Features of the Ocean Floor

Introduction:

Underneath the surface of Earth’s ocean lie dramatic landscapes including lofty peaks, wide plains, and deep
valleys. Mid-ocean ridges form the largest mountain chain on the planet, deep trenches reach almost 7 miles
deep, and vast underwater plains cover almost half the planet’s surface. Needless to say, Earth’s ocean floor is
full of geological features, and we can now explore them using Google Earth’s ocean exploration tool, “The
World’s Ocean”. For this activity, we will explore the oceans in search of various landscapes and mark their
GPS locations for other students to find as well to illustrate the features and surrounding landscapes.

Throughout history humans have been drawn to the ocean in search of new discoveries. A lot has changed
over the years, scientific advances have allowed us to peer deeper into the unknown. Nowadays, we can use
satellite imagery, submersible sonars, remotely operated vehicles, and so many other tools to explore the
ocean, even from the comforts of dry land! Luckily for us modern day oceanic explorers there are still plenty of
discoveries waiting to be found. In fact, we have only explored 5% of the entire ocean to date. Some 30,000
years ago humans began to leave their coastlines on rafts, exploring the ocean only by means of eyesight and
breath-holding. It wasn’t until 1925 that scientists began using sonar to map the ocean floor. In 1943,
underwater explorers developed the first modern scuba systems. In the 1950’s we discovered the deepest
part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep, as well as identified the Mid-Atlantic ridge stretching for 40,000
nautical miles. In the 1970’s hydrothermal vents were found to contain an abundance of life never before
thought possible at the depths they were located, and in 1995 humans finally began mapping the ocean floor
from space. Even recently, in 2012, the first solo dive exploration to the Challenger Deep was conducted by
James Cameron, but he was only able to stay down for 3 hours.

Many of the ocean features we will find are the product of tectonic plate activity. Tectonic plates are pieces of
Earth's crust and uppermost mantle that slide over, below, and against one another causing major geological
formations. Not only do the collisions create colossal formations such as mid-ocean ridges, but they also
expose molten lava that is right below the tectonic plates. As these openings form, lava is released creating
features such as volcanoes. Over time, these features grow to such heights that they are exposed above sea
level and are subject to the forces of wind, rain, and erosion.

Needless to say, there is still plenty in the ocean for us to find and learn about. As science continues to
advance so will our ability to explore more of the Earth’s ocean. The World’s Ocean tool via Google, created in
2009, will allow us a unique opportunity to explore the ocean in a way our oceanographic ancestors could only
have dreamed of.
 OCEAN FLOOR TOPOGRAPHY
BACKGROUND
THE LITHOSPHERE IS THE CRUST AND TOP OF THE MANTLE, SIMILAR TO TAKING THE CRUST OFF THE TOP OF A DUTCH APPLE PIE. THE
LITHOSPHERE IS MADE UP OF PLATES. A PLATE IS A MOVING PIECE OF LITHOSPHERE. THERE ARE 7 MAJOR PLATES AND MANY MINOR
PLATES WHICH ARE MOVING. THE PLATES ARE MOVING FROM 2 – 10 cm/yr, ABOUT THE RATE AT WHICH FINGERNAILS GROW.

THE WATER ON OR NEAR THE SURFACE COVERS 71.13% OF THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH. THIS IS THE OCEANS, RIVERS, LAKES, AND
MOISTURE IN THE AIR. THE OCEAN PROVIDES ~80% OF THE O2 AND STORES ~97% OF EARTH’S H2O. THE OCEAN CONTAINS ~90% OF
THE BIOMASS, HOLDS ~90% OF ITS LIFE IN THE TOP 100 m, AND PROVIDES HABITAT FOR ~50% (~1 MILLION) OF ALL SPECIES. THE
OCEAN HAS AN AVERAGE DEPTH OF 4,000 m, AND PROVIDES ~17 % OF JOBS IN THE US. ~60% OF OCEAN SPECIES REMAIN
UNDISCOVERED AND MORE THAN 95% OF THE OCEAN REMAINS UNEXPLORED.

OCEAN FLOOR SPREADING EXPLAINS THAT THE FORMATION OF NEW OCEAN FLOOR MOVES THE CONTINENTS. THE OCEAN FLOOR IS
MOVED AS A RESULT OF THE FORMATION OF NEW OCEAN FLOOR AND AT THE SAME TIME NEW FLOOR IS CREATED, THE OLD FLOOR IS
DESTROYED. THE CONTINENTS ARE MOVED AS A RESULT OF OCEAN FLOOR MOVEMENT.

