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127-551: The main economic activity of the Moala Islands is coconut farming, and root crop farming including marine agriculture and fisheries. 18°50′19″S 179°55′43″W  /  18.838714°S 179.928589°W  / -18.838714; -179.928589 This article about a geographical location in Fiji is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Coconut The coconut tree ( Cocos nucifera )

254-492: A World Heritage Site for their geological value, four of them are considered of "Outstanding Universal Value" based on their cultural and natural criteria: Þingvellir , Iceland; Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture , Portugal; Gough and Inaccessible Islands , United Kingdom; and Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves, Brazil. Continental shelves in

381-430: A fiber , called coir , which has many traditional and commercial uses. Both the exocarp and the mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut, while the endocarp makes up the hard coconut "shell". The endocarp is around 4 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 inch) thick and has three distinctive germination pores ( micropyles ) on the distal end. Two of the pores are plugged (the "eyes"), while one is functional. The interior of

508-506: A Navy Sonic Depth Finder to draw a continuous map across the bed of the Atlantic. This involved little guesswork because the idea of sonar is straightforward with pulses being sent from the vessel, which bounce off the ocean floor, then return to the vessel. The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains , trenches , seamounts , basins , plateaus , canyons , and some guyots . Various shelves along

635-721: A branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks ; and the Subpolar Front , an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transports warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically. North of

762-500: A shorter postharvest storage life of around two to three weeks at temperatures of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F) or up to 2 months at 0 to 1.5 °C (32.0 to 34.7 °F). In comparison, mature coconuts with the husk intact can be stored for three to five months at normal room temperature . Unlike some other plants, the palm tree has neither a taproot nor root hairs , but has a fibrous root system . The root system consists of an abundance of thin roots that grow outward from

889-409: A single domesticated population. Philippine and Malayan dwarf coconuts diverged early into two distinct types. They usually remain genetically isolated when introduced to new regions, making it possible to trace their origins. Numerous other dwarf cultivars also developed as the initial dwarf cultivar was introduced to other regions and hybridized with various tall cultivars. The origin of dwarf varieties

1016-663: A species that had started to be dispersed by humans and grown in plantations. Niu vai endocarp fragments have been recovered in archaeological sites in the St. Matthias Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago . The fragments are dated to approximately 1000 BCE, suggesting that cultivation and artificial selection of coconuts were already practiced by the Austronesian Lapita people . Coconuts can also be broadly divided into two general types based on habit:

1143-695: A thinner husk and a larger amount of endosperm. Domesticated coconuts also contain more coconut water . These two forms are referred to by the Samoan terms niu kafa for the elongated wild coconuts, and niu vai for the rounded domesticated Pacific coconuts. A full-sized coconut fruit weighs about 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds 1 ounce). Coconuts sold domestically in coconut-producing countries are typically not de-husked. Especially immature coconuts (6 to 8 months from flowering) are sold for coconut water and softer jelly-like coconut meat (known as "green coconuts", "young coconuts", or "water coconuts"), where

1270-691: A variety of products for furnishing and decoration. The coconut has cultural and religious significance in certain societies, particularly in the Austronesian cultures of the Western Pacific where it is featured in their mythologies, songs, and oral traditions. The fall of its mature fruit has led to a preoccupation with death by coconut . It also had ceremonial importance in pre-colonial animistic religions. It has also acquired religious significance in South Asian cultures, where it

1397-416: A weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. The Atlantic Ocean is underlain mostly by dense mafic oceanic crust made up of basalt and gabbro and overlain by fine clay, silt and siliceous ooze on the abyssal plain. The continental margins and continental shelf mark lower density, but greater thickness felsic continental rock that is often much older than that of

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1524-425: Is Southeast Asia , which contain the tall cultivars that are genetically closest to dwarf coconuts. Sequencing of the genome of the tall and dwarf varieties revealed that they diverged 2 to 8 million years ago and that the dwarf variety arose through alterations in genes involved in the metabolism of the plant hormone gibberellin . Another ancestral variety is the niu leka of Polynesia (sometimes called

1651-621: Is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean – classical and upper Labrador sea water – and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill – Denmark Strait and Iceland-Scotland overflow water. Along its path across Earth the composition of the NADW is affected by other water masses, especially Antarctic bottom water and Mediterranean overflow water. The NADW

1778-494: Is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae ) and the only living species of the genus Cocos . The term " coconut " (or the archaic " cocoanut ") can refer to the whole coconut palm , the seed , or the fruit , which botanically is a drupe , not a nut . They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics . The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials, among many other uses. The inner flesh of

1905-509: Is also cited as evidence that the plant originated in the region. For example, the Polynesian and Melanesian term niu ; Tagalog and Chamorro term niyog ; and the Malay word nyiur or nyior . Other evidence for a Central Indo-Pacific origin is the native range of the coconut crab ; and the higher amounts of C. nucifera -specific insect pests in the region (90%) in comparison to

