Several outstanding topographic features distinguish the atlantic ocean from the pacific and indian. Tropical rain belts in the atlantic ocean move farther southward. The kiel canal germany, oresund denmarksweden, bosporus turkey, strait of gibraltar moroccospain, and the saint lawrence seaway canadaus are important strategic access waterways. Using an appropriate scale, label the vertical axis depth in kilometers. In exploring hydrothermal vents and ocean ridges, he made more than 100 trips to the depths in submersibles like the american alvin, russian mirs, and japanese shinkais. Ocean surface topography or sea surface topography, also called ocean dynamic topography, are highs and lows on the ocean surface, similar to the hills and valleys of earths land surface depicted on a topographic map. By plotting ocean depth data taken across the entire atlantic ocean from north america to europe students will reveal the major topographic features of the atlantic including. The ridge is about 14,000 km long and about 4,000 metres high. By and large the atlantic ocean lacks in troughs and trenches, which are more characteristic of the pacific ocean. This distinctive physical map of the atlantic ocean floor appeared on national geographic as a supplement to the map of the atlantic. Features like the one running down the middle of the atlantic ocean are called midocean ridges. The atlantic coastal plain stretches from the southern fringe of new england to the gentle topographic divide of the florida peninsula that separates it from the similar gulf coastal plain. There is a printable worksheet available for download here so you can take the quiz with pen and paper from the quiz author. Construct an ocean bottom profile on the graph titled north atlantic ocean bottom profile using the ocean depth data provided.
There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the. It is difficult to notice when the weight hits the bottom, and the current can also. The atlantic meridional overturning circulation amoc is part of the oceans global overturning circulation, and amoc variability is linked to climate variability on seasonal to multicentennial timescales delworth and mann, 2000. Topography of the indian ocean including major ridges and basins. Atlantic ocean, body of salt water covering about onefifth of earths surface. The open line is the gulf stream path after ring formation, the. It may be surprising, considering that parts of the continental crust are close to 4,000 ma. Smoothly connect the points and you will have a crosssectional map of the south atlantic ocean floor.
Upper ocean deep ocean deep ocean circulation surface circulation ess200a prof. Climate model suggests collapse of atlantic circulation is. While not suitable for navigational purposes, these maps show structure depths, bottom contours, dropoffs, etc. Temperature, salinity, density and ocean circulation. Atlantic ocean lacks significant troughs and trenches, which are most characteristic to the pacific ocean. Winner of the standing ovation award for best powerpoint templates from presentations magazine. The atlantic ocean is the worlds second largest ocean, behind the pacific ocean.
Salinity variations determined by evaporation, precipitation, seaice formation and melt, and river runoff. The atlantic ocean is the second largest of the worlds five oceans after the pacific ocean, but larger than the indian ocean, southern ocean, and arctic ocean. It is only 2560 km wide between liberian coast and cape sao roque. The ocean basin model is based on a model by henry stommel written about in the westward intensification of winddriven ocean currents from transactions of the american geophysical union. Just as in the pacific ocean it is interspersed with eastward flow both at the surface and below the thermocline.
This is an online quiz called topography of the atlantic ocean. The effect of the collapse in the model includes a cooling of the northern atlantic ocean and a spread of arctic sea ice. Figure 1 simulated ocean temperature change caused by freshwater input in the highlatitude north atlantic. The surface currents of the atlantic ocean primarily correspond to the system of prevailing winds with such modifications as are imposed on the movement of the water by land boundaries. Chapter 4, potential for abrupt change in the atlantic. Compare and contrast the use of all satellites and submersibles to collect data about the topography of the seafloor. These variations are expressed in terms of average sea surface height ssh relative to the earths geoid. The atlantic ocean was formed due to drifting of north and south americas to the west due to plate tectonics. Pdf this paper demonstrates a new analysis of the north atlantic seafloor topography with the particular emphasis on the midatlantic ridge find. The numbers in the longitude column give the ships location at 19 points in the atlantic ocean. It begins where the bottom of the continental shelf sharply drops off into a. Bottom photograph of terrigenous sediment on the continental rise south of new. Bottom reliefs of various oceans oceanography geography. Ocean bottom topography, also known as bathymetry, is the measurement of the depth of large bodies of water.
Gooday introduction theatlanticoceanisalongsinuousoceanwhich originatedduringthemesozoicfollowingthebreak. Dynamic ocean topography for the northeast pacific and its. Vortex merger near a topographic slope in a homogeneous. Indian ocean is the third largest of the worlds oceanic divisions. The ocean environment unit 1 the ocean basins the once and future ocean 7 for the future atlantic ocean basin. Other factors that influence the currents are regional excesses of evaporation or precipitation, regional differences in cooling or heating, friction, and earths. Ocean surface topography definition introduction springer. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. In this lab, you will use a large and very beautiful seafloor topography map that will show you all of the above features. Indeed, the two are often considered together in a single geological province as the atlanticgulf coastal plain. The shading indicates the ocean floor is is not flat and featureless. The source of the images should be acknowledged as from the woce atlantic ocean atlas. Map showing bottom topography of the midatlantic continental margin, cape cod to albemarle sound imap 1987 a by. Examine the topography of the atlantic and pacific ocean basins you can see in figure 1.
