The
seabed (also known as the
seafloor,
sea floor, or
ocean floor) is the bottom of the
ocean.
Ocean structure
Most of the oceans have a common structure, created by common physical phenomena, mainly from tectonic movement, and sediment from various sources. The structure of the oceans, starting with the continents, begins usually with a
continental shelf, continues to the
continental slope - which is a steep descent into the ocean, until reaching the
abyssal plain - a topographic
plain, the beginning of the seabed, and its main area. The border between the continental slope and the abyssal plain usually has a more gradual descent, and is called the
continental rise, which is caused by
sediment cascading down the continental slope.
The
mid-ocean ridge, as its name implies, is a mountainous rise through the middle of all the oceans, between the continents. Typically a
rift runs along the edge of this ridge. Along
tectonic plate edges there are typically
oceanic trenches - deep valleys, created by the mantle circulation movement from the mid-ocean mountain ridge to the oceanic trench.
Hotspot volcanic island ridges are created by volcanic activity, erupting periodically, as the tectonic plates pass over a hotspot. In areas with volcanic activity and in the oceanic trenches, there are
Hydrothermal vents - releasing high pressure and extremely hot water and chemicals into the typically freezing water around it.
The ocean water is divided into layers, each with typical features...
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