Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

abyssal plain

(Encyclopedia)abyssal plain: see ocean.

littoral zone

(Encyclopedia)littoral zone: see ocean.

turbidity current

(Encyclopedia)turbidity current: see ocean.

thermohaline circulation

(Encyclopedia)thermohaline circulation: see ocean. ...

fiber

(Encyclopedia)fiber, threadlike strand, usually pliable and capable of being spun into a yarn. Many different fibers are known to be usable; some 40 of these are of commercial importance, and others are of local or...

Davidson, George

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, George, 1825–1911, American geographer and astronomer, b. England. From 1845 to 1895 he was on the staff of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He charted (1850–60) the U.S. Pacific coas...

oceanography

(Encyclopedia)oceanography, study of the seas and oceans. The major divisions of oceanography include the geological study of the ocean floor (see plate tectonics) and features; physical oceanography, which is conc...

salmon, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)salmon sămˈən [key], member of the Salmonidae, a family of marine fish that spawn in freshwater, including the salmons, the trouts, and the chars (subfamily Salmoninae), the whitefish and the cisco...

Deep Sea Drilling Project

(Encyclopedia)Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. program designed to investigate the evolution of ocean basins by core drilling of ocean sediments and underlying oceanic crust. Funded by the National Science Foundatio...

Yap

(Encyclopedia)Yap yăp, yäp [key], state (1990 pop. 10,886), c.47 sq mi (121 sq km), in the W Caroline Islands, W Pacific. One of four states comprising the Federated States of Micronesia, the island group was for...