This content area deals with the abiotic, or non-living realm. This body of knowledge, sometimes referred to as Oceanography, addresses such topics as properties of water, seawater chemistry, physical features of the ocean floor and coastlines, waves, tides, currents, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. This content area is divided into the subject areas of Mapping & Analytical Systems, Basin & Morphology, Hydrologic Systems, and Human Interactions.