Ocean

OCEANIC DIVISIONS

The oceans cover just under 71 percent of the Earth's surface. The Pacific covers about 30 per cent of Earth, the Atlantic 21 per cent, the Indian 14 per cent.

The average temperature of the oceans is about 2C.

Arctic Ocean *Atlantic Ocean *Indian Ocean *Pacific Ocean *Southern Ocean

EXPLORATION

Though the oceans cover just under 71 percent of the Earth's surface, humans have only explored about 5 percent, meaning 95 percent of the planet's vast seas have never been seen.

About 250,000 species have been identified living in the oceans but it is estimated that there are over a million altogether.

DEPTH

The average depth of the oceans is two-and-a-half miles.

The deepest spot in the ocean is in the Mariana Trench, which reaches 10,994 metres (36,070 ft) at a small slot-shaped valley in its floor known as the Challenger Deep, at its southern end.

Location of the Mariana Trench

In the ocean it is totally dark at depths greater than 600 meters. About half the animals found below that depth glow.

In ancient times, people believed the ocean floor was a flat plain. However in the 1950s underwater mountain systems formed by plate tectonics were discovered. The Bible described this phenomenon, thousands of years before science in several places in the Old Testament. One example is the book of Jonah, written in the eighth century BC, which records the prophet Jonah being swallowed up by a big fish before being resurrected three days later and spat out on the shore. In chapter 2, the Bible describes his death and descent into the depths of the sea:
'The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.' Jonah 2:5-6

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

The world's oceans contain enough salt to cover all the continents in a blanket 500 feet thick.

The world’s oceans contain roughly 20 million tonnes of gold.

It's okay to pee in the ocean, since 95% of urine is water and the nitrogen in urea is used to feed ocean plants.

The ocean is blue because it absorbs red wavelengths quickly, while blue wavelengths get scattered and re-emitted from the ocean.

The blue-green color of water. By fichier personnel - Wikipedia

If all the water in all the oceans were shared equally among everybody on Earth, it would work out at a cubic mile of water for every 30 people.

OCEAN CURRENT

An ocean current is a continuous movement of ocean water from one place to another. Ocean currents are created by wind, water temperature, salt content, and the gravity of the moon. The current's direction and speed depend on the shoreline and the ocean floor.

American oceanographer, meteorologist and cartographer Matthew Maury (January 14, 1806 – February 1, 1873) used Psalm 8 as a guide when he discovered ocean currents in the 19th century At one time, when Maury was in bed recovering from a badly broken leg, he asked one of his daughters to fetch his Bible and read to him. She chose Psalm 8, the eighth verse of which speaks of "whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea," he repeated "the paths of the sea, the paths of the sea, if God says the paths of the sea, they are there, and if I ever get out of this bed I will find them."

As soon as he was strong enough, Maury began his deep sea soundings and he found that two ridges extended from the New York coast to England. In 1847 he published the Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic, which showed sailors how to use the ocean's currents and winds to their advantage and drastically reduced the length of ocean voyages.

Matthew Maury

POLLUTION

June 8 is World Oceans Day. It was first celebrated in 1992 coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The International day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainability Development Goals, and fosters public interest in the management of the ocean and its resources.

Every square mile of the ocean has over 46,000 pieces of plastic in it.

Researchers claim that in three decades, the world’s oceans will contain more discarded plastic than fish when measured by weight.

Source Daily Express