Ocean Facts
Over 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water. Oceans play a big role on our planet as shown by the following ocean facts.
Ocean Facts
Look at any photograph of our planet taken from space and you’ll see plenty of blue. Say hello to the oceans. All the oceans are interconnected into one mass of water. This single ocean has one current that runs throughout it called the Conveyer. Despite this, we divide the ocean into four separate oceans – the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean. Let’s take a closer look.
Ocean Facts:
- The oceans did not exist when the Earth first formed.
- Oceans reflect the blue wavelength of sunlight, which makes them appear to be blue from space.
- The combined oceans contain over 97 percent of all water on Earth.
- The combined oceans cover over 139 million square miles.
- The oceans are made up of over 322,000,000 cubic miles of water.
- All oceans are made up of salt water with the salinity of the water being about 35 percent.
- If the crust of the planet were perfectly flat, it would be uniformly covered in ocean water 2 miles deep.
- The deepest ocean water is colder than the freezing point of water.
- Pressure keeps it from freezing.
- The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest point on our planet, over 36,000 feet deep.
- Mount Everest would be covered by over 7,000 feet of water if placed in the Mariana Trench.
- A bowling ball dropped over the Mariana Trench would take more than an hour to sink to the bottom.
- The deepest point in the Arctic Ocean is the Eurasian Basin at 17,881 feet in depth.
- The deepest point in the Indian Ocean is the Java Trench at 25,344 feet in depth.
- The deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean is the Puerto Rico Trench at 28,374 feet.
- More land is present under the oceans than above them.
- Thermal heat “vents” coming out of the Earth’s crust exist at the deepest depths of the oceans where no light exists.
- Despite there being no light, life in form of plants, crabs and other odd fish species exist.
- There are approximately 20,000 species of fish in the oceans.
- Rogues waves, thought to be physically impossible, have recently been proven to exist.
- Rogue waves can be as tall as ten story building and possibly larger.
- The highest concentrations of fish are found around the edge of the Arctic Ocean.
- The Blue Whale is the largest animal in the ocean and on our planet.
- Oceans cover 80 percent of the southern hemisphere of the planet.
- The study of the ocean is known as oceanography.
- The water around Antarctica is sometimes called the fifth ocean.
- Due to pollution, there are parts of the various oceans where no animals live because of oxygenation problems. These areas are known as dead zones and are found close to shore.
- Once such area is offshore from the outlet of the Mississippi River.
Given their size, it would be easy to go on and on about the amazing oceans. Hopefully, these ocean facts will give you a taste of what makes us the blue planet.
