96-411: See text. Spisula is a genus of medium-sized to large marine bivalve mollusks or clams in the subfamily Mactrinae of the family Mactridae , commonly known as surf clams or trough shells. Species in the genus Spisula include: Marine (ocean) The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth . In English , the term ocean also refers to any of
192-410: A halocline . If a zone undergoes a strong, vertical chemistry gradient with depth, it contains a chemocline . Temperature and salinity control ocean water density. Colder and saltier water is denser, and this density plays a crucial role in regulating the global water circulation within the ocean. The halocline often coincides with the thermocline, and the combination produces a pronounced pycnocline ,
288-493: A mid-ocean ridge , which creates a long mountain range beneath the ocean. Together they form the global mid-oceanic ridge system that features the longest mountain range in the world. The longest continuous mountain range is 65,000 km (40,000 mi). This underwater mountain range is several times longer than the longest continental mountain range – the Andes . Oceanographers state that less than 20% of
384-462: A barrier to winds and impact where and how much it rains. Land closer to open ocean has a more moderate climate than land farther from the ocean. For the purpose of modelling the climate , the land is often considered static as it changes very slowly compared to the other elements that make up the climate system. The position of the continents determines the geometry of the oceans and therefore influences patterns of ocean circulation. The locations of
480-434: A boundary between less dense surface water and dense deep water. Climate system Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things). Climate is the statistical characterization of the climate system. It represents
576-422: A depth of a few hundred meters or less. Human activity often has negative impacts on marine life within the continental shelf. Ocean temperatures depend on the amount of solar radiation reaching the ocean surface. In the tropics, surface temperatures can rise to over 30 °C (86 °F). Near the poles where sea ice forms, the temperature in equilibrium is about −2 °C (28 °F). In all parts of
672-595: A gentle breeze on a pond causes ripples to form. A stronger gust blowing over the ocean causes larger waves as the moving air pushes against the raised ridges of water. The waves reach their maximum height when the rate at which they are travelling nearly matches the speed of the wind. In open water, when the wind blows continuously as happens in the Southern Hemisphere in the Roaring Forties , long, organized masses of water called swell roll across
768-425: A higher density and differences in density play an important role in ocean circulation . The thermohaline circulation transports heat from the tropics to the polar regions. Ocean circulation is further driven by the interaction with wind. The salt component also influences the freezing point temperature . Vertical movements can bring up colder water to the surface in a process called upwelling , which cools down
864-503: A higher layer of the atmosphere directly, the stratosphere , which may have an effect on the atmosphere near the surface. Slight variations in the Earth's motion can cause large changes in the seasonal distribution of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface and how it is distributed across the globe, although not to the global and yearly average sunlight. The three types of kinematic change are variations in Earth's eccentricity , changes in
960-510: A human activity, such as the combustion of biomass or fossil fuels, releases aerosols into the atmosphere. Aerosols counteract some of the warming effects of emitted greenhouse gases until they fall back to the surface in a few years or less. Although volcanoes are technically part of the lithosphere, which is part of the climate system, volcanism is defined as an external forcing agent. On average, there are only several volcanic eruptions per century that influence Earth's climate for longer than
1056-452: A part of the radiation of the Sun and it emits infra-red radiation as black-body radiation . The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth's energy budget . When the total of incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, Earth's Energy Imbalance is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out,
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#17327902011801152-496: A shallow area and this, coupled with a low pressure system, can raise the surface of the ocean dramatically above a typical high tide. The average depth of the oceans is about 4 km. More precisely the average depth is 3,688 meters (12,100 ft). Nearly half of the world's marine waters are over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. "Deep ocean," which is anything below 200 meters (660 ft), covers about 66% of Earth's surface. This figure does not include seas not connected to
1248-403: A wave-cut platform develops at the foot of the cliff and this has a protective effect, reducing further wave-erosion. Material worn from the margins of the land eventually ends up in the sea. Here it is subject to attrition as currents flowing parallel to the coast scour out channels and transport sand and pebbles away from their place of origin. Sediment carried to the sea by rivers settles on
