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Three ways to distinguish the continental margin from the deep
ocean basin

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Marine waters cover 70.8% of the earth’s surface. And, if we substract the 5.5% area of the continental shelf, 65.3% of the earth’s surface is occupied by continental slope and rise, and deep-sea parts (data after Dietrich and Kalle 1957). The deep sea can be subdivided into several topographical units. There are deep-sea grabens (15 in number), which cut deeper than 6,000 m. Deep-sea grabens are restricted to tectonic active regions near the foot of continental slopes.
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