Ninety four percent of all life forms on Earth are aquatic. But half of the plastic we produce is designed to be used just once and then thrown away – and even plastic that can be reused or recycled gets chucked out, too!. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Ocean currents govern the world's weather and churn a kaleidoscope of life. The Atlantic Ocean is about half the size of the Pacific Ocean and covers roughly 20% of the Earth's surface. Please enable Cookies and reload the page. Covering nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, the oceans … Life in the ocean depends on phytoplankton, mostly microscopic organisms that float at the surface and, through photosynthesis, produce about half of the world's oxygen. Agriculture is a major source of air pollution, killing an estimated 17,900 people in the U.S. every year, according to a new study. Because most of the Earth is covered by ocean. The ocean is divided into Abyssal Zones based on the depth of the water. The Earth’s oceans are a world of mystery, magic and beauty. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Surrounded by Asia, Australia and the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean is the smallest of the three major oceans, stretching between the tips of Africa and Australia and is 28,350,000 square miles in size. 33 Mind-Blowing Facts About the Earth's Oceans 1 The ocean is home to nearly 95 percent of all life.. With so much going on well below the surface, it's easy to forget... 2 Coral produces its own sunscreen.. Too much sunlight can damage the algae that live inside coral in shallow water. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright © 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Plastic pollution poses one of the biggest known threats to the ocean, influencing all ecosystems from beautiful coral reefs to abyssal trenches, eventually accumulating in our own food. Our oceans are filled with wonders that you can’t even imagine! Oceans serve as the planet’s largest habitat and also help to regulate the global climate. Fish, octopuses, squid, eels, dolphins, and whales swim the open waters while crabs, octopuses, starfish, oysters, and snails crawl and scoot along the ocean bottom. Fact 1: Geographers divide the ocean into five major basins: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern. Top 10: Recent Ocean Facts What is a barrier island? One effect of greenhouse emissions is increased ocean acidification, which makes it more difficult for bivalves such as mussels, clams and oysters to form shells, decreasing their likelihood of survival, upsetting the food chain and impacting the multibillion-dollar shellfish industry. The average depth of the ocean is around 14000 feet, which is equal to the statue of liberty stacked one top of itself forty-seven times [sc:1]. An ocean is a body of saline water that composes much of a planet's hydrosphere (all the waters on the Earth's surface). Oil company accused of ignoring community concerns about water, wildlife, Idaho law aims to kill up to 90 percent of state’s wolves, Rare footage shows endangered whales 'hugging', Sharks can navigate via Earth's magnetic field, study confirms for the first time. Fact 1: Earth is unique due to the existence of oceans. Around 70% of the planet’s surface is covered by oceans. Pacific – 155,557,000 km² 2. Bird migration is one of nature’s great wonders. It covers 30% of the planet’s surface. Lost and discarded fishing nets continue to lethally snare fish, seabirds, and marine mammals as they drift. Other fodder for sea dwellers includes seaweed and kelp, which are types of algae, and seagrasses, which grow in shallower areas where they can catch sunlight. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans. Around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the World’s five oceans. With over 72% of the Earth’s surface covered by salt water, the Earth’s oceans are home to 230,000 known species. The year 2018 marked the oceans’ hottest year on record, and warmer waters lead to a range of consequences, from changing colors to rising sea levels to more frequent powerful storms. With so much of the Earth’s surface taken up by ocean, it’s evident how vital these marine environments are … You’d... 3. More than 250 islands make up the country. Ships spill oil and garbage; they also transport critters to alien habitats unprepared for their arrival, turning them into invasive species. This conveyor belt of heat drives global weather patterns and helps regulate temperatures on land, acting as a heater in the winter and an air conditioner in the summer. And it is also estimated that about 50,000 to 2 million sea creatures are still unidentified. Cloudflare Ray ID: 64ddb4acdfcffa94 Bizarre fish with sensitive eyes, translucent flesh, and bioluminescent lures jutting from their heads lurk about in nearby waters, often surviving by eating bits of organic waste and flesh that rain down from above, or on the animals that feed on those bits. The Atlantic Ocean is the 2 nd largest, covering 21% of Although shark bites get a lot of attention, this is far less than the number of people injured each year by elephants, bees, crocodiles , lightning or many other natural dangers. All rights reserved, roughly 97 percent of Earth's water supply, also rich in chlorine, magnesium, and calcium, phytoplankton, mostly microscopic organisms, chemosynthesis, in which microbes convert chemicals, 80 percent of the ocean is unmapped and unexplored, tiny, soft-bodied organisms known as coral, preserve fragile, ailing ecosystems such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Lost and discarded fishing nets continue to lethally snare fish, New Jersey-size area in the Gulf of Mexico, Read more about ocean threats and solutions here. Let’s dive into the Ocean to explore the mysteries. All rights reserved. A community of scientists, explorers, and citizen scientists continues to study the ocean, hoping that more information will yield more paths for conservation. Love marine life? The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is also turning ocean waters acidic, and an influx of freshwater from melting glaciers threatens to alter the weather-driving currents: the Atlantic Ocean's currents have slowed by about 15 percent over the past few