1344-431: A year by ejecting tons of SO 2 into the stratosphere . The sulfur dioxide is chemically converted into aerosols that cause cooling by blocking a fraction of sunlight to the Earth's surface. Small eruptions affect the atmosphere only subtly. Changes in land cover, such as change of water cover (e.g. rising sea level , drying up of lakes and outburst floods ) or deforestation , particularly through human use of
1440-406: A zone undergoes dramatic changes in temperature with depth, it contains a thermocline , a distinct boundary between warmer surface water and colder deep water. In tropical regions, the thermocline is typically deeper compared to higher latitudes. Unlike polar waters , where solar energy input is limited, temperature stratification is less pronounced, and a distinct thermocline is often absent. This
1536-439: Is a bay , a small bay with a narrow inlet is a cove and a large bay may be referred to as a gulf . Coastlines are influenced by several factors including the strength of the waves arriving on the shore, the gradient of the land margin, the composition and hardness of the coastal rock, the inclination of the off-shore slope and the changes of the level of the land due to local uplift or submergence. Normally, waves roll towards
1632-444: Is an important reference point for oceanography and geography, particularly as mean sea level . The ocean surface has globally little, but measurable topography , depending on the ocean's volumes. The ocean surface is a crucial interface for oceanic and atmospheric processes. Allowing interchange of particles, enriching the air and water, as well as grounds by some particles becoming sediments . This interchange has fertilized life in
1728-411: Is customarily divided into five principal oceans – listed below in descending order of area and volume: The ocean fills Earth's oceanic basins . Earth's oceanic basins cover different geologic provinces of Earth's oceanic crust as well as continental crust . As such it covers mainly Earth's structural basins , but also continental shelfs . In mid-ocean, magma is constantly being thrust through
1824-399: Is due to the fact that surface waters in polar latitudes are nearly as cold as deeper waters. Below the thermocline, water everywhere in the ocean is very cold, ranging from −1 °C to 3 °C. Because this deep and cold layer contains the bulk of ocean water, the average temperature of the world ocean is 3.9 °C. If a zone undergoes dramatic changes in salinity with depth, it contains
1920-503: Is in the system and where it goes. When the Earth's energy budget changes, the climate follows. A change in the energy budget is called a forcing. When the change is caused by something outside of the five components of the climate system, it is called an external forcing . Volcanoes, for example, result from deep processes within the earth that are not considered part of the climate system. Human actions, off-planet changes, such as solar variation and incoming asteroids, are also external to
2016-456: Is irregular, unevenly dominating the Earth's surface . This leads to the distinction of the Earth's surface into a water and land hemisphere , as well as the division of the ocean into different oceans. Seawater covers about 361,000,000 km (139,000,000 sq mi) and the ocean's furthest pole of inaccessibility , known as " Point Nemo ", in a region known as spacecraft cemetery of
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#17327902011802112-637: Is more land in the Northern Hemisphere compared to the Southern Hemisphere , a larger part of that hemisphere is covered in snow. Both hemispheres have about the same amount of sea ice. Most frozen water is contained in the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica , which average about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) in height. These ice sheets slowly flow towards their margins. The Earth's crust , specifically mountains and valleys, shapes global wind patterns: vast mountain ranges form
2208-447: Is much larger than the heat held by the atmosphere. It contains seawater with a salt content of about 3.5% on average, but this varies spatially. Brackish water is found in estuaries and some lakes, and most freshwater , 2.5% of all water, is held in ice and snow. The cryosphere contains all parts of the climate system where water is solid. This includes sea ice , ice sheets , permafrost and snow cover . Because there
2304-454: Is produced and magma is forced up creating underwater mountains, some of which may form chains of volcanic islands near to deep trenches. Near some of the boundaries between the land and sea, the slightly denser oceanic plates slide beneath the continental plates and more subduction trenches are formed. As they grate together, the continental plates are deformed and buckle causing mountain building and seismic activity. Every ocean basin has
2400-407: Is pushed across the surface of the ocean by the wind, but this represents a transfer of energy and not horizontal movement of water. As waves approach land and move into shallow water , they change their behavior. If approaching at an angle, waves may bend ( refraction ) or wrap around rocks and headlands ( diffraction ). When the wave reaches a point where its deepest oscillations of the water contact
