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Ocean

The ocean (also known as the sea or the world ocean) is a body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water.[9] The term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided.[10] Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific (the largest), Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic (the smallest).[11][12] Seawater covers approximately 361,000,000 km2 (139,000,000 sq mi) of the planet. The ocean is the primary component of the Earth's hydrosphere, and thus 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.

World Ocean
Coordinates47°13′S 178°28′E / 47.217°S 178.467°E / -47.217; 178.467 (center of the water hemisphere,[1] near New Zealand's Bounty Islands in the South Pacific Ocean)
Basin countriesList of countries by length of coastline
Surface area361,000,000 km2 (139,382,879 sq mi) (71% of Earth's surface area)[2]
Average depth3.688 km (2 mi)[3]
Max. depth11.034 km (7 mi) (Challenger Deep, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench)[4]
Water volume1,370,000,000 km3 (328,680,479 cu mi)[2] (97.5% of Earth's water)
Shore length1Low interval calculation:
  • 356,000 km (221,208 mi)[5]

High interval calculation:

  • 1,634,701 km (1,015,756 mi)[6]
Max. temperature
  • 30 °C (86 °F) (max. at the surface)
  • 20 °C (68 °F) (average at the surface)
  • 4 °C (39 °F) (temperature at average depths)[7][8]
Min. temperature
  • −2 °C (28 °F) (min. at the surface)
  • 1 °C (34 °F) (min. at the deepest points of the ocean)[7][8]
IslandsList of islands
Sections/sub-basinsMain divisions:

Other divisions:

TrenchesList of oceanic trenches
SettlementsList of ports
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
The ocean's atmospheric surface.

Oceanographers 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 the surface and is defined to be "the depth at which light intensity is only 1% of the surface value"[13]: 36  (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 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.[14] 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 a depth of a few hundred meters or less. Human activity often has negative impacts on the ecosystems 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 the ocean, deep ocean temperatures range between −2 °C (28 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F).[15] Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents. These directed movements of seawater are caused by forces operating on the water, such as temperature variations, atmospheric circulation (wind), the Coriolis effect and salinity changes.[16] 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. Currents transport massive amounts of water and heat around the world. By transporting these pollutants from the surface into the deep ocean, this circulation impacts global climate and the uptake and redistribution of pollutants such as carbon dioxide.

Ocean water contains a high concentration of dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. This gas exchange occurs at the ocean's surface and solubility depends on the temperature and salinity of the water.[17] Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rises due to fossil fuel combustion, which causes higher levels in ocean water, resulting in ocean acidification.[18] The ocean provides crucial environmental services to humankind, such as climate regulation. It also provides a means of trade and transport as well as access to food and other resources. It is known to be the habitat of over 230,000 species, but may hold considerably more – perhaps over two million species.[19] However, the ocean faces numerous human-caused environmental threats, such as marine pollution, overfishing, and effects of climate change on oceans such as ocean warming, ocean acidification and sea level rise. The continental shelf and coastal waters that are most affected by human activity are particularly vulnerable.

Terminology

Ocean and sea

The terms "the ocean" or "the sea" used without specification refer to the interconnected body of salt water covering the majority of the Earth's surface.[11][12] It includes the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Antarctic/Southern and Arctic Oceans.[20] As a general term, "the ocean" and "the sea" are often interchangeable, although speakers of British English refer to "the sea" in all cases,[21][dubious ] even when the body of water is one of the oceans.

Strictly speaking, a "sea" is a body of water (generally a division of the world ocean) partly or fully enclosed by land.[22] The word "sea" can also be used for many specific, much smaller bodies of seawater, such as 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.[23]

World ocean

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 the Earth.[24][25] The global, interconnected body of salt water is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean, global ocean or the great ocean.[26][27][28] The concept of a continuous body of water with relatively unrestricted exchange between its components is critical in oceanography.[29]

Etymology

The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity, Oceanus (/ˈsənəs/; Greek: Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós,[30] pronounced [ɔːkeanós]), 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, the Okeanos is represented with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases.[31]

Natural history

Origin of water

Scientists believe that a sizable quantity of water would have been in the material that formed Earth.[32] 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 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.[33] The early oceans might have been significantly hotter than today and appeared green due to high iron content.[34]

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) was recovered from the Isua Greenstone Belt and provides evidence that water existed on Earth 3.8 billion years ago.[35] In the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, Quebec, Canada, rocks dated at 3.8 billion years old by one study[36] and 4.28 billion years old by another[37] show evidence of the presence of water at these ages.[35] 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 the oceans may have always been on the Earth since the beginning of the planet's formation.[38][39][40] In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity.[41]

Ocean formation

 
The ocean covers ~70% of the Earth, sometimes called the "blue planet" or an ocean world

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 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.[42]

During colder climatic periods, more ice caps and glaciers form, and enough of the global water supply accumulates as ice to lessen 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 the oceans could have been up to 50 m (165 ft) higher.[43]

Geography

 
World map of the five-ocean model with approximate boundaries

The entire ocean, containing 97% of Earth's water, spans 70.8% of Earth's surface,[9] making it Earth's global ocean or world ocean.[24][26] This makes Earth, along with its vibrant hydrosphere a "water world"[44][45] or "ocean world",[46][47] particularly in Earth's early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly covered Earth completely.[42] The ocean's shape 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 km2 (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 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.[48]

Oceanic divisions

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 is customarily divided into five principal oceans – listed below in descending order of area and volume:

Oceans by size
# Ocean Location Area
(km2)
Volume
(km3)
Avg. depth
(m)
Coastline
(km)[49]
1 Pacific Ocean Between Asia and Australasia and the Americas[50] 168,723,000
(46.6%)
669,880,000
(50.1%)
3,970 135,663
(35.9%)
2 Atlantic Ocean Between the Americas and Europe and Africa[51] 85,133,000
(23.5%)
310,410,900
(23.3%)
3,646 111,866
(29.6%)
3 Indian Ocean Between southern Asia, Africa and Australia[52] 70,560,000
(19.5%)
264,000,000
(19.8%)
3,741 66,526
(17.6%)
4 Antarctic/Southern Ocean Between Antarctica and the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans
Sometimes considered an extension of those three oceans.[53][54]
21,960,000
(6.1%)
71,800,000
(5.4%)
3,270 17,968
(4.8%)
5 Arctic Ocean Between northern North America and Eurasia in the Arctic
Sometimes considered a marginal sea of the Atlantic.[55][56][57]
15,558,000
(4.3%)
18,750,000
(1.4%)
1,205 45,389
(12.0%)
Total 361,900,000
(100%)
1.335×10^9
(100%)
3,688 377,412
(100%)
NB: Volume, area, and average depth figures include NOAA ETOPO1 figures for marginal South China Sea.
Sources: Encyclopedia of Earth,[50][51][52][53][57] International Hydrographic Organization,[54] Regional Oceanography: an Introduction (Tomczak, 2005),[55] Encyclopædia Britannica,[56] and the International Telecommunication Union.[49]

Ocean basins

 
Bathymetry of the ocean floor showing the continental shelves and oceanic plateaus (red), the mid-ocean ridges (yellow-green) and the abyssal plains (blue to purple)

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.

Every ocean basin has 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.[58]

Oceanographers state that less than 20% of the oceans have been mapped.[59]

Physical properties

Color

 
Ocean chlorophyll concentration is a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. In this map, blue colors represent lower chlorophyll and reds represent higher chlorophyll. Satellite-measured chlorophyll is estimated based on ocean color by how green the color of the water appears from space.

Most of the ocean is blue in color, but in some places the ocean is blue-green, green, or even yellow to brown.[60] Blue ocean color is a result of several factors. First, water preferentially absorbs red light, which means that blue light remains and 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).[61] 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 the very clearest ocean water,[62] and is similar to blue light scattering in the sky.

The main substances that affect the color of the ocean include dissolved organic matter, living phytoplankton with chlorophyll pigments, and non-living particles like marine snow and mineral sediments.[63] Chlorophyll can be measured by satellite observations and serves as a proxy for ocean productivity (marine primary productivity) in surface waters. In long term composite satellite images, regions with high ocean productivity show up in yellow and green colors because they contain more (green) phytoplankton, whereas areas of low productivity show up in blue.

Water cycle, weather and rainfall

 
The ocean is a major driver of Earth's water cycle.

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.[64] Oceans have a significant effect on the biosphere. The ocean as a whole is thought to cover approximately 90% of the Earth's biosphere.[59] Oceanic evaporation, as a phase of the water cycle, is the source of most rainfall (about 90%),[64] causing a global cloud cover of 67% and a consistent oceanic cloud cover of 72%.[65] 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 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.

Waves and swell

Movement of water as waves pass

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 the interface between water and air is called swell – a term used in sailing, surfing and navigation.[66] 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 a gentle breeze on a pond causes ripples to form. A strong blow 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 the ocean.[67]: 83–84 [68][69] 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.[68]

Constructive interference can lead to the formation of unusually high rogue waves.[70] Most waves are less than 3 m (10 ft) high[70] and it is not unusual for strong storms to double or triple that height.[71] Rogue waves, however, have been documented at heights above 25 meters (82 ft).[72][73]

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 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 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.[70] This rushes in a sheet up the beach before retreating into the ocean under the influence of gravity.[74]

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.[75][76]

Sea level and surface

The ocean's surface 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 the ocean, on land and air. All these processes and components together make up ocean surface ecosystems.

Tides

 
High tide and low tide in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

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 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,[77] despite the latter's much stronger gravitational force on Earth. Earth's tidal forces upon 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 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 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 the intertidal zone. The difference in height between the high tide and low tide is known as the tidal range or tidal amplitude.[78][79] 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.[78]

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.[80] Some of the largest tidal ranges in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay in Canada, reaching up to 16 meters.[81] 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.[82]

Tides are not to be confused with storm surges, which can occur when high winds pile water up against the coast in a shallow area and this, coupled with a low pressure system, can raise the surface of the ocean dramatically above a typical high tide.

Depth

The average depth of the oceans is about 4 km. More precisely the average depth is 3,688 meters (12,100 ft).[68] Nearly half of the world's marine waters are over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep.[28] "Deep ocean," which is anything below 200 meters (660 ft), covers about 66% of Earth's surface.[83] This figure does not include seas not connected to 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.[84] 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 the bottom of the trench, manned by a crew of two men.

Oceanic zones

 
The major oceanic zones, based on depth and biophysical conditions

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.

