Marine geology involves geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and coastal margins. Marine geology has strong ties to physical oceanography and plate tectonics. Geophysics, the study of the earth by quantitative physical methods, especially by seismic reflection and refraction, gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radioactivity methods. ... The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earths chemical components in time and space, and their interaction with... Sedimentology is the branch of geology primarily concerned with understanding the characteristics of sediments, sedimentary processes and sedimentary rocks originally deposited in sedimentary basins. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... World Oceans Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ...

Marine geological studies were of extreme importance in providing the critical evidence for sea floor spreading and plate tectonics in the years following World War II. The deep ocean floor is the last essentially unexplored frontier and detailed mapping in support of both military (submarine) objectives and economic (petroleum and metal mining) objectives drives the research. Seafloor spreading is a part of the theory of plate tectonics. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds between metal atoms. ... Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ...

The Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean with its attendant intense volcanism and seismic activity poses a major threat for disastrous earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Any early warning systems for these disastrous events will require a more detailed understanding of marine geology of coastal and island arc environments. The Pacific Ring of Fire The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean. ... This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... Seismology (from the Greek seismos = earthquake and logos = word) is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. ... An earthquake is the result from the sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... An island arc is a type of archipelago formed by plate tectonics as one oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another and produces magma. ...

The study of littoral and deep sea sedimentation and the precipitation and dissolution rates of calcium carbonate in various marine environments has important implications for global climate change. A littoral is the region near the shoreline of a body of fresh or salt water. ... Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound, with chemical formula CaCO3. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ...

The discovery and continued study of mid-ocean rift zone volcanism and hydrothermal vents, first in the Red Sea and later along the East Pacific Rise and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge systems were and continue to be important areas of marine geological research. The extremophile organisms discovered living within and adjacent to those hydrothermal systems have had a pronounced impact on our understanding of life on Earth and potentially the origin of life within such an environment. Courtesy USGS The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an underwater mountain range of the Atlantic Ocean that runs from Iceland to Antarctica, and is the longest mountain range on Earth. ... A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... The East Pacific Rise is a long north-south welt of seafloor spreading under the eastern Pacific Ocean from near Antarctica in the south northward to its termination at the northern end of the Gulf of California in the Salton Sea basin in southern Pennsylvania California. ... Courtesy USGS The ridge was central in the breakup of Pangaea that began some 180 million years ago. ... An extremophile is an organism, usually unicellular, which thrives in or requires extreme conditions that would exceed optimal conditions for growth and reproduction in the majority of mesophilic terrestrial organisms. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

A trench forms at the boundary where two tectonic plates meet

Oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. They also are the deepest parts of the ocean floor. Image File history File links Mariana_trench_location. ... Image File history File links Mariana_trench_location. ... The oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. ...

The Mariana Trench (or Marianas Trench) is the deepest known submarine trench, and the deepest location in the Earth's crust itself. A subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the Philippine Plate. The bottom of the trench is further below sea level than Mount Everest is above sea level. Mariana Trench location This article is about the geographical feature. ... Categories: Geology stubs | Plate tectonics ...  The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ...  The Philippine plate, shown in dull red The Philippine Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines. ... “Everest” redirects here. ...

right Oceanic crust is formed at an oceanic ridge, while the lithosphere is subducted back into the asthenosphere at trenches.

Still from NASA movie that shows how ocean ridges are formed, lithosphere subducted at trenches; good for understanding plate tectonics. ... Still from NASA movie that shows how ocean ridges are formed, lithosphere subducted at trenches; good for understanding plate tectonics. ...

See also

• List of geologists
• Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
• Pelagic sediments

A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology. ... The Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain is composed of the Hawaiian Ridge and the Emperor Seamounts, a vast underwater mountain region beneath the northern Pacific Ocean that stretches over 3,600 miles from the Aleutian Trench in the far northwest Pacific to Lo‘ihi seamount southeast of the Island of... Pelagic sediments, also known as marine sediments, are those that accumulate in the abyssal plain of the deep ocean, far away from terrestrial sources that provide terrigenous sediments; the latter are primarily limited to the continental shelf, and deposited by rivers. ...

References

• Erickson, John, 1996, Marine Geology: Undersea Landforms and Life Forms, Facts on File ISBN 0-8160-3354-4
• Seibold, E. and W.H. Berger, 1994, The Sea Floor: An Introduction to Marine Geology, Springer-Verlag ISBN 0-387-56884-0

External links

• Soundwaves Coastal Science & Research News from Across the USGS
• Marine Geology and Geophysics - NOAA
• Pacific Seafloor Mapping Project - USGS
• Marine Geology and Geophysics at MIT
• Ocean Drilling Program