2496-423: Is reflected back out of the water. Red light is most easily absorbed and thus does not reach great depths, usually to less than 50 meters (164 ft). Blue light, in comparison, can penetrate up to 200 meters (656 ft). Second, water molecules and very tiny particles in ocean water preferentially scatter blue light more than light of other colors. Blue light scattering by water and tiny particles happens even in
2592-480: Is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean, global ocean or the great ocean . The concept of a continuous body of water with relatively unrestricted exchange between its components is critical in oceanography . The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity , Oceanus ( / oʊ ˈ s iː ə n ə s / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós , pronounced [ɔːkeanós] ),
2688-449: Is the movement of water through the climate system. Not only does the hydrological cycle determine patterns of precipitation , it also has an influence on the movement of energy throughout the climate system. The hydrosphere proper contains all the liquid water on Earth, with most of it contained in the world's oceans. The ocean covers 71% of Earth's surface to an average depth of nearly 4 kilometres (2.5 miles), and ocean heat content
2784-414: Is then taken up by its roots. Without vegetation, this water would have run off to the closest rivers or other water bodies. Water taken up by plants instead evaporates, contributing to the hydrological cycle. Precipitation and temperature influences the distribution of different vegetation zones. Carbon assimilation from seawater by the growth of small phytoplankton is almost as much as land plants from
2880-691: The North Sea or the Red Sea . There is no sharp distinction between seas and oceans, though generally seas are smaller, and are often partly (as marginal seas ) or wholly (as inland seas ) bordered by land. The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was coined in the early 20th century by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky to refer to the continuous ocean that covers and encircles most of Earth. The global, interconnected body of salt water
2976-580: The Pacific decadal oscillation , and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation . These variations can affect global average surface temperature by redistributing heat between the deep ocean and the atmosphere; but also by altering the cloud, water vapour or sea ice distribution, which can affect the total energy budget of the earth. The oceanic aspects of these oscillations can generate variability on centennial timescales due to
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3072-481: The South Pacific Ocean , at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W / 48.8767°S 123.3933°W / -48.8767; -123.3933 ( Point Nemo ) . This point is roughly 2,688 km (1,670 mi) from the nearest land. There are different customs to subdivide the ocean and are adjourned by smaller bodies of water such as, seas , gulfs , bays , bights , and straits . The ocean
3168-592: The Thames Barrier is designed to protect London from a storm surge, while the failure of the dykes and levees around New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina created a humanitarian crisis in the United States. Most of the ocean is blue in color, but in some places the ocean is blue-green, green, or even yellow to brown. Blue ocean color is a result of several factors. First, water preferentially absorbs red light, which means that blue light remains and
3264-410: The carbon cycle , and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir . Ocean scientists split the ocean into vertical and horizontal zones based on physical and biological conditions. The pelagic zone is the open ocean's water column from the surface to the ocean floor. The water column is further divided into zones based on depth and the amount of light present. The photic zone starts at
3360-406: The coastline and structure of the world ocean. A global ocean has existed in one form or another on Earth for eons. Since its formation the ocean has taken many conditions and shapes with many past ocean divisions and potentially at times covering the whole globe. During colder climatic periods, more ice caps and glaciers form, and enough of the global water supply accumulates as ice to lessen
3456-591: The ocean floor , they begin to slow down. This pulls the crests closer together and increases the waves' height , which is called wave shoaling . When the ratio of the wave's height to the water depth increases above a certain limit, it " breaks ", toppling over in a mass of foaming water. This rushes in a sheet up the beach before retreating into the ocean under the influence of gravity. Earthquakes , volcanic eruptions or other major geological disturbances can set off waves that can lead to tsunamis in coastal areas which can be very dangerous. The ocean's surface