Grouped by light penetration

The ocean zones can be grouped by light penetration into (from top to bottom): the photic zone, the mesopelagic zone and the aphotic deep ocean zone:

  • The photic zone is defined to be "the depth at which light intensity is only 1% of the surface value".[13]: 36  This is usually up to a depth of approximately 200 m in the open ocean. It is the region where photosynthesis can occur and is, therefore, the most biodiverse. Photosynthesis by plants and microscopic algae (free floating phytoplankton) allows the creation of organic matter from chemical precursors including water and carbon dioxide. This organic matter can then be consumed by other creatures. Much of the organic matter created in the photic zone is consumed there but some sinks into deeper waters. The pelagic part of the photic zone is known as the epipelagic.[85] The actual optics of light reflecting and penetrating at the ocean surface are complex.[13]: 34–39 
  • Below the photic zone is the mesopelagic or twilight zone where there is a very small amount of light. The basic concept is that with that little light photosynthesis is unlikely to achieve any net growth over respiration.[13]: 116–124 
  • Below that is the aphotic deep ocean to which no surface sunlight at all penetrates. Life that exists deeper than the photic zone must either rely on material sinking from above (see marine snow) or find another energy source. Hydrothermal vents are a source of energy in what is known as the aphotic zone (depths exceeding 200 m).[85]

Grouped by depth and temperature

The pelagic part of the aphotic zone can be further divided into vertical regions according to depth and temperature:[85]

  • The mesopelagic is the uppermost region. Its lowermost boundary is at a thermocline of 12 °C (54 °F) which generally lies at 700–1,000 meters (2,300–3,300 ft) in the tropics. Next is the bathypelagic lying between 10 and 4 °C (50 and 39 °F), typically between 700–1,000 meters (2,300–3,300 ft) and 2,000–4,000 meters (6,600–13,100 ft). Lying along the top of the abyssal plain is the abyssopelagic, whose lower boundary lies at about 6,000 meters (20,000 ft). The last and deepest zone is the hadalpelagic which includes the oceanic trench and lies between 6,000–11,000 meters (20,000–36,000 ft).
  • The benthic zones are aphotic and correspond to the three deepest zones of the deep-sea. The bathyal zone covers the continental slope down to about 4,000 meters (13,000 ft). The abyssal zone covers the abyssal plains between 4,000 and 6,000 m. Lastly, the hadal zone corresponds to the hadalpelagic zone, which is found in oceanic trenches.

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 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 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.[86] If a zone undergoes dramatic changes in salinity with depth, it contains 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.[85] The halocline often coincides with the thermocline, and the combination produces a pronounced pycnocline, a boundary between less dense surface water and dense deep water.

Grouped by distance from land

The pelagic zone can be further subdivided into two sub regions based on distance from land: the neritic zone and the oceanic zone. The neritic zone covers the water directly above the continental shelves, including coastal waters. On the other hand, the oceanic zone includes all the completely open water.

The littoral zone covers the region between low and high tide and represents the transitional area between marine and terrestrial conditions. It is also known as the intertidal zone because it is the area where tide level affects the conditions of the region.[85]

Volumes

The combined volume of water in all the oceans is roughly 1.335 billion cubic kilometers (1.335 sextillion liters, 320.3 million cubic miles).[68][87][88]

It has been estimated that there are 1.386 billion cubic kilometres (333 million cubic miles) of water on Earth.[89][90][91] This includes water in gaseous, liquid and frozen forms as soil moisture, groundwater and permafrost in the Earth's crust (to a depth of 2 km); oceans and seas, lakes, rivers and streams, wetlands, glaciers, ice and snow cover on Earth's surface; vapour, droplets and crystals in the air; and part of living plants, animals and unicellular organisms of the biosphere. Saltwater accounts for 97.5% of this amount, whereas fresh water accounts for only 2.5%. Of this fresh water, 68.9% is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Arctic, the Antarctic and mountain glaciers; 30.8% is in the form of fresh groundwater; and only 0.3% of the fresh water on Earth is in easily accessible lakes, reservoirs and river systems.[92]

The total mass of Earth's hydrosphere is about 1.4 × 1018 tonnes, which is about 0.023% of Earth's total mass. At any given time, about 2 × 1013 tonnes of this is in the form of water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere (for practical purposes, 1 cubic metre of water weighs 1 tonne). Approximately 71% of Earth's surface, an area of some 361 million square kilometres (139.5 million square miles), is covered by ocean. The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5%).[93]

Temperature

Ocean temperatures depends on the amount of solar radiation falling on its surface. In the tropics, with the Sun nearly overhead, the temperature of the surface layers can rise to over 30 °C (86 °F) while near the poles the temperature in equilibrium with the sea ice is about −2 °C (28 °F). There is a continuous circulation of water in the oceans. Warm surface currents cool as they move away from the tropics, and the water becomes denser and sinks. The cold water moves back towards the equator as a deep sea current, driven by changes in the temperature and density of the water, before eventually welling up again towards the surface. Deep ocean water has a temperature between −2 °C (28 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F) in all parts of the globe.[15]

The temperature gradient over the water depth is related to the way the surface water mixes with deeper water or does not mix (a lack of mixing is called ocean stratification). This depends on the temperature: in the tropics the warm surface layer of about 100 m is quite stable and does not mix much with deeper water, while near the poles winter cooling and storms makes the surface layer denser and it mixes to great depth and then stratifies again in summer. The photic depth is typically about 100 m (but varies) and is related to this heated surface layer.[94]

It is clear that the ocean is warming as a result of climate change, and this rate of warming is increasing.[95]: 9  The global ocean was the warmest it had ever been recorded by humans in 2022.[96] This is determined by the ocean heat content, which exceeded the previous 2021 maximum in 2022.[96] The steady rise in ocean temperatures is an unavoidable result of the Earth's energy imbalance, which is primarily caused by rising levels of greenhouse gases.[96] Between pre-industrial times and the 2011–2020 decade, the ocean's surface has heated between 0.68 and 1.01 °C.[97]: 1214 

Temperature and salinity by region

The temperature and salinity of ocean waters vary significantly across different regions. This is due to differences in the local water balance (precipitation vs. evaporation) and the "sea to air" temperature gradients. These characteristics can vary widely from one ocean region to another. The table below provides an illustration of the sort of values usually encountered.

General characteristics of ocean surface waters by region[98][99][100][101][102]
Characteristic Polar regions Temperate regions Tropical regions
Precipitation vs. evaporation Precip > Evap Precip > Evap Evap > Precip
Sea surface temperature in winter −2 °C 5 to 20 °C 20 to 25 °C
Average salinity 28‰ to 32‰ 35‰ 35‰ to 37‰
Annual variation of air temperature ≤ 40 °C 10 °C < 5 °C
Annual variation of water temperature < 5 °C 10 °C < 5 °C

Sea ice

Seawater with a typical salinity of 35‰ has a freezing point of about −1.8 °C (28.8 °F).[85][103] Because sea ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans.[104][105][106] Sea ice usually starts to freeze at the very surface, initially as a very thin ice film. As further freezing takes place, this ice film thickens and can form ice sheets. The ice formed incorporates some sea salt, but much less than the seawater it forms from. As the ice forms with low salinity this results in saltier residual seawater. This in turn increases density and promotes vertical sinking of the water.[107]

Ocean currents and global climate

 
Ocean surface currents
 
A map of the global thermohaline circulation; blue represents deep-water currents, whereas red represents surface currents.

Types of ocean currents

An ocean current is a continuous, directed flow of seawater caused by several forces acting upon the water. These include wind, the Coriolis effect, temperature and salinity differences.[16] Ocean currents are primarily horizontal water movements that have different origins such as tides for tidal currents, or wind and waves for surface currents.

Tidal currents are in phase with the tide, hence are quasiperiodic; associated with the influence of the moon and sun pull on the ocean water. Tidal currents may form various complex patterns in certain places, most notably around headlands.[108] Non-periodic or non-tidal currents are created by the action of winds and changes in density of water. In littoral zones, breaking waves are so intense and the depth measurement so low, that maritime currents reach often 1 to 2 knots.[109]

The wind and waves create surface currents (designated as "drift currents"). These currents can decompose in one quasi-permanent current (which varies within the hourly scale) and one movement of Stokes drift under the effect of rapid waves movement (which vary on timescales of a couple of seconds). The quasi-permanent current is accelerated by the breaking of waves, and in a lesser governing effect, by the friction of the wind on the surface.[109]

This acceleration of the current takes place in the direction of waves and dominant wind. Accordingly, when the ocean depth increases, the rotation of the earth changes the direction of currents in proportion with the increase of depth, while friction lowers their speed. At a certain ocean depth, the current changes direction and is seen inverted in the opposite direction with current speed becoming null: known as the Ekman spiral. The influence of these currents is mainly experienced at the mixed layer of the ocean surface, often from 400 to 800 meters of maximum depth. These currents can considerably change and are dependent on the yearly seasons. If the mixed layer is less thick (10 to 20 meters), the quasi-permanent current at the surface can adopt quite a different direction in relation to the direction of the wind. In this case, the water column becomes virtually homogeneous above the thermocline.[109]

The wind blowing on the ocean surface will set the water in motion. The global pattern of winds (also called atmospheric circulation) creates a global pattern of ocean currents. These are driven not only by the wind but also by the effect of the circulation of the earth (coriolis force). These major ocean currents include the Gulf Stream, Kuroshio current, Agulhas current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current encircles Antarctica and influences the area's climate, connecting currents in several oceans.[109]

Relationship of currents and climate

 
Map of the Gulf Stream, a major ocean current that transports heat from the equator to northern latitudes and moderates the climate of Europe.

Collectively, currents move enormous amounts of water and heat around the globe influencing climate. These wind driven currents are largely confined to the top hundreds of meters of the ocean. At greater depth, the thermohaline circulation (Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which is part of a global thermoholine circulation, drives water motion.The AMOC is driven by the cooling of surface waters in the polar latitudes in the north and south, creating dense water which sinks to the bottom of the ocean. This cold and dense water moves slowly away from the poles which is why the waters in the deepest layers of the world ocean are so cold. This deep ocean water circulation is relatively slow and water at the bottom of the ocean can be isolated from the ocean surface and atmosphere for hundreds or even a few thousand years.[109] This circulation has important impacts on global climate and the uptake and redistribution of pollutants such as carbon dioxide by moving these contaminants from the surface into the deep ocean.

Ocean currents greatly affect Earth's climate by transferring heat from the tropics to the polar regions. This affects air temperature and precipitation in coastal regions and further inland. Surface heat and freshwater fluxes create global density gradients, which drive the thermohaline circulation that is a part of large-scale ocean circulation. It plays an important role in supplying heat to the polar regions, and thus in sea ice regulation.

Oceans moderate the climate of locations where prevailing winds blow in from the ocean. At similar latitudes, a place on Earth with more influence from the ocean will have a more moderate climate than a place with more influence from land. For example, the cities San Francisco (37.8 N) and New York (40.7 N) have different climates because San Francisco has more influence from the ocean. San Francisco, on the west coast of North America, gets winds from the west over the Pacific Ocean, and the influence of the ocean water yields a more moderate climate with a warmer winter and a longer, cooler summer, with the warmest temperatures happening later in the year. New York, on the east coast of North America gets winds from the west over land, so New York has colder winters and hotter, earlier summers than San Francisco.

Warmer ocean currents yield warmer climates in the long term, even at high latitudes. At similar latitudes, a place influenced by warm ocean currents will have a warmer climate overall than a place influenced by cold ocean currents. French Riviera (43.5 N) and Rockland, Maine (44.1 N) have same latitude, but the French Riviera is influenced by warm waters transported by the Gulf Stream into the Mediterranean Sea and has a warmer climate overall. Maine is influenced by cold waters transported south by the Labrador Current giving it a colder climate overall.

Changes in the thermohaline circulation are thought to have significant impacts on Earth's energy budget. Because the thermohaline circulation determines the rate at which deep waters reach the surface, it may also significantly influence atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Modern observations, climate simulations and paleoclimate reconstructions suggest that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has weakened since the preindustrial era. The latest climate change projections in 2021 suggest that the AMOC is likely to weaken further over the 21st century.[110]: 19  Such a weakening could cause large changes to global climate, with the North Atlantic particularly vulnerable.[110]: 19 

Chemical properties

Salinity

 
Annual mean sea surface salinity in practical salinity units (psu) from the World Ocean Atlas.[111]

Salinity is a measure of the total amounts of dissolved salts in seawater. It was originally measured via measurement of the amount of chloride in seawater and hence termed chlorinity. It is now standard practice to gauge it by measuring electrical conductivity of the water sample. Salinity can be calculated using the chlorinity, which is a measure of the total mass of halogen ions (includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine) in seawater. According to an international agreement, the following formula is used to determine salinity:[112]

Salinity (in ‰) = 1.80655 × Chlorinity (in ‰)

The average ocean water chlorinity is about 19.2‰, and, thus, the average salinity is around 34.7‰.[112]

Salinity has a major influence on the density of seawater. A zone of rapid salinity increase with depth is called a halocline. As seawater's salt content increases, so does the temperature at which its maximum density occurs. Salinity affects both the freezing and boiling points of water, with the boiling point increasing with salinity. At atmospheric pressure,[113] normal seawater freezes at a temperature of about −2 °C.

