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Introduction
Earth's ocean |
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Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: Marginal seas |
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approx. 70.8% of Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of 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; thus the ocean is essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns, the carbon cycle, and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir. (Full article...)
A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. (Full article...)
Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean', and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and seabed geology; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Deep-sea exploration is the investigation of physical, chemical, and biological conditions on the ocean waters and sea bed beyond the continental shelf, for scientific or commercial purposes. Deep-sea exploration is an aspect of underwater exploration and is considered a relatively recent human activity compared to the other areas of geophysical research, as the deeper depths of the sea have been investigated only during comparatively recent years. The ocean depths still remain a largely unexplored part of the Earth, and form a relatively undiscovered domain.
Scientific deep-sea exploration can be said to have begun when French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace investigated the average depth of the Atlantic Ocean by observing tidal motions registered on Brazilian and African coasts circa the late 18th or early 19th century. However, the exact date of his investigation is unknown. He calculated the depth to be 3,962 metres (12,999 ft), a value later proven quite accurate by echo-sounding measurement techniques. Later on, due to increasing demand for the installment of submarine cables, accurate measurements of the sea floor depth were required and the first investigations of the sea bottom were undertaken. The first deep-sea life forms were discovered in 1864 when Norwegian researchers Michael Sars and Georg Ossian Sars obtained a sample of a stalked crinoid at a depth of 3,109 m (10,200 ft). (Full article...)Interesting facts -
- The color of the sea snail Simnia spelta varies, but when it grazes on the white gorgonian it mimics the twigs.
- A sculpture of the god Neptune on one of the parapets of the University of Washington's Gerberding Hall represents the academic disciplines of oceanography and fisheries science.
- After sinking the British ocean liner SS Dwinsk in June 1918, the German submarine U-151 remained in the area and used the survivors in seven lifeboats as a lure in order to try and sink additional Allied ships.
Selected list articles and Marine habitat topics
Marine habitats |
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Coastal habitats |
Ocean surface |
Open ocean |
Sea floor |
- List of oceans
- List of ancient oceans
- List of seas
- List of circumnavigations
- List of cruise lines
- List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System
- List of marine biologists
- List of marine ecoregions
- List of maritime explorers
- List of naval battles
- List of ocean liners
- List of oceanographic institutions and programs
- List of oldest surviving ships
- List of rogue waves
- List of seafood dishes
- List of submarine topographical features
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In the news
- 23 June 2024 – Red Sea crisis
- The Houthis claim to have carried out a joint military operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to target four vessels in the Port of Haifa, Israel. (Al Jazeera)
- 20 June 2024 –
- A cruise ship rescues 68 migrants and finds five bodies in a wooden dinghy that was drifting off the Canary Islands, Spain. (ABC News)
- 18 June 2024 – Red Sea crisis
- Attacks on the MV Tutor
- The Liberia-flagged MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea six days after being attacked by a Houthi unmanned surface vessel and missile. (AP)
- 14 June 2024 – Red Sea crisis
- The United States military launches attacks on and destroys seven Houthi radar stations in Yemen in retaliation after a merchant sailor went missing following Houthi strikes on ships in the Red Sea. (The Seattle Times)
WikiProjects
Topics
Categories
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Admiralty law
Admiralty law |
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History |
Features |
Contract of carriage/Charterparty |
Parties |
Judiciaries |
International conventions |
International organizations |
Need assistance?
Do you have a question about oceans, seas or oceanography that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
External media
- World Ocean Database and World Ocean Atlas Series – from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Includes the World Ocean Atlas.
- European Atlas of the Seas – the European Atlas of the Seas, from the European Commission
- NOAA Research – NOAA research news, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- Ocean Research – from The World Ocean Observatory
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System – "a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development"
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