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Oceans and seas

Oceans and seas

Observed from space, our planet’s surface appears to be dominated by the color blue. This blue color occurs because of the presence of the oceans and seas of the world. These features cover approximately 71% or 361 million square kilometers (139 million square miles) of Earth’s surface with a volume of about 1370 million cubic kilometers (329 million cubic miles). The average depth of these bodies of seawater is about 3.8 kilometers (2.4 miles). Maximum depths can exceed 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in areas known as ocean trenches. The oceans contain 97% of our planet's available water. The ocean is also home to many forms of life uniquely adapted to survive in this habitat. Humans have degraded the oceans and their life through pollution, overfishing, carbon dioxide acidification and resource exploitation.

    • Kattegat Featured Article Kattegat Kattegat

      The Kattegat is a shallow sea situated east of Denmark's Jutland peninsula and west of the southwestern landmass of Sweden. This low salinity water body is a connecting link... More »

    • English Channel Featured Article English Channel English Channel

      The English Channel is that saline water body that connects the North Sea to the Celtic Sea. It is bounded on the north by England and on the south by France. This... More »

    • South China Sea Featured Article South China Sea South China Sea

      The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, generally situated between mainland China, Vietnam and Borneo; this saline water body has an areal extent of about... More »

    • Seas of the world Featured Article Seas of the world Seas of the world

      A sea is commonly defined to be an extended body of saline water associated with one of the worlds five oceans (Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Arctic, and Southern oceans). Some... More »

    • Indigo hamlet Featured Article Indigo hamlet Indigo hamlet

      The indigo hamlet (scientific name: Hypoplectrus indigo) is a member of the grouper/seabass family (Family Serranidae) that live on coral reefs in the Western Atlantic Ocean... More »

    • National Ocean Policy Action Plan Featured News National Ocean Policy Action Plan National Ocean Policy Action Plan

      National Ocean Policy Action Plan draft requests public comments on actions Federal agencies will take to improve the health of oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes.... More »

    • Spinner dolphin Featured Article Spinner dolphin Spinner dolphin

      The Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), a marine mammal in the family of oceanic dolphins, engages in formation of small schools. This cetacean species evinces a dominance... More »

    • Long-finned pilot whale Featured Article Long-finned pilot whale Long-finned pilot whale

      The long-finned pilot whale (scientific name: Globicephala melas) is one of two species in the genus Globicephala. The pilot whale is so named because when swimming, the groups... More »

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Major rivers of the world (collection) Last Updated on 2012-05-24 at 14:51 Continent color... More »
Benthos Last Updated on 2012-05-24 at 10:26 Benthos is one of three major ecological groups into which marine organisms are divided, the other two being the nekton and the plankton. The benthos are organisms and... More »
Antarctic Bottom Water Last Updated on 2012-05-21 at 12:33 Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is a type of water in the seas surrounding Antarctica with temperatures ranging from 0 to -0.8oC, salinities from 34.6 to 34.7, and a density... More »
Antarctic Ice Shelves Last Updated on 2012-05-21 at 12:29   The Antarctic Ice Shelves are a set of frozen water landforms around the coastal zone of Antarctica. An ice shelf is a thick slab of ice, attached to... More »
Antarctic ice shelf rift: Pine Island Glacier Last Updated on 2012-05-21 at 12:12 Watching the Birth of an Iceberg After discovering an emerging crack that cuts across the floating ice shelf of Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, NASA's Operation... More »
SS Gairsoppa recovery Last Updated on 2012-05-21 at 00:09 The SS Gairsoppa recovery is a planned deep-sea operation in the North Atlantic Ocean, that is expected to retrieve the world's largest precious metals shipwreck salvage in... More »
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