THE FEATURES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR ARE AS DIVERSE AS THE LAND.

RIFT VALLEYS OCCUR WHERE THE PLATES MOVE APART. MAGMA CONTINENT

EXTRUDES BETWEEN THE PLATES AND FORM UNDER WATER

MOUNTAIN CHAINS.

TRENCHES OCCUR WHERE PLATES COME TOGETHER. WHEN PLATES

COLLIDE, 1 PLATE SLIDES UNDER THE OTHER AND FORMS TRENCHES.
MID OCEAN RIDGE
TRENCHES ARE WHERE OLD OCEAN FLOOR IS DESTROYED. CONTINENTAL SHELF

THE CONTINENTAL SHELF IS PART OF THE CONTINENTAL CRUST THAT ABYSSAL PLAIN
EXTENDS INTO THE OCEAN. THE CONTINENTAL SHELF TRANSFORMS
INTO THE CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND MEETS THE OCEAN FLOOR. THE CONTINENTAL
SLOPE
OCEAN FLOOR SLOPES STEEPLY DOWN TO THE OCEAN BASIN OR
ABYSSAL PLAIN. THE ABYSSAL PLAIN IS THE FLAT OPEN PLAIN OF THE
OCEAN FLOOR.

SEAMOUNTS ARE UNDERWATER PEAKS WITH DIFFERENT SHAPED TRENCH

TOPS.

SONAR, SOUND NAVIGATION AND RANGING, IS A TOOL USED TO MAP THE OCEAN
FLOOR. SOUND WAVES TRAVEL FURTHER IN WATER THAN DO LIGHT AND RADAR
WAVES. SONAR IS USED TO DEVELOP NAUTICAL CHARTS WHICH SHOW THE
CONFIGURATION OF THE SHORELINE, SEA FLOOR, AND WATER DEPTHS. SONAR
ALSO PROVIDES LOCATIONS OF DANGERS TO NAVIGATION AS WELL AS LOCATIONS ACTIVE SONAR
AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AIDS TO NAVIGATIONS SUCH AS ANCHORAGES.

THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF SONAR, ACTIVE AND PASSIVE. ACTIVE SONAR EMITS A
SIGNAL AND RECEIVES THE “ECHO” TO DETERMINE THE RANGE AND ORIENTATION
OF OBJECTS. PASSIVE SONAR DOES NOT EMIT A SIGNAL, IT DETECTS SOUND
WAVES AND CAN NOT DETERMINE THE RANGE AND ORIENTATION OF OBJECTS. PASSIVE SONAR

OCEAN DEPTHS CAN BE MEASURED AND MAPPED USING THE SONAR DATA AND THE FORMULA:
o
D = ½ (T x V), WHERE D = DEPTH, T = TIME, AND V = VELOCITY WHICH IN WATER AT 20 C IS 1.5 Km/s.

1. CALCULATE THE DEPTH OF THE OCEAN FLOOR

2. ROUND RESULTS TO THE ONE AND TENTHS PLACE
SONAR DATA COLLECTED FROM SHORE TO OPEN OCEAN
DIST (Km) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
TIME (s) 0.13 0.27 0.53 2.65 2.65 2.92 4.25 4.25 2.65 1.86 1.33 3.98 4.51 6.10 6.90 12.25 14.60 6.64 7.96 7.43
DEPTH (Km)

II. MATERIALS
PENCIL COLORED PENCILS STRAIGHT EDGE GRAPH PAPER DATA TABLE

III. PROCEDURE
1. ORIENT PAPER SO THAT LONG EDGE IS AT THE BOTTOM
2. LABEL THE TOP OF THE GRAPH WITH DESCRIPTIVE TITLE “TOPOGRAPHY OF THE OCEAN FLOOR”
3. COUNT IN FROM THE LEFT SHORT EDGE 5 LINES AND MAKE A SMALL MARK
TH
4. ON THE 5 LINE, DRAW A LINE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OF PAPER, THIS IS THE Y AXIS
5. COUNT IN 2 LINES FROM THE LEFT SHORT EDGE SIDE AND LABEL THE Y AXIS “DEPTH (Km)”
6. COUNT UP FROM THE BOTTOM LONG EDGE 5 LINES AND MAKE A SMALL MARK
TH
7. ON THE 5 LINE, DRAW A LINE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ACROSS PAPER, THIS IS THE X AXIS
8. COUNT UP 2 LINES FROM BOTTOM LONG EDGE AND LABEL THE X AXIS “DISTANCE FROM SHORE (Km)”
9. ON THE X AXIS, LABEL THE ORIGIN 0 AND LABEL EVERY OTHER LINE NUMERICALLY BY 10’S UP TO 200
10. ON THE Y AXIS, BEGIN AT ORIGIN AND LABEL EVERY LINE NUMERICALLY BY 0.5 ‘S UP TO 12.0
11. USE BLUE DOTS TO PLOT THE DEPTH
12. CONNECT EACH DOT WITH A BLUE LINE
13. CREATE A KEY ON THE GRAPH

