The Topography Of The Ocean Floor
Explorations after 1950 revealed the true complex nature of the ocean floor.
The topography of the ocean floor. Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist. 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. Topographic maps of the sea floor.
These variations are expressed in terms of average sea surface height ssh relative to the earth s geoid. The main features of the pacific ocean floor are the continental slopes which drop from about 200 meters to several thousand meters over a distance of a few hundred kilometers the abyssal plains exceedingly flat and from 4 000 meters to 6 000 meters deep volcanic seamounts and islands and trenches at subduction zones that are up to 11 000 meters deep. 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.
Ocean topography is the study of the ocean floor and the features of which. The map serves as a tool for performing scientific engineering marine geophysical and environmental studies that are required in the development of energy and marine resources. As scientific knowledge has advanced the capability to envisage these remote sites has increased significantly.
Red and yellow colours indicate less than 2 000 m depth. Topographytopography is the study of earth s surface shape and features. Researchers today published the most detailed map of the ocean floor ever produced.
The hypsographic curve shows that a majority of the ocean floor is more than 4 kilometers deep. Ranging in height and diameter these hills are much larger than the hills we see on land. Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics.
You may perceive the ocean floor to be flat and sandy like the beach but the truth is there are many different surfaces. 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 earth s land surface depicted on a topographic map. Data collected by satellites and remote sensing instruments were used to created a model at least twice as.