Class Content ❑ Continental shelves ❑ Continental slopes ❑ Continental rise and ❑ Ocean basin ❑

Ocean floor ❑ Coral reef ❑ Relief of the Pacific, ❑ Relief of the Atlantic and ❑ Relief of the Indian Ocean

Continental shelves:
 Continental Shelf is the gently sloping seaward extension of continental plate.
 These extended margins of each continent are occupied by relatively shallow seas and gulfs.
 Continental Shelf of all oceans together covers 7.5% of the total area of the oceans.
 Gradient of continental is of 1° or even less.
 The average width of continental shelves is between 70 – 80 km.
 The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf break.
 The continental shelves are covered with variable thicknesses of sediments brought down by
rivers, glaciers etc.
 Massive sedimentary deposits received over a long time by the continental shelves, become the
source of fossil fuels [Petroleum]. Examples: Continental Shelf of South-East Asia, Great Banks
around Newfoundland, Submerged region between Australia and New Guinea.
 The shelf is formed mainly due to:
1. Submergence of a part of a continent
2. Relative rise in sea level
3. Sedimentary deposits brought down by rivers
 There are various types of shelves based on different sediments of terrestrial origin —
1. glaciated shelf (Surrounding Greenland),
2. coral reef shelf (Queensland, Australia),
3. shelf of a large river (Around Nile Delta),
4. shelf with dendritic valleys (At the Mouth of Hudson River)
5. shelf along young mountain ranges (Shelves between Hawaiian Islands).
  The shelves are almost absent or very narrow along some of the margins like the coasts of Chile,
the west coast of Sumatra, etc.
 It is up to 120 km wide along the eastern coast of USA.
 On the contrary, the Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the largest in the world, stretches to
1,500 km in width.
 The depth of the shelves also varies. It may be as shallow as 30 m in some areas while in some
areas it is as deep as 600 m.
 Importance of continental shelf Marine food comes almost entirely from continental shelves.
They provide the richest fishing grounds.

Figure: Continental Selves

Continental slopes:
 They are potential sites for economic minerals. 20% of the world production of petroleum and
gas comes from shelves.
 Polymetallic nodules (manganese nodules; concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides)
etc. are good sources of various minerals
 The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the ocean basins,
 It begins where the bottom of the continental shelf sharply drops off into a steep slope.
  The gradient of the slope region varies between 2-5°.
 The depth of the slope region varies between 200 and 3,000 m.
 The seaward edge of the continental slope loses gradient at this depth and gives rise to
continental rise. The continental slope boundary indicates the end of the continents.

Figure: Continental Slope

Deep Sea Plain/Abyssal Plain:

 Deep Sea Plain is the flat and rolling submarine plain lying two or three miles below sea level,
and covering two-thirds of the ocean floor, generally termed as Abyssal Plains.
 ocean basins cover 75% of the total area of the ocean to the other.
 These are the flattest and smoothest regions of the world. (abyssal plain is not being level and it
has extensive submarine plateau ridges, trenches, guyots basins and oceanic islands)
 The depths vary between 3,000 and 6,000 m.
 These plains are covered with fine grained sediments like clay and silt.
 The submarine ridges with steep side-slopes reach the sea level and even project above the
water surface and appear as islands. E.g. Mid Atlantic ridge.
Continental Rise:
 The continental slope gradually loses its steepness with depth.
 When the slope reaches a level of between 0.5° and 1°, it is referred to as the continental rise.
19 With increasing depth the rise becomes virtually flat and merges with the abyssal plain.

Oceanic Deeps and Trenches:

 Ocean deeps represent depressions and trenches (reaches depth of 5,000 fathoms) on the ocean
floors, are the deepest parts of the ocean basins.
 Ocean deeps are grouped into Deeps: very deep but less extensive depressions.

 Trenches: long and narrow linear depressions. (E.g. Mariana Trench located to the west of
Philippines in the North Pacific Ocean is the deepest trench (11,000 meters).
 Oceanic trenches are a feature of the Earth's distinctive plate tectonics. They mark the locations
of convergent plate boundaries, along which lithospheric plates move towards each other at
rates that vary from a few millimeters to over ten centimeters per year.
 These are generally located parallel to the coasts facing mountains and along the islands. They
are more often found close to the continents, particularly in the Pacific Ocean.
 The trenches are relatively steep sided, narrow basins. They are some 3-5 km deeper than the
surrounding ocean floor.
  They occur at the bases of continental slopes and along island arcs and are associated with
active volcanoes and strong earthquakes. That is why they are very significant in the study of
plate movements.
 As many as 57 deeps have been explored so far; of which 32 are in the Pacific Ocean; 19 in the
Atlantic Ocean and 6 in the Indian Ocean.

Figure: Peru-Chili Trench

Mid-oceanic Ridges:
 a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics.
 This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary.
 The mountain ranges can have peaks as high as 2,500 m and some even reach above the ocean’s
surface. Iceland, a part of the mid Atlantic Ridge, is an example.
 Undersea mountain ranges are mountain ranges that are mostly or entirely underwater, and
specifically under the surface of an ocean.
 If originated from current tectonic forces, they are often referred to as a mid-ocean ridge.
 The largest and best-known undersea mountain range is a mid-ocean ridge, the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge.
 It is estimated that along Earth's mid-ocean ridges every year 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi) of new seafloor
is formed by this process.
 With a crustal thickness of 7 km (4.3 mi), this amounts to about 19 km3 (4.6 cu mi) of new ocean
crust formed every year.
Seamounts:
 Seamounts are actually undersea mountains that don’t reach the water surface (the peaks of
mountains that reach above the ocean surface become islands!).
 Often seamounts are extinct volcanoes.
 There are approximately 100,000 seamounts across the globe, reaching heights as much as
4,000 m (13,000 ft) measured from their base to their peaks.
 36 Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly and are usually
found rising from the seafloor to 1,000–4,000 m (3,300–13,100 ft) in height.