Salinity is higher in Earth's oceans where there is more evaporation and lower where there is more precipitation. If precipitation exceeds evaporation, as is the case in polar and some temperate regions, salinity will be lower. Salinity will be higher if evaporation exceeds precipitation, as is sometimes the case in tropical regions. For example, evaporation is greater than precipitation in the Mediterranean Sea, which has an average salinity of 38‰, more saline than the global average of 34.7‰.[114] Thus, oceanic waters in polar regions have lower salinity content than oceanic waters in tropical regions.[112] However, when sea ice forms at high latitudes, salt is excluded from the ice as it forms, which can increase the salinity in the residual seawater in polar regions such as the Arctic Ocean.[85][115]

Due to the effects of climate change on oceans, observations of sea surface salinity between 1950 and 2019 indicate that regions of high salinity and evaporation have become more saline while regions of low salinity and more precipitation have become fresher.[116] It is very likely that the Pacific and Antarctic/Southern Oceans have freshened while the Atlantic has become more saline.[116]

Dissolved gases

 
Sea surface oxygen concentration in moles per cubic meter from the World Ocean Atlas.[117]

Ocean water contains large quantities of dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. These dissolve into ocean water via gas exchange at the ocean surface, with the solubility of these gases depending on the temperature and salinity of the water.[17] The four most abundant gases in earth's atmosphere and oceans are nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. In the ocean by volume, the most abundant gases dissolved in seawater are carbon dioxide (including bicarbonate and carbonate ions, 14 mL/L on average), nitrogen (9 mL/L), and oxygen (5 mL/L) at equilibrium at 24 °C (75 °F)[118][119][120] All gases are more soluble – more easily dissolved – in colder water than in warmer water. For example, when salinity and pressure are held constant, oxygen concentration in water almost doubles when the temperature drops from that of a warm summer day 30 °C (86 °F) to freezing 0 °C (32 °F). Similarly, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases are more soluble at colder temperatures, and their solubility changes with temperature at different rates.[118][121]

Oxygen, photosynthesis and carbon cycling

 
Diagram of the ocean carbon cycle showing the relative size of stocks (storage) and fluxes.[122]

Photosynthesis in the surface ocean releases oxygen and consumes carbon dioxide. Phytoplankton, a type of microscopic free-floating algae, controls this process. After the plants have grown, oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide released, as a result of bacterial decomposition of the organic matter created by photosynthesis in the ocean. The sinking and bacterial decomposition of some organic matter in deep ocean water, at depths where the waters are out of contact with the atmosphere, leads to a reduction in oxygen concentrations and increase in carbon dioxide, carbonate and bicarbonate.[94] This cycling of carbon dioxide in oceans is an important part of the global carbon cycle.

The oceans represent a major carbon sink for carbon dioxide taken up from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and by dissolution (see also carbon sequestration). There is also increased attention on carbon dioxide uptake in coastal marine habitats such as mangroves and saltmarshes. This process is often referred to as "Blue carbon". The focus is on these ecosystems because they are strong carbon sinks as well as ecologically important habitats under threat from human activities and environmental degradation.

As deep ocean water circulates throughout the globe, it contains gradually less oxygen and gradually more carbon dioxide with more time away from the air at the surface. This gradual decrease in oxygen concentration happens as sinking organic matter continuously gets decomposed during the time the water is out of contact with the atmosphere.[94] Most of the deep waters of the ocean still contain relatively high concentrations of oxygen sufficient for most animals to survive. However, some ocean areas have very low oxygen due to long periods of isolation of the water from the atmosphere. These oxygen deficient areas, called oxygen minimum zones or hypoxic waters, will generally be made worse by the effects of climate change on oceans.[123][124]

pH

The pH value at the surface of oceans (global mean surface pH) is currently approximately in the range of 8.05[125] to 8.08.[126] This makes it slightly alkaline. The pH value at the surface used to be about 8.2 during the past 300 million years.[127] However, between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05.[128] Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of this process called ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels exceeding 410 ppm (in 2020).[129] CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. This produces carbonic acid (H2CO3) which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion (HCO3) and a hydrogen ion (H+). The presence of free hydrogen ions (H+) lowers the pH of the ocean.

There is a natural gradient of pH in the ocean which is related to the breakdown of organic matter in deep water which slowly lowers the pH with depth: The pH value of seawater is naturally as low as 7.8 in deep ocean waters as a result of degradation of organic matter there.[130] It can be as high as 8.4 in surface waters in areas of high biological productivity.[94]

The definition of global mean surface pH refers to the top layer of the water in the ocean, up to around 20 or 100 m depth. In comparison, the average depth of the ocean is about 4 km. The pH value further down below (lower than 100 m) has not yet been affected by ocean acidification in the same way. There is a large body of deeper water where the natural gradients of pH from 8.2 to about 7.8 still exists and it will take a very long to acidify these waters, and equally a long time to recover from that acidification. But as the top layer of the ocean (the photic zone) is crucial for its marine productivity, any changes to the pH value and temperature of the top layer can have many knock-on effects, for example on marine life and ocean currents (see also effects of climate change on oceans).[94]

The key issue in terms of the penetration of ocean acidification is the way the surface water mixes with deeper water or does not mix (a lack of mixing is called ocean stratification). This in turn depends on the water temperature and hence is different between the tropics and the polar regions (see ocean#Temperature).[94]

The chemical properties of seawater complicate pH measurement, and several distinct pH scales exist in chemical oceanography.[131] There is no universally accepted reference pH-scale for seawater and the difference between measurements based on multiple reference scales may be up to 0.14 units.[132]

Alkalinity

Alkalinity is the balance of base (proton acceptors) and acids (proton donors) in seawater, or indeed any natural waters. The alkalinity acts as a chemical buffer, regulating the pH of seawater. While there are many ions in seawater that can contribute to the alkalinity, many of these are at very low concentrations. This means that the carbonate, bicarbonate and borate ions are the only significant contributors to seawater alkalinity in the open ocean with well oxygenated waters. The first two of these ions contribute more than 95% of this alkalinity.[94]

The chemical equation for alkalinity in seawater is:

AT = [HCO3-] + 2[CO32-] + [B(OH)4-]

The growth of phytoplankton in surface ocean waters leads to the conversion of some bicarbonate and carbonate ions into organic matter. Some of this organic matter sinks into the deep ocean where it is broken down back into carbonate and bicarbonate. This process is related to ocean productivity or marine primary production. Thus alkalinity tends to increase with depth and also along the global thermohaline circulation from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian ocean, although these increases are small. The concentrations vary overall by only a few percent.[94][130]

The absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere does not affect the ocean's alkalinity.[133]: 2252  It does lead to a reduction in pH value though (termed ocean acidification).[129]

Residence times of chemical elements and ions

 
Residence time of elements in the ocean depends on supply by processes like rock weathering and rivers vs. removal by processes like evaporation and sedimentation.

The ocean waters contain many chemical elements as dissolved ions. Elements dissolved in ocean waters have a wide range of concentrations. Some elements have very high concentrations of several grams per liter, such as sodium and chloride, together making up the majority of ocean salts. Other elements, such as iron, are present at tiny concentrations of just a few nanograms (10−9 grams) per liter.[112]

The concentration of any element depends on its rate of supply to the ocean and its rate of removal. Elements enter the ocean from rivers, the atmosphere and hydrothermal vents. Elements are removed from ocean water by sinking and becoming buried in sediments or evaporating to the atmosphere in the case of water and some gases. By estimating the residence time of an element, oceanographers examine the balance of input and removal. Residence time is the average time the element would spend dissolved in the ocean before it is removed. Heavily abundant elements in ocean water such as sodium, have high input rates. This reflects high abundance in rocks and rapid rock weathering, paired with very slow removal from the ocean due to sodium ions being comparatively unreactive and highly soluble. In contrast, other elements such as iron and aluminium are abundant in rocks but very insoluble, meaning that inputs to the ocean are low and removal is rapid. These cycles represent part of the major global cycle of elements that has gone on since the Earth first formed. The residence times of the very abundant elements in the ocean are estimated to be millions of years, while for highly reactive and insoluble elements, residence times are only hundreds of years.[112]

Residence times of elements and ions[134][135]
Chemical element or ion Residence time (years)
Chloride (Cl) 100,000,000
Sodium (Na+) 68,000,000
Magnesium (Mg2+) 13,000,000
Potassium (K+) 12,000,000
Sulfate (SO42−) 11,000,000
Calcium (Ca2+) 1,000,000
Carbonate (CO32−) 110,000
Silicon (Si) 20,000
Water (H2O) 4,100
Manganese (Mn) 1,300
Aluminum (Al) 600
Iron (Fe) 200

Nutrients

 
North Atlantic
gyre
North Atlantic
gyre
North Atlantic
gyre
Indian
Ocean
gyre
North
Pacific
gyre
South
Pacific
gyre
South Atlantic
        gyre
 
Ocean gyres rotate clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south

A few elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and potassium essential for life, are major components of biological material, and are commonly known as "nutrients". Nitrate and phosphate have ocean residence times of 10,000[136] and 69,000[137] years, respectively, while potassium is a much more abundant ion in the ocean with a residence time of 12 million[138] years. The biological cycling of these elements means that this represents a continuous removal process from the ocean's water column as degrading organic material sinks to the ocean floor as sediment.

Phosphate from intensive agriculture and untreated sewage is transported via runoff to rivers and coastal zones to the ocean where it is metabolized. Eventually, it sinks to the ocean floor and is no longer available to humans as a commercial resource.[139] Production of rock phosphate, an essential ingredient in inorganic fertilizer,[140] is a slow geological process that occurs in some of the world's ocean sediments, rendering mineable sedimentary apatite (phosphate) a non-renewable resource (see peak phosphorus). This continual net deposition loss of non-renewable phosphate from human activities, may become a resource issue for fertilizer production and food security in future.[141][142]

Marine life

 
Some representative ocean animals (not drawn to scale) within their approximate depth-defined ecological habitats. Marine microorganisms also exist on the surfaces and within the tissues and organs of the diverse life inhabiting the ocean, across all ocean habitats. The animals rooted to or living on the ocean floor are not pelagic but are benthic animals.[143]

Life within the ocean evolved 3 billion years prior to life on land. Both the depth and the distance from shore strongly influence the biodiversity of the plants and animals present in each region.[144] The diversity of life in the ocean is immense, including:

 
Killer whales (orcas) are highly visible marine apex predators that hunt many large species. But most biological activity in the ocean takes place with microscopic marine organisms that cannot be seen individually with the naked eye, such as marine bacteria and phytoplankton.[145]

Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. Marine organisms, mostly microorganisms, produce oxygen and sequester carbon. Marine life in part shape and protect shorelines, and some marine organisms even help create new land (e.g. coral building reefs).

