Ticker

6/recent/ticker-posts

Ocean | Oceanic Distribution & Map | World Ocean Facts

Ocean hd image free download
Ocean

The Ocean

The Ocean (also known as the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water which covers approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth. The World Ocean are divided into five ocean.  The five oceans are, in descending order by area are: 

  • Pacific Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Southern (Antarctic) Ocean
  • Arctic Oceans

World Ocean hd image download
World Ocean 
Arctic ocean hd image download
Arctic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean hd image download
Atlantic ocean

Saline seawater on Earth covers approximately 361,000,000 km2 (139,000,000 square miles) and is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas. The ocean as a whole is covering approximately 71% of Earth’s surface and 90% of the Earth’s biosphere. 97% of Earth’s water is contained by the Ocean. The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers (320 million cu mi) with an average depth of nearly 3700 meters (12,100 feet).

The world’s ocean is the principal component of Earth’s hydrosphere and it  is integral to life, forms part of the carbon cycle, and alao  influences climate and weather patterns.

The ocean is the habitat of about 230,000 known species, but because much of it is unexplored, the number of species in the ocean is much larger, possibly over two million.

The Ocean is main Body of Water on the Earth

World Ocean

The Earth interconnected body of salt water is sometimes referred to as the “World Ocean” or global ocean. The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was cast in the early 20th century by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky. It’s referring to the continuous ocean that covers and encircles most of Earth.  Tectonic Plates, Post-glacial rebound, and sea level rise continually change the coastline and structure of the world ocean.

Origin of Ocean

The origin of Earth’s oceans is unknown till now.  It is thought to that the Oceans have formed in the Hadean eon and may have been the cause for the emergence of life.

The ocean plays a lead role in whatever happens with the environment. The main role of Ocean is to soak up energy (heat) and distribute it more evenly around the Earth and  soak up CO2 gas.

The ocean does an excellent job to absorb excess heat from the atmosphere. The top surface of the ocean stores as much heat as Earth’s entire atmosphere. If the planet warms, it’s the ocean that gets most of the extra heat.

If the ocean gets too warm, then the plants and animals that live in it must adapt this extra heat or will die. For this reason Scientists worries about global warming. The global warming will mostly impact the Ocean environment.

Oceanic Division

Ocean Map hd image free download

 Ocean Map

Please Rotate Mobile Phone for full view of Table.

SL. No.

Ocean

Location

Area

(km2)

(%

Volume

(km3)

(%)

Avg. depth

(m)

Coastline

(km)

1.

Pacific Ocean

Separates Asia and Australasia from the Americas

168,723,00046.6

669,880,00050.1

3,970

135,663

2.

Atlantic Ocean

Separates the Americas from Europe and Africa

85,133,00023.5

310,410,90023.3

3,646

111,866

3.

Indian Ocean

Borders southern Asia and separates Africa and Australia

70,560,00019.5

264,000,00019.8

3,741

66,526

4.

Southern Ocean

Encircles Antarctica. Sometimes considered an extension of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans,

21,960,0006.1

71,800,0005.4

3,270

17,968

5.

Arctic Ocean

Borders northern North America and Eurasia and covers much of the Arctic. Sometimes considered a sea or estuary of the Atlantic.

15,558,0004.3

18,750,0001.4

1,205

45,389

Physical Properties of Ocean

The total mass of the hydrosphere on the Earth is about 1.4 Quintillion Tonnes, which is about 0.023% of Earth’s total mass. Less than 3% is fresh water, the rest is saltwater, almost all of which is in the ocean. The area of the World Ocean is about 361.9 million square kilometres, which covers about 70.9% of Earth’s surface, and its volume is approximately 1.335 billion cubic kilometres. The average depth of Ocean is about 3,688 meters (12,100 feet).  The maximum depth of Ocean is 10,994 meters at the Mariana Trench. Half of the world’s marine waters are over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep. 

Deepest point in the Ocean

The deepest point in the world ocean is the Mariana Trench, located in the Pacific Ocean near the Northern Mariana Islands. The maximum depth has been estimated to be 10,971 meters (35,994 feet) (plus or minus 11 meters. Survey of Marina Trench done by the British naval vessel Challenger II in 1951 and named the deepest part of the trench the “Challenger Deep”. The Trieste successfully reached the bottom of the trench in 1960 manned by a crew of two men.

The Ocean soaks up CO2

As we aware that Ocean covers 71% of earth surface area and have mostly contains many types of plants (including sea grasses, or mangrove) & Algae. They all breath CO2 and release Oxygen. Ocean plants breathe in the carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, just like others plants on land. The ocean great role is sucking up CO2 from the air. The Ocean absorbs about one-quarter of the CO2 that we humans create when we burn fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas. Without Ocean on the earth, we have less oxygen than CO2. Ocean keeps balance a good ratio between two.

However, when the ocean absorbs a lot of CO2, the water becomes more acidic. The alkalinity of the ocean is very important in maintaining a delicate balance needed for animals like the mussels. If the water is too acidic, the animals may not be able to make strong shells. Corals could also be affected, since their skeletons are made of the same shell-like material.

Ocean Producing Most of the Oxygen for life on Earth

World Scientists estimate that 50 to 80% of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The most of this production is from oceanic plankton, drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize.

Note: The little bacteria Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth produces up to 20% of the oxygen in our entire biosphere. That is a higher percentage than all of the tropical rainforests on land combined.

The Ocean affects the climates

The ocean affects the climate in places like Europe is by carrying heat to the north in the Atlantic Ocean. The cold water in the North Atlantic ocean sinks very deep and spreads out all around the world. The sinking water is replaced by warm water near the surface that moves to the north area. Scientists call this as  the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt. The heat carried towards north helps keep the Atlantic Ocean warmer in the winter time, which warms the nearby countries as well.

Role of salt in the ocean

The Salt concentration in river water is least,  estuary water is middle and ocean water is most. Ocean water is most salty than others.

The amount of salt percentage in the ocean water also affects currents. Saltier water is heavier than less salty water. When the salty ocean water freezes, the ice can no longer hold on to the salt. Instead, the salt mixes with the water below making it saltier and heavier. Glaciers, land ice and icebergs are made of fresh water.

Read more on related  article on Body of Water


--END--

 


Post a Comment

0 Comments