Amanda Parker

Period 2
Marine Project #2

The Ocean is a very neat place. Many things go on underwater that we dont even know
about. There are thousands of things that have yet to be discovered because the Ocean is so
ginormous. Bathymetry is the measurement of the oceans depth. Earthquakes are caused by
plates shifting underneath the Earths crust. The Earth is formed in a very unique way where
there are mountains literally growing and forming in the middle of the Ocean.
Sounds in the Ocean are caused by vibrations.
Sounds can be identified by wave lengths, which are
the distance between crests of waves, especially
points in a sound wave. The sound waves can be
measured from top to bottom this is known as
amplitude. The frequency of the sound waves are the
number of sound waves going off. When sound waves
hit the bottom of the ocean floor, some waves scatter,
some refracted from the bottom of the floor, and some
is transmitted into the ocean floor. SONAR was a
sound system first brought up around the time of
WW1. When WW1 occurred, the ocean sounds were
measured by a bunch of different sound detecting
devices.
Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of the ocean floor or lake floor. Before
SONAR, bathymetry was the main way to measure the ocean floor or any type of water floor.
Bathymetry was the earliest technique in measuring the depth of water. This method involved
lowering a rope or chain or something like that down the side of the boat and once it touched
the ocean floor, then they would bring it back up and measure it. This method is not very
accurate because of things that could affect it, like currents or something else. This method was
also not very safe because the weight of the rope or anchor, could potentially tip the boat over.
The weight was not evenly distributed on both sides and made it much harder to measure the
ocean floor.
The history of navigation is very important. This is the way that ships and vessels from
the earliest time have found their ways around the globe, traveling across oceans. People used
to navigate their way across the oceans by astronomy and special instruments, as well as
geometry. Later on in time, the compass came around and the compass became one of the
most common ways to find the way around the globe. The compass was an instrument that

contained a magnetic pointer inside which changed directions when you turn different directions.
This instrument was much easier to use rather than trying to find your ways from the stars
because there was not always a guarantee that the stars would be out or that the night would be
cloudy. This made it difficult for traveling and navigating, while the compass helped diminish
these problems and made it easier to travel across the globe.
Plates under the earths crust are constantly moving, whether it be a slight movement, or
a huge jolting movement, which causes earthquakes. The plates underneath move because the
heat that the core of the earth creates, which causes the molten rock to melt and the plates to
move. Convection is when the temperature of the rocks increase and decrease, causing the
rocks to descend into the earth. This is a very slow movement and process, which causes stress
to be transferred into the Lithosphere. Rocks become more dense when the rock temperature
cools down. This is what causes the cooled down rock to sink down to the subduction zones.
This is called slab-pull.
Earthquakes happen because plates
underneath the earths surface move too
quickly or rapidly. When a lot of energy is
released underground, this causes the ground
above to shake and jolt which causes
vibrations, this is an earthquake. Earthquakes
are most likely to occur at or near fault lines.
The fault lines are in Southern Alaska, the
Caribbean Islands, West coast of the United
States and South America, and the East coast
of Indonesia and Asia. When fault lines shift,
there is an earthquake that occurs which can
sometimes cause a tsunami. In an earthquake,
the only way we can prepare and stay safe is if we get under something sturdy like a desk or
table. I an earthquake happens, you are never supposed to stand near a window or anything
that can break and fall on you.
A hotspot on a volcano is an area in the middle of a volcano which rises from the mantle
as temperature increases. Magma will crack through the surface and rise causing a volcanic
eruption. Hot spots are places and holes of melted rock that turns into magma. A hot spot is
going to be developed above the plume. Some hot spots can be developed underneath the
earths surface. The most well known hot spot chain is the chain of the Hawaiian Islands.
However, a volcano above a hot spot, oddly enough, does not erupt forever.

Basins are areas underneath the sea. There are four major (or largest) basins in the
ocean. They are(in order from smaller to largest): Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean,
and Southern Ocean. When magma rises up through the cracks of the dried rock sediments, it

cools creating a new layer of earths crust. All Ocean basins have certain ocean features. The
most known and prominent feature on the basins are the volcanic chains called mid-ocean
ridges. These sections of mountains mark where the rocks are pulling apart or separating from
each other.
Mid-ocean ridges are underwater mountain ranges formed by plate tectonics. This
happens when two plates collide and slide upwards creating a mountain of rocks. Mid-Ocean
ridges are when sea floor plates are moving outwards or inwards, causing the earths crust to
change. The plate tectonics are going to move causing the earths floor to push up, creating
mountain chains in the ocean. Many of the mid-ocean ridges are shaped differently and have
different characteristics. There can be two types of ridges, fast spreading ocean ridges and slow
spreading ocean ridges. They can be quite large or quite small, depending on the movements of
plate tectonics underneath them. Many of the mid-ocean ridges actually have magma still
present and hot in the cracks of the mountains.
There is many life forms in the deep sea, just as there is many life forms on land and in
the shallower parts of the Ocean water. The organisms
in the deep sea, usually have to have a florescent light
that can be created by them to see where they are
going. It is so dark underneath the ocean water that far
down that is is very important that they can create this
glow. There are still hundreds or maybe even thousands
of deep sea life organisms that have yet to be
discovered because the ocean is so deep that humans
cant go down into the ocean water that deep because of
the pressure. Another factor that affects us from being
able to see what organisms are down there are because the organisms cannot survive above a
certain water level. They literally will disintegrate because they are not meant to survive in the
conditions.
In conclusion, the ocean is a very special place, a whole nother world, filled with different
organisms and plant life and different life forms that we dont even know about yet. There are so
many discoveries of the ocean that make our knowledge of the ocean 100 times better. The mid
ocean ridges are the mountain chains in the ocean. These ridges are formed by the plate
tectonics and Earth's floor underneath the Ocean water. There are deep-sea basins, which are
trenches in the middle of the ocean which hold many organisms that we cannot discover
because of the pressure and conditions that come with them. Hot spots on volcanos are spots
filled with magma, which seeps out and eventually hardens, creating mountains. There are so
many wonderful things about the ocean and everyday we are discovering more and more.

Works Cited:
By Some Estimates, There Is More Energy Locked up in the Methane Hydrates than in All (other)
Fossil/hydrocarbon Fuels Combined. Animals with Symbiotic Bacteria Were Found, Different from
but Related to Vent Species, including Tubeworms, Clams, and Mussel. "The Deep Sea ~ Ocean
Biology, Marine Life, Sea Creatures, Marine Conservation..."MarineBio.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct.
2016.

KidsGeo.com, By. "Volcanic Hot Spots - Geology For Kids - By KidsGeo.com."Volcanic Hot Spots Geology For Kids - By KidsGeo.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.

Survey, USGS - U.S. Geological. "Bathymetry." -Seabirds, Foragefish and Marine Ecosystems
Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.