Marine species range in size from the microscopic like phytoplankton, which can be as small as 0.02 micrometres, to huge cetaceans like the blue whale – the largest known animal, reaching 33 m (108 ft) in length.[146][147] Marine microorganisms, including protists and bacteria and their associated viruses, have been variously estimated as constituting about 70%[148] or about 90%[149][145] of the total marine biomass. Marine life is studied scientifically in both marine biology and in biological oceanography. The term marine comes from the Latin mare, meaning "sea" or "ocean".
A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term marine comes from the Latin mare, meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species.[150] The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats.
 
Coral reefs form complex marine ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity.
Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply[151][152] and 90% of habitable space on Earth.[153] Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems.[154] Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.

Human uses of the oceans

 
Global map of all Exclusive Economic Zones

The ocean has been linked to human activity throughout history. These activities serve a wide variety of purposes, including navigation and exploration, naval warfare, travel, shipping and trade, food production (e.g. fishing, whaling, seaweed farming, aquaculture), leisure (cruising, sailing, recreational boat fishing, scuba diving), power generation (see marine energy and offshore wind power), extractive industries (offshore drilling and deep sea mining), freshwater production via desalination.

Many of the world's goods are moved by ship between the world's seaports.[155] Large quantities of goods are transported across the ocean, especially across the Atlantic and around the Pacific Rim.[156] Many types of cargo including manufactured goods, are typically transported in standard sized, lockable containers that are loaded on purpose-built container ships at dedicated terminals.[157] Containerization greatly boosted the efficiency and reduced the cost of shipping products by sea. This was a major factor in the rise of globalization and exponential increases in international trade in the mid-to-late 20th century.[158]

Oceans are also the major supply source for the fishing industry. Some of the major harvests are shrimp, fish, crabs, and lobster.[59] The biggest global commercial fishery is for anchovies, Alaska pollock and tuna.[159]: 6  A report by FAO in 2020 stated that "in 2017, 34 percent of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries were classified as overfished".[159]: 54  Fish and other fishery products from both wild fisheries and aquaculture are among the most widely consumed sources of protein and other essential nutrients. Data in 2017 showed that "fish consumption accounted for 17 percent of the global population's intake of animal proteins".[159] To fulfill this need, coastal countries have exploited marine resources in their exclusive economic zone. Fishing vessels are increasingly venturing out to exploit stocks in international waters.[160]

The ocean has a vast amount of energy carried by ocean waves, tides, salinity differences, and ocean temperature differences which can be harnessed to generate electricity.[161] Forms of sustainable marine energy include tidal power, ocean thermal energy and wave power.[161][162] Offshore wind power is captured by wind turbines placed out on the ocean; it has the advantage that wind speeds are higher than on land, though wind farms are more costly to construct offshore.[163] There are large deposits of petroleum, as oil and natural gas, in rocks beneath the ocean floor. Offshore platforms and drilling rigs extract the oil or gas and store it for transport to land.[164]

"Freedom of the seas" is a principle in international law dating from the seventeenth century. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans and disapproves of war fought in international waters.[165] Today, this concept is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).[165]

The International Maritime Organization and the United Nations are the two major international legal organizations involved in global ocean governance. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which was ratified in 1958, is mainly responsible for maritime safety, liability and compensation, and has held some conventions on marine pollution related to shipping incidents. Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions and affairs regarding the world's oceans.[166]

Threats from human activities

 
Global cumulative human impact on the ocean[167]

Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through many negative influences, such as marine pollution (including marine debris and microplastics) overfishing, ocean acidification and other effects of climate change on oceans.

Climate change

There are many effects of climate change on oceans. One of the main ones is an increase in ocean temperatures. More frequent marine heatwaves are linked to this. The rising temperature contributes to a rise in sea levels. Other effects include ocean acidification, sea ice decline, increased ocean stratification and reductions in oxygen levels. Changes to ocean currents including a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation are another important effect.[95] All these changes have knock-on effects which disturb marine ecosystems. The main cause of these changes is climate change due to human emissions of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide and methane are examples of greenhouse gases. This leads to ocean warming, because the ocean takes up most of the additional heat in the climate system.[168] The ocean absorbs some of the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This causes the pH value of the ocean to drop.[169] Scientists estimate that the ocean absorbs about 25% of all human-caused CO2 emissions.[169]

Ocean temperature stratification is the difference in temperature between the various layers of the ocean. It increases as the ocean surface warms due to rising air temperatures.[170]: 471  The decline in mixing of the ocean layers stabilizes warm water near the surface. It also reduces cold, deep water circulation. The reduced vertical mixing makes it harder for the ocean to absorb heat. So a larger share of future warming goes into the atmosphere and land. One result is an increase in the amount of energy available for tropical cyclones and other storms. Another result is a decrease in nutrients for fish in the upper ocean layers. These changes also reduce the ocean's capacity to store carbon.[171] At the same time, contrasts in salinity are increasing. Salty areas are becoming saltier and fresher areas less salty.[172]

Warmer water cannot contain the same amount of oxygen as cold water. As a result, oxygen from the oceans moves to the atmosphere. Increased thermal stratification may reduce the supply of oxygen from surface waters to deeper waters. This lowers the water's oxygen content even more.[173] The ocean has already lost oxygen throughout its water column. Oxygen minimum zones are expanding worldwide.[170]: 471 

These changes harm marine ecosystems, which can accelerate species extinctions[174] or cause population explosions, altering species distribution.[95] This also affects coastal fishing and tourism. Rising water temperatures will also harm various oceanic ecosystems, such as coral reefs. The direct effect is coral bleaching on these reefs, which are sensitive to even minor temperature changes, so a small increase in temperature could have a significant impact in these environments. Ocean acidification and temperature rise will also affect the productivity and distribution of species within the ocean, threatening fisheries and upsetting marine ecosystems. Loss of sea ice habitats due to warming will severely impact the many polar species that rely on it. The interactions between many of these climate change factors increase pressures on the climate system and ocean ecosystems.[95]

Marine pollution

Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. The majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity, although marine transportation significantly contributes as well.[175] It is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide.[176]Since most inputs come from land, either via the rivers, sewage or the atmosphere, it means that continental shelves are more vulnerable to pollution. Air pollution is also a contributing factor by carrying off iron, carbonic acid, nitrogen, silicon, sulfur, pesticides or dust particles into the ocean.[177] The pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff, wind-blown debris, and dust. These nonpoint sources are largely due to runoff that enters the ocean through rivers, but wind-blown debris and dust can also play a role, as these pollutants can settle into waterways and oceans.[178] Pathways of pollution include direct discharge, land runoff, ship pollution, bilge pollution, atmospheric pollution and, potentially, deep sea mining.

The types of marine pollution can be grouped as pollution from marine debris, plastic pollution, including microplastics, ocean acidification, nutrient pollution, toxins and underwater noise. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a type of marine pollution by plastics, ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Plastic pollution is harmful to marine life.

Plastic pollution

Marine plastic pollution (or plastic pollution in the ocean) is a type of marine pollution by plastics, ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic.[179][180] Microplastics and nanoplastics result from the breakdown or photodegradation of plastic waste in surface waters, rivers or oceans. Recently, scientists have uncovered nanoplastics in heavy snow, more specifically about 3,000 tons that cover Switzerland yearly.[181]

It is estimated that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013, assuming that 1.4% of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there.[182] Global "consumption" of plastics is estimated to be 300 million tonnes per year as of 2022, with around 8 million tonnes ending up in the oceans as macroplastics.[183][184] Approximately 1.5 million tonnes of primary microplastics end up in the seas. Around 98% of this volume is created by land-based activities, with the remaining 2% being generated by sea-based activities.[184][185][186] It is estimated that 19–23 million tonnes of plastic leaks into aquatic ecosystems annually.[187] The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference estimated that the oceans might contain more weight in plastics than fish by the year 2050.[188]

 
 
A woman and a boy collecting plastic waste at a beach during a cleanup exercise

Overfishing

Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems.[189] Types of overfishing include: growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, ecosystem overfishing.

Protection

Ocean protection serves to safeguard the ecosystems in the oceans upon which humans depend.[190][191] Protecting these ecosystems from threats is a major component of environmental protection. One of protective measures is the creation and enforcement of marine protected areas (MPAs). Marine protection may need to be considered within a national, regional and international context.[192] Other measures include supply chain transparency requirement policies, policies to prevent marine pollution, ecosystem-assistance (e.g. for coral reefs) and support for sustainable seafood (e.g. sustainable fishing practices and types of aquaculture). There is also the protection of marine resources and components whose extraction or disturbance would cause substantial harm, engagement of broader publics and impacted communities,[193] and the development of ocean clean-up projects (removal of marine plastic pollution). Examples of the latter include Clean Oceans International and The Ocean Cleanup.

In 2021, 43 expert scientists published the first scientific framework version that – via integration, review, clarifications and standardization – enables the evaluation of levels of protection of marine protected areas and can serve as a guide for any subsequent efforts to improve, plan and monitor marine protection quality and extents. Examples are the efforts towards the 30%-protection-goal of the "Global Deal For Nature"[194] and the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 14 ("life below water").[195][196]

In March 2023 a High Seas Treaty was signed. It is legally binding. The main achievement is the new possibility to create marine protected areas in international waters. By doing so the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 (part of the 30 by 30 target).[197][198] The treaty has articles regarding the principle "polluter-pays", and different impacts of human activities including areas beyond the national jurisdiction of the countries making those activities. The agreement was adopted by the 193 United Nations Member States.[199]

See also

References

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External links

  • FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Fisheries Division
  • NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (United States)
  • United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030)

