OCE

ANO
GRA
PHY

Abilash
Singh
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Choudhar
 • The oceans, unlike the continents, merge so naturally into one another that it is
hard to demarcate them.
• The geographers have divided the oceanic part of the earth into five oceans,
namely the
I. Pacific Ocean
II. Atlantic Ocean
III. Indian Ocean
IV. Southern Ocean
V. Arctic Ocean

Divisions of the Ocean Floors

• The ocean floors can be divided into four major divisions:

I. Continental Margin
a. Continental Shelf.
b. Continental Slope.
c. Continental Rise.
2. Deep Sea Plain/Abyssal Plains.
3. Oceanic Deeps (Trenches).
4. Mid Oceanic Ridges.
5. Submarine Hills.
• Besides, these divisions there are also major and minor relief features in the
ocean floors like ridges, hills, seamounts, guyots, trenches, canyons, etc

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THE CONTINENTAL SHELF
• The continental shelf is the extended margin of each continent occupied by
relatively shallow seas and gulfs.
• Average gradient of 1° or even less.
• The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf break.
• The width of the continental shelves vary from one ocean to another.
• The average width of continental shelves is about 80 km.

The shelves are of great use to man because:

I. Marine food comes almost entirely from them.
II. About 20 percent of oil and gas of the world is extracted from them.
III. They serve as sites for productive fishing grounds.

CONTINENTAL SLOPE
• The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the ocean basins.
• It begins where the bottom of the continental shelf sharply drops off into a steep
slope.
• The gradient of the slope region varies between 2-5°.
• The depth of the slope region varies between 200 and 3,000 m.
• Canyons and trenches are observed in this region.

THE DEEP-SEA PLAIN

• An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor Found at depths -
between 3,000 metres and 6,000 metres.
• Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge.
• Abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface.

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 • It has extensive submarine plateaus, ridges, trenches, beams, and oceanic islands
that rise above sea level in the midst of oceans

THE OCEAN DEEPS OR TRENCHES

• Ocean trenches are steep depressions in the deepest parts of the ocean.
• Most of trenches are located near continents.
• Greatest ocean deep – Mariana Trench near Guam Island (36000 feet deep).
• This shows that oceanic trenches are greater than highest mountain land on
earth.
• Other ocean deeps –
I. Mindanao deep (35000 feet)
II. Tonga trench (31000 feet)
III. Japanese trench (28000 feet) (all 3 in Pacific Ocean)
IV. Puerto Trench (Deepest Point of Atlantic) (8385 m)
V. Java Trench (Deepest in Indian Ocean) (7450 m)

THE OCEANIC DEPOSITS OF THE OCEAN FLOOR

• Terrigenous deposits: These are the deposits which originated on
terrestrial surface and were transported to oceans through wind and water. They
contain both organic and inorganic matter.

• Hydrogenous deposits: They originate in water. They include both organic

and inorganic particles.

• Cosmic deposits: They are extra-terrestrial.

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Mid-Oceanic Ridges:
• A mid-oceanic ridge is composed of two chains of mountains separated by a large
depression.
• The mountain ranges can have peaks as high as 2,500 m and some even reach
above the ocean’s surface.
• Iceland, a part of the mid- Atlantic Ridge, is an example

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Seamount
• It is a mountain with pointed summits, rising from the seafloor that does not
reach the surface of the ocean.
• Seamounts are volcanic in origin.
• These can be 3,000-4,500 m tall.
• The Emperor seamount, an extension of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific
Ocean, is a good example.

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Guyots
• It is a flat topped seamount.
• They show evidences of gradual subsidence through stages to become flat
topped submerged mountains.

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Submarine Canyons
• These are depressions with walls of steep slopes and have a V shape.
• They exist on the continental slopes and the shelves.
• They are found to have a length of 16 km at maximum.

Atoll
• An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef, island, or series of islets.
• An atoll surrounds a body of water called a lagoon.
• These are low islands found in the tropical oceans consisting of coral reefs
surrounding a central depression.

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SALINITY OF THE OCEAN
• Salt or NaCl – 77% of dissolved minerals in ocean.
• Salinity – degree of saltiness of water.
• Expressed as – in % or ppt (parts per thousand)
• Isohalines are used on maps to show salinity of different places.
• Isohalines – lines joining places having equal degree of salinity.
• Average salinity of ocean – 35.2% or 35 parts of salt in 1000 parts of water.

