The ocean floor is covered by an average of 0.5 km of sediment, which consist of rock particles and organic remains. Clay minerals, which are formed by the weathering of continental rocks and carried out to sea by rivers and wind, are usually abundant in the deep sea. Thick deposits of such detrital material are often found near mouths of rivers and on continental shelves; fine particles of clay are spread through the ocean and accumulate slowly on the deep-ocean floor. These sediments are stirred up and periodically redistributed by fierce current-generated disturbances that are called benthic storms because they occur in the sparsely populated deep-sea habitat known as the benthic zone. Also accumulating as sediment in the benthic zone are the calcium carbonate shells of small organisms such as foraminifera and the siliceous shells of marine protozoans.
- sediment [ˈsedimənt] n. 沉积物
- organic remains [ɔ:ˈɡænik - riˈmeins] n. 有机残留物
- clay mineral [klei - ˈminərəl] n.粘土矿物
- weathering [ˈweðəriŋ] n.侵蚀
- carry out [ˈkæri - aut] v. 传送
- abundant [əˈbʌndənt] adj. 丰富的
- deposit [diˈpɔzit] n. 沉淀物
- detrital [diˈtraitəl] adj.由岩屑形成的
- mouth of river [mauθ - əv - ˈrivə] n. 入海口
- accumulate [əˈkju:mjuleit] v. 堆积
- stir up [stə: - ʌp] v. 搅动
- fierce [fiəs] adj. 猛烈的
- disturbance [disˈtə:bəns] n. 局部运动
- benthic storm [ˈbenθik - stɔ:m] n. 深海风暴
- sparsely [spɑ:s - li] adv.稀少地
- habitat [ˈhæbitæt] n.栖息地
- benthic zone [ˈbenθik - zəun] n. 深海区域
- calcium carbonate [ˈkælsiəm - ˈkɑ:bəneit] n.碳酸钙
- foraminifera [fəˌreiməˈnifərə] n.有孔虫类
- siliceous [siˈliʃəs] adj. 由硅石组成的
- protozoan [ˌprəutəuˈzəuən] n.原生动物
