Oceanography Crossword Puzzle

QUESTIONS LIST:

• continental shelf : the extended perimeter of each continent, which lies submerged under relatively shallow seas.
• continental slope : the steep slope where the continental shelf drops to the deep ocean floor.
• abyssal plain : a flat, almost level area of the deep-ocean basin.
• mid-ocean ridge : an underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics.
• trench : a deep, narrow depression in the ocean floor, often caused by tectonic activity.
• seamount : an underwater mountain rising from the ocean floor that does not reach the surface.
• hydrothermal vent : an opening in the sea floor out of which heated mineral-rich water flows.
• thermocline : a layer in a body of water where the temperature changes rapidly with depth.
• epipelagic zone : the uppermost layer of the ocean, where sunlight penetrates.
• mesopelagic zone : the middle layer of the ocean, receiving very little light.
• bathypelagic zone : the deep ocean layer, where no sunlight reaches.
• abyssopelagic zone : the layer of the ocean at depths between 4,000 and6,000 meters.
• hadalpelagic zone : the deepest layer of the ocean, found in ocean trenches.
• salinity : the concentration of salts in water.
• upwelling : the rising of cold, nutrient-rich water from deep in the ocean to the surface.
• plankton : small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea.
• nekton : aquatic animals that can swim and move independently of water currents.
• benthos : organisms that live on, in, or near the seabed.
• tsunami : a series of ocean waves with extremely long wavelengths caused by large-scale disturbances.
• coral reef : a diverse underwater ecosystem held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals.