| A | B | 
|---|
| oceanographer | a scientist that studies the ocean | 
| plankton | animals and plants that float at or near the ocean surface | 
| nekton | forms of ocean life that swim | 
| benthos | organisms that live on the ocean floor | 
| interidal zone | coastal region that lies between the high- and low-tide lines | 
| neritic zone | area of the ocean that extends from the low-tide line to the edge of a continental shelf | 
| bathyal zone | open ocean zone that begins at an continental slope and extends to about 2000 meters | 
| abyssal zone | open ocean zone that begins at a depth of about 2000 meters and extends to about 6000 meters | 
| crest | high point of a wave | 
| trough | lowest point of a wave | 
| wavelength | horizontal distance between two consecutive crests or troughs | 
| tsunami | a giant sea wave produced by an earthquake | 
| surface current | an ocean current caused mainly by wind patterns | 
| deep current | an ocean current caused mainly by the differences in the density of water deep in the ocean | 
| upwelling | the rising of deep, cold currents to the ocean surface |