Marine vocab

3. the sideways and downward movement of the edge of a plate
5. theory explaining that the Earth's outer shell is divided into several large, slow-moving plates that float on the hotter, more mobile mantle layer
9. deep-ocean biogenic sediment composed of the skeletons of microscopic plankton
10. local variation in earths magnetic field
11. a fracture in the earths lithosphere
12. linear zone on the seafloor where tectonic plates are pulling apart
13. a long, narrow, and extremely deep depression on the ocean floor
15. pre-existing rocks from land that have been eroded

1. the slow process of rocks breaking apart and changing due to natural forces
2. vast, continuous underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics
4. irregularly shaped pieces of earths outermost layer
6. technique that determines the age of organic materials by measuring the decay of carbon-14
7. theory that Earth's continents have moved and will continue to move
8. deposit of insoluble material, both organic and inorganic, that accumulates on the seafloor
14. type of fine-grained deep-ocean sediment composed primarily of the calcium carbonate