2032-562: Is also often stated that coconuts can travel 110 days, or 5,000 km (3,000 mi), by sea and still be able to germinate. This figure has been questioned based on the extremely small sample size that forms the basis of the paper that makes this claim. Thor Heyerdahl provides an alternative, and much shorter, estimate based on his first-hand experience crossing the Pacific Ocean on the raft Kon-Tiki : The nuts we had in baskets on deck remained edible and capable of germinating

2159-421: Is consistently warm and humid. Coconut palms require warm conditions for successful growth, and are intolerant of cold weather. Some seasonal variation is tolerated, with good growth where mean summer temperatures are between 28 and 37 °C (82 and 99 °F), and survival as long as winter temperatures are above 4–12 °C (39–54 °F); they will survive brief drops to 0 °C (32 °F). Severe frost

2286-467: Is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Atlantic which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europe. Changes in the formation of NADW have been linked to global climate changes in the past. Since human-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NADW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from nuclear weapon tests in

2413-498: Is found off the eastern coast of Canada. Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F) to over 30 °C (86 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7–8 °C (13–14 °F). From October to June

2540-632: Is further strengthened by other similar botanical evidence of contact, like the pre-colonial presence of sweet potato in Oceanian cultures. During the colonial era , Pacific coconuts were further introduced to Mexico from the Spanish East Indies via the Manila galleons . In contrast to the Pacific coconuts, Indo-Atlantic coconuts were largely spread by Arab and Persian traders into

2667-617: Is highly tolerant of salinity . It prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (1,500–2,500 mm [59–98 in] annually), which makes colonizing shorelines of the tropics relatively straightforward. Coconuts also need high humidity (at least 70–80%) for optimum growth, which is why they are rarely seen in areas with low humidity. However, they can be found in humid areas with low annual precipitation such as in Karachi , Pakistan , which receives only about 250 mm ( 9 + 3 ⁄ 4  in) of rainfall per year, but

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2794-575: Is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gibbs fracture zone at 53°N . The MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other. The MAR rises 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between

2921-854: Is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault , the boundary between the Nubian and Eurasian plates , intersects the MAR at the Azores triple junction , on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N . A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the North American and South American plates, intersects the MAR near or just north of the Fifteen-Twenty fracture zone , approximately at 16°N . In

3048-587: Is more typical. Plants are intolerant to cold and prefer copious precipitation and full sunlight. Many insect pests and diseases affect the species and are a nuisance for commercial production. In 2022, about 73% of the world's supply of coconuts was produced by Indonesia , India , and the Philippines . Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 centimetres (2–3 ft) long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving

3175-467: Is not thought to be indigenous to South America, and the highest genetic diversity is present in Asian Cocos , indicating that at least the modern species Cocos nucifera is native to there . In addition, fossils of potential Cocos ancestors have been recovered from both Colombia and India. In order to resolve this enigma, a 2014 study proposed that the ancestors of Cocos had likely originated on

3302-729: Is now northern and central Brazil. The formation of the Central American Isthmus closed the Central American Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 Ma ago. The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the Great American Interchange , but the closure of the seaway resulted in a "Great American Schism" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both

3429-794: Is now the Carpathian region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea. It is possible that the population in the Sargasso Sea migrated to the Atlantic as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17 Ma. The origin of the Sargasso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries. The fossils found in the Carpathians in the mid-20th century often called the "quasi-Sargasso assemblage", finally showed that this assemblage originated in

3556-700: Is the Pacific coconut from the Philippines. This, together with their use of the South American sweet potato , suggests that Austronesian peoples may have sailed as far east as the Americas. In the Hawaiian Islands , the coconut is regarded as a Polynesian introduction , first brought to the islands by early Polynesian voyagers (also Austronesians) from their homelands in the southern islands of Polynesia. Specimens have been collected from

3683-790: Is used in rituals of Hinduism . It forms the basis of wedding and worship rituals in Hinduism. It also plays a central role in the Coconut Religion founded in 1963 in Vietnam . Coconuts were first domesticated by the Austronesian peoples in Island Southeast Asia and were spread during the Neolithic via their seaborne migrations as far east as the Pacific Islands , and as far west as Madagascar and

3810-465: Is usually fatal, although they have been known to recover from temperatures of −4 °C (25 °F). Due to this, there are not many coconut palms in California . They may grow but not fruit properly in areas with insufficient warmth or sunlight, such as Bermuda . The conditions required for coconut trees to grow without any care are: The main limiting factor for most locations which satisfy

3937-985: The Iliad and the Odyssey , this all-encompassing ocean was instead known as Oceanus , the gigantic river that encircled the world; in contrast to the enclosed seas well known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. In contrast, the term "Atlantic" originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the West African coast. The term " Aethiopian Ocean ", derived from Ancient Ethiopia ,

