| A | B |
|---|
| salinity | a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid |
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water fromt the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean |
| continental shelf | the gently sloping section of the continental margin located between the shoreline and the continental slope |
| continental slope | the steeply inclined section of the continental margin located between the continental rise and the continental shelf |
| continental rise | the gently sloping section of the continental slope and the abyssal plain |
| abyssal plain | a large, flat, almost level area of the deep-ocean basin |
| mid-ocean ridge | a long, undersea mountain chain that forms along the floor of the major oceans |
| rift valley | a long, narrow valley that forms as tectonic-plates separate |
| seamount | a submerged mountain on the ocean floor that is at least 1,000 m high and that has a volcanic origin |
| ocean trench | a steep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands or a continental margin |
| condensation | the change of state from a gas to a liquid; as water vapor rises into the atmosphere it cools and eventually turns into liquid water |
| precipitation | solid or liquid water that falls to Earth; most falls directly back into the ocean |
| evaporation | the physical change from a liquid to a gas; water evaporates directly from oceans, lakes, rivers, falling rain, plants, animals, and other sources; the sun heats liquid water, causing it to rise into the atmosphere as water vapor |
| 5 main oceans | Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern |
