ABSTRACT
The ocean floor is divided into three major physiographic provinces: the continental margins, deep-ocean basins, and mid-ocean ridges. Physiographic features of the ocean floor vary in the different ocean basins of the world. There are five major oceans of the world. From largest to smallest, these include the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans. The Pacific Ocean comprises 50.1% of the world ocean and occupies more than one-third of the earth’s surface. Temperature and salinity differences are evident in the major oceans. At the base of the continental slope, the angle of the ocean floor decreases significantly resulting in the deposition of large volumes of sediment transported via turbidity currents along submarine canyons and other areas. Deep-ocean trenches in the Pacific Ocean trap land-derived sediment from the continental margins, precluding the sediment from being transported seaward of the continental slope.
