Mapping the Ocean Floor (Lab)

Mapping the Ocean Floor

SC.8.N.3.1

Purpose:  In this lab you will use sonar data from the Atlantic Ocean to make a profile of the ocean bottom.

Procedure:

1. Plot each data placing the distance east of New Jersey in X-axis, and the depth to the ocean floor, starting from zero downward, in the Y-axis.
2. Plot each data point and connect the points with a smooth line
3. Color the water blue and the seafloor brown.

Conclude and Apply

1. What ocean floor structures occur between 160 km and 1050 km east of New Jersey?
2. What ocean floor structures occur between 2000 Km and 4500 km? 
3. What ocean floor structures occur between 5300 km and 5500 km?
4. When a profile of a feature is drawn to scale, the horizontal and vertical scales must be the same.  Does your profile give an accurate picture of the ocean floor?  Explain.

Ocean Floor Data