3552-442: The Earth's biosphere . Oceanic evaporation , as a phase of the water cycle, is the source of most rainfall (about 90%), causing a global cloud cover of 67% and a consistent oceanic cloud cover of 72%. Ocean temperatures affect climate and wind patterns that affect life on land. One of the most dramatic forms of weather occurs over the oceans: tropical cyclones (also called "typhoons" and "hurricanes" depending upon where
3648-456: The Moon are 20x stronger than the Moon's tidal forces on the Earth.) The primary effect of lunar tidal forces is to bulge Earth matter towards the near and far sides of the Earth, relative to the moon. The "perpendicular" sides, from which the Moon appears in line with the local horizon, experience "tidal troughs". Since it takes nearly 25 hours for the Earth to rotate under the Moon (accounting for
3744-403: The Moon's 28 day orbit around Earth), tides thus cycle over a course of 12.5 hours. However, the rocky continents pose obstacles for the tidal bulges, so the timing of tidal maxima may not actually align with the Moon in most localities on Earth, as the oceans are forced to "dodge" the continents. Timing and magnitude of tides vary widely across the Earth as a result of the continents. Thus, knowing
3840-422: The Moon's gravity, oceanic tides are also substantially modulated by the Sun's tidal forces, by the rotation of the Earth, and by the shape of the rocky continents blocking oceanic water flow. (Tidal forces vary more with distance than the "base" force of gravity: the Moon's tidal forces on Earth are more than double the Sun's, despite the latter's much stronger gravitational force on Earth. Earth's tidal forces upon
3936-400: The Moon's position does not allow a local to predict tide timings, instead requiring precomputed tide tables which account for the continents and the Sun, among others. During each tidal cycle, at any given place the tidal waters rise to maximum height, high tide, before ebbing away again to the minimum level, low tide. As the water recedes, it gradually reveals the foreshore , also known as
Spisula - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-648: The Okeanos is represented with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases. Scientists believe that a sizable quantity of water would have been in the material that formed Earth. Water molecules would have escaped Earth's gravity more easily when it was less massive during its formation. This is called atmospheric escape . During planetary formation , Earth possibly had magma oceans . Subsequently, outgassing , volcanic activity and meteorite impacts , produced an early atmosphere of carbon dioxide , nitrogen and water vapor , according to current theories. The gases and
4128-741: The World Ocean, such as the Caspian Sea . The deepest region of the ocean is at 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 ft). The British naval vessel Challenger II surveyed the trench in 1951 and named the deepest part of the trench the " Challenger Deep ". In 1960, the Trieste successfully reached
4224-408: The air above. The hydrological cycle or water cycle describes how it is constantly moved between the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere. Plants evapotranspirate and sunlight evaporates water from oceans and other water bodies, leaving behind salt and other minerals. The evaporated freshwater later rains back onto the surface. Precipitation and evaporation are not evenly distributed across
4320-565: The air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern hemisphere, thus forming distinct atmospheric cells. Monsoons , seasonal changes in wind and precipitation that occur mostly in the tropics, form due to the fact that land masses heat up more easily than the ocean. The temperature difference induces a pressure difference between land and ocean, driving a steady wind. Ocean water that has more salt has
4416-421: The amounts in other parts of the water cycle. The reverse is true during warm periods. During the last ice age, glaciers covered almost one-third of Earth's land mass with the result being that the oceans were about 122 m (400 ft) lower than today. During the last global "warm spell," about 125,000 years ago, the seas were about 5.5 m (18 ft) higher than they are now. About three million years ago
4512-479: The atmosphere are thought to have accumulated over millions of years. After Earth's surface had significantly cooled, the water vapor over time would have condensed, forming Earth's first oceans. The early oceans might have been significantly hotter than today and appeared green due to high iron content. Geological evidence helps constrain the time frame for liquid water existing on Earth. A sample of pillow basalt (a type of rock formed during an underwater eruption)
4608-500: The atmosphere, mainly being emitted by people burning fossil fuels , is causing climate change . Human activity also releases cooling aerosols , but their net effect is far less than that of greenhouse gases. Changes can be amplified by feedback processes in the different climate system components. The atmosphere envelops the earth and extends hundreds of kilometres from the surface. It consists mostly of inert nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (0.9%). Some trace gases in