The rectangular image shown above represents the atlantic ocean above the equator. The topography of the sea floor plays an important role in constraining the. Density small in the upper ocean, large in the deeper ocean. North cayman and puerto rico are the two troughs and romanche and south sandwich are the two trenches in the atlantic ocean. What its like to be at the bottom of the ocean the atlantic. Midatlantic ridge, rift valley, continental shelf, deep ocean floor and seamounts. This ocean is smaller and less deep than the atlantic ocean. The atlantic ocean is bordered by northand south america on the west, while europe and africa on the east. Circulation of the north atlantic ocean from altimetry and. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being. Compare and contrast the size and topography of the atlantic ocean basin to that of the pacific ocean basin. Chapter 8 the pacific ocean after these two lengthy. Ocean floor relief maps detailed maps of sea and ocean.
This product is intended to aid fishermen and those needing seafloor features and potential fishing grounds. The atlantic ocean is the youngest of the oceans in the world. Coastal topographynortheast atlantic coast, posthurricane sandy, 2012 hilary f. The four major oceans of the earth are pacific ocean, atlantic ocean, indian. The mor is also known to be an area of shallow earthquake and volcanic activity and is interpreted as a spreading center where new oceanic. North atlantic deep water and antarctic bottom water. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres 41,100,000 sq mi, it. One of the most prominent ocean circulation systems is the atlantic meridional overturning circulation amoc. Hydrographic atlas of the world ocean circulation experiment woce.
The important features are the extensive continental shelves less than 250 m deep pink. Barotropic theory is often supported by observations. It is thought that the atlantic ocean formed about million years ago when the super continent pangaea started drifting apart due to sea floor spreading. Dynamic ocean topography for the northeast pacific and its continental margins, geophys. Before considering the pacific topography in detail it is worth looking at the world ocean as a whole. The most striking feature of the atlantic ocean is the presence of midatlantic ridge which runs from north to the south paralleling the s shape of the ocean itself, dividing the atlantic into two deeper basins on the either side.
What are the physical characteristics of the atlantic. Globe model with detailed topography without water. North and central pacific characterized by maximum depth and a. A receiver intercepts the echo reflected from the ocean bottom and a clock measures the time it takes for the sound wave to travel to the ocean bottom and back. The temperature of seawater is fixed at the sea surface by heat exchange with the atmosphere. An important characteristic in the ocean floors topography is the main system of sub. Many marginal seas, bays and gulfs occur along its boundaries.
Worlds best powerpoint templates crystalgraphics offers more powerpoint templates than anyone else in the world, with over 4 million to choose from. The main purpose of measuring ocean surface topography is to understand. The data are used to describe structures of the average eulerian circulation and of the. The spreading of the sea floor in the atlantic ocean continues to date at a rate of 110 centimeters 0. Mapping the ocean floor now that you have all of your data, you will plot these depths on a graph. The oldest oceanic crust is around 280 ma in the eastern mediterranean, and the oldest parts of the open ocean are around 180 ma on either side of the north atlantic. In reality, because the ocean is stratified, and veloc. Describe the topography that you find in the middle of the atlantic ocean a plain, a valley, a mountain chain, etc.
In part i of this exercise, we examined the depth of the atlantic ocean basin and observed the prominent mid ocean ridge mor near the center of the ocean basin. Midatlantic ridge a submarine mountain range extending from iceland to 60 degrees south walvis ridge submarine ridge in the eastern trough of the south atlantic ocean. Atlantic ocean maps and geography and physical features. This article treats the physical and human geography of the atlantic ocean as a. Maps expose unseen details of the atlantic ocean floor. The atlantic ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans, with an area of about. Ppt ocean bottom topography powerpoint presentation.
Zoom in enough to see that although the ridge is a topographic high, it also has a valley the rift valley running along. Trenches are more prevalent in pacific ocean then atlantic. The ocean widens to the south of equator and attains the maximum width of 5,920 km at 35s latitude. Map showing deepsea topography off the atlantic coast of the united states. Atlantic continental shelf and slope of the united states. Several outstanding topographic features distinguish the atlantic ocean from the pacific. The amoc is a meridionally coherent twolayer circulation with warm water flowing northward in the upper 1. Pdf a new insight into the north atlantic ocean seafloor topography. To access the grid images simply click on one of the outlined volumes in the map. Jinyi yu the state of oceans temperature warm on the upper ocean, cold in the deeper ocean. Its shape is roughly triangular with its apex in the north at the bering strait. Topographic maps of the sea floor, produced at a 1.
Study the map carefully and answer the questions below. Chapter 14 the atlantic ocean a glance at the distribution of high. Theyll give your presentations a professional, memorable appearance the kind of sophisticated look that todays audiences expect. Oceanic link between abrupt changes in the north atlantic. Ocean bottom relief with the floors of the three majors. This is particularly true of the north atlantic ocean, the home ground of many oceanographic research institutions.
263 1129 534 377 41 618 1187 452 536 175 15 869 130 824 103 663 539 1099 1130 608 907 326 1147 864 1103 67 67 1016 158 565 301 629 1300 1118