Covers approximately 360,000,000 km² and is generally divided into several major oceans and smaller seas, with oceans covering approximately 71% of the Earth's surface and 90% of the Earth's biosphere.

They contain 97% of the Earth's water, and oceanographers claim that only 5% of the ocean depths have been explored.

Because the world's oceans are a major component of Earth's hydrosphere, they are integral to life, form part of the carbon cycle, and influence climate and weather patterns. It is also home to 230,000 known species animals, but since most of them are unstudied, the number of underwater species is probably much higher, perhaps more than two million.

The origin of the oceans on Earth is still unknown.

How many oceans are there on earth: 5 or 4

How many oceans are there in the world? For many years, only 4 were officially recognized, and then in the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization established the Southern Ocean and defined its limits.

It’s interesting to know: what continents exist on planet Earth?

Oceans (from the ancient Greek Ὠκεανός, Okeanos) make up most of the planet's hydrosphere. In descending order by area, there are:

• Quiet.
• Atlantic.
• Indian.
• Southern (Antarctic).
• Arctic Oceans (Arctic).

Earth's global ocean

Although several separate oceans are usually described, the global, interconnected body salt water sometimes called the World Ocean. TO continuous pond concept with relatively free exchange between its parts is of fundamental importance for oceanography.

The major oceanic spaces, listed below in descending order of area and volume, are defined in part by continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria.

What oceans exist, their location

Quiet, the largest, extends north from the Southern Ocean to the Northern Ocean. It spans the gap between Australia, Asia and the Americas and meets the Atlantic south of South America at Cape Horn.

The Atlantic, the second largest, extends from the Southern Ocean between America, Africa and Europe to the Arctic. It meets the Indian Ocean waters south of Africa at Cape Agulhas.

The Indian, the third largest, extends north from the Southern Ocean to India, between Africa and Australia. It flows into the Pacific expanses in the east, near Australia.

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the five. It joins the Atlantic near Greenland and Iceland and the Pacific Ocean in the Bering Strait and overlaps the North Pole, touching North America in the Western Hemisphere, Scandinavia and Siberia in the Eastern Hemisphere. Almost all covered sea ​​ice, the area of ​​which varies depending on the season.

Southern - surrounds Antarctica, where the Antarctic circumpolar current prevails. This sea area has only recently been identified as a separate oceanic unit, which lies south of sixty degrees south latitude and is partially covered by sea ice, the extent of which varies with the seasons.

They are bordered by small adjacent bodies of water such as seas, bays and straits.

Physical properties

The total mass of the hydrosphere is about 1.4 quintillion metric tons, which is about 0.023% of the Earth's total mass. Less than 3% – fresh water; the rest is salt water. The ocean area is about 361.9 million square kilometers and covers about 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and the volume of water is about 1.335 billion cubic kilometers. The average depth is about 3,688 meters and the maximum depth is 10,994 meters in the Mariana Trench. Almost half of the world's sea waters have a depth of more than 3 thousand meters. Vast areas below 200 meters depth cover about 66% of the Earth's surface.

The bluish color of the water is integral part several contributing agents. Among them - dissolved organic matter and chlorophyll. Sailors and other sailors have reported that ocean waters often emit a visible glow that extends for many miles at night.

Oceanic zones

Oceanographers divide the ocean into different vertical zones determined by physical and biological conditions. Pelagic zone includes all zones and can be divided into other areas, divided by depth and illumination.

The photic zone includes surfaces up to a depth of 200 m; this is the area where photosynthesis occurs and therefore has a large biological diversity.

Because plants require photosynthesis, life found deeper than the photonic zone must either rely on material falling from above or find another source of energy. Hydrothermal vents are the main source of energy in the so-called aphotic zone (depths greater than 200 m). The pelagic part of the photonic zone is known as epipelagic.

Climate

Cold deep water rises and warms in the equatorial zone, while thermal water sinks and cools near Greenland in North Atlantic and near Antarctica in the South Atlantic.

Ocean currents greatly influence the Earth's climate by transporting heat from the tropics to the polar regions. By transferring warm or cold air and precipitation to coastal areas, winds can carry them inland.

Conclusion

Many of the world's goods move on ships between seaports peace. Ocean waters are also the main source of raw materials for the fishing industry.

Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on Earth, its area is estimated at 178.62 million km2, and this figure is several million kilometers greater than the area of ​​the continents, and also 200% more than the space occupied by the Atlantic Ocean. Most big ocean in the world it occupies almost 50% of the surface of the World Ocean and holds slightly more than half of the volume of its water resources. From west to east it extends over almost 20 thousand km, and from south to north – over 16 thousand km.