4704-449: The atmosphere, such as water vapour and carbon dioxide , are the gases most important for the workings of the climate system, as they are greenhouse gases which allow visible light from the Sun to penetrate to the surface, but block some of the infrared radiation the Earth's surface emits to balance the Sun's radiation. This causes surface temperatures to rise. The hydrological cycle
4800-487: The atmosphere. Liquid and solid particles in the atmosphere, collectively named aerosols , have diverse effects on the climate. Some primarily scatter sunlight, cooling the planet, while others absorb sunlight and warm the atmosphere. Indirect effects include the fact that aerosols can act as cloud condensation nuclei , stimulating cloud formation. Natural sources of aerosols include sea spray , mineral dust , meteorites and volcanoes . Still, humans also contribute as
4896-434: The atmosphere. While humans are technically part of the biosphere , they are often treated as a separate components of Earth's climate system, the anthroposphere , because of human's large impact on the planet. The climate system receives energy from the Sun, and to a far lesser extent from the Earth's core, as well as tidal energy from the Moon. The Earth gives off energy to outer space in two forms: it directly reflects
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#17327902011804992-402: The average weather , typically over a period of 30 years, and is determined by a combination of processes, such as ocean currents and wind patterns. Circulation in the atmosphere and oceans transports heat from the tropical regions to regions that receive less energy from the Sun. Solar radiation is the main driving force for this circulation. The water cycle also moves energy throughout
5088-407: The bottom of the trench, manned by a crew of two men. Oceanographers classify the ocean into vertical and horizontal zones based on physical and biological conditions. The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be divided into further regions categorized by light abundance and by depth. The ocean zones can be grouped by light penetration into (from top to bottom):
5184-442: The carbon back to the lithosphere. The nitrogen cycle describes the flow of active nitrogen. As atmospheric nitrogen is inert, micro-organisms first have to convert this to an active nitrogen compound in a process called fixing nitrogen , before it can be used as a building block in the biosphere. Human activities play an important role in both carbon and nitrogen cycles: the burning of fossil fuels has displaced carbon from
5280-538: The cause of increasing concentrations of some greenhouse gases, such as CO 2 , methane and N 2 O . The dominant contributor to the greenhouse effect is water vapour (~50%), with clouds (~25%) and CO 2 (~20%) also playing an important role. When concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases such as CO 2 are increased, temperature and water vapour increase. Accordingly, water vapour and clouds are not seen as external forcings but as feedback. The weathering of carbonates and silicates removes carbon from
5376-607: The climate system vary continuously, even without external pushes (external forcing). One example in the atmosphere is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which operates as an atmospheric pressure see-saw. The Portuguese Azores typically have high pressure, whereas there is often lower pressure over Iceland . The difference in pressure oscillates and this affects weather patterns across the North Atlantic region up to central Eurasia . For instance,
5472-465: The climate system's five components. The primary value to quantify and compare climate forcings is radiative forcing . The Sun is the predominant source of energy input to the Earth and drives atmospheric circulation. The amount of energy coming from the Sun varies on shorter time scales, including the 11-year solar cycle and longer-term time scales. While the solar cycle is too small to directly warm and cool Earth's surface, it does influence
5568-461: The climate system. In addition, certain chemical elements are constantly moving between the components of the climate system. Two examples for these biochemical cycles are the carbon and nitrogen cycles . The climate system can change due to internal variability and external forcings . These external forcings can be natural, such as variations in solar intensity and volcanic eruptions, or caused by humans. Accumulation of greenhouse gases in
5664-435: The components is the speed at which they react to a forcing. The atmosphere typically responds within a couple of hours to weeks, while the deep ocean and ice sheets take centuries to millennia to reach a new equilibrium. The initial response of a component to an external forcing can be damped by negative feedbacks and enhanced by positive feedbacks . For example, a significant decrease of solar intensity would quickly lead to
5760-400: The different components of the climate system. The carbon cycle is directly important for climate as it determines the concentrations of two important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere: CO 2 and methane . In the fast part of the carbon cycle, plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using photosynthesis ; this is later re-emitted by the breathing of living creatures. As part of
