The relatively thin part of the earth's crust which underlies the ocean basins. It is geologically young compared with the continental crust and consists of basaltic rock overlain by sediments.
〔地质〕洋底壳
Example sentencesExamples
The record of subduction of the Indian oceanic crust beneath Burma is somewhat uncertain.
Enormous pressures are produced in this region, for the continental crust and the oceanic crust are moving toward each other.
In contrast to the continental crust, the oceanic crust is young, thin, and chemically magnesium-rich.
The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the oceanic crust.
Locally this high-velocity lower-crustal layer penetrates the oceanic domain, where it underplates the thin Cretaceous oceanic crust.
Definition of oceanic crust in US English:
oceanic crust
noun
Geology
The relatively thin part of the earth's crust which underlies the ocean basins. It is geologically young compared with the continental crust and consists of basaltic rock overlain by sediments.
〔地质〕洋底壳
Example sentencesExamples
Locally this high-velocity lower-crustal layer penetrates the oceanic domain, where it underplates the thin Cretaceous oceanic crust.
Enormous pressures are produced in this region, for the continental crust and the oceanic crust are moving toward each other.
The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the oceanic crust.
In contrast to the continental crust, the oceanic crust is young, thin, and chemically magnesium-rich.
The record of subduction of the Indian oceanic crust beneath Burma is somewhat uncertain.