decades. How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean. Seawater's weight is … Each zone has its own unique characteristics, including pressure, temperature, salinity, and biodiversity. The oceans hold about 321 million cubic miles (1.34 billion cubic kilometers) of water, which is roughly 97 percent of Earth's water supply. Seawater's weight is about 3.5 percent dissolved salt; oceans are also rich in chlorine, magnesium, and calcium. FACT #3. The Colorado Plateau is breathtaking—but stepping off trail for a killer photo can be deadly for biocrust. Plastic materials and other litter can become concentrated in certain areas called gyres as a result of marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. With such an enormous area, there's no argument that healthy oceans are vital to a healthy planet. What is … Here are some exciting ocean facts for kids for you. Three-quarters of this planet is covered by water bodies, with the biggests ones being the five oceans (the Atlantic, Pacific, Southern, Indian, and Arctic oceans). The earth’s oceans have been a mystery for many centuries. On some tropical coral reefs, for example, there can be 1,000 species per m². Below are some astounding facts that demonstrate the size and severity of the issue, and why the solution relies on the small, everyday actions of individuals and business owners around the world – including you. 20+ Fascinating Facts About Ocean For Kids. Despite regular discoveries about the ocean and its denizens, much remains unknown. Your IP: 178.62.226.96 The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers (320 million cubic miles). It is harmful for the environment as it does not get break down easily and is often considered as food by marine animals. Fertilizer runoff from farms turns vast swaths of the ocean into dead zones, including a New Jersey-size area in the Gulf of Mexico. Average sea levels have swelled over 8 inches (about 23 cm) since 1880, with about three of those inches gained in the last 25 years. Facts about the Ocean for kidsNeed help learning about the Ocean for school? There is … Chimpanzee moms are like us: They mourn, dote, and take 'me' time. Here are 50 of the most fascinating facts about the ocean that will make you appreciate our blue planet more than ever. Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. Climate change, the term scientists now use to describe global warming and other trends currently affecting the planet because of high greenhouse gas[1] emissions from humans, is strikingly reflected in the oceans. Promising early results suggest we may have a new tool in the battle against the pernicious mosquito-borne parasite. Ocean acidification may render most regions of the ocean inhospitable to coral reefs, affecting tourism, food security, shoreline protection, and biodiversity. 14 Amazing Atlantic Ocean Facts 1. Why our coral reefs need hope, Video Story, Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright © 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. More than 80 percent of the ocean is unmapped and unexplored, which leaves open the question of how many species there are yet to be discovered. Watch this video during formal or informal instruction to explain to students why a healthier ocean means a healthier planet. Experts have pieced it together. Oceans are enormous bodies of water that collectively cover about 71% of our planet’s surface. The oceans are losing mussel mass. How were China's legions of terra-cotta warriors made? How tiny Monaco became a giant in ocean conservation, Meat production leads to thousands of air quality-related deaths annually, ‘Megadrought’ persists in western U.S., as another extremely dry year develops, Antarctica’s ice could cross this scary threshold within 40 years. The ocean is not divided evenly between the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemispheres. Indian – 68,556,000 km² 4. Please be respectful of copyright. Atlantic Ocean Facts for Kids The Atlantic is the second biggest ocean in the world and is between the continents of America and Europe and Africa. Surf and spray scatter as a large wave crashes onto the shore in Palau. 1. In fact, the oceans hold about 96.5% of all water on Earth. The Pacific Ocean has an estimated 25000 islands. Select footage courtesy NASA. Does drinking water reduce side effects after a COVID-19 shot? Here are 15 crazy facts about the ocean floor. In celebration of the vast unknown of the ocean, we present our favorite ocean animal facts: Here’s how they do it. Oceans are deep as well as wide. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. Humans depend on these teeming waters for comfort and survival, but global warming and overfishing threaten Earth's largest habitat. If any of the below ocean facts are inaccurate, please contact us and let us know. It’s So Big, It’s Divided into Two One of the most important facts about the Atlantic is that the equator divides the... 3. It Covers a Fifth of the Earth At over 106.5 million square kilometres (41.1 million square miles), the Atlantic... 2. The ocean is a continuous body of salt water that covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface. The Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. The vast bodies of water surrounding the continents are critical to life on Earth. 3. Researchers are seeking ways to preserve fragile, ailing ecosystems such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Much more than the other oceans combined. If Mount Everest was placed in the deepest part of the ocean, its … Mangrove forests are cleared for homes and industry. The oceans are home to millions of Earth's plants and animals—from tiny single-celled organisms to the gargantuan blue whale, the planet's largest living animal. Combined, they cover 71% of the planet’s surface or an area of some 361 million square kilometers. Other long-lived species are in crisis. Ocean, continuous body of salt water held in enormous basins on Earth’s surface. Oceans are the home of at least 230,000 known species ranging from seaweeds to blue whales. But why is the ocean salty? 'The Death of Napoleon' captures the end of a tumultuous era. And how is climate change impacting the ocean? Smaller ocean regions such as the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Bay of Bengal are called seas, gulfs, and bays.