https://cdn.earthdata.nasa.gov/conduit/upload/5182/KeywordsCommunityGuide_Baseline_v1_SIGNED_FINAL.pdf 23.6 2026-03-19T10:41:57.720Z https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/KeywordViewer/scheme/sciencekeywords/a91a00f7-05ed-4633-9fac-1772a48b6342 CONTINENTAL MARGINS The ocean floor from the shore of a continent to the abyssal plain. Thecontinent margin is the zone separating the continents from the deep-seabottom, usually subdivided into the continental shelf, slope, and rise. They are two basic types of continental margins: passive, or Atlantic, marginsand active, or Pacific, margins. Passive margins have little seismic orvolcanic activity and form when continents are rifted apart, creating a newocean basin between them. Active margins are tectonically active and are mostoften associated with plate convergence and subduction.