|
estuary
|
the wide part of a river's lower end, where it meets the tides of
the sea. |
| abyss
|
a
vast, unmeasurable space; bottomless pit. |
| lagoon
|
a
shallow, saltwater area by the sea but separated from it by sandbars
or by coral reefs or islands. |
| mammal
|
any of the vertebrate animals that feed their babies with milk from
the female mammary glands and usu. produce living young. |
| atoll
|
a
ring-shaped island or reef that surrounds a lagoon. |
| photosynthesis
|
the
process in plants by which sunlight, with the help of chlorophyll,
is converted to chemical energy that is used to synthesize inorganic
compounds into organic ones, esp. sugars. |
| plankton
|
free-floating, usu. microscopic plant and animal life found in fresh
or salt water. |
| submersible
|
a vessel capable of functioning under water. |
| tide
|
the
periodic change, occurring about every twelve hours, in the height
of the surface of oceans and bodies of water near or feeding into
them, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. |
| coral |
the
hard skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps of tropical seas,
deposited in masses that form reefs or atolls. |
| crustacean |
any
of a large group of segmented invertebrates, such as shrimp and
crabs, that usually live in water and have hard shells. |