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4064-741: The Age of Discovery , it was known for separating the New World of the Americas ( North America and South America ) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia ( Africa , Asia , and Europe ). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse were

4191-557: The Americas during the colonial era in the Columbian exchange , but there is evidence of a possible pre-Columbian introduction of Pacific coconuts to Panama by Austronesian sailors. The evolutionary origin of the coconut is under dispute, with theories stating that it may have evolved in Asia , South America, or Pacific islands. Trees can grow up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall and can yield up to 75 fruits per year, though fewer than 30

4318-689: The Caribbean coast of what is now Colombia, and during the Eocene the ancestral Cocos performed a long-distance dispersal across the Atlantic Ocean to North Africa . From here, island-hopping via coral atolls lining the Tethys Sea , potentially boosted by ocean currents at the time, would have proved crucial to dispersal, eventually allowing ancestral coconuts to reach India. The study contended that an adaptation to coral atolls would explain

4445-564: The Carpathian Basin from where it migrated over Sicily to the central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea. The location of the spawning ground for European eels remained unknown for decades . In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargasso Sea is the spawning ground for both the European and American eel and that the former migrate more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and

4572-554: The Columbian exchange while occasionally hosting naval battles. Such naval battles, as well as growing trade from regional American powers like the United States and Brazil , both increased in degree during the early 20th century, and while no major military conflicts have taken place in the Atlantic recently, the ocean remains a core component of trade around the world. The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to

4699-657: The Comoros . They played a critical role in the long sea voyages of Austronesians by providing a portable source of food and water, as well as providing building materials for Austronesian outrigger boats . Coconuts were also later spread in historic times along the coasts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans by South Asian , Arab , and European sailors. Based on these separate introductions, coconut populations can still be divided into Pacific coconuts and Indo-Atlantic coconuts, respectively. Coconuts were introduced by Europeans to

4826-518: The East African coast. Indo-Atlantic coconuts were also introduced into the Atlantic Ocean by Portuguese ships from their colonies in coastal India and Sri Lanka ; first introduced to coastal West Africa , then onwards into the Caribbean and the east coast of Brazil . All of these introductions are within the last few centuries, relatively recent in comparison to the spread of Pacific coconuts. The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and

4953-530: The Equator . The oldest known mentions of an "Atlantic" sea come from Stesichorus around mid-sixth century BC (Sch. A. R. 1. 211): Atlantikôi pelágei (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει , ' the Atlantic sea ' , etym . ' Sea of Atlas ' ) and in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα , ' Sea of Atlas ' or '

5080-535: The Holocene . But research on them is still ongoing to determine their phylogenetic affinities. Endt & Hayward (1997) have noted their resemblance to members of the South American genus Parajubaea , rather than Cocos , and propose a South American origin. Conran et al. (2015), however, suggests that their diversity in New Zealand indicate that they evolved endemically, rather than being introduced to

5207-474: The Icelandic Low produces frequent storms. Icebergs are common from early February to the end of July across the shipping lanes near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland . The ice season is longer in the polar regions, but there is little shipping in those areas. Hurricanes are a hazard in the western parts of the North Atlantic during the summer and autumn. Due to a consistently strong wind shear and

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5334-512: The Indian Ocean basin, resulting in limited admixture with Pacific coconuts introduced earlier to Madagascar and the Comoros via the ancient Austronesian maritime trade network . Coconuts can be broadly divided into two fruit types – the ancestral niu kafa form with a thick-husked, angular fruit, and the niu vai form with a thin-husked, spherical fruit with a higher proportion of endosperm . The terms are derived from

5461-553: The Maastrichtian – Danian of the early Tertiary (70 to 62 million years ago). C. binoriensis has been claimed by their authors to be the earliest known fossil of Cocos nucifera . Outside of New Zealand and India, only two other regions have reported Cocos -like fossils, namely Australia and Colombia . In Australia, a Cocos -like fossil fruit, measuring 10 cm × 9.5 cm ( 3 + 7 ⁄ 8  in ×  3 + 3 ⁄ 4  in), were recovered from

5588-459: The Maypan , King , and Macapuno . These vary by the taste of the coconut water and color of the fruit, as well as other genetic factors. Botanically , the coconut fruit is a drupe , not a true nut . Like other fruits, it has three layers : the exocarp , mesocarp , and endocarp . The exocarp is the glossy outer skin, usually yellow-green to yellow-brown in color. The mesocarp is composed of

5715-684: The North American and Eurasian plates in the North Atlantic and the South American and African plates in the South Atlantic. The MAR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull , Iceland, and pillow lava on the ocean floor. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 m (1,500 fathoms ; 8,900  ft ) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep. The MAR

5842-616: The North Atlantic Drift is thought to have at least some influence on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern North America, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas. The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula. In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms

