Atlantic Sea Floor Topography
Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.
Atlantic sea floor topography. And purple greater than 6 000 m. Blue 4 000 m to 5 000 m. The northwest passage and northern sea route are two important seasonal waterways that connect the atlantic and pacific oceans. And purple greater than 6 000 metres.
In recent years the polar ice pack has thinned allowing for increased navigation through these routes and raising the possibility of future. Red and yellow colors indicate less than 2 000 m depth. Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics. Explorations after 1950 revealed the true complex nature of the ocean floor.
Map showing the geographic extent of the arctic ocean as a darker blue tint. 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. Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11 of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate.
Blue 4 000 metres to 5 000 metres. Blue 4 000 m to 5 000 m. A seamount for example exerts a gravitational pull and warps the sea. Green less than 3 000 m.
Green less than 3 000 m. And purple greater than 6 000 m. Red and yellow colours indicate less than a 2 000 metre depth. Figure 18 1 1 the topography of the atlantic ocean sea floor between 0 and 50 north.
Figure 18 2 the topography of the atlantic ocean sea floor between 0 and 50 north. Figure 18 2 the topography of the atlantic ocean sea floor between 0 and 50 north. The east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american plate the cocos plate the nazca plate and the antarctic plate. Northwest passage northern sea route.
Green less than 3 000 metres. Correcting for waves and tides creates a picture of sea surface topography that reflects features of the seafloor far 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. Topography of the ocean floor.