Physical Geography of the World

C7- Oceanography

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 Physical Geography of the World
Unit 4
Unit 2 Unit 3
Unit 1 Oceanography
Geomorphology Climatology
Basic Geography C17- Water(Oceans)
C4- Major domains of the Earth C12- Composition & Structure
C1- Universe & Solar C18- Bottom Relief of
C5- Interior of the Earth and of Atmosphere
System Oceans
Earthquakes C13- Solar radiation , Heat
C2- Origin & Evolution C19- Movement of ocean
C6- Volcanoes balance and Temperature
of the Earth water
C7- Distributions of Oceans and C14- Atmospheric circulation
C3- Globe : Latitudes ,
Continents & Weather system
Longitudes & Motion
of the Earth C8- Minerals and Rocks C15- Water in Atmosphere Unit 5
C16- World Climate and Environmental Geography
C9- Geomorphic Process
Climate Change C20- Life on Earth
C10- Major landforms of the
Earth C21- Biodiversity &
Conservation
C11- Landforms and their
Evolution C22- Human Environment
Interactions

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 Geography of the World
Continental Shelf:

It is the shallowest part of the ocean showing an average gradient of 1° or even less. . The average width of
continental shelves is about 80 km. On the contrary, the Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the largest in the
world, stretches to 1,500 km in width. The depth of the shelves also varies. It may be as shallow as 30 m in some
areas while in some areas it is as deep as 600 m

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. The slope boundary indicates the end of the continents. Canyons
and trenches are observed in this region
Deep Sea Plain:

Deep sea plains are gently sloping areas of the ocean basins. These are the flattest and smoothest regions of the
world. The depths vary between 3,000 and 6,000m. These plains are covered with fine-grained sediments like clay and
silt.

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Mid-Oceanic Ridges Geography of the World

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 midAtlantic Ridge, is an
example.

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.

Submarine Canyons

These are deep valleys, some comparable to the Grand Canyon

of the Colorado river. They are sometimes found cutting across
the continental shelves and slopes, often extending.
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 Geography of the World
Guyots

It is a flat topped seamount. They show evidences of gradual subsidence through stages to become flat topped
submerged mountains. It is estimated that more than 10,000 seamounts and guyots exist in the Pacific Ocean alone.

Atoll

These are low islands found in the tropical oceans consisting of coral reefs surrounding a central depression. It may be a
part of the sea (lagoon), or sometimes form enclosing a body of fresh, brackish, or highly saline water.

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 Geography of the World

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Factors Affecting Temperature Distribution Geography of the World

The factors which affect the distribution of temperature of ocean water are :
(i) Latitude : the temperature of surface water decreases from the equator towards the poles because the amount of
insolation decreases poleward.

(ii) Unequal distribution of land and water : the oceans in the northern hemisphere receive more heat due to their contact
with larger extent of land than the oceans in the southern hemisphere.

(iii) Prevailing wind : the winds blowing from the land towards the oceans drive warm surface water away form the coast
resulting in the upwelling of cold water from below. It results into the longitudinal variation in the temperature. Contrary
to this, the onshore winds pile up warm water near the coast and this raises the temperature.

(iv) Ocean currents : warm ocean currents raise the temperature in cold areas while the cold currents decrease the
temperature in warm ocean areas. Gulf stream (warm current) raises the temperature near the eastern coast of North
America and the West Coast of Europe while the Labrador current (cold current) lowers the temperature near the north-
east coast of North America.

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 Geography of the World
Horizontal and Vertical Distribution of Temperature

The first layer represents the top layer of warm oceanic water and it is about 500m thick with temperatures ranging
between 20° and 25° C. This layer, within the tropical region, is present throughout the year but in mid latitudes it develops
only during summer. The second layer called the thermocline layer lies below the first layer and is characterised by rapid
decrease in temperature with increasing depth. The thermocline is 500 -1,000 m thick. The third layer is very cold and
extends upto the deep ocean floor. In the Arctic

SALINITY OF OCEAN WATERS

It is calculated as the amount of salt (in gm) dissolved in 1,000 gm (1 kg) of seawater. It is usually expressed as parts per
thousand (o/oo) or ppt. Salinity is an important property of sea water. Salinity of 24.7 o/oo has been considered as the upper
limit to demarcate ‘brackish water’. Factors affecting ocean salinity are mentioned below:

(i) The salinity of water in the surface layer of oceans depend mainly on evaporation and precipitation.