5969-451: The North Atlantic oscillation , occurs. On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general,

6096-552: The Pacific Region . Konan et al. , 2007 explains much resistance with a few alleles at a few microsatellites . They find that ' Vanuatu Tall ' and ' Sri-Lanka Green Dwarf ' are the most resistant while ' West African Tall ' breeds are especially susceptible. Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions , with an area of about 85,133,000 km (32,870,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During

6223-410: The Samoan language and was adopted into scientific usage by Harries (1978). The niu kafa form is the wild ancestral type, with thick husks to protect the seed, an angular, highly ridged shape to promote buoyancy during ocean dispersal, and a pointed base that allowed fruits to dig into the sand, preventing them from being washed away during germination on a new island. It is the dominant form in

6350-442: The Scotia Sea , and other tributary water bodies. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km (69,510 mi) compared to 135,663 km (84,297 mi) for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km (41,100,000 sq mi) or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km (74,471,500 cu mi) or 23.3% of

6477-521: The meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change. Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the North Atlantic oscillation , are especially pronounced in Labrador Sea Water , the upper layers of the MOC. The South Atlantic is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre. The South Atlantic Central Water originates in this gyre, while Antarctic Intermediate Water originates in

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6604-399: The thermocline of the subtropical gyre. The Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of Sargassum ( S. fluitans and natans ) float, an area 4,000 km (2,500 mi) wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream , North Atlantic Drift , and North Equatorial Current . This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on

6731-572: The trunk smooth. On fertile soil, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30. Given proper care and growing conditions, coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, taking 15 to 20 years to reach peak production. True-to-type dwarf varieties of Pacific coconuts have been cultivated by the Austronesian peoples since ancient times. These varieties were selected for slower growth, sweeter coconut water, and often brightly colored fruits. Many modern varieties are also grown, including

6858-418: The "Compact Dwarfs"). Although it shares similar characteristics to dwarf coconuts (including slow growth), it is genetically distinct and is thus believed to be independently domesticated, likely in Tonga . Other cultivars of niu leka may also exist in other islands of the Pacific, and some are probably descendants of advanced crosses between Compact Dwarfs and Southeast Asian Dwarf types. Coconut fruit in

6985-751: The "Tall" (var. typica ) and "Dwarf" (var. nana ) varieties. The two groups are genetically distinct, with the dwarf variety showing a greater degree of artificial selection for ornamental traits and for early germination and fruiting. The tall variety is outcrossing while dwarf palms are self-pollinating , which has led to a much greater degree of genetic diversity within the tall group. The dwarf coconut cultivars are fully domesticated, in contrast to tall cultivars which display greater diversity in terms of domestication (and lack thereof). The fact that all dwarf coconuts share three genetic markers out of thirteen (which are only present at low frequencies in tall cultivars) makes it likely that they all originate from

7112-479: The 17th century use the name as well. He consulted the catalogue Herbarium Amboinense by Georg Eberhard Rumphius where Rumphius said that coccus was a homonym of coccum and coccus from Greek κόκκος kokkos meaning "grain" or "berry", but Romans identified coccus with " kermes insects "; Rumphius preferred the word cocus as a replacement. However, the word cocus could also mean "cook" like coquus in Latin, so Linnaeus chose Cocos directly from

7239-400: The 1870s, the Challenger expedition discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or: An elevated ridge rising to an average height of about 1,900 fathoms [3,500 m; 11,400 ft] below the surface traverses the basins of the North and South Atlantic in a meridianal direction from Cape Farewell, probably its far south at least as Gough Island, following roughly

7366-434: The 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean. The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs and seas. These include the Baltic Sea , Black Sea , Caribbean Sea , Davis Strait , Denmark Strait , part of the Drake Passage , Gulf of Mexico , Labrador Sea , Mediterranean Sea , North Sea , Norwegian Sea , almost all of

7493-411: The 1960s and CFCs . The clockwise warm-water North Atlantic Gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and the counter-clockwise warm-water South Atlantic Gyre appears in the southern Atlantic. In the North Atlantic, surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the North American coast at Cape Hatteras ; the North Atlantic Current ,

7620-453: The Americas (20%), and Africa (4%). A study in 2011 identified two highly genetically differentiated subpopulations of coconuts, one originating from Island Southeast Asia (the Pacific group) and the other from the southern margins of the Indian subcontinent (the Indo-Atlantic group). The Pacific group is the only one to display clear genetic and phenotypic indications that they were domesticated; including dwarf habit, self-pollination, and

7747-421: The Americas. They are now almost ubiquitous between 26° N and 26° S except for the interiors of Africa and South America. The 2014 coral atoll origin hypothesis proposed that the coconut had dispersed in an island hopping fashion using the small, sometimes transient, coral atolls. It noted that by using these small atolls, the species could easily island-hop. Over the course of evolutionary time-scales