ocean, this, article, about, natural, science, aspects, earth, oceans, well, threats, from, human, activities, more, human, experience, history, culture, oceans, other, uses, disambiguation, ocean, also, known, world, ocean, body, salt, water, that, covers, ap. This article is about natural science aspects of Earth s oceans as well as threats from human activities For more on human experience history and culture of oceans see Sea For other uses see Ocean disambiguation The ocean also known as the sea or the world ocean is a body of salt water that covers approximately 70 8 of the Earth and contains 97 of Earth s water 9 The term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided 10 Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean Pacific the largest Atlantic Indian Antarctic Southern and Arctic the smallest 11 12 Seawater covers approximately 361 000 000 km2 139 000 000 sq mi of the planet The ocean is the primary component of the Earth s hydrosphere and thus 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 World OceanMap of Earth centered on its ocean showing the different ocean divisions showing its thermohaline water circulationCoordinates47 13 S 178 28 E 47 217 S 178 467 E 47 217 178 467 center of the water hemisphere 1 near New Zealand s Bounty Islands in the South Pacific Ocean Basin countriesList of countries by length of coastlineSurface area361 000 000 km2 139 382 879 sq mi 71 of Earth s surface area 2 Average depth3 688 km 2 mi 3 Max depth11 034 km 7 mi Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Mariana Trench 4 Water volume1 370 000 000 km3 328 680 479 cu mi 2 97 5 of Earth s water Shore length1Low interval calculation 356 000 km 221 208 mi 5 High interval calculation 1 634 701 km 1 015 756 mi 6 Max temperature30 C 86 F max at the surface 20 C 68 F average at the surface 4 C 39 F temperature at average depths 7 8 Min temperature 2 C 28 F min at the surface 1 C 34 F min at the deepest points of the ocean 7 8 IslandsList of islandsSections sub basinsMain divisions Pacific Ocean 50 1 of vol Atlantic Ocean 23 3 of vol Indian Ocean 19 8 of vol Antarctic Southern Ocean 5 4 of vol Arctic Ocean 1 4 of vol Other divisions Marginal seasTrenchesList of oceanic trenchesSettlementsList of ports1 Shore length is not a well defined measure The ocean s atmospheric surface Oceanographers 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 the surface and is defined to be the depth at which light intensity is only 1 of the surface value 13 36 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 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 14 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 a depth of a few hundred meters or less Human activity often has negative impacts on the ecosystems 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 the ocean deep ocean temperatures range between 2 C 28 F and 5 C 41 F 15 Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents These directed movements of seawater are caused by forces operating on the water such as temperature variations atmospheric circulation wind the Coriolis effect and salinity changes 16 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 Currents transport massive amounts of water and heat around the world By transporting these pollutants from the surface into the deep ocean this circulation impacts global climate and the uptake and redistribution of pollutants such as carbon dioxide Ocean water contains a high concentration of dissolved gases including oxygen carbon dioxide and nitrogen This gas exchange occurs at the ocean s surface and solubility depends on the temperature and salinity of the water 17 Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rises due to fossil fuel combustion which causes higher levels in ocean water resulting in ocean acidification 18 The ocean provides crucial environmental services to humankind such as climate regulation It also provides a means of trade and transport as well as access to food and other resources It is known to be the habitat of over 230 000 species but may hold considerably more perhaps over two million species 19 However the ocean faces numerous human caused environmental threats such as marine pollution overfishing and effects of climate change on oceans such as ocean warming ocean acidification and sea level rise The continental shelf and coastal waters that are most affected by human activity are particularly vulnerable Contents 1 Terminology 1 1 Ocean and sea 1 2 World ocean 1 3 Etymology 2 Natural history 2 1 Origin of water 2 2 Ocean formation 3 Geography 3 1 Oceanic divisions 3 2 Ocean basins 4 Physical properties 4 1 Color 4 2 Water cycle weather and rainfall 4 3 Waves and swell 4 4 Sea level and surface 4 5 Tides 4 6 Depth 4 7 Oceanic zones 4 7 1 Grouped by light penetration 4 7 2 Grouped by depth and temperature 4 7 3 Grouped by distance from land 4 8 Volumes 4 9 Temperature 4 10 Temperature and salinity by region 4 11 Sea ice 4 12 Ocean currents and global climate 4 12 1 Types of ocean currents 4 12 2 Relationship of currents and climate 5 Chemical properties 5 1 Salinity 5 2 Dissolved gases 5 3 Oxygen photosynthesis and carbon cycling 5 4 pH 5 5 Alkalinity 5 6 Residence times of chemical elements and ions 5 7 Nutrients 6 Marine life 7 Human uses of the oceans 8 Threats from human activities 8 1 Climate change 8 2 Marine pollution 8 2 1 Plastic pollution 8 3 Overfishing 9 Protection 10 See also 11 References 12 External linksTerminologyOcean and sea The terms the ocean or the sea used without specification refer to the interconnected body of salt water covering the majority of the Earth s surface 11 12 It includes the Atlantic Pacific Indian Antarctic Southern and Arctic Oceans 20 As a general term the ocean and the sea are often interchangeable although speakers of British English refer to the sea in all cases 21 dubious discuss even when the body of water is one of the oceans Strictly speaking a sea is a body of water generally a division of the world ocean partly or fully enclosed by land 22 The word sea can also be used for many specific much smaller bodies of seawater such as 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 23 World ocean World Ocean redirects here Not to be confused with Ocean World 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 the Earth 24 25 The global interconnected body of salt water is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean global ocean or the great ocean 26 27 28 The concept of a continuous body of water with relatively unrestricted exchange between its components is critical in oceanography 29 Etymology The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity Oceanus oʊ ˈ s iː e n e s Greek Ὠkeanos Ōkeanos 30 pronounced ɔːkeanos 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 Ōkeanos has an Indo European connection Greek Ōkeanos has been compared to the Vedic epithet a sayana predicated of the dragon Vṛtra who captured the cows rivers Related to this notion the Okeanos is represented with a dragon tail on some early Greek vases 31 Natural historyFurther information List of ancient oceans Origin of water Further information Origin of water on Earth Scientists believe that a sizable quantity of water would have been in the material that formed Earth 32 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 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 33 The early oceans might have been significantly hotter than today and appeared green due to high iron content 34 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 was recovered from the Isua Greenstone Belt and provides evidence that water existed on Earth 3 8 billion years ago 35 In the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt Quebec Canada rocks dated at 3 8 billion years old by one study 36 and 4 28 billion years old by another 37 show evidence of the presence of water at these ages 35 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 the oceans may have always been on the Earth since the beginning of the planet s formation 38 39 40 In this model atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70 of its current luminosity 41 Ocean formation Main article Paleoceanography nbsp The ocean covers 70 of the Earth sometimes called the blue planet or an ocean worldThe 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 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 42 During colder climatic periods more ice caps and glaciers form and enough of the global water supply accumulates as ice to lessen 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 the oceans could have been up to 50 m 165 ft higher 43 GeographyFurther information Water distribution on Earth nbsp World map of the five ocean model with approximate boundariesThe entire ocean containing 97 of Earth s water spans 70 8 of Earth s surface 9 making it Earth s global ocean or world ocean 24 26 This makes Earth along with its vibrant hydrosphere a water world 44 45 or ocean world 46 47 particularly in Earth s early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly covered Earth completely 42 The ocean s shape 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 km2 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 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 48 Oceanic divisions Further information Borders of the oceans 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 is customarily divided into five principal oceans listed below in descending order of area and volume Oceans by size Ocean Location Area km2 Volume km3 Avg depth m Coastline km 49 1 Pacific Ocean Between Asia and Australasia and the Americas 50 168 723 000 46 6 669 880 000 50 1 3 970 135 663 35 9 2 Atlantic Ocean Between the Americas and Europe and Africa 51 85 133 000 23 5 310 410 900 23 3 3 646 111 866 29 6 3 Indian Ocean Between southern Asia Africa and Australia 52 70 560 000 19 5 264 000 000 19 8 3 741 66 526 17 6 4 Antarctic Southern Ocean Between Antarctica and the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceans Sometimes considered an extension of those three oceans 53 54 21 960 000 6 1 71 800 000 5 4 3 270 17 968 4 8 5 Arctic Ocean Between northern North America and Eurasia in the Arctic Sometimes considered a marginal sea of the Atlantic 55 56 57 15 558 000 4 3 18 750 000 1 4 1 205 45 389 12 0 Total 361 900 000 100 1 335 10 9 100 3 688 377 412 100 NB Volume area and average depth figures include NOAA ETOPO1 figures for marginal South China Sea Sources Encyclopedia of Earth 50 51 52 53 57 International Hydrographic Organization 54 Regional Oceanography an Introduction Tomczak 2005 55 Encyclopaedia Britannica 56 and the International Telecommunication Union 49 Ocean basins Further information List of submarine topographical features nbsp Bathymetry of the ocean floor showing the continental shelves and oceanic plateaus red the mid ocean ridges yellow green and the abyssal plains blue to purple 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 Every ocean basin has 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 58 Oceanographers state that less than 20 of the oceans have been mapped 59 Physical propertiesColor nbsp Ocean chlorophyll concentration is a proxy for phytoplankton biomass In this map blue colors represent lower chlorophyll and reds represent higher chlorophyll Satellite measured chlorophyll is estimated based on ocean color by how green the color of the water appears from space This section is an excerpt from Ocean color edit Most of the ocean is blue in color but in some places the ocean is blue green green or even yellow to brown 60 Blue ocean color is a result of several factors First water preferentially absorbs red light which means that blue light remains and 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 61 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 the very clearest ocean water 62 and is similar to blue light scattering in the sky The main substances that affect the color of the ocean include dissolved organic matter living phytoplankton with chlorophyll pigments and non living particles like marine snow and mineral sediments 63 Chlorophyll can be measured by satellite observations and serves as a proxy for ocean productivity marine primary productivity in surface waters In long term composite satellite images regions with high ocean productivity show up in yellow and green colors because they contain more green phytoplankton whereas areas of low productivity show up in blue Water cycle weather and rainfall Further information Effects of climate change on the water cycle and Water distribution on Earth nbsp The ocean is a major driver of Earth s water cycle 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 64 Oceans have a significant effect on the biosphere The ocean as a whole is thought to cover approximately 90 of the Earth s biosphere 59 Oceanic evaporation as a phase of the water cycle is the source of most rainfall about 90 64 causing a global cloud cover of 67 and a consistent oceanic cloud cover of 72 65 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 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 Waves and swell source source Movement of water as waves passMain articles Wind wave and Swell ocean 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 the interface between water and air is called swell a term used in sailing surfing and navigation 66 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 a gentle breeze on a pond causes ripples to form A strong blow 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 the ocean 67 83 84 68 69 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 68 Constructive interference can lead to the formation of unusually high rogue waves 70 Most waves are less than 3 m 10 ft high 70 and it is not unusual for strong storms to double or triple that height 71 Rogue waves however have been documented at heights above 25 meters 82 ft 72 73 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 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 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 70 This rushes in a sheet up the beach before retreating into the ocean under the influence of gravity 74 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 75 76 Sea level and surface Further information Sea level and Sea level rise The ocean s surface 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 the ocean on land and air All these processes and components together make up ocean surface ecosystems Tides Main article Tide nbsp High tide and low tide in the Bay of Fundy Canada 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 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 77 despite the latter s much stronger gravitational force on Earth Earth s tidal forces upon 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 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 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 the intertidal zone The difference in height between the high tide and low tide is known as the tidal range or tidal amplitude 78 79 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 78 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 80 Some of the largest tidal ranges in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay in Canada reaching up to 16 meters 81 Other locations with record high tidal ranges include the Bristol Channel between England and Wales Cook Inlet in Alaska and the Rio Gallegos in Argentina 82 Tides are not to be confused with storm surges which can occur when high winds pile water up against the coast in a shallow area and this coupled with a low pressure system can raise the surface of the ocean dramatically above a typical high tide Depth Further information Bathymetry The average depth of the oceans is about 4 km More precisely the average depth is 3 688 meters 12 100 ft 68 Nearly half of the world s marine waters are over 3 000 meters 9 800 ft deep 28 Deep ocean which is anything below 200 meters 660 ft covers about 66 of Earth s surface 83 This figure does not include seas