Ocean currents are driven by a range of sources.
The topography of the ocean floor causes.
The magnetism of mid ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century.
Map showing the underwater topography of the ocean floor.
Typical topography salinity of water.
However the magma that fills the fissure does not flood extensively over the ocean floor and stack up to form a topographic high.
The ridge is a high area compared to the surrounding seafloor because of the lift from the convection current below.
From the late 19th century when the norwegian explorer fridtjof nansen first discovered an ocean in the central arctic until the middle of the 20th century it was believed that the arctic ocean was a single large basin.
The topography of the ocean floor and the shoreline modifies those motions causing currents to speed up slow down or change direction.
Arctic ocean arctic ocean topography of the ocean floor.
Plate tectonics and the ocean floor.
Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics the outer rocky layer of the earth includes about a dozen large sections called tectonic plates that are arranged like a spherical jig saw puzzle floating on top of the earth s hot flowing mantle.
A frequent misconception is that the ridge is a build up of volcanic materials.
Like land terrain the ocean floor has ridges valleys plains and volcanoes.
Ocean floor topography involves the study of ocean bottom features including the outer continental shelf continental slopes and ocean waves desktops.
The wind tides changes in water density and the rotation of the earth.
Topographic maps of the sea floor produced at a 1 100 000 scale that contain loran c rates bottom sediment types and known bottom obstructions.
Explorations after 1950 revealed the true complex nature of the ocean floor.
All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds.
The under water topography maps have been developed by the study of ocean floor topography.
This study is extensive and it has been established that the ocean floor has similar features of mountains and valleys as on the earth.
