OceanographyLesson 1 of 1 in the course Seafloor and ocean basins

Continental Shelves: Seafloor Structure, Shelf Seas, Ecology, and Law

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A continental shelf is the shallow, submerged edge of a continent. This lesson explains how shelves fit into the larger continental margin, how their shape and width vary, and how their sediments record past environmental conditions.

A continental shelf is the submerged portion of a continent that lies beneath relatively shallow water, often called a shelf sea. The shelf usually slopes gently offshore and ends at a point where the sea floor becomes noticeably steeper. This boundary is the shelf break.

All flashcards

Continental shelf
The relatively shallow, gently sloping submerged edge of a continent.
Shelf break
The boundary where the gently sloping shelf gives way to the steeper continental slope.
Turbidity current
A fast-moving flow of sediment-laden water that transports material downslope.
Relict shelf sediment
Shelf sediment deposited under past conditions, much of it when sea level was lower during the last ice age.
Legal continental shelf under UNCLOS
A coastal state's seabed and subsoil resource-rights area, distinct from the geological shelf.

Quiz questions

  1. What does the neritic zone refer to?Answer: The water column above the continental shelf.
  2. What structure can summer heating create in deeper temperate shelf seas?Answer: A warm surface layer above cooler, more isolated deep water.
  3. Shelf seas cover about 8% of the ocean surface. What share of global primary productivity do they support?Answer: Roughly 15–20%.
  4. What is a tidal mixing front in a shelf sea?Answer: A persistent boundary between well-mixed and seasonally stratified waters.
  5. What do legal continental shelf rights under UNCLOS primarily concern?Answer: Resources in the seabed and subsoil.

Based on the Wikipedia article Continental shelf, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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