Ocean Drain (with gray bathymetry)
Details
Permalink to Details- Added to the Catalog
- Available for
- SOS
- Explorer
- Categories
- Water: Seafloor
- Keywords
- Bathymetry
- Depth
- Mapping
- Oceans
- Ridges
- Seafloor
- Topography
- Trenches
Description
Permalink to DescriptionBeneath the sea surface is an amazing sea floor that contains mountain ranges, trenches and plains. The ocean covers 71% of the Earth's surface, has an area of 139,400,000 square miles and an average depth of 2.3 miles. Due to this vast size, only a few percent the sea floor has been mapped by ships. Maps of the sea floor are created by combining soundings from ships, sonar scans from ships, and gravity anomalies in the sea surface detected by satellites.
This dataset gradually reveals the sea floor as the ocean is "drained." The scale in the dataset shows the distance below sea level in meters and miles. As selected features are revealed, a label appears. For this animation, the labeled areas include Mariana Trench, Tonga Trench, Puerto Rico Trench, Hawaiian Islands, Grand Banks, Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Ninety East Ridge. The deepest area in the ocean is the Mariana Trench, which is 6.86 miles (11,033 meters) deep. The longest mountain range in the world is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This dataset has no labels and the land is shaded in true color with the oceans shaded gray. There are two other versions available that are fully labeled with a colorized seafloor based on bathymetry, Ocean Drain with Land Background is shaded in true color and Ocean Drain with Etopo Background illustrates the same draining with the land shaded based on elevation.
Next Generation Science Standards
Permalink to Next Generation Science StandardsCross-cutting Concepts
Permalink to Cross-cutting ConceptsGrades K–2
C1 Patterns. Children recognize that patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence
C7 Stability and Change. Students observe some things stay the same while other things change, and things may change slowly or rapidly.
Grades 3–5
C3 Scale Proportion and Quantity. Students recognize natural objects and observable phenomena exist from the very small to the immensely large. They use standard units to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.
C7 Stability and Change. Students measure change in terms of differences over time, and observe that change may occur at different rates. Students learn some systems appear stable, but over long periods of time they will eventually change.
Grades 6–8
C6 Structures and Functions. Students model complex and microscopic structures and systems and visualize how their function depends on the shapes, composition, and relationships among its parts. They analyze many complex natural and designed structures and systems to determine how they function. They design structures to serve particular functions by taking into account properties of different materials, and how materials can be shaped and used.
C7 Stability and Change. Students explain stability and change in natural or designed systems by examining changes over time, and considering forces at different scales, including the atomic scale. Students learn changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part, systems in dynamic equilibrium are stable due to a balance of feedback mechanisms, and stability might be disturbed by either sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time
Grades 9–12
C1 Patterns. Students observe patterns in systems at different scales and cite patterns as empirical evidence for causality in supporting their explanations of phenomena. They recognize classifications or explanations used at one scale may not be useful or need revision using a different scale; thus requiring improved investigations and experiments. They use mathematical representations to identify certain patterns and analyze patterns of performance in order to re-engineer and improve a designed system.
C7 Stability and Change. Students understand much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable. They quantify and model changes in systems over very short or very long periods of time. They see some changes are irreversible, and negative feedback can stabilize a system, while positive feedback can destabilize it. They recognize systems can be designed for greater or lesser stability
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Permalink to Disciplinary Core IdeasGrades K–2
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics & Large Scale Interactions. Maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and kinds of land and water in any area.
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth's Processes. Water is found in many types of places and in different forms on Earth
Grades 3–5
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics & Large Scale Interactions. Earth’s physical features occur in patterns, as do earthquakes and volcanoes. Maps can be used to locate features and determine patterns in those events.
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth's Processes. Most of Earth’s water is in the ocean and much of the Earth’s fresh water is in glaciers or underground.
Grades 6–8
ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems. Energy flows and matter cycles within and among Earth’s systems, including the sun and Earth’s interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is one result of these processes.
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics & Large Scale Interactions. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains movements of rocks at Earth’s surface and geological history. Maps are used to display evidence of plate movement.
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth's Processes. Water cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere, and is propelled by sunlight and gravity. Density variations of sea water drive interconnected ocean currents. Water movement causes weathering and erosion, changing landscape features.
Grades 9–12
ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems. Feedback effects exist within and among Earth’s systems.The geological record shows that changes to global and regional climate can be caused by interactions among changes in the sun’s energy output or Earth’s orbit, tectonic events, ocean circulation, volcanic activity, glaciers, vegetation, and human activities.
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics & Large Scale Interactions. Radioactive decay within Earth’s interior contributes to thermal convection in the mantle. Plate tectonics can be viewed as the surface expression of mantle convection.
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth's Processes. The planet’s dynamics are greatly influenced by water’s unique chemical and physical properties.
Notable Features
Permalink to Notable Features- Several prominent ridges and trenches are identified
- The scale shows the distance below sea level in meters and miles
- The deepest part of the ocean is in the Mariana Trench at 6.86 miles below sea level
Data Source
Permalink to Data SourceWalter Smith, NOAA