The area of ​​water with seas is 179.7 million km², with an average depth of almost 4 thousand m, the Pacific Ocean has a water volume of 724 million. cubic kilometers and reaches maximum depth at 10,994 m (the so-called “Mariana Trench”). The date change line runs through the ocean surface near the 180th meridian.

The conquistador from Spain Nunez de Balboa at the beginning of the 16th century, of course, did not know what the largest ocean was. But, nevertheless, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, he saw the shore of an unknown ocean. Since his ship approached the waters of the bay from the southern side, the conquistador gave the name to what he saw “South Sea”. A few years later, Ferdinand Magellan entered the open waters. During the entire 3 months and 20 days crossing the expanse from the Philippine Islands to Tierra del Fuego, the navigator observed ideal and calm weather. So he called the found waters the Pacific Ocean.

The ocean washes North and South America from the east, Australia and Eurasia from the west, and reaches Antarctica from the southern borders.

Climate of the largest ocean in the world

Ironically, the Pacific Ocean is the stormiest and most turbulent of all the oceans on Earth. The trade wind blows in its central part, and the monsoon blows in the west. IN winter time a dry and cold monsoon penetrates from the land, affecting the climatic state of the ocean; As a result, some seas are covered with a crust of ice. Quite often, tropical hurricanes of devastating power - typhoons - fly over the surface of the ocean from the west. The highest waves, reaching 30 m in height, were seen in the south and north of the Pacific Ocean. And the hurricane wind raises real columns of water.

The Pacific Ocean spreads its waters in all climatic zones. The air above its area is too humid, so that at the equator precipitation falls up to 2 thousand mm per year. Due to the vast area of ​​the ocean, the water here fluctuates between temperatures from -1 to +29 °C. But still the precipitation is over water surface prevail over evaporation, so that the salinity of the water at the surface is lower than that of other oceans.

Another record holder

As mentioned above, the Pacific Ocean does not contain much salt in surface waters, only 34.5%. But one of its neighbors, the Atlantic Ocean, is the saltiest in the world, although a sufficient amount of fresh water flows into it from all over the land. This record holder has accumulated 35.4% of salt. Some points in the Red Sea near the bottom contain 270% - which is actually a saturated saline solution! All this happens due to insufficient precipitation and high evaporation of water.

Life in the Pacific

The organic world of the Pacific Ocean is home to a variety of life forms, and its waters are rich in various species of plants and animals. Just think, its depths are inhabited by half of the mass of diverse life forms of the World Ocean. And this is not surprising, considering huge size The Pacific Ocean, and thanks to the climate, this environment has different natural conditions. The most rich life in the tropics and equatorial latitudes, near coral reefs. The northern part of the ocean is inhabited salmon fish. Off the coast of South America in the southeast, the waters are simply teeming with fish. The Pacific Ocean is home to horse mackerel, herring, butterfish, mackerel and many other fish.

Fur seals, whales and sea beavers (this species lives exclusively in the Pacific Ocean) have found their refuge in these waters. Invertebrates also live here - sea urchins, corals, and various mollusks.

The sky over the Pacific Ocean is a huge air route between countries in the Pacific region. There are transit roads between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Interesting fact. The asteroid Oceana is named after the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest on Earth

Pacific Ocean- the largest ocean in terms of area and depth on Earth, it occupies 49.5% of the surface of the World Ocean and holds 53% of the volume of its water. Located between the continents of Eurasia and Australia in the west, Northern and South America in the east, Antarctica in the south.

The Pacific Ocean extends approximately 15.8 thousand km from north to south and 19.5 thousand km from east to west. The area with seas is 179.7 million km², the average depth is 3984 m, the volume of water is 723.7 million km³. The greatest depth of the Pacific Ocean (and the entire World Ocean) is 10,994 m (in the Mariana Trench).

On November 28, 1520, Ferdinand Magellan entered the open ocean for the first time. He crossed the ocean from Tierra del Fuego to the Philippine Islands in 3 months and 20 days. All this time the weather was calm, and Magellan called the ocean Quiet.

The second largest ocean on Earth after the Pacific Ocean, occupying 25% of the surface of the World Ocean, with a total area of ​​91.66 million km² and a volume of water of 329.66 million km³. The ocean is located between Greenland and Iceland in the north, Europe and Africa in the east, North and South America in the west, and Antarctica in the south. Greatest depth - 8742 m (deep-sea trench - Puerto Rico)

The name of the ocean first appears in the 5th century BC. e. in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote that “the sea with the pillars of Hercules is called