(ii) Surface salinity is greatly influenced in coastal regions by the fresh water flow from rivers, and in polar regions by the
processes of freezing and thawing of ice.

(iii) Wind, also influences salinity of an area by transferring water to other areas.

(iv) The ocean currents contribute to the salinity variations. Salinity, temperature and density of water are interrelated.
Hence, any change in the temperature or density influences the salinity of water in an area.
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 Geography of the World
Highest salinity in water bodies Lake Van in Turkey (330 o/oo), Dead Sea (238 o/oo), Great Salt Lake (220 o/oo)

HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF SALINITY

The salinity for normal open ocean ranges between 33 o/oo and 37 o/oo. In the land locked Red Sea, it is as high as 41
o/oo, while in the estuaries and the Arctic, the salinity fluctuates from 0 - 35 o /oo, seasonally. In hot and dry regions,
where evaporation is high, the salinity sometimes reaches to 70 o/oo. The salinity variation in the Pacific Ocean is mainly
due to its shape and larger areal extent. Salinity decreases from 35 o /oo - 31 o /oo on the western parts of the northern
hemisphere because of the influx of melted water from the Arctic region. In the same way, after 15° - 20° south, it
decreases to 33 o /oo .

The average salinity of the Atlantic Ocean is around 36 o /oo. The highest salinity is recorded between 15° and 20°
latitudes. Maximum salinity (37 o/oo) is observed between 20° N and 30° N and 20° W - 60° W. It gradually decreases
towards the north.

The North Sea, in spite of its location in higher latitudes, records higher salinity due to more saline water brought by
the North Atlantic Drift. Baltic Sea records low salinity due to influx of river waters in large quantity. The Mediterranean
Sea records higher salinity due to high evaporation. Salinity is, however, very low in Black Sea due to enormous fresh
water influx by rivers. See the atlas to find out the rivers joining Black Sea. The average salinity of the Indian Ocean is 35
o /oo. The low salinity trend is observed in the Bay of Bengal due to influx of river water. On the contrary, the Arabian
Sea shows higher salinity due to high evaporation and low influx of fresh water. Figure 13.5 shows the salinity of the
World’s oceans.
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 Geography of the World
Vertical Distribution of Salinity

Salinity changes with depth, but the way it changes

depends upon the location of the sea.
Salinity at the surface increases by the loss of water to ice
or evaporation, or decreased by the input of fresh waters,
such as from the rivers. Salinity at depth is very much
fixed, because there is no way that water is ‘lost’, or the
salt is ‘added.’ There is a marked difference in the salinity
between the surface zones and the deep zones of the
oceans. The lower salinity water rests above Salinity,
generally, increases with depth and there is a distinct zone
called the halocline, where salinity increases sharply.
Other factors being constant, increasing salinity of
seawater causes its density to increase.

High salinity seawater, generally, sinks below the lower

salinity water. This leads to stratification by salinity.

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 Geography of the World
MOVEMENTS OF OCEAN WATER
Waves
As a wave approaches the beach, it slows down. This is due to the friction occurring between the dynamic water and
the sea floor. And, when the depth of water is less than half the wavelength of the wave, the wave breaks. The largest
waves are found in the open oceans. Waves continue to grow larger as they move and absorb energy from the wind.

Characteristics of Waves

Wave crest and trough : The highest and lowest points of a

wave are called the crest and trough respectively.
Wave height : It is the vertical distance from the bottom of a
trough to the top of a crest of a wave.
Wave amplitude : It is one-half of the wave height.
Wave period : It is merely the time interval between two
successive wave crests or troughs as they pass a fixed point.
Wavelength : It is the horizontal distance between two
successive crests.
Wave speed : It is the rate at which the wave moves through
the water, and is measured in knots.
It is the number of waves passing a given point during a
onesecond time interval.
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 Geography of the World
TIDES
the periodical rise and fall of the sea level, once or twice a day,
mainly due to the attraction of the sun and the moon, is called
a tide. Movement of water caused by meteorological effects
(winds and atmospheric pressure changes) are called surges.
The moon’s gravitational pull to a great extent and to a lesser
extent the sun’s gravitational pull, are the major causes for the
occurrence of tides. Another factor is centrifugal force
Together, the gravitational pull and the centrifugal force are
responsible for creating the two major tidal bulges on the
earth.

