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Ocean - Glossary
Water pressure
The weight of water pressing down on things in the sea.
Turbidity current
An avalanche of mud and sand which may be caused by an earthquake.
Trench
A deep, V-shaped dip in the sea floor, formed at a subduction zone.
Submersible
A free-moving submarine vehicle for carrying ocean scientists.
Subduction zone
The place where two underwater plates collide. One plate is pushed ...
Spreading ridge
An underwater mountain range, formed when liquid rock rises to fill ...
Siphonophore
A sea animal, such as a Portuguese man-of-war, which is made up of a ...
Sediment
Pieces of mud, sand and rock which settle on the sea bed.
Seaquake
An underwater earthquake.
Seamount
An underwater volcano which never grows above sea level.
Salinity
The saltiness of sea water.
Polyp
A tiny sea animal about 5mm (0.2in) long. Coral is made up of the ...
Plate
A piece of the Earth's hard crust.
Plankton
Tiny plants and animals which drift on the surface of the sea.
Pinnipedes
A group of sea mammals which includes seals, sea-lions and walruses.
Phytoplankton
Tiny sea plants.
Ooze
A fine, smooth mud covering the sea floor. Made of the bodies of ...
Oceanography
The scientific study of the oceans and seas.
Molluscs
A large invertebrate group, often with shells. They range from giant ...
Mammal
A warm-blooded animal with a backbone. Mammals feed their young on ...
Knot
A measurement of speed at sea. One knot equals 1.85kph (1.15mph).
Invertebrate
An animal without a backbone.
Dinoflagellates
Tiny one-celled sea plants. Some are poisonous; others can produce ...
Current
A huge river of water running through the sea.
Crustaceans
A group of sea animals with hard shells. Lobsters, crabs and shrimps ...
Continental slope
The sloping area leading from the continental shelf to the abyssal ...
Continental shelf
The shallow sea bed around the continents, not deeper than 200m ...
Atoll
A horseshoe-shaped or circular coral island around a deep lagoon.
Algae
A group of simple plants ranging from tiny one-celled plants to giant ...
Abyssal plain
A vast, flat area of the ocean floor, below 4km (2.5 miles).