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MapMaster 3

Atlas (Beta)
MapMaster 3

Marine Sediment Thickness

OceansPhysical Environment

Thickness of oceanic sediments.

NOAA

A map shows marine sediment thickness in meters. Areas with the least thickness cover much of the North and South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The highest thickness is found in the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Areas with the least sediment thickness, ranging from 0 to 149 meters, are marked in light orange and include vast stretches of the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and South Atlantic Ocean. These regions also encompass areas near the western coasts of North and South America, including the coastal areas of the United States, Mexico, Central America, and South American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. The Mediterranean Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean, and areas surrounding New Zealand and the Philippines also fall within this range.

Regions with sediment thickness ranging from 150 to 299 meters, shown in medium orange, are found in parts of the North Atlantic Ocean, particularly off the eastern coast of the United States and near the Caribbean, covering areas such as Cuba, Guatemala, and parts of Costa Rica. Other notable regions include parts of the western Indian Ocean near Madagascar and parts of the South Pacific Ocean.

Areas receiving sediment thickness between 300 and 749 meters, highlighted in orange, cover significant portions of the North Atlantic Ocean, particularly near the eastern coast of Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. This range also includes parts of the North Sea near the United Kingdom and Norway, the Mediterranean Sea near Italy, Spain, and Greece, and the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Regions with sediment thickness from 750 meters to 1 kilometer, marked in dark orange, cover smaller sections of the world's oceans but include notable areas such as the eastern coast of North and South America and parts of the western Indian Ocean near Africa. It also includes areas near Arctic and Antarctic ocean.

Light red areas, indicating sediment thickness from 1 to 2 kilometers, include regions of the North Atlantic Ocean, particularly off the eastern coast of North America, the Caribbean, and parts of the Mediterranean Sea near Spain and Italy.

The highest sediment thickness, ranging from 10 to 18 kilometers, represented in dark red, is concentrated in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, off the southeastern coast of the United States, and parts of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

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Marine Sediment Thickness

0 - 149

150 - 299

300 - 749

750 - 1,499

1,500 - 2,999

3,000 - 7,499

7,500 - 9,999

10,000 - 18,334

54.6%3.39%17.3%2.37%
100%17.5%5.40%16.7%3.60%100%
1.16%2.25%11.6%1.30%2.32%
3.15%3.39%2.36%1.72%1.81%8.86%94.1%
5.56%2.09%1.75%1.38%
39.2%4.73%40.6%57.0%6.71%100%
1.08%1.09%
100%5.08%4.51%1.51%1.64%
10.3%6.56%
1.37%1.22%9.76%
2.64%1.26%3.74%6.56%
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