Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Trenches
Explains what ocean trenches are and why they are important. Includes links to videos, additional articles, and information about some deep-ocean submersibles.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Geology: Deep Sea Trench
Detailed information about oceanic trenches, their structure, and how they are formed. Discusses the twenty trenches that exist around the world. Includes several labeled illustrations.
Other
University of California: Ocean Drilling Program
Scientists probe the ocean floor off Costa Rica and find evidence that may tell us more about what goes on in ocean trenches.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Ocean Planet
Detailed website that was a companion to a 1995 traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian. Links to lesson plans and other educational materials are at the bottom of the page. Enter the exhibition to explore the world of the ocean.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Oceanic Trench
Wikipedia provides brief information on oceanic trenches, and has a hyperlinked list of major world trenches.
Other
Ocean Trenches
A rather detailed explanation of how trenches form and why. No graphics, but some interesting explanations as well as links to other sites and extensive reference list.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Facts About the Aphotic (Midnight) Zone of the Ocean
The aphotic zone of the ocean receives less than one percent of sunlight penetration. It extends from between 200 to 1,000 m, or 660 to 3,300 ft, down to the seafloor. Learn about the characteristics of this zone and the adaptations the...
Curated OER
Merriam Webster: Visual Dictionary Online: Ocean Trenches and Ridges
Labeled map indicating major oceanic trenches and ridges.
Extreme Science
Extreme Science: Challenger Deep
A short description of the world's deepest ocean trench. Includes diagram and map.
US Navy
Office of Naval Reasearch: Ocean Floor
A comprehensive site that provides information on the characteristics of the ocean floor, continental margin and rise, deep ocean basin, and the mid-ocean ridge. A quick quiz follows at the end of this site.
Indiana University
Indiana University: Evolution of Continents and Oceans
A course lecture on how the Earth's geological features have evolved through the movements of tectonic plates. Explains the different types of plate boundaries and how they manifest in geological formations. Also describes the structure...
NOAA
Noaa: Ngdc: Images, Visualizing Data
The National Geophysical Data Center has transformed extensive ocean research into colorful video, 3D maps, charts posters and more! This site starts off with a film clip of a dive into the Marianas trench and then lead you to other...
Museum of Science
Museum of Science, Boston: Oceans Alive: The Living Sea
Find a scale model of the five principal ocean zones, along with additional information.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute: What Are the Deepest Parts of the Ocean?
A brief description of the ocean's deepest parts.
University of California
Ucmp: Plate Tectonics: The Mechanism
A basic description of the driving force behind plate movement. Describes major features of the ocean floor including mid-oceanic ridges.
Curated OER
Oceanic Plate
A short description of the world's deepest ocean trench. Includes diagram and map.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Adapting Under Pressure
Students learn about James Cameron's Challenger Deep dive and about the marine animals that live in different layers of the ocean. They then study the characteristics of the hadalpelagic zone at the bottom of the ocean, and imagine and...
American Academy of Achievement
Academy of Achievement: James Cameron
A biography of James Cameron, a Canadian-born filmmaker whose movie The Titanic won an astounding eleven Academy Awards. More recently, he has explored the depths of the ocean in a specially designed submarine. Includes a profile,...
NOAA
Noaa: Explorations
This resource page contains an exhaustive list of pictures and videos of sea floor structures found all over the world.
Other
Digital Library for Earth System Education: Teaching Box: Plate Tectonics
A suite of lessons focusing on finding the fossil evidence for lithospheric plate tectonics. Inquiry-based exploration of plate tectonics evidence includes fossil distribution, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Plix: Bathymetric Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
[Free Registration/Login Required] A site where students can label the features of the ocean floor such as: mid-ocean ridge, rift, and more. Also on the site is a short quiz about the different topography of the ocean floor.
Read Works
Read Works: A Club for Explorers
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about scientists who explore the ocean. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Other
San Andreas fault.org: Tectonics
Provides a good overview of plate tectonics with embedded links to related information.
Curated OER
Illustration of Ship
A short description of the world's deepest ocean trench. Includes diagram and map.