to the top. This process is very important to countries because the nutrients are transferred to the continent and the farming is better. |
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| The repeating and periodic disturbance that travels through a medium (e.g. water) from one location to another location. |
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| The highest part of a wave. |
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| The lowest part of a wave. |
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| The vertical distance between the highest (crest) and lowest (trough) parts of a wave. |
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| The distance from a certain point on one wave to the same point on the next wave (e.g. distance between two consecutive wave crests or between two consecutive wave troughs). |
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| One half the distance from the crest to the trough. Wave amplitude is a more technical term for wave height and is used in engineering technology. |
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| he number of waves passing a fixed point in a specified period of time. Frequency has units of waves per second or cycles per second. Another unit for frequency is the Hertz (abbreviated Hz) where 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 cycle per second. |
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| The time it takes for two successive crests (one wavelength) to pass a specified point. |
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| he distance the wave travels divided by the time it takes to travel that distance. Wave speed is determined by dividing the wavelength by the wave period. In symbols c = λ�BB; / T, where c is the wave speed, λ (lambda) is the wavelength, and T is the period. |
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| Very small waves with wavelengths less than 1.7 cm or 0.68 inches. They are the first waves to form when the wind blows over the surface of the water and are created by the friction of wind and the surface tension of the water. These tiny little waves increase the surface area of the sea surface and if the wind continues to blow, the size of the wave will increase in size and become a wind wave. |
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| Small waves causing the ocean surface to be rough. |
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| Waves that move back and forth (oscillate) in a vertical position. They do not move forward but appear as crests and troughs in a fixed position. Standing waves are created when a wave strikes an obstruction head-on and then are reflected backwards in the direction they came from. |
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| The smooth undulation (rising and falling of waves) of the ocean surface that forms as waves move away from the storm center where they are created. As waves move out and away from the storm center, they sort themselves out into groups of similar speeds and wavelengths. This produces the smooth undulating ocean surface called a swell. Swells may travel thousands of kilometers from the storm center until they strike shore. |
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| Tides are the daily ebb and flow of water caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Even though the sun is larger is volume, it is much farther away leaving the moon with a stronger pull on the water. |
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| The first signs of an El Niño are: |
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| 1. Rise in air pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Australia 2. Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean 3. Trade winds in the south Pacific weaken or head east 4. Warm air rises near Peru, causing rain in the northern Peruvian deserts 5. Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific. It takes the rain with it, causing extensive drought in the western Pacific and rainfall in the normally dry eastern Pacific. |
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| Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler: |
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| The Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measures the speed and direction of ocean currents using the principle of “Doppler shift.” Measuring currents is a fundamental practice of physical oceanographers. |
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| The "Bushmaster" and the "Chimneymaster": |
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| The Bushmaster and Chimneymaster are large collection nets that can be closed by a submarine using a system of hydraulic cylinders and cables. They collect intact communities of tube worms and all associated hydrothermal vent fauna, either on the seafloor (using the Bushmaster) or on a sulfide chimney (using the Chimneymaster). |
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