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OCEAN CURRENTS
• Ocean current is a continuous general movement of Ocean Water in a
specific direction.
• About 10% of the water in the World’s Ocean is involved in the Surface
Currents.
• There are two types of Ocean Currents:
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 I. Surface Currents--Surface Circulation
II. Deep Water Currents--Thermohaline Circulation

Surface Currents-Surface Circulation

• These waters make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean.
• These waters are the upper 400 meters of the ocean

Deep Water Currents—Thermohaline Circulation

• These waters make up the other 90% of the ocean
• These waters move around the ocean basins by density driven forces
and gravity.
• The density difference is a function of different temperatures and
salinity

Ocean Currents are influenced by two types of forces

• Primary Forces--start the water moving-
• The primary forces are:
I. Solar Heating
II. Winds
III. Gravity
IV. Coriolis
• Secondary Forces--influence where the currents flow

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 CAUSES OF OCEAN CURRENTS
1. Planetary Winds
• They tend to push the water in one direction because of friction.
• This is the main cause of the flow of water.
• Because of the Coriolis Effect, in the Northern Hemisphere currents
flow to the right of the wind direction while in the Southern
Hemisphere, winds blow to the left.

Gyre

• Gyres are large systems of circular(rotating) ocean currents formed by

global wind patterns and forces created by Earth's rotation.
• They play a crucial role in regulating the climate by redistributing heat
from the equator to the poles.
• There are five main ocean gyres: the North Atlantic, South Atlantic,
North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Ocean Gyres.

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 2. Effect of the temperature:
• There are marked variations in the horizontal and vertical distribution
of the temperatures in the ocean.
• There is an inverse relation between temperature and density of the
water i.e. higher the temperature, lower will be its density.
• As a result, the warm and low density water from the equatorial
region moves towards the colder polar waters. Contrary to this there
is a movement of ocean water below the water surface in the form of
sub surface current from colder polar areas to warmer equatorial area.

3. Salinity:
• The salinity of Ocean varies from place to place.
• Water with high salinity is denser than the one with low salinity.
• Ocean currents on the water surface are generated from the areas of
low salinity to the areas of high salinity.
• For example, there are ocean currents moving from ocean to inland
seas i.e. ocean current flows from Atlantic to Mediterranean Sea.
• A similar ocean current is seen from Indian Ocean to Red Sea via Bab
Al Mandab.

4. Rotation of Earth:
• The rotation of earth from west to east on its axis is the cause of a
deflective force called Coriolis force.
• Similar to winds, it deflects the ocean current in the Northern
Hemisphere towards its right and in the Southern Hemisphere
towards its left.

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 • Because of this at the periphery of the ocean, ocean currents form a
a) Clock wise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere and
b) Counter clockwise circulation in the southern Hemisphere.
• This giant loop is called Gyre.

Tides
• The periodic short-term rise and fall in the sea level is known as Tide.
It is produced due to gravitational interaction of earth, sun and moon.
• Since moon is closer to the earth, it has pronounced influence on the
tides.
• Rotation of earth also aids the tides.
• The difference in height between the high tide and the low tide is
called the tidal range.
• The highest tide in the World occurs in Bay of Funday (Canada).
• The highest tide in India is recorded at Okha, Gujarat.

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 TYPES OF TIDES
Spring Tides
• Spring tides are especially strong tides or high tides.
• They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line.
• The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to
the tides.
• Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon.

Neap Tides
• When the Moon is at first quarter or third quarter, the Sun and Moon
are separated by 90°, and the solar tidal force partially cancels the
Moon's.
• Neap tides are especially weak tides.
• They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are
perpendicular to one another
• Neap tides occur seven or eight days after the spring tide.
Advantages Of Tides
• High tides help in navigation as they raise the level of water closer to
the coast. This makes it easier for ships to enter the harbour.
• High tides assist with fishing as well as much more fish, move closer to
the sea during the high tide. This helps fishermen to have an abundant
harvest.
• The rise and fall of water due to tides is being used in some places to
generate electricity.

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 Tides Recurring Time

Semi diurnal tides Recur at the intervals of 12 ½ hours.

Diurnal Tides Recur at the intervals of 24 ½ hours.

Spring Tides Once a fortnight, due to the revolution of the

moon and its declination.

Neap Tides Once a fortnight, due to the revolution of the

moon and its declination.

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