Assignment Outcomes
- Analyze maps and pop-ups to characterize world oceans.
- Appy remote sensing to identify high-productivity zones and their relationships to ocean regions.
How much of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans?
Step 1: Go to the ArcGIS Online map, Ocean Features, and explore the map.
Step 2: In the upper-right corner, click the link, Modify Map.
Step 3: With the Details button underlined, click the button, Show Contents of Map (Content).
Step 4: Click the large green plus sign in the center of South America. Click the image in the pop-up.
Step 5: Count the number of squares in the grid that are covered with land. If a grid square is only partially covered, estimate how many other squares it takes to make one full square.
- About how many grid squares are covered with the land?
- Using the square grid estimate, what percentage of the earth’s surface is covered by water?
Is there a variation of depth within the oceans?
Step 6: Starting in the Atlantic, click the green line distributed over the oceans for depth cross-sections.
- What is the approximate depth of the ocean just offshore from most continents?
- What is the average depth of the ocean?
- Are there any deep spots?
- How are the deep spots in the ocean shaped?
- What happens to the depth in the middle of most oceans?
Can oceans be classified by landforms like continents?
Continents have landforms (mounts, plains, plateaus), and oceans have general regions of similar depth and ruggedness.
Step 7: Click the layer name, Ocean Features. View the legend for that layer.
- What are the most common ocean features or landforms?
How do plate tectonics shape ocean bottoms?
Step 8: Click the button, About the Map (About).
Step 9: Click the link, Open Presentation. View the presentation to see a tour of ocean features and how they were formed.
Step 10: Click any image in the pop-up to view it in a larger size.
- Do tectonic plate motions help explain oceanic features as well as they did for mountains?
How did the oceanic landforms come to be?
- Which of the following are correct for how ocean features generally form?