5856-509: The elder of the Titans in classical Greek mythology . Oceanus was believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the divine personification of an enormous river encircling the world. The concept of Ōkeanós has an Indo-European connection. Greek Ōkeanós has been compared to the Vedic epithet ā-śáyāna-, predicated of the dragon Vṛtra-, who captured the cows/rivers. Related to this notion,
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#17327902011805952-403: The energy imbalance is negative and Earth experiences cooling. More energy reaches the tropics than the polar regions and the subsequent temperature difference drives the global circulation of the atmosphere and oceans . Air rises when it warms, flows polewards and sinks again when it cools, returning to the equator. Due to the conservation of angular momentum , the Earth's rotation diverts
6048-412: The formation of unusually high rogue waves . Most waves are less than 3 m (10 ft) high and it is not unusual for strong storms to double or triple that height. Rogue waves, however, have been documented at heights above 25 meters (82 ft). The top of a wave is known as the crest, the lowest point between waves is the trough and the distance between the crests is the wavelength. The wave
6144-401: The globe, with some regions such as the tropics having more rainfall than evaporation, and others having more evaporation than rainfall. The evaporation of water requires substantial quantities of energy, whereas a lot of heat is released during condensation. This latent heat is the primary source of energy in the atmosphere. Chemical elements, vital for life, are constantly cycled through
6240-421: The interface between water and air is called swell – a term used in sailing , surfing and navigation . These motions profoundly affect ships on the surface of the ocean and the well-being of people on those ships who might suffer from sea sickness . Wind blowing over the surface of a body of water forms waves that are perpendicular to the direction of the wind. The friction between air and water caused by
6336-482: The intertidal zone. The difference in height between the high tide and low tide is known as the tidal range or tidal amplitude. When the sun and moon are aligned (full moon or new moon), the combined effect results in the higher "spring tides", while the sun and moon misaligning (half moons) result in lesser tidal ranges. In the open ocean tidal ranges are less than 1 meter, but in coastal areas these tidal ranges increase to more than 10 meters in some areas. Some of
6432-492: The land, can affect the climate. The reflectivity of the area can change, causing the region to capture more or less sunlight. In addition, vegetation interacts with the hydrological cycle, so precipitation is also affected. Landscape fires release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and release black carbon , which darkens snow, making it easier to melt. The different elements of the climate system respond to external forcing in different ways. One important difference between
6528-412: The large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. The following names describe five different areas of the ocean: Pacific , Atlantic , Indian , Antarctic/Southern , and Arctic . The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of Earth's hydrosphere and is thereby essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns,
6624-739: The largest tidal ranges in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay in Canada, reaching up to 16 meters. Other locations with record high tidal ranges include the Bristol Channel between England and Wales, Cook Inlet in Alaska, and the Río Gallegos in Argentina. Tides are not to be confused with storm surges , which can occur when high winds pile water up against the coast in
6720-405: The lithosphere to the atmosphere, and the use of fertilizers has vastly increased the amount of available fixed nitrogen. Climate is constantly varying, on timescales that range from seasons to the lifetime of the Earth. Changes caused by the system's own components and dynamics are called internal climate variability . The system can also experience external forcing from phenomena outside of
6816-417: The majority of Earth's surface. It includes the Pacific , Atlantic , Indian , Southern/Antarctic , and Arctic oceans. As a general term, "the ocean" and "the sea" are often interchangeable. Strictly speaking, a "sea" is a body of water (generally a division of the world ocean) partly or fully enclosed by land. The word "sea" can also be used for many specific, much smaller bodies of seawater, such as
6912-408: The ocean faces many environmental threats, such as marine pollution , overfishing , and the effects of climate change . Those effects include ocean warming , ocean acidification and sea level rise . The continental shelf and coastal waters are most affected by human activity. The terms "the ocean" or "the sea" used without specification refer to the interconnected body of salt water covering
7008-435: The ocean having hundreds of times more mass than the atmosphere , and therefore very high thermal inertia. For example, alterations to ocean processes such as thermohaline circulation play a key role in redistributing heat in the world's oceans. Understanding internal variability helped scientists to attribute recent climate change to greenhouse gases. On long timescales, the climate is determined mainly by how much energy
