How many oceans are there? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. However, most countries - including the United States - now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean.
What are the Seven Seas? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · The Seven Seas include the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans. The exact origin of the phrase 'Seven Seas' is uncertain, although there are references in ancient literature that date back thousands of years.
Why should we care about the ocean? - NOAA's National Ocean …
The world ocean provides so many benefits. Here are nine things the ocean does for humans and the planet: Climate regulation: Covering 70 percent of the Earth's surface, the ocean transports heat from the equator to the poles, regulating our climate and weather patterns.
Where is all of the Earth's water? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · The ocean holds about 97 percent of the Earth's water; the remaining three percent is found in glaciers and ice, below the ground, in rivers and lakes. Of the world's total water supply of about 332 million cubic miles of water, about 97 percent is found in the ocean.
How much water is in the ocean? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of our planet. It's hard to imagine, but about 97 percent of the Earth's water can be found in our ocean. Of the tiny percentage that's not in the ocean, about two percent is frozen up in glaciers and ice caps.
Why do we have an ocean? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · Over vast periods of time, our primitive ocean formed. Water remained a gas until the Earth cooled below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. At this time, about 3.8 billion years ago, the water condensed into rain which filled the basins that we now know as our world ocean.
How much oxygen comes from the ocean? - NOAA's National …
About half of Earth’s oxygen comes from the ocean; about the same amount is consumed by marine life. The surface layer of the ocean is teeming with photosynthetic plankton. Though they're invisible to the naked eye, they produce more oxygen than the largest redwoods.
The Coriolis Effect - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Surface ocean currents, which occur on the open ocean, are driven by a complex global wind system. To understand the effects of winds on ocean currents, one first needs to understand the Coriolis force and the Ekman spiral.
How deep is the ocean? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
The average depth of the ocean is about 3,682 meters (12,080 feet). The lowest ocean depth on Earth is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench.
Why is the ocean salty? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Salt in the ocean comes from two sources: runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor. Sea water has been defined as a weak solution of almost everything. Ocean water is a complex solution of mineral salts and of decayed biologic matter that …