Geology of the oceans
Chapter 3
Refer to class discussions and lectures for
additional information
Geology of the oceans
 The
world ocean covers over _____of
the planet’s surface.
 The oceans are believed to have
formed about __________________
Primitive Earth and Formation of
the Ocean
The atmosphere formed only______
_____________________________
 The oceans formed only after____
_____________________________
 The formation of the oceans created
the ____________________ required
for ___________________________

Ocean and the origin of life
__________________discharged
electricity within water vapor, methane,
ammonia, and hydrogen
 The experiment produced _________(the
building blocks of life). The idea that life
arose from a primordial soup (proteins
and other complex materials formed when
shallow pools evaporated) was supported.
 Currently scientists propose that life arose
deep in the_______________________
________________________________

Oldest known fossils
 Fossils
of ______________represent
some of the earth’s earliest life forms
 Fossils of _________________(bluegreen algae) are dated __________
The Ocean Today
 Major
ocean basins:
– ______________ (largest)
– ______________
– ______________
– ______________ (smallest)
– ______________ (also considered an
ocean)
Seas and gulfs

Sea – ___________________________
– Examples:
 _________________
 _________________
 _________________

Gulf – _________________________
_________________________________
– Examples:
 ________________
 ________________
 ________________
Continental Drift
layers of the Earth

The Earth’s interior consists of multiple
layers:
–
–
–
–
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
The ____________________is the
uppermost solid portion of the mantle and
the crust
Moving Continents
The continents fit together like pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle
 Pangaea – ________________

– The Earth was a single continent that broke up
and drifted apart over___________________
 ___________________–
included North America,
Greenland, and Eurasia
 ___________________– included South America,
Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India
Forces that drive continental drift

Mid-ocean ridge – ________________
– Rift valley – _________________________
___________________________________
 New
seafloor forms at the___________________
_______________________________________
– Subduction zones – __________________


seafloor returns as part of the rock cycle at
____________________
Seafloor spreading – ________________
Evidence for continental drift and
seafloor spreading

Three forms of evidence to support the
theory of seafloor spreading
– Sediment layers – _______________
___________________________________
___________________________________
– Radiometric dating – __________________
___________________________________
– Magnetometer data – _________________
____________________________________
___________________________________
____________________________________
The unifying theory:
Theory of Plate Tectonics


The theory of plate tectonics unites the theory of
seafloor spreading and the theory of continental
drift
According to the theory of plate tectonics, __
____________________________________
____________________________________
– Divergent plate boundaries (constructive boundaries)

_________________________________________
_________________________________________
– Convergent plate boundaries (destructive boundaries)


___________________________________________
___________________________________________
____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Rift Communities
Deep-sea vent communities
 _____sea water seeps into the crust
in the rift valley.
 Hot magma below the crust
superheats the water that has high
levels of dissolved ____________
_______________
– _____________ _____________is
the equivalent of sunlight for the
hydrothermal vent organisms

Rift communities cont.
Hydrothermal vents communities
include organisms such as clams,
giant tubeworms, and crustaceans
 The primary producers for these
communities are_________________
– Primitive bacteria metabolize the
dissolved sulfides providing
chemical energy for the food web at
the rift communities
– Some scientists hypothesize that
life on Earth_________________
____________________