When the tide is channelled between islands or into bays and

estuaries they are called tidal currents.

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 Geography of the World
Types of Tides :

Tides vary in their frequency, direction and movement from

place to place and also from time to time. Tides may be
grouped into various types based on their frequency of
occurrence in one day or 24 hours or based on their height.

Tides based on Frequency

Semi-diurnal tide : The most common tidal pattern, featuring

two high tides and two low tides each day. The successive high
or low tides are approximately of the same height.

Diurnal tide : There is only one high tide and one low tide
during each day. The successive high and low tides are
approximately of the same height.

Mixed tide : Tides having variations in height are known as

mixed tides. These tides generally occur along the west coast of
North America and on many islands of the Pacific Ocean.

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 Geography of the World
Spring tides :
The position of both the sun and the moon in relation to the earth has direct bearing on tide height. When the sun, the
moon and the earth are in a straight line, the height of the tide will be higher. These are called spring tides and they occur
twice a month, one on full moon period and another during new moon period.

Neap tides : Normally, there is a seven day interval between the spring tides and neap tides. At this time the sun and moon
are at right angles to each other and the forces of the sun and moon tend to counteract one another. The Moon’s attraction,
though more than twice as strong as the sun’s, is diminished by the counteracting force of the sun’s gravitational pull.

Once in a month, when the moon’s orbit is closest to the earth (perigee), unusually high and low tides occur. During this time
the tidal range is greater than normal. Two weeks later, when the moon is farthest from earth (apogee), the moon’s
gravitational force is limited and the tidal ranges are less than their average heights.

When the earth is closest to the sun (perihelion), around 3rd January each year, tidal ranges are also much greater, with
unusually high and unusually low tides. When the earth is farthest from the sun (aphelion), around 4th July each year, tidal
ranges are much less than average.

The time between the high tide and low tide, when the water level is falling, is called the ebb. The time between the low
tide and high tide, when the tide is rising, is called the flow or flood

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 Geography of the World
OCEAN CURRENTS

Ocean currents are like river flow in oceans. They represent a

regular volume of water in a definite path and direction. Ocean
currents are influenced by two types of forces namely :

(i) primary forces that initiate the movement of water;

(ii) secondary forces that influence the currents to flow.

The primary forces that influence the currents are:

(i) heating by solar energy;
(ii) wind;
(iii) gravity;
(iv) coriolis force.

Heating by solar energy causes the water to expand. That is

why, near the equator the ocean water is about 8 cm higher in
level than in the middle latitudes.

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 Geography of the World
This causes a very slight gradient and water tends to flow down
the slope. Wind blowing on the surface of the ocean pushes
the water to move.

Friction between the wind and the water surface affects the
movement of the water body in its course.

Gravity tends to pull the water down the pile and create
gradient variation.

The Coriolis force intervenes and causes the water to move to

the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the
southern hemisphere.

These large accumulations of water and the flow around them

are called Gyres. These produce large circular currents in all the
ocean basins

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 Geography of the World
Characteristics of Ocean Currents

Currents are referred to by their “drift”. Usually, the currents

are strongest near the surface and may attain speeds over five
knots. At depths, currents are generally slow with speeds less
than 0.5 knots. We refer to the speed of a current as its “drift.”
Drift is measured in terms of knots. The strength of a current
refers to the speed of the current. A fast current is considered
strong. A current is usually strongest at the surface and
decreases in strength (speed) with depth. Most currents have
speeds less than or equal to 5 knots

Types of ocean currents

(i) surface currents constitute about 10 per cent of all the

water in the ocean, these waters are the upper 400 m of
the ocean;

(ii) deep water currents make up the other 90 per cent of the
ocean water. These waters move around the ocean basins
due to variations in the density and gravity.

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 Geography of the World
Ocean currents classified based on temperature : as cold
currents and warm currents:

(i) cold currents bring cold water into warm water areas. These
currents are usually found on the west coast of the continents
in the low and middle latitudes (true in both hemispheres) and
on the east coast in the higher latitudes in the Northern
Hemisphere;

(ii) warm currents bring warm water into cold water areas and
are usually observed on the east coast of continents in the low
and middle latitudes .

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