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7874-407: The Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southernmost South America, and northeastern Europe. In the western Atlantic carbonate platforms dominate large areas, for example, the Blake Plateau and Bermuda Rise . The Atlantic is surrounded by passive margins except at a few locations where active margins form deep trenches : the Puerto Rico Trench (8,376 m or 27,480 ft maximum depth) in

8001-468: The Atlantic include the Challenger expedition and the German Meteor expedition ; as of 2001 , Columbia University 's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office conduct research on the ocean. The MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) along most of its length, but

8128-403: The Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence the climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas. The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe,

8255-455: The Atlantic sea ' ) where the name refers to "the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles " which is said to be part of the sea that surrounds all land. In these uses, the name refers to Atlas , the Titan in Greek mythology , who supported the heavens and who later appeared as a frontispiece in medieval maps and also lent his name to modern atlases . On the other hand, to early Greek sailors and in ancient Greek mythological literature such as

8382-409: The Bahamas, while coarse river outwash sands and silt are common in shallow shelf areas like the Georges Bank . Coarse sand, boulders, and rocks were transported into some areas, such as off the coast of Nova Scotia or the Gulf of Maine during the Pleistocene ice ages. The break-up of Pangaea began in the central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during

8509-438: The Chinchilla Sand Formation dated to the latest Pliocene or basal Pleistocene . Rigby (1995) assigned them to modern Cocos nucifera based on its size. In Colombia, a single Cocos -like fruit was recovered from the middle to late Paleocene Cerrejón Formation . The fruit, however, was compacted in the fossilization process and it was not possible to determine if it had the diagnostic three pores that characterize members of

8636-404: The European shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth , floating in the ocean for millions of years. Other species endemic to the Sargasso Sea include the sargassum fish , a predator with algae-like appendages which hovers motionless among the Sargassum . Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what

8763-617: The Indo-Atlantic coconuts. However, they may have also been partially selected for thicker husks for coir production, which was also important in Austronesian material culture as a source for cordage in building houses and boats. The niu vai form is the domesticated form dominant in Pacific coconuts. They were selected for by the Austronesian peoples for their larger endosperm-to-husk ratio as well as higher coconut water content, making them more useful as food and water reserves for sea voyages. The decreased buoyancy and increased fragility of this spherical, thin-husked fruit would not matter for

8890-405: The Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains. The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 Ma. The opening of the Atlantic Ocean coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea , both of which were initiated by the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of

9017-468: The North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate variability. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level. The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation . Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from

9144-445: The Pacific Ocean and that they could not have dispersed worldwide without human agency. More recently, genomic analysis of cultivated coconut ( C. nucifera L.) has shed light on the movement. However, admixture , the transfer of genetic material, evidently occurred between the two populations. Given that coconuts are ideally suited for inter-island group ocean dispersal, obviously some natural distribution did take place. However,

9271-549: The Pacific unaided. If they were naturally distributed and had been in the Pacific for a thousand years or so, then we would expect the eastern shore of Australia, with its own islands sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef , to have been thick with coconut palms: the currents were directly into, and down along this coast. However, both James Cook and William Bligh (put adrift after the Bounty mutiny ) found no sign of

9398-604: The Portuguese word coco instead. The specific name nucifera is derived from the Latin words nux (nut) and fera (bearing), for 'nut-bearing'. Coconuts have a nearly cosmopolitan distribution due to human cultivation and dispersal. However, their original distribution was in the Central Indo-Pacific , in the regions of Maritime Southeast Asia and Melanesia . Modern genetic studies have identified

9525-437: The South Atlantic, and the "Atmospheric Bridge", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific. The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper water masses with distinct temperature and salinity. The Atlantic subarctic upper water in the northernmost North Atlantic is the source for subarctic intermediate water and North Atlantic intermediate water. North Atlantic central water can be divided into

9652-684: The Taiwanese Austronesian languages makes it likely that the Austronesian coconut culture developed only after Austronesians started colonizing the Philippine islands . The importance of the coconut in Austronesian cultures is evidenced by shared terminology of even very specific parts and uses of coconuts, which were carried outwards from the Philippines during the Austronesian migrations. Indo-Atlantic type coconuts were also later spread by Arab and South Asian traders along

9779-399: The ancestral traits of tall habits and elongated triangular fruits. The coconut played a critical role in the migrations of the Austronesian peoples. They provided a portable source of both food and water, allowing Austronesians to survive long sea voyages to colonize new islands as well as establish long-range trade routes. Based on linguistic evidence, the absence of words for coconut in

9906-475: The atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and northwestern Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter, like other locations at the same high latitude. The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's northwestern coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas. Every winter,

10033-414: The center of origin of coconuts as being the Central Indo-Pacific , the region between western Southeast Asia and Melanesia , where it shows greatest genetic diversity. Their cultivation and spread was closely tied to the early migrations of the Austronesian peoples who carried coconuts as canoe plants to the islands they settled. The similarities of the local names in the Austronesian region