not connected to 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 84 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 the bottom of the trench manned by a crew of two men Oceanic zones Further information Ocean stratification nbsp The major oceanic zones based on depth and biophysical conditionsOceanographers 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 Grouped by light penetration Further information Photic zone Mesopelagic zone and Aphotic zone The ocean zones can be grouped by light penetration into from top to bottom the photic zone the mesopelagic zone and the aphotic deep ocean zone The photic zone is defined to be the depth at which light intensity is only 1 of the surface value 13 36 This is usually up to a depth of approximately 200 m in the open ocean It is the region where photosynthesis can occur and is therefore the most biodiverse Photosynthesis by plants and microscopic algae free floating phytoplankton allows the creation of organic matter from chemical precursors including water and carbon dioxide This organic matter can then be consumed by other creatures Much of the organic matter created in the photic zone is consumed there but some sinks into deeper waters The pelagic part of the photic zone is known as the epipelagic 85 The actual optics of light reflecting and penetrating at the ocean surface are complex 13 34 39 Below the photic zone is the mesopelagic or twilight zone where there is a very small amount of light The basic concept is that with that little light photosynthesis is unlikely to achieve any net growth over respiration 13 116 124 Below that is the aphotic deep ocean to which no surface sunlight at all penetrates Life that exists deeper than the photic zone must either rely on material sinking from above see marine snow or find another energy source Hydrothermal vents are a source of energy in what is known as the aphotic zone depths exceeding 200 m 85 Grouped by depth and temperature The pelagic part of the aphotic zone can be further divided into vertical regions according to depth and temperature 85 The mesopelagic is the uppermost region Its lowermost boundary is at a thermocline of 12 C 54 F which generally lies at 700 1 000 meters 2 300 3 300 ft in the tropics Next is the bathypelagic lying between 10 and 4 C 50 and 39 F typically between 700 1 000 meters 2 300 3 300 ft and 2 000 4 000 meters 6 600 13 100 ft Lying along the top of the abyssal plain is the abyssopelagic whose lower boundary lies at about 6 000 meters 20 000 ft The last and deepest zone is the hadalpelagic which includes the oceanic trench and lies between 6 000 11 000 meters 20 000 36 000 ft The benthic zones are aphotic and correspond to the three deepest zones of the deep sea The bathyal zone covers the continental slope down to about 4 000 meters 13 000 ft The abyssal zone covers the abyssal plains between 4 000 and 6 000 m Lastly the hadal zone corresponds to the hadalpelagic zone which is found in oceanic trenches 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 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 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 86 If a zone undergoes dramatic changes in salinity with depth it contains 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 85 The halocline often coincides with the thermocline and the combination produces a pronounced pycnocline a boundary between less dense surface water and dense deep water Grouped by distance from land The pelagic zone can be further subdivided into two sub regions based on distance from land the neritic zone and the oceanic zone The neritic zone covers the water directly above the continental shelves including coastal waters On the other hand the oceanic zone includes all the completely open water The littoral zone covers the region between low and high tide and represents the transitional area between marine and terrestrial conditions It is also known as the intertidal zone because it is the area where tide level affects the conditions of the region 85 VolumesThe combined volume of water in all the oceans is roughly 1 335 billion cubic kilometers 1 335 sextillion liters 320 3 million cubic miles 68 87 88 This section is an excerpt from Hydrosphere edit It has been estimated that there are 1 386 billion cubic kilometres 333 million cubic miles of water on Earth 89 90 91 This includes water in gaseous liquid and frozen forms as soil moisture groundwater and permafrost in the Earth s crust to a depth of 2 km oceans and seas lakes rivers and streams wetlands glaciers ice and snow cover on Earth s surface vapour droplets and crystals in the air and part of living plants animals and unicellular organisms of the biosphere Saltwater accounts for 97 5 of this amount whereas fresh water accounts for only 2 5 Of this fresh water 68 9 is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Arctic the Antarctic and mountain glaciers 30 8 is in the form of fresh groundwater and only 0 3 of the fresh water on Earth is in easily accessible lakes reservoirs and river systems 92 The total mass of Earth s hydrosphere is about 1 4 1018 tonnes which is about 0 023 of Earth s total mass At any given time about 2 1013 tonnes of this is in the form of water vapor in the Earth s atmosphere for practical purposes 1 cubic metre of water weighs 1 tonne Approximately 71 of Earth s surface an area of some 361 million square kilometres 139 5 million square miles is covered by ocean The average salinity of Earth s oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water 3 5 93 Temperature Main articles Ocean stratification Ocean heat content and Photic zone Ocean temperatures depends on the amount of solar radiation falling on its surface In the tropics with the Sun nearly overhead the temperature of the surface layers can rise to over 30 C 86 F while near the poles the temperature in equilibrium with the sea ice is about 2 C 28 F There is a continuous circulation of water in the oceans Warm surface currents cool as they move away from the tropics and the water becomes denser and sinks The cold water moves back towards the equator as a deep sea current driven by changes in the temperature and density of the water before eventually welling up again towards the surface Deep ocean water has a temperature between 2 C 28 F and 5 C 41 F in all parts of the globe 15 The temperature gradient over the water depth is related to the way the surface water mixes with deeper water or does not mix a lack of mixing is called ocean stratification This depends on the temperature in the tropics the warm surface layer of about 100 m is quite stable and does not mix much with deeper water while near the poles winter cooling and storms makes the surface layer denser and it mixes to great depth and then stratifies again in summer The photic depth is typically about 100 m but varies and is related to this heated surface layer 94 This section is an excerpt from Effects of climate change on oceans Rising ocean temperature edit It is clear that the ocean is warming as a result of climate change and this rate of warming is increasing 95 9 The global ocean was the warmest it had ever been recorded by humans in 2022 96 This is determined by the ocean heat content which exceeded the previous 2021 maximum in 2022 96 The steady rise in ocean temperatures is an unavoidable result of the Earth s energy imbalance which is primarily caused by rising levels of greenhouse gases 96 Between pre industrial times and the 2011 2020 decade the ocean s surface has heated between 0 68 and 1 01 C 97 1214 Temperature and salinity by region The temperature and salinity of ocean waters vary significantly across different regions This is due to differences in the local water balance precipitation vs evaporation and the sea to air temperature gradients These characteristics can vary widely from one ocean region to another The table below provides an illustration of the sort of values usually encountered General characteristics of ocean surface waters by region 98 99 100 101 102 Characteristic Polar regions Temperate regions Tropical regionsPrecipitation vs evaporation Precip gt Evap Precip gt Evap Evap gt PrecipSea surface temperature in winter 2 C 5 to 20 C 20 to 25 CAverage salinity 28 to 32 35 35 to 37 Annual variation of air temperature 40 C 10 C lt 5 CAnnual variation of water temperature lt 5 C 10 C lt 5 CSea ice Main articles Sea ice and Arctic sea ice decline Seawater with a typical salinity of 35 has a freezing point of about 1 8 C 28 8 F 85 103 Because sea ice is less dense than water it floats on the ocean s surface as does fresh water ice which has an even lower density Sea ice covers about 7 of the Earth s surface and about 12 of the world s oceans 104 105 106 Sea ice usually starts to freeze at the very surface initially as a very thin ice film As further freezing takes place this ice film thickens and can form ice sheets The ice formed incorporates some sea salt but much less than the seawater it forms from As the ice forms with low salinity this results in saltier residual seawater This in turn increases density and promotes vertical sinking of the water 107 Ocean currents and global climate Further information Ocean current Thermohaline circulation and Ocean general circulation model nbsp Ocean surface currents nbsp A map of the global thermohaline circulation blue represents deep water currents whereas red represents surface currents See also Effects of climate change on oceans Changing ocean currents Types of ocean currents An ocean current is a continuous directed flow of seawater caused by several forces acting upon the water These include wind the Coriolis effect temperature and salinity differences 16 Ocean currents are primarily horizontal water movements that have different origins such as tides for tidal currents or wind and waves for surface currents Tidal currents are in phase with the tide hence are quasiperiodic associated with the influence of the moon and sun pull on the ocean water Tidal currents may form various complex patterns in certain places most notably around headlands 108 Non periodic or non tidal currents are created by the action of winds and changes in density of water In littoral zones breaking waves are so intense and the depth measurement so low that maritime currents reach often 1 to 2 knots 109 The wind and waves create surface currents designated as drift currents These currents can decompose in one quasi permanent current which varies within the hourly scale and one movement of Stokes drift under the effect of rapid waves movement which vary on timescales of a couple of seconds The quasi permanent current is accelerated by the breaking of waves and in a lesser governing effect by the friction of the wind on the surface 109 This acceleration of the current takes place in the direction of waves and dominant wind Accordingly when the ocean depth increases the rotation of the earth changes the direction of currents in proportion with the increase of depth while friction lowers their speed At a certain ocean depth the current changes direction and is seen inverted in the opposite direction with current speed becoming null known as the Ekman spiral The influence of these currents is mainly experienced at the mixed layer of the ocean surface often from 400 to 800 meters of maximum depth These currents can considerably change and are dependent on the yearly seasons If the mixed layer is less thick 10 to 20 meters the quasi permanent current at the surface can adopt quite a different direction in relation to the direction of the wind In this case the water column becomes virtually homogeneous above the thermocline 109 The wind blowing on the ocean surface will set the water in motion The global pattern of winds also called atmospheric circulation creates a global pattern of ocean currents These are driven not only by the wind but also by the effect of the circulation of the earth coriolis force These major ocean currents include the Gulf Stream Kuroshio current Agulhas current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current The Antarctic Circumpolar Current encircles Antarctica and influences the area s climate connecting currents in several oceans 109 Relationship of currents and climate Main article Atlantic meridional overturning circulation nbsp Map of the Gulf Stream a major ocean current that transports heat from the equator to northern latitudes and moderates the climate of Europe Collectively currents move enormous amounts of water and heat around the globe influencing climate These wind driven currents are largely confined to the top hundreds of meters of the ocean At greater depth the thermohaline circulation Atlantic meridional overturning circulation AMOC which is part of a global thermoholine circulation drives water motion The AMOC is driven by the cooling of surface waters in the polar latitudes in the north and south creating dense water which sinks to the bottom of the ocean This cold and dense water moves slowly away from the poles which is why the waters in the deepest layers of the world ocean are so cold This deep ocean water circulation is relatively slow and water at the bottom of the ocean can be isolated from the ocean surface and atmosphere for hundreds or even a few thousand years 109 This circulation has important impacts on global climate and the uptake and redistribution of pollutants such as carbon dioxide by moving these contaminants from the surface into the deep ocean Ocean currents greatly affect Earth s climate by transferring heat from the tropics to the polar regions This affects air temperature and precipitation in coastal regions and further inland Surface heat and freshwater fluxes create global density gradients which drive the thermohaline circulation that is a part of large scale ocean circulation It plays an important role in supplying heat to the polar regions and thus in sea ice regulation Oceans moderate the climate of locations where prevailing winds blow in from the ocean At similar latitudes a place on Earth with more influence from the ocean will have a more moderate climate than a place with more influence from land For example the cities San Francisco 37 8 N and New York 40 7 N have different climates because San Francisco has more influence from the ocean San Francisco on the west coast of North America gets winds from the west over the Pacific Ocean and the influence of the ocean water yields a more moderate climate with a warmer winter and a longer cooler summer with the warmest temperatures happening later in the year New York on the east coast of North America gets winds from the west over land so New York has colder winters and hotter earlier summers than San Francisco Warmer ocean currents yield warmer climates in the long term even at high latitudes At similar latitudes a place influenced by warm ocean currents will have a warmer climate overall than a place influenced by cold ocean currents French Riviera 43 5 N and Rockland Maine 44 1 N have same latitude but the French Riviera is influenced by warm waters transported by the Gulf Stream into the Mediterranean Sea and has a warmer climate overall Maine is influenced by cold waters transported south by the Labrador Current giving it a colder climate overall Changes in the thermohaline circulation are thought to have significant impacts on Earth s energy budget Because the thermohaline circulation determines the rate at which deep waters reach the surface it may also significantly influence atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations Modern observations climate simulations and paleoclimate reconstructions suggest that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation AMOC has weakened since the preindustrial era The latest climate change projections in 2021 suggest that the AMOC is likely to weaken further over the 21st century 110 19 Such a weakening could cause large changes to global climate with the North Atlantic particularly vulnerable 110 19 Chemical propertiesMain article Seawater Properties