Ocean Floor Topography

100 2000 meters high and several km across.

Ocean floor topography. Ocean topography is the study of the ocean floor and the features of which. Thanks to a new synthesis of seafloor topography released through google earth armchair. Ocean floor topography refers to the different forms in which the ocean floor bottom can exist.

The ocean floors contain dramatic landscapes volcanic ridges lofty peaks wide plains and deep valleys. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics. 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.

Topography of the ocean floor 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. Abyssal hillsabyssal hills hills along the ocean floor. You may perceive the ocean floor to be flat and sandy like the beach but the truth is there are many different surfaces.

Topographytopography is the study of earth s surface shape and features. The topography of the northern atlantic ocean is shown in figure 18 2. 18 1 the topography of the sea floor we examined the topography of the sea floor from the perspective of plate tectonics in chapter 10 but here we are going to take another look at the important features from an oceanographic perspective.