A deep, steep sided canyon in the ocean floor.

Center of the earth.

The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.

The state or process of rotting; decay

The movement of deep, cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface.

A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid.

A large, flat-topped seamount resulting from erosion of an island volcano when it was above sea level.

The layer or earth between the crust and the core.

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

A system in which no matter is allowed to enter or leave, yet energy can come and go.

The change of a substance from liquid to gas.

The change of state from gas to liquid.

A system that can exchange neither energy nor matter with its surroundings.

the exchange of matter through the biosphere

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

A gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends outward from the edge of a continent

An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed. Bare rock.

A gradual increase in average global temperature

A measure of the average energy of motion of the particles of a substance.

A change directly from the solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.

The movement of water from the surface to greater depths.

When the Earth formed, there was water bonded to minerals in the mantle. This water was brought to the surface through volcanic action.

Horizontal distance between the crests or between the troughs of two adjacent waves

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.

A measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid

Mass per unit volume

An underwater mountain chain where new ocean floor is formed

Charged atoms

A giant wave usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean floor.

The process (or result) of applying the scientific method to the ocean, its surroundings, and the life-forms within it.

Natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases

Microscopic animals that swim or drift near the surface of aquatic environments

The change of state from a liquid to a solid

the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.

Forms an endosymbiotic relationship with corals and performs photosynthesis.

Earth's outermost layer.

A natural environment that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, which offsets greenhouse gas emissions.

The ability of a fluid to exert an upward force on an object placed in it

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil.

The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.

An attraction between molecules of different substances

Change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over periods of decades

A compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water

the process by which cells use oxygen to produce energy from food

Low oxygen.

Photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean

The effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents.

A fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence.

Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant

The number of different species in an area

A theory stating that the earth's surface is broken into plates that move.

A system in which matter and energy can enter from or escape to the surroundings.

Attraction between molecules of the same substance

Highest point of a wave