10160-514: The coconut shell that resemble facial features. Coco and coconut apparently came from 1521 encounters by Portuguese and Spanish explorers with Pacific Islanders , with the coconut shell reminding them of a ghost or witch in Portuguese folklore called coco (also côca ). In the West it was originally called nux indica , a name used by Marco Polo in 1280 while in Sumatra . He took

10287-490: The coconuts in the Americas are genetically closest related to the coconuts in the Philippines , and not to any other nearby coconut populations (including Polynesia ). Such an origin indicates that the coconuts were not introduced naturally, such as by sea currents. The researchers concluded that it was brought by early Austronesian sailors to the Americas from at least 2,250 BP, and may be proof of pre-Columbian contact between Austronesian cultures and South American cultures. It

10414-631: The early domestication of Pacific coconuts by the Austronesian peoples in maritime Southeast Asia during the Austronesian expansion (c. 3000 to 1500 BCE). Although archaeological remains dating to 1000 to 500 BCE also suggest that the Indo-Atlantic coconuts were also later independently cultivated by the Dravidian peoples , only Pacific coconuts show clear signs of domestication traits like dwarf habits, self-pollination, and rounded fruits. Indo-Atlantic coconuts, in contrast, all have

10541-610: The east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean , it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean , to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica . The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, the northern and southern Atlantic, by

10668-615: The east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea  – one of its marginal seas  – and, in turn, the Black Sea , both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian , running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In

10795-544: The eastern and western North Atlantic central water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water. The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean water. North Atlantic central water flows into South Atlantic central water at 15°N . There are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation. Arctic intermediate water flows from

10922-404: The edible solid endosperm (the "coconut meat" or "coconut flesh") which hardens over time. The small cylindrical embryo is embedded in the solid endosperm directly below the functional pore of the endosperm. During germination, the embryo pushes out of the functional pore and forms a haustorium (the coconut sprout ) inside the central cavity. The haustorium absorbs the solid endosperm to nourish

11049-412: The endocarp is hollow and is lined with a thin brown seed coat around 0.2 mm ( 1 ⁄ 64  in) thick. The endocarp is initially filled with a multinucleate liquid endosperm (the coconut water ). As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the endocarp up to 11 mm ( 3 ⁄ 8  in) thick, starting at the distal end. They eventually form

11176-493: The first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus' expedition ushered in an age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers , most notably Portugal , Spain , France , and the United Kingdom . From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of both an eponymous slave trade and

11303-460: The flesh, charcoal from the hard shell, and coir from the fibrous husk . Dried coconut flesh is called copra , and the oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking – frying in particular – as well as in soaps and cosmetics . Sweet coconut sap can be made into drinks or fermented into palm wine or coconut vinegar . The hard shells, fibrous husks and long pinnate leaves can be used as material to make

11430-660: The islands by long-distance dispersal. In west-central India, numerous fossils of Cocos -like fruits, leaves, and stems have been recovered from the Deccan Traps . They include morphotaxa like Palmoxylon sundaran , Palmoxylon insignae , and Palmocarpon cocoides . Cocos -like fossils of fruits include Cocos intertrappeansis , Cocos pantii , and Cocos sahnii . They also include fossil fruits that have been tentatively identified as modern Cocos nucifera . These include two specimens named Cocos palaeonucifera and Cocos binoriensis , both dated by their authors to

11557-517: The latter 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and northern Africa. Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Earth's magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults. The climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of

11684-666: The limits of the oceans and seas in 1953, but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not recognized by various authorities, institutions, and countries, for example the CIA World Factbook . Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas vary. The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait , Greenland Sea , Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea . To

11811-513: The locations of the admixture events are limited to Madagascar and coastal east Africa, and exclude the Seychelles . This pattern coincides with the known trade routes of Austronesian sailors. Additionally, a genetically distinct subpopulation of coconut on the Pacific coast of Latin America has undergone a genetic bottleneck resulting from a founder effect ; however, its ancestral population

11938-501: The lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south , in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation. The high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings , which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into

12065-514: The margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise. The mean depth between 60°N and 60°S is 3,730 m (12,240 ft), or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between 4,000 and 5,000 m (13,000 and 16,000 ft). In the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents. The Laurentian Abyss

12192-407: The mature seed, as well as the coconut milk extracted from it, forms a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics . Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of an almost clear liquid, called " coconut water " or "coconut juice". Mature, ripe coconuts can be used as edible seeds, or processed for oil and plant milk from

12319-664: The maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench , is 8,376 m (27,480 ft). Top large seas: The bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). It runs from 87°N or 300 km (190 mi) south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 54°S . Expeditions to explore the bathymertry of