IV. RESULTS
THIS IS THE COMPLETED GRAPH
1. IDENTIFY THE FEATURES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR
2. COLOR EACH FEATURE THE CORRESPONDING COLOR
1. MID OCEAN RIDGE,
RED

2. CONTINENTAL SHELF,
BLUE

3. TRENCH,
BLACK

4. CONTINENT,
GREEN

5. ABYSSAL PLAIN,
ORANGE

6. CONTINENTAL SLOPE,
PURPLE

1. USE BLUE DOTS TO PLOT THE OCEAN FLOOR USING DATA FROM “SONAR DATA COLLECTED FROM SHORE TO OPEN OCEAN” TABLE
2. CONNECT EACH DOT WITH A BLUE LINE

2
OCEAN FLOOR DEPTH (Km)

10

11
     
12 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210
DISTANCE FROM SHORE (Km)
What you will need:
• A computer or other device with internet access
• Google Chrome (no other web browser will work)
• Printed copy of the drawing pages (pages 4-7) and the data table (page 8 )
• Something to write with
• Something to draw with (you may want multiple colors, but that is optional)
• An ocean explorer’s sense of adventure

How to get started:

1. If you do not have google chrome on your device you will need to download it. If you already have
Google Chrome you can skip this step.
2. Use this link to go to the World’s Ocean Tool in Google Earth.
• If the hyperlink does not work please cut and paste the link below in to Google Chrome.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VNGMd1G0omayERjoUQDV1SbdUrYwk-ap&usp=sharing
3. Once Google Earth launches you should see an image of the earth and the Ocean Floor Activity project
window.

4. Click on Island Arc in the project window (see the yellow arrow). This should take you to the location
of an example of an island arc and give you a pop-up window (see the red arrows).

5. In the place indicated on worksheet draw an island arc like the example in Google Earth.
6. Under your drawing write the GPS coordinates of the island arc you have been shown. These
coordinates can be found in the lower right-hand corner of the screen (See the green arrow).

7. Zoom out and explore the Pacific Ocean for another example of an island arc in Google Earth.
8. Write the location of your example down in the space provide in the data table under Island Arc.
 Ocean Features Drawing Pages
Draw the examples seen in Google Earth of each feature. Then see if you can locate more examples of each
feature. Happy exploring!

Island Arc: A chain of islands formed by active volcanoes over areas in which the Earth’s plates (or tectonic
plates) are moving towards each other and is the result of one plate sliding below another. Volcanoes on
island arcs can be active or inactive depending on their geologic age.

GPS Coordinate:

Seamount: A mountain rising from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level).
Seamounts are cone shaped and have features that rise to at least 3,281 ft above the seafloor.

GPS Coordinate:
Guyot: Also known as a table mount, a guyot is an isolated underwater volcanic mountain (seamount) with a
flat top more than 660 ft below the surface of the sea. Guyots show evidence of having been above the
surface at one time but were ultimately weathered down by erosion caused by waves, wind, and rain.

GPS Coordinate:

Volcano: An opening in Earth’s crust that allows molten rock from beneath the crust to reach the surface.
When molten rock contacts seawater, it cools and hardens. Over time, this process allows the hardened rock
to stack higher and higher in the water column until it creates new land above the sea level, forming islands.

GPS Coordinate:
Volcano with a large volcanic crater: Just like a volcano but with a crater. The crater is formed by a major
eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano.

GPS Coordinate:

Mid-Ocean Ridge: An underwater mountain range formed by Earth’s plates. They are connected across the
globe to form a single ridge system spanning the length of 37,282 miles.

GPS Coordinate:
Abyssal plain: Any of the great, flat, sediment-covered areas of the ocean floor. They are located between the
continental rise and ocean ridges. These plains cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface.

GPS Coordinate:

Abyssal Hill: Small, isolated, submarine hills that rise from the floor of an abyssal plain. They are more
rounded on top than a seamount and are no more than a few hundred feet tall. They are the most common
geological structure on Earth.

GPS Coordinate: