Average Depth Of Sea Floor

The acronym mbsf meaning meters below the seafloor is a common convention used for depths below the seafloor.

Average depth of sea floor. The most recent estimate of the average ocean depth of 3 682 meters 12 080 feet was calculated in 2010 by scientists from noaa and woods hole oceanographic institution using satellite measurements. Some features like canyons and seamounts might look familiar while others such as hydrothermal vents and methane seeps are unique to the deep. Depth below seafloor depth below seafloor is a vertical coordinate used in geology paleontology oceanography and petrology see ocean drilling. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate 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.

Territorial island of guam. The ocean s breadth from east to west varies considerably. New seafloor map reveals how strange the gulf of mexico is data gathered by oil exploration companies was combined to create the highest resolution map ever made of the area. It is more than 970 kilometres 600 mi long and 580 kilometres 360.

While the ocean has an average depth of 2 3 miles the shape and depth of the seafloor is complex. It has an average depth with its seas of 10 925 feet 3 300 metres and a maximum depth of 27 493 feet 8 380 metres in the puerto rico trench north of the island of puerto rico. The average depth of the ocean is about 12 100 feet the deepest part of the ocean is called the challenger deep and is located beneath the western pacific ocean in the southern end of the mariana trench which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the u s.