12446-732: The most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event , one of Earth's major extinction events . Theoliitic dikes , sills , and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to 4.5 × 10  km (1.7 × 10  sq mi) of which 2.5 × 10  km (9.7 × 10  sq mi) covered what

12573-571: The north to become the source for North Atlantic deep water, south of the Greenland-Scotland sill. These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins. The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical gyre and a large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labrador Sea, Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic Intermediate Water. The North Atlantic deep water (NADW)

12700-562: The nuts along this 2,000 km (1,200 mi) stretch when he needed water for his crew. Nor were there coconuts on the east side of the African coast until Vasco da Gama , nor in the Caribbean when first visited by Christopher Columbus . They were commonly carried by Spanish ships as a source of fresh water. These provide substantial circumstantial evidence that deliberate Austronesian voyagers were involved in carrying coconuts across

12827-425: The ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across

12954-528: The original coloration of the fruit is more aesthetically pleasing. Whole mature coconuts (11 to 13 months from flowering) sold for export, however, typically have the husk removed to reduce weight and volume for transport. This results in the naked coconut "shell" with three pores more familiar in countries where coconuts are not grown locally. De-husked coconuts typically weigh around 750 to 850 grams (1 lb 10 oz to 1 lb 14 oz). De-husked coconuts are also easier for consumers to open, but have

13081-627: The outlines of the coasts of the Old and the New Worlds. The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the German Meteor expedition using echo-sounding equipment. The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s led to the general acceptance of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics . Most of the MAR runs under water but where it reaches the surfaces it has produced volcanic islands. While nine of these have collectively been nominated

13208-536: The palm (vivipary) was important. Coconuts today can be grouped into two highly genetically distinct subpopulations: the Indo-Atlantic group originating from southern India and nearby regions (including Sri Lanka , the Laccadives , and the Maldives ); and the Pacific group originating from the region between maritime Southeast Asia and Melanesia . Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence all point to

13335-455: The plant near the surface. Only a few of the roots penetrate deep into the soil for stability. This type of root system is known as fibrous or adventitious, and is a characteristic of grass species. Other types of large trees produce a single downward-growing tap root with a number of feeder roots growing from it. 2,000–4,000 adventitious roots may grow, each about 1 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2  in) large. Decayed roots are replaced regularly as

13462-651: The pond" or "on the other side of the pond" or "across the pond", rather than to discuss the ocean itself. The term dates to 1640, first appearing in print in a pamphlet released during the reign of Charles I , and reproduced in 1869 in Nehemiah Wallington 's Historical Notices of Events Occurring Chiefly in The Reign of Charles I , where "great Pond" is used in reference to the Atlantic Ocean by Francis Windebank , Charles I's Secretary of State . The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined

13589-420: The prehistoric and modern distributions of Cocos , would have provided the necessary evolutionary pressures, and would account for morphological factors such as a thick husk to protect against ocean degradation and provide a moist medium in which to germinate on sparse atolls. The name coconut is derived from the 16th-century Portuguese word coco , meaning 'head' or 'skull' after the three indentations on

13716-434: The rainfall and temperature requirements is canopy growth, except those locations near coastlines, where the sandy soil and salt spray limit the growth of most other trees. Wild coconuts are naturally restricted to coastal areas in sandy, saline soils. The fruit is adapted for ocean dispersal. Coconuts could not reach inland locations without human intervention (to carry seednuts, plant seedlings, etc.) and early germination on

13843-493: The round " niu vai " fruit morphology with larger endosperm-to-husk ratios. The distribution of the Pacific coconuts correspond to regions settled by Austronesian voyagers indicating that its spread was largely the result of human introductions. It is most strikingly displayed in Madagascar , an island settled by Austronesian sailors at around 2000 to 1500 BP . The coconut populations on the island show genetic admixture between

13970-401: The sea as far north as Norway (but it is not known where they entered the water). They have been found in the Caribbean and the Atlantic coasts of Africa and South America for less than 500 years (the Caribbean native inhabitants do not have a dialect term for them, but use the Portuguese name), but evidence of their presence on the Pacific coast of South America antedates Columbus's arrival in

14097-438: The seafloor. The oldest oceanic crust in the Atlantic is up to 145 million years and is situated off the west coast of Africa and the east coast of North America, or on either side of the South Atlantic. In many places, the continental shelf and continental slope are covered in thick sedimentary layers. For instance, on the North American side of the ocean, large carbonate deposits formed in warm shallow waters such as Florida and

14224-431: The seedling. Coconut fruits have two distinctive forms depending on § domestication . Wild coconuts feature an elongated triangular fruit with a thicker husk and a smaller amount of endosperm. These allow the fruits to be more buoyant and make it easier for them to lodge into sandy shorelines, making their shape ideal for ocean dispersal. Domesticated Pacific coconuts, on the other hand, are rounded in shape with

