Oceans

Oceans

 

1. Surface of the earth is divided into land and water. 
2. Water body covering 71% (approximately 361 Million km2 or 139 Million sq mi) of the surface of the earth is known as Ocean.
3. The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers (320 million cu mi) with an average depth of nearly 3,700 meters (12,100 ft).
4. Even though Earth has one continuous body of saltwater, it is further divided into 5 oceans;
   1. the Pacific Ocean, 
   2. the Atlantic Ocean, 
   3. the Indian Ocean, 
   4. the Arctic Ocean and 
   5. the Southern Ocean.
5. The World Ocean Day is celebrated every 8th of June.
6. The mountain Mauna Kea in Hawaii rises 33,474 feet from its base. This would make it the tallest mountain in the world if its base wasn’t below sea level.
7. Around 97 percent of the planet’s water is in the oceans.
8. Around 80 percent of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of the ocean coast.
9. The world’s longest mountain range is actually under the ocean and is called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
10. Oceans move water around the globe, helping to keep places from getting too hot or too cold and thus make earth’s climate habitable. Oceans absorb excess heat and CO2 from the atmosphere.
11. About one million species of animals live in the ocean and 95% are invertebrates (without backbone).
12. Zooplankton, one of the smallest animals on earth and only visible with a microscope is found in the Oceans.
13. The largest animal ever to live on Earth is an ocean mammal called the blue whale. It’s as long as two school buses!.
14. The ocean teems with plant life. Most are tiny algae called phytoplankton—and these microscopic plants have a big job. Through photosynthesis, they produce about half of the oxygen that humans and other land-dwelling creatures breathe.

 

#	Ocean	Area (km2) (%)	Volume (km3) (%)	Avg. depth (m)	Coastline (km)
1	Pacific Ocean	168,723,000 (46.6)	669,880,000 (50.1)	3,970	135,663
2	Atlantic Ocean	85,133,000 (23.5)	310,410,900 (23.3)	3,646	111,866
3	Indian Ocean	70,560,000 (19.5)	264,000,000 (19.8)	3,741	66,526
4	Southern Ocean	21,960,000 (6.1)	71,800,000 (5.4)	3,270	17,968
5	Arctic Ocean	15,558,000 (4.3)	18,750,000 (1.4)	1,205	45,389
	Total	361,900,000	1,335,000,000	3,688	377,412

Pacific Ocean

1. The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean of the world and covers more than 30% of the Earth’s surface.
2. The name ‘Pacific’ comes from the Latin word ‘pacificus’ which means peaceful. Thus, Pacific Ocean means ‘peaceful ocean’. However, the Pacific is not really calm and peaceful. 
3. The ‘ring of fire‘ is a string of volcanoes in the Pacific basin which are still active and therefore many of the world’s major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen in this region.
4. Challenger Deep, the lowest known point on earth, is located in the Pacific Ocean near Guam in the Philippine Sea at the end of the Mariana Trench. The depth recorded is 10,920m or 35,827 feet.
5. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world and is located off the Australian coast in the Pacific Ocean.
6. The largest island in the Pacific Ocean is the island of New Guinea in the South Pacific.

Atlantic Ocean

1. The Atlantic is the second biggest ocean in the world.
2. It is located between the continents of America and Europe and Africa and is growing in size as it is spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Coasts.
3. The Atlantic Ocean is about half the size of the Pacific Ocean and covers roughly 20% of the Earth’s surface.
4. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth and spreads from Iceland to Antarctica beneath the Atlantic.

 

Indian Ocean

1. The Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Austral-Asia.
2. The Indian Ocean provides the largest breeding grounds of the world for humpback whales. 
3. The Northern Indian Ocean also is the most important transport route for oil as it connects the oil-rich countries of the Middle East Each with Asia. Every day tankers are carrying a cargo of 17 million barrels of crude oil from the Persian Gulf on its waters.

 

Antarctic / Southern Ocean

1. The Southern Ocean is located around the South Pole across the Antarctic circle in the Southern Hemisphere off Antarctica.
2. The Southern Ocean is the home of Emperor Penguins and Wandering Albatrosses. 

 

Arctic Ocean

1. The Arctic Ocean is located around the North Pole across the Arctic circle.
2. There are many polar bears living on the Arctic ice.
3. The Arctic Ocean’s ice cover is shrinking by 8% every ten years. 
4. It is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s oceans.