Salinity Further information Salinity Seawater and Seawater Salinity nbsp Annual mean sea surface salinity in practical salinity units psu from the World Ocean Atlas 111 Salinity is a measure of the total amounts of dissolved salts in seawater It was originally measured via measurement of the amount of chloride in seawater and hence termed chlorinity It is now standard practice to gauge it by measuring electrical conductivity of the water sample Salinity can be calculated using the chlorinity which is a measure of the total mass of halogen ions includes fluorine chlorine bromine and iodine in seawater According to an international agreement the following formula is used to determine salinity 112 Salinity in 1 80655 Chlorinity in The average ocean water chlorinity is about 19 2 and thus the average salinity is around 34 7 112 Salinity has a major influence on the density of seawater A zone of rapid salinity increase with depth is called a halocline As seawater s salt content increases so does the temperature at which its maximum density occurs Salinity affects both the freezing and boiling points of water with the boiling point increasing with salinity At atmospheric pressure 113 normal seawater freezes at a temperature of about 2 C Salinity is higher in Earth s oceans where there is more evaporation and lower where there is more precipitation If precipitation exceeds evaporation as is the case in polar and some temperate regions salinity will be lower Salinity will be higher if evaporation exceeds precipitation as is sometimes the case in tropical regions For example evaporation is greater than precipitation in the Mediterranean Sea which has an average salinity of 38 more saline than the global average of 34 7 114 Thus oceanic waters in polar regions have lower salinity content than oceanic waters in tropical regions 112 However when sea ice forms at high latitudes salt is excluded from the ice as it forms which can increase the salinity in the residual seawater in polar regions such as the Arctic Ocean 85 115 Due to the effects of climate change on oceans observations of sea surface salinity between 1950 and 2019 indicate that regions of high salinity and evaporation have become more saline while regions of low salinity and more precipitation have become fresher 116 It is very likely that the Pacific and Antarctic Southern Oceans have freshened while the Atlantic has become more saline 116 Dissolved gases nbsp Sea surface oxygen concentration in moles per cubic meter from the World Ocean Atlas 117 Ocean water contains large quantities of dissolved gases including oxygen carbon dioxide and nitrogen These dissolve into ocean water via gas exchange at the ocean surface with the solubility of these gases depending on the temperature and salinity of the water 17 The four most abundant gases in earth s atmosphere and oceans are nitrogen oxygen argon and carbon dioxide In the ocean by volume the most abundant gases dissolved in seawater are carbon dioxide including bicarbonate and carbonate ions 14 mL L on average nitrogen 9 mL L and oxygen 5 mL L at equilibrium at 24 C 75 F 118 119 120 All gases are more soluble more easily dissolved in colder water than in warmer water For example when salinity and pressure are held constant oxygen concentration in water almost doubles when the temperature drops from that of a warm summer day 30 C 86 F to freezing 0 C 32 F Similarly carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases are more soluble at colder temperatures and their solubility changes with temperature at different rates 118 121 Oxygen photosynthesis and carbon cycling Further information Marine biogeochemical cycles Ocean deoxygenation Oceanic carbon cycle and Biological pump nbsp Diagram of the ocean carbon cycle showing the relative size of stocks storage and fluxes 122 Photosynthesis in the surface ocean releases oxygen and consumes carbon dioxide Phytoplankton a type of microscopic free floating algae controls this process After the plants have grown oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide released as a result of bacterial decomposition of the organic matter created by photosynthesis in the ocean The sinking and bacterial decomposition of some organic matter in deep ocean water at depths where the waters are out of contact with the atmosphere leads to a reduction in oxygen concentrations and increase in carbon dioxide carbonate and bicarbonate 94 This cycling of carbon dioxide in oceans is an important part of the global carbon cycle The oceans represent a major carbon sink for carbon dioxide taken up from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and by dissolution see also carbon sequestration There is also increased attention on carbon dioxide uptake in coastal marine habitats such as mangroves and saltmarshes This process is often referred to as Blue carbon The focus is on these ecosystems because they are strong carbon sinks as well as ecologically important habitats under threat from human activities and environmental degradation As deep ocean water circulates throughout the globe it contains gradually less oxygen and gradually more carbon dioxide with more time away from the air at the surface This gradual decrease in oxygen concentration happens as sinking organic matter continuously gets decomposed during the time the water is out of contact with the atmosphere 94 Most of the deep waters of the ocean still contain relatively high concentrations of oxygen sufficient for most animals to survive However some ocean areas have very low oxygen due to long periods of isolation of the water from the atmosphere These oxygen deficient areas called oxygen minimum zones or hypoxic waters will generally be made worse by the effects of climate change on oceans 123 124 pH Further information pH Seawater Seawater pH and Ocean acidification The pH value at the surface of oceans global mean surface pH is currently approximately in the range of 8 05 125 to 8 08 126 This makes it slightly alkaline The pH value at the surface used to be about 8 2 during the past 300 million years 127 However between 1950 and 2020 the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8 15 to 8 05 128 Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of this process called ocean acidification with atmospheric carbon dioxide CO2 levels exceeding 410 ppm in 2020 129 CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans This produces carbonic acid H2CO3 which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion HCO 3 and a hydrogen ion H The presence of free hydrogen ions H lowers the pH of the ocean There is a natural gradient of pH in the ocean which is related to the breakdown of organic matter in deep water which slowly lowers the pH with depth The pH value of seawater is naturally as low as 7 8 in deep ocean waters as a result of degradation of organic matter there 130 It can be as high as 8 4 in surface waters in areas of high biological productivity 94 The definition of global mean surface pH refers to the top layer of the water in the ocean up to around 20 or 100 m depth In comparison the average depth of the ocean is about 4 km The pH value further down below lower than 100 m has not yet been affected by ocean acidification in the same way There is a large body of deeper water where the natural gradients of pH from 8 2 to about 7 8 still exists and it will take a very long to acidify these waters and equally a long time to recover from that acidification But as the top layer of the ocean the photic zone is crucial for its marine productivity any changes to the pH value and temperature of the top layer can have many knock on effects for example on marine life and ocean currents see also effects of climate change on oceans 94 The key issue in terms of the penetration of ocean acidification is the way the surface water mixes with deeper water or does not mix a lack of mixing is called ocean stratification This in turn depends on the water temperature and hence is different between the tropics and the polar regions see ocean Temperature 94 The chemical properties of seawater complicate pH measurement and several distinct pH scales exist in chemical oceanography 131 There is no universally accepted reference pH scale for seawater and the difference between measurements based on multiple reference scales may be up to 0 14 units 132 Alkalinity Further information Alkalinity Changes to oceanic alkalinity Alkalinity is the balance of base proton acceptors and acids proton donors in seawater or indeed any natural waters The alkalinity acts as a chemical buffer regulating the pH of seawater While there are many ions in seawater that can contribute to the alkalinity many of these are at very low concentrations This means that the carbonate bicarbonate and borate ions are the only significant contributors to seawater alkalinity in the open ocean with well oxygenated waters The first two of these ions contribute more than 95 of this alkalinity 94 The chemical equation for alkalinity in seawater is AT HCO3 2 CO32 B OH 4 The growth of phytoplankton in surface ocean waters leads to the conversion of some bicarbonate and carbonate ions into organic matter Some of this organic matter sinks into the deep ocean where it is broken down back into carbonate and bicarbonate This process is related to ocean productivity or marine primary production Thus alkalinity tends to increase with depth and also along the global thermohaline circulation from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian ocean although these increases are small The concentrations vary overall by only a few percent 94 130 The absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere does not affect the ocean s alkalinity 133 2252 It does lead to a reduction in pH value though termed ocean acidification 129 Residence times of chemical elements and ions nbsp Residence time of elements in the ocean depends on supply by processes like rock weathering and rivers vs removal by processes like evaporation and sedimentation The ocean waters contain many chemical elements as dissolved ions Elements dissolved in ocean waters have a wide range of concentrations Some elements have very high concentrations of several grams per liter such as sodium and chloride together making up the majority of ocean salts Other elements such as iron are present at tiny concentrations of just a few nanograms 10 9 grams per liter 112 The concentration of any element depends on its rate of supply to the ocean and its rate of removal Elements enter the ocean from rivers the atmosphere and hydrothermal vents Elements are removed from ocean water by sinking and becoming buried in sediments or evaporating to the atmosphere in the case of water and some gases By estimating the residence time of an element oceanographers examine the balance of input and removal Residence time is the average time the element would spend dissolved in the ocean before it is removed Heavily abundant elements in ocean water such as sodium have high input rates This reflects high abundance in rocks and rapid rock weathering paired with very slow removal from the ocean due to sodium ions being comparatively unreactive and highly soluble In contrast other elements such as iron and aluminium are abundant in rocks but very insoluble meaning that inputs to the ocean are low and removal is rapid These cycles represent part of the major global cycle of elements that has gone on since the Earth first formed The residence times of the very abundant elements in the ocean are estimated to be millions of years while for highly reactive and insoluble elements residence times are only hundreds of years 112 Residence times of elements and ions 134 135 Chemical element or ion Residence time years Chloride Cl 100 000 000Sodium Na 68 000 000Magnesium Mg2 13 000 000Potassium K 12 000 000Sulfate SO42 11 000 000Calcium Ca2 1 000 000Carbonate CO32 110 000Silicon Si 20 000Water H2O 4 100Manganese Mn 1 300Aluminum Al 600Iron Fe 200Nutrients See also Eutrophication Coastal waters nbsp North Atlantic gyre North Atlantic gyre North Atlantic gyre IndianOcean gyre NorthPacificgyre SouthPacificgyre South Atlantic gyre nbsp Ocean gyres rotate clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south A few elements such as nitrogen phosphorus iron and potassium essential for life are major components of biological material and are commonly known as nutrients Nitrate and phosphate have ocean residence times of 10 000 136 and 69 000 137 years respectively while potassium is a much more abundant ion in the ocean with a residence time of 12 million 138 years The biological cycling of these elements means that this represents a continuous removal process from the ocean s water column as degrading organic material sinks to the ocean floor as sediment Phosphate from intensive agriculture and untreated sewage is transported via runoff to rivers and coastal zones to the ocean where it is metabolized Eventually it sinks to the ocean floor and is no longer available to humans as a commercial resource 139 Production of rock phosphate an essential ingredient in inorganic fertilizer 140 is a slow geological process that occurs in some of the world s ocean sediments rendering mineable sedimentary apatite phosphate a non renewable resource see peak phosphorus This continual net deposition loss of non renewable phosphate from human activities may become a resource issue for fertilizer production and food security in future 141 142 Marine lifeMain articles Marine life Marine habitats Marine primary production Marine biology and Marine ecosystem nbsp Some representative ocean animals not drawn to scale within their approximate depth defined ecological habitats Marine microorganisms also exist on the surfaces and within the tissues and organs of the diverse life inhabiting the ocean across all ocean habitats The animals rooted to or living on the ocean floor are not pelagic but are benthic animals 143 Life within the ocean evolved 3 billion years prior to life on land Both the depth and the distance from shore strongly influence the biodiversity of the plants and animals present in each region 144 The diversity of life in the ocean is immense including Animals most animal phyla have species that inhabit the ocean including many that are found only in marine environments such as sponges Cnidaria such as corals and jellyfish comb jellies Brachiopods and Echinoderms such as sea urchins and sea stars Many other familiar animal groups primarily live in the ocean including cephalopods includes octopus and squid crustaceans includes lobsters crabs and shrimp fish sharks cetaceans includes whales dolphins and porpoises In addition many land animals have adapted to living a major part of their life on the oceans For instance seabirds are a diverse group of birds that have adapted to a life mainly on the oceans They feed on marine animals and spend most of their lifetime on water many going on land only for breeding Other birds that have adapted to oceans as their living space are penguins seagulls and pelicans Seven species of turtles the sea turtles also spend most of their time in the oceans Plants including sea grasses or mangroves Algae algae is a catch all term to include many photosynthetic single celled eukaryotes such as green algae diatoms and dinoflagellates but also multicellular algae such as some red algae including organisms like Pyropia which is the source of the edible nori seaweed and brown algae including organisms like kelp Bacteria ubiquitous single celled prokaryotes found throughout the world Archaea prokaryotes distinct from bacteria that inhabit many environments of the ocean as well as many extreme environments Fungi many marine fungi with diverse roles are found in oceanic environmentsThis section is an excerpt from Marine life edit This article contains too many pictures that are sandwiching text or an indiscriminate collection of image galleries for its overall length Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help to improve this article