7104-693: The ocean, deep ocean temperatures range between −2 °C (28 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F). Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents . Those currents are caused by forces operating on the water, such as temperature and salinity differences, atmospheric circulation (wind), and the Coriolis effect . Tides create tidal currents, while wind and waves cause surface currents. The Gulf Stream , Kuroshio Current , Agulhas Current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current are all major ocean currents. Such currents transport massive amounts of water, gases, pollutants and heat to different parts of
7200-508: The ocean, on land and air. All these processes and components together make up ocean surface ecosystems . Tides are the regular rise and fall in water level experienced by oceans, primarily driven by the Moon 's gravitational tidal forces upon the Earth. Tidal forces affect all matter on Earth, but only fluids like the ocean demonstrate the effects on human timescales. (For example, tidal forces acting on rock may produce tidal locking between two planetary bodies.) Though primarily driven by
7296-469: The ocean. If the wind dies down, the wave formation is reduced, but already-formed waves continue to travel in their original direction until they meet land. The size of the waves depends on the fetch , the distance that the wind has blown over the water and the strength and duration of that wind. When waves meet others coming from different directions, interference between the two can produce broken, irregular seas. Constructive interference can lead to
7392-419: The oceans absorb CO 2 from the atmosphere , a higher concentration leads to ocean acidification (a drop in pH value ). The ocean provides many benefits to humans such as ecosystem services , access to seafood and other marine resources , and a means of transport . The ocean is known to be the habitat of over 230,000 species , but may hold considerably more – perhaps over two million species. Yet,
7488-425: The oceans could have been up to 50 m (165 ft) higher. The entire ocean, containing 97% of Earth's water, spans 70.8% of Earth 's surface, making it Earth's global ocean or world ocean . This makes Earth, along with its vibrant hydrosphere a "water world" or " ocean world ", particularly in Earth's early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly covered Earth completely. The ocean's shape
7584-434: The oceans have been mapped. The zone where land meets sea is known as the coast , and the part between the lowest spring tides and the upper limit reached by splashing waves is the shore . A beach is the accumulation of sand or shingle on the shore. A headland is a point of land jutting out into the sea and a larger promontory is known as a cape . The indentation of a coastline, especially between two headlands,
7680-537: The oceans may have always been on the Earth since the beginning of the planet's formation. In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity . The origin of Earth's oceans is unknown. Oceans are thought to have formed in the Hadean eon and may have been the cause for the emergence of life . Plate tectonics , post-glacial rebound , and sea level rise continually change
7776-451: The photic zone, the mesopelagic zone and the aphotic deep ocean zone: The pelagic part of the aphotic zone can be further divided into vertical regions according to depth and temperature: Distinct boundaries between ocean surface waters and deep waters can be drawn based on the properties of the water. These boundaries are called thermoclines (temperature), haloclines (salinity), chemoclines (chemistry), and pycnoclines (density). If
7872-418: The power of a storm wave impacting on the foot of a cliff has a shattering effect as air in cracks and crevices is compressed and then expands rapidly with release of pressure. At the same time, sand and pebbles have an erosive effect as they are thrown against the rocks. This tends to undercut the cliff, and normal weathering processes such as the action of frost follows, causing further destruction. Gradually,
7968-455: The seabed between adjoining plates to form mid-oceanic ridges and here convection currents within the mantle tend to drive the two plates apart. Parallel to these ridges and nearer the coasts, one oceanic plate may slide beneath another oceanic plate in a process known as subduction . Deep trenches are formed here and the process is accompanied by friction as the plates grind together. The movement proceeds in jerks which cause earthquakes, heat
8064-407: The seabed causing deltas to form in estuaries. All these materials move back and forth under the influence of waves, tides and currents. Dredging removes material and deepens channels but may have unexpected effects elsewhere on the coastline. Governments make efforts to prevent flooding of the land by the building of breakwaters , seawalls , dykes and levees and other sea defences. For instance,
