ABSTRACT
The North Atlantic and the North Pacic are both major oceans. They differ from each other in both size and depth. The North Atlantic Ocean is approximately one-half the size of the North Pacic Ocean and has a mean depth one-half of the latter. As a consequence, the North Atlantic Ocean will be affected more by surface runoff from the surrounding terrestrial land masses and major rivers than the North Pacic Ocean. Coarser sediment and shallower water depths are normally found closer to land. In addition, the bottom topography of the two basins differs from each other due to the geologic processes that caused their formation. The Atlantic Ocean basin is separated into two halves by the midAtlantic ridge. On either side of the mid-Atlantic ridge, both halves have approximately the same type of typography. By contrast, the Pacic Ocean basin has a varied topography consisting of trenches, mountain ridges, island chains, and seamounts. The above factors affect both the type and distribution of sediments found on the ocean basin oor.
