Features Found On The Ocean Basin Floor

In hydrology an oceanic basin may be anywhere on earth that is covered by seawater but geologically ocean basins are large geologic basins that are below sea level geologically there are other undersea geomorphological features such as the continental shelves the deep ocean trenches and the undersea mountain ranges for example the mid atlantic ridge and the emperor seamounts which are.

Features found on the ocean basin floor. Features of the ocean include the continental shelf slope and rise. This graphic shows several ocean floor features on a scale from 0 35 000 feet below sea level. This underwater mountain system can be found in all oceans of the world. Together they contain the overwhelming majority of all water on the planet and have an average depth of almost 4 km about 2 5 miles.

A number of major features of the basins depart. Oceanic land forms submarine relief there are mountains basins plateaus ridges canyons and trenches beneath the ocean water too. The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. Ocean basin any of several vast submarine regions that collectively cover nearly three quarters of earth s surface.

The following features are shown at example depths to scale though each feature has a considerable range at which it may occur. The only exception are the crests of the spreading centres where new ocean floor has not existed long enough to accumulate a sediment cover. In fact it will. Scientific research submersibles have explored the ocean s deepest trenches but most are designed to reach only the ocean floor.

The magnetism of mid ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century. Features found on the ocean basin floor consist of valleys and rifts. About 70 of the planet s surface is made up of ocean basins which are the regions that are below sea level these areas hold the majority of the planet s water. Today much of our exploration of the oceans happens using sonar and remotely operated vehicles.

Sediment thickness in the oceans averages about 450 metres 1 500 feet. The ocean basin floor is everywhere covered by sediments of different types and origins. These relief features found on the ocean floor are called submarine relief. The ocean basins are broadly divided into four major subdivisions.

Continental shelf 300 feet continental slope 300 10 000 feet abyssal plain 10 000 feet abyssal hill 3 000 feet up from the abyssal plain seamount 6 000 feet. These features are involved in the generation of new oceanic crust from volcanic fissures produced by mantle up welling.