by removing or adjusting images in accordance with the Manual of Style on use of images Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Killer whales orcas are highly visible marine apex predators that hunt many large species But most biological activity in the ocean takes place with microscopic marine organisms that cannot be seen individually with the naked eye such as marine bacteria and phytoplankton 145 Marine life sea life or ocean life is the plants animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries At a fundamental level marine life affects the nature of the planet Marine organisms mostly microorganisms produce oxygen and sequester carbon Marine life in part shape and protect shorelines and some marine organisms even help create new land e g coral building reefs Marine species range in size from the microscopic like phytoplankton which can be as small as 0 02 micrometres to huge cetaceans like the blue whale the largest known animal reaching 33 m 108 ft in length 146 147 Marine microorganisms including protists and bacteria and their associated viruses have been variously estimated as constituting about 70 148 or about 90 149 145 of the total marine biomass Marine life is studied scientifically in both marine biology and in biological oceanography The term marine comes from the Latin mare meaning sea or ocean This section is an excerpt from Marine habitat edit A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea the term marine comes from the Latin mare meaning sea or ocean A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species 150 The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats This section is an excerpt from Marine ecosystem edit nbsp Coral reefs form complex marine ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth s aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems which have a lower salt content Marine waters cover more than 70 of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97 of Earth s water supply 151 152 and 90 of habitable space on Earth 153 Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems 154 Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales sharks and tuna live The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides Other near shore neritic zones can include mudflats seagrass meadows mangroves rocky intertidal systems salt marshes coral reefs lagoons In the deep water hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web Human uses of the oceansMain articles Sea Humans and the sea and The sea in culture nbsp Global map of all Exclusive Economic ZonesThe ocean has been linked to human activity throughout history These activities serve a wide variety of purposes including navigation and exploration naval warfare travel shipping and trade food production e g fishing whaling seaweed farming aquaculture leisure cruising sailing recreational boat fishing scuba diving power generation see marine energy and offshore wind power extractive industries offshore drilling and deep sea mining freshwater production via desalination Many of the world s goods are moved by ship between the world s seaports 155 Large quantities of goods are transported across the ocean especially across the Atlantic and around the Pacific Rim 156 Many types of cargo including manufactured goods are typically transported in standard sized lockable containers that are loaded on purpose built container ships at dedicated terminals 157 Containerization greatly boosted the efficiency and reduced the cost of shipping products by sea This was a major factor in the rise of globalization and exponential increases in international trade in the mid to late 20th century 158 Oceans are also the major supply source for the fishing industry Some of the major harvests are shrimp fish crabs and lobster 59 The biggest global commercial fishery is for anchovies Alaska pollock and tuna 159 6 A report by FAO in 2020 stated that in 2017 34 percent of the fish stocks of the world s marine fisheries were classified as overfished 159 54 Fish and other fishery products from both wild fisheries and aquaculture are among the most widely consumed sources of protein and other essential nutrients Data in 2017 showed that fish consumption accounted for 17 percent of the global population s intake of animal proteins 159 To fulfill this need coastal countries have exploited marine resources in their exclusive economic zone Fishing vessels are increasingly venturing out to exploit stocks in international waters 160 The ocean has a vast amount of energy carried by ocean waves tides salinity differences and ocean temperature differences which can be harnessed to generate electricity 161 Forms of sustainable marine energy include tidal power ocean thermal energy and wave power 161 162 Offshore wind power is captured by wind turbines placed out on the ocean it has the advantage that wind speeds are higher than on land though wind farms are more costly to construct offshore 163 There are large deposits of petroleum as oil and natural gas in rocks beneath the ocean floor Offshore platforms and drilling rigs extract the oil or gas and store it for transport to land 164 Freedom of the seas is a principle in international law dating from the seventeenth century It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans and disapproves of war fought in international waters 165 Today this concept is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS 165 The International Maritime Organization and the United Nations are the two major international legal organizations involved in global ocean governance The International Maritime Organization IMO which was ratified in 1958 is mainly responsible for maritime safety liability and compensation and has held some conventions on marine pollution related to shipping incidents Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy actions and affairs regarding the world s oceans 166 Threats from human activities nbsp Global cumulative human impact on the ocean 167 Further information Human impact on marine lifeHuman activities affect marine life and marine habitats through many negative influences such as marine pollution including marine debris and microplastics overfishing ocean acidification and other effects of climate change on oceans Climate change This section is an excerpt from Effects of climate change on oceans edit There are many effects of climate change on oceans One of the main ones is an increase in ocean temperatures More frequent marine heatwaves are linked to this The rising temperature contributes to a rise in sea levels Other effects include ocean acidification sea ice decline increased ocean stratification and reductions in oxygen levels Changes to ocean currents including a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation are another important effect 95 All these changes have knock on effects which disturb marine ecosystems The main cause of these changes is climate change due to human emissions of greenhouse gases Carbon dioxide and methane are examples of greenhouse gases This leads to ocean warming because the ocean takes up most of the additional heat in the climate system 168 The ocean absorbs some of the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere This causes the pH value of the ocean to drop 169 Scientists estimate that the ocean absorbs about 25 of all human caused CO2 emissions 169 Ocean temperature stratification is the difference in temperature between the various layers of the ocean It increases as the ocean surface warms due to rising air temperatures 170 471 The decline in mixing of the ocean layers stabilizes warm water near the surface It also reduces cold deep water circulation The reduced vertical mixing makes it harder for the ocean to absorb heat So a larger share of future warming goes into the atmosphere and land One result is an increase in the amount of energy available for tropical cyclones and other storms Another result is a decrease in nutrients for fish in the upper ocean layers These changes also reduce the ocean s capacity to store carbon 171 At the same time contrasts in salinity are increasing Salty areas are becoming saltier and fresher areas less salty 172 Warmer water cannot contain the same amount of oxygen as cold water As a result oxygen from the oceans moves to the atmosphere Increased thermal stratification may reduce the supply of oxygen from surface waters to deeper waters This lowers the water s oxygen content even more 173 The ocean has already lost oxygen throughout its water column Oxygen minimum zones are expanding worldwide 170 471 These changes harm marine ecosystems which can accelerate species extinctions 174 or cause population explosions altering species distribution 95 This also affects coastal fishing and tourism Rising water temperatures will also harm various oceanic ecosystems such as coral reefs The direct effect is coral bleaching on these reefs which are sensitive to even minor temperature changes so a small increase in temperature could have a significant impact in these environments Ocean acidification and temperature rise will also affect the productivity and distribution of species within the ocean threatening fisheries and upsetting marine ecosystems Loss of sea ice habitats due to warming will severely impact the many polar species that rely on it The interactions between many of these climate change factors increase pressures on the climate system and ocean ecosystems 95 Marine pollution This section is an excerpt from Marine pollution edit Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans such as industrial agricultural and residential waste particles noise excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there The majority of this waste 80 comes from land based activity although marine transportation significantly contributes as well 175 It is a combination of chemicals and trash most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean This pollution results in damage to the environment to the health of all organisms and to economic structures worldwide 176 Since most inputs come from land either via the rivers sewage or the atmosphere it means that continental shelves are more vulnerable to pollution Air pollution is also a contributing factor by carrying off iron carbonic acid nitrogen silicon sulfur pesticides or dust particles into the ocean 177 The pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff wind blown debris and dust These nonpoint sources are largely due to runoff that enters the ocean through rivers but wind blown debris and dust can also play a role as these pollutants can settle into waterways and oceans 178 Pathways of pollution include direct discharge land runoff ship pollution bilge pollution atmospheric pollution and potentially deep sea mining The types of marine pollution can be grouped as pollution from marine debris plastic pollution including microplastics ocean acidification nutrient pollution toxins and underwater noise Plastic pollution in the ocean is a type of marine pollution by plastics ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on or is suspended in the ocean Plastic pollution is harmful to marine life Plastic pollution This section is an excerpt from Marine plastic pollution edit Marine plastic pollution or plastic pollution in the ocean is a type of marine pollution by plastics ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on or is suspended in the ocean Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic 179 180 Microplastics and nanoplastics result from the breakdown or photodegradation of plastic waste in surface waters rivers or oceans Recently scientists have uncovered nanoplastics in heavy snow more specifically about 3 000 tons that cover Switzerland yearly 181 It is estimated that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013 assuming that 1 4 of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there 182 Global consumption of plastics is estimated to be 300 million tonnes per year as of 2022 with around 8 million tonnes ending up in the oceans as macroplastics 183 184 Approximately 1 5 million tonnes of primary microplastics end up in the seas Around 98 of this volume is created by land based activities with the remaining 2 being generated by sea based activities 184 185 186 It is estimated that 19 23 million tonnes of plastic leaks into aquatic ecosystems annually 187 The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference estimated that the oceans might contain more weight in plastics than fish by the year 2050 188 nbsp nbsp A woman and a boy collecting plastic waste at a beach during a cleanup exercise Overfishing This section is an excerpt from Overfishing edit Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish i e fishing from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally i e the overexploitation of the fishery s existing fish stock resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes such as ponds wetlands rivers lakes or oceans and can result in resource depletion reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself Some forms of overfishing such as the overfishing of sharks has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems 189 Types of overfishing include growth overfishing recruitment overfishing ecosystem overfishing ProtectionMain articles Marine conservation and marine protected area Ocean protection serves to safeguard the ecosystems in the oceans upon which humans depend 190 191 Protecting these ecosystems from threats is a major component of environmental protection One of protective measures is the creation and enforcement of marine protected areas MPAs Marine protection may need to be considered within a national regional and international context 192 Other measures include supply chain transparency requirement policies policies to prevent marine pollution ecosystem assistance e g for coral reefs and support for sustainable seafood e g sustainable fishing practices and types of aquaculture There is also the protection of marine resources and components whose extraction or disturbance would cause substantial harm engagement of broader publics and impacted communities 193 and the development of ocean clean up projects removal of marine plastic pollution Examples of the latter include Clean Oceans International and The Ocean Cleanup In 2021 43 expert scientists published the first scientific framework version that via integration review clarifications and standardization enables the evaluation of levels of protection of marine protected areas and can serve as a guide for any subsequent efforts to improve plan and monitor marine protection quality and extents Examples are the efforts towards the 30 protection goal of the Global Deal For Nature 194 and the UN s Sustainable Development Goal 14 life below water 195 196 In March 2023 a High Seas Treaty was signed It is legally binding The main achievement is the new possibility to create marine protected areas in international waters By doing so the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30 of the oceans by 2030 part of the 30 by 30 target 197 198 The treaty has articles regarding the principle polluter pays and different impacts of human activities 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Rachel What to know about the new U N high seas treaty and the next steps for the accord NPR Retrieved March 9 2023 Flores Gaby How people power helped protect the oceans Greenpeace Retrieved March 9 2023 Hemingway Jaynes Cristen June 20 2023 Newly Adopted UN High Seas Treaty Gives Ocean a Fighting Chance Ecowatch Retrieved June 23 2023 External linksOcean at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries Division NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration United States United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021 2030 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ocean amp oldid 1180922809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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