14351-458: The shifting atolls would have shortened the paths of colonization, meaning that any one coconut would not have to travel very far to find new land. Coconuts are susceptible to the phytoplasma disease, lethal yellowing . One recently selected cultivar , the 'Maypan' , has been bred for resistance to this disease. Yellowing diseases affect plantations in Africa, India, Mexico, the Caribbean and

14478-551: The subtropics to the northeastern Atlantic. There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50  Sv ) current which flows around the continental margins of the Labrador Sea . A third of this water becomes part of the deep portion of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The NADW, in turn, feeds

14605-421: The surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea , Denmark Strait , and Baltic Sea. The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur every 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east–west oscillation, known as

14732-576: The term from the Arabs, who called it جوز هندي jawz hindī , translating to 'Indian nut'. Thenga , its Tamil / Malayalam name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found in Itinerario by Ludovico di Varthema published in 1510 and also in the later Hortus Indicus Malabaricus . Carl Linnaeus first wanted to name the coconut genus Coccus from latinizing the Portuguese word coco , because he saw works by other botanists in middle of

14859-428: The total volume of the Earth's oceans. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km (31,570,000 sq mi) and has a volume of 305,811,900 km (73,368,200 cu mi). The North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km (16,020,000 sq mi) (11.5%) and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km (15,550,000 sq mi) (11.1%). The average depth is 3,646 m (11,962 ft) and

14986-551: The tree grows new ones. The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence ; thus, the palm is monoecious . However, there is some evidence that it may be polygamomonoecious and may occasionally have bisexual flowers. The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Coconut palms are believed to be largely cross- pollinated , although most dwarf varieties are self-pollinating. The evolutionary history and fossil distribution of Cocos nucifera and other members of

15113-716: The tribe Cocoseae is more ambiguous than modern-day dispersal and distribution, with its ultimate origin and pre-human dispersal still unclear. There are currently two major viewpoints on the origins of the genus Cocos , one in the Indo-Pacific, and another in South America. The vast majority of Cocos -like fossils have been recovered generally from only two regions in the world: New Zealand and west-central India . However, like most palm fossils, Cocos -like fossils are still putative, as they are usually difficult to identify. The earliest Cocos -like fossil to be found

15240-484: The tribe Cocoseae . Nevertheless, Gomez-Navarro et al. (2009), assigned it to Cocos based on the size and the ridged shape of the fruit. Further complicating measures to determine the evolutionary history of Cocos is the genetic diversity present within C. nucifera as well as its relatedness to other palms. Phylogenetic evidence supports the closest relatives of Cocos being either Syagrus or Attalea , both of which are found in South America. However, Cocos

15367-476: The two subpopulations indicating that Pacific coconuts were first brought by the Austronesian settlers, which then interbred with the later Indo-Atlantic coconuts brought by Europeans from India. Genetic studies of coconuts have also confirmed pre-Columbian populations of coconuts in Panama . However, it is not native and displays a genetic bottleneck resulting from a founder effect . A study in 2008 showed that

15494-582: The upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and the Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean. On the African east coast, the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre. The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer . The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Atlantic Deep Water flows southward below

15621-424: The western Atlantic and South Sandwich Trench (8,264 m or 27,113 ft) in the South Atlantic. There are numerous submarine canyons off northeastern North America, western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Some of these canyons extend along the continental rises and farther into the abyssal plains as deep-sea channels. In 1922, a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred. The USS Stewart used

15748-545: The whole way to Polynesia . But we had laid about half among the special provisions below deck, with the waves washing around them. Every single one of these was ruined by the sea water. And no coconut can float over the sea faster than a balsa raft moves with the wind behind it. He also notes that several of the nuts began to germinate by the time they had been ten weeks at sea, precluding an unassisted journey of 100 days or more. Drift models based on wind and ocean currents have shown that coconuts could not have drifted across

15875-422: The wild is light, buoyant, and highly water resistant. It is claimed that they evolved to disperse significant distances via marine currents . However, it can also be argued that the placement of the vulnerable eye of the nut (down when floating), and the site of the coir cushion are better positioned to ensure that the water-filled nut does not fracture when dropping on rocky ground, rather than for flotation. It

16002-460: Was Cocos zeylandica , a fossil species described as small fruits, around 3.5 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) × 1.3 to 2.5 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 to 1 in) in size, recovered from the Miocene (~23 to 5.3 million years ago) of New Zealand in 1926. Since then, numerous other fossils of similar fruits were recovered throughout New Zealand from the Eocene , Oligocene , and possibly

16129-494: Was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century. During the Age of Discovery , the Atlantic was also known to English cartographers as the Great Western Ocean . The pond is a term often used by British and American speakers in reference to the northern Atlantic Ocean, as a form of meiosis , or ironic understatement. It is used mostly when referring to events or circumstances "on this side of

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