Tag: Ocean

An ocean (from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανὸς (Okeanos); the World Ocean of classical antiquity) is a body of saline water that composes a large part of a planet’s hydrosphere. In the context of Earth, it refers to one or all of the major divisions of the planet’s World Ocean – they are, in descending order of area, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Arctic Oceans. The word “sea” is often used interchangeably with “ocean”, but strictly speaking a sea is a body of saline water (possibly a division of the World Ocean) partly or fully enclosed by land.
Earth’s global ocean is the largest confirmed surface ocean on all observable planets. Approximately 72% of the planet’s surface (~3.6×10 km) is covered by saline water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas. Because it is the principal component of Earth’s hydrosphere, the world ocean is integral to all known life, forms part of the carbon cycle, and influences climate and weather patterns….