Submarine Canyons:
 These are long, narrow and very deep valleys located on the continental shelves and slopes with
vertical walls resembling the continental canyons are called submarine canyons.
 They are sometimes found cutting across the continental shelves and slopes, often extending
from the mouths of large rivers.
 Submarine canyons are classified on the morphogenesis as-
 Glacially eroded canyons
 Non-glacial canyons
 The Hudson Canyon is the best-known canyon in the world.
Guyots:
 It is a flat-topped seamount. They show evidences of gradual subsidence through stages to
become flat topped submerged mountains.
 It is estimated that more than 10,000 seamounts and guyots exist in the Pacific Ocean alone In
marine geology, a guyot also known as a table mount, is an isolated underwater volcanic
mountain (seamount) with a flat top more than 200 m (660 ft) below the surface of the sea.
 The diameters can exceed 10 km (6.2 mi). Guyots are most commonly found in the Pacific Ocean,
but they have been identified in all the oceans except the Arctic Ocean.

Relief of Pacific Ocean:

 Largest and deepest ocean. Covers about one-third of the earth’s surface.
 Average depth is generally around 7,300 meters.
 Its shape is roughly triangular with its apex in the north at the Bering Strait.
 There are a large number of deeps, trenches, seamounts, guyots, and islands.
Relief of the Atlantic:
The Atlantic Ocean is the second -largest of the world's oceans Area: about 106,460,000 km2 It covers
20 % of Earth's surface about 29 % of water surface area.

 Continental Shelf
 Continental Slopes
 Mid-Atlantic Ridge
 Seamounts and guyots
 Trenches
Coral Reef:
A quarter of all marine species live on coral reefs: Known as “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs cover
less than 1% of the ocean but are home to almost 25% of all known marine species. Over 4,000 different
species of fish rely on coral reefs.

Corals are animals, not plants: There are hard and soft varieties of coral which live together in large
groups called colonies.

Half a billion people rely on coral reefs for food: Coral reefs provide food for a variety of fish which, in
turn, provide food for humans. It’s estimated that around 500 million people in the world consume the
fish found on coral reefs.

Coral reefs need sunlight to grow: Clear and shallow water is where coral reefs thrive: they generally
grow best at depths shallower than 70 meters where sunlight can easily reach.

Too much heat can be harmful: Corals and algae have a symbiotic relationship but if the ocean gets too
warm, corals expel their algae which causes them to turn white - a process known as bleaching. In a
desperate attempt to survive increasing ocean temperatures, some corals have been shown to emit
vibrant colors.

They act as a barrier during storms: Coral reefs play an important role in protecting coastal
communities from storms and water surges. They act as a buffer and are able to slow down water flow
as well as prevent coastal erosion.

Coral reefs clean the water they’re in: You won’t find coral reefs living in murky water! Many corals and
sponges feed on particles found in the ocean which, in turn, leaves the water incredibly clear.

They are a huge driver of tourism: In a pre-COVID-19 world, around 71 million people each year visited
coral reefs on holiday. This tourism is hugely important to local economies; particularly in lesser-known
destinations which rely on international tourism.

Coral reefs date back around 240 million years: It’s been recorded that coral reef began forming as far
back as 240 million years ago! Established coral reefs today are between 5,000 - 10,000 years old,
although some individual corals may only live a couple of years.
Coral Reefs Formation:
 reefs typically are restricted to relatively shallow, warm tropical waters between 30° north and
south latitudes.
 Clean, clear water with the right amount of nutrients is essential to their health.

Coral Reefs In Peril:

Coral reefs are sensitive indicators of the health of marine environments. Yet coral reefs are in decline in
many parts of the world. It is estimated that 30% will be destroyed or seriously degraded in the next ten
years.

They are being stressed and killed by a variety of local human activities such as grounding of ships,
improperly placed anchorages, destructive fishing practices, such as dynamiting or cyanide poisoning,
and simply overfishing, which disrupts the balance of these fragile ecosystems.

Pollution and sediment runoff from land are major causes of stress, and even human activities
conducted at great distance through warming and pollution can affect coral sustainability.

As coral reefs become stressed, they also are more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections, such as
black, white, and yellow band diseases.

Types of Coral Reefs Coral reefs take four principal forms:

1. Fringing reefs
2. Barrier reefs
3. Coral Atolls
4. Platform, or patch, reefs
Fringing Reefs:
A fringing reef, also called a shore reef, is directly attached to a shore, or borders it with an intervening
narrow, shallow channel or lagoon.

Barrier Reefs:
Barrier reefs are separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon.

Coral Atolls:
Atolls or atoll reefs are a more or less circular or continuous barrier reef that extends all the way around
a lagoon without a central island.

Platform Reef:
Platform reefs, variously called bank or table reefs, can form on the continental shelf, as well as in the
open ocean, in fact anywhere where the seabed rises close enough to the surface of the ocean to enable
the growth of zooxanthemic, reef - forming corals.