8160-400: The seas are important in controlling the transfer of heat and moisture across the globe, and therefore, in determining global climate. Lastly, the biosphere also interacts with the rest of the climate system. Vegetation is often darker or lighter than the soil beneath, so that more or less of the Sun's heat gets trapped in areas with vegetation. Vegetation is good at trapping water, which
8256-401: The shore at the rate of six to eight per minute and these are known as constructive waves as they tend to move material up the beach and have little erosive effect. Storm waves arrive on shore in rapid succession and are known as destructive waves as the swash moves beach material seawards. Under their influence, the sand and shingle on the beach is ground together and abraded. Around high tide,
8352-406: The slow carbon cycle, volcanoes release CO 2 by degassing, releasing carbon dioxide from the Earth's crust and mantle. As CO 2 in the atmosphere makes rain a bit acidic , this rain can slowly dissolve some rocks, a process known as weathering . The minerals that are released in this way, transported to the sea, are used by living creatures whose remains can form sedimentary rocks , bringing
8448-399: The source of the food supply which sustains most of the ocean ecosystem . Ocean photosynthesis also produces half of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. Light can only penetrate a few hundred more meters; the rest of the deeper ocean is cold and dark (these zones are called mesopelagic and aphotic zones). The continental shelf is where the ocean meets dry land. It is more shallow, with
8544-412: The surface and is defined to be "the depth at which light intensity is only 1% of the surface value" (approximately 200 m in the open ocean). This is the zone where photosynthesis can occur. In this process plants and microscopic algae (free floating phytoplankton ) use light, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to produce organic matter. As a result, the photic zone is the most biodiverse and
8640-486: The system (e.g. a change in Earth's orbit). Longer changes, usually defined as changes that persist for at least 30 years, are referred to as climate changes , although this phrase usually refers to the current global climate change . When the climate changes, the effects may build on each other, cascading through the other parts of the system in a series of climate feedbacks (e.g. albedo changes ), producing many different effects (e.g. sea level rise ). Components of
8736-456: The system forms). As the world's ocean is the principal component of Earth's hydrosphere , it is integral to life on Earth, forms part of the carbon cycle and water cycle , and – as a huge heat reservoir – influences climate and weather patterns. The motions of the ocean surface, known as undulations or wind waves , are the partial and alternate rising and falling of the ocean surface. The series of mechanical waves that propagate along
8832-458: The tilt angle of Earth's axis of rotation , and precession of Earth's axis. Together these produce Milankovitch cycles , which affect climate and are notable for their correlation to glacial and interglacial periods . Greenhouse gases trap heat in the lower part of the atmosphere by absorbing longwave radiation. In the Earth's past, many processes contributed to variations in greenhouse gas concentrations. Currently, emissions by humans are
8928-434: The very clearest ocean water, and is similar to blue light scattering in the sky . Ocean water represents the largest body of water within the global water cycle (oceans contain 97% of Earth's water ). Evaporation from the ocean moves water into the atmosphere to later rain back down onto land and the ocean. Oceans have a significant effect on the biosphere . The ocean as a whole is thought to cover approximately 90% of
9024-530: The weather in Greenland and Canada is cold and dry during a positive NAO. Different phases of the North Atlantic oscillation can be sustained for multiple decades. The ocean and atmosphere can also work together to spontaneously generate internal climate variability that can persist for years to decades at a time. Examples of this type of variability include the El Niño–Southern Oscillation ,
9120-476: The world, and from the surface into the deep ocean. All this has impacts on the global climate system . Ocean water contains dissolved gases, including oxygen , carbon dioxide and nitrogen . An exchange of these gases occurs at the ocean's surface. The solubility of these gases depends on the temperature and salinity of the water. The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is rising due to CO 2 emissions , mainly from fossil fuel combustion. As
9216-775: Was recovered from the Isua Greenstone Belt and provides evidence that water existed on Earth 3.8 billion years ago. In the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt , Quebec , Canada, rocks dated at 3.8 billion years old by one study and 4.28 billion years old by another show evidence of the presence of water at these ages. If oceans existed earlier than this, any geological evidence either has yet to be discovered, or has since been destroyed by geological processes like crustal recycling . However, in August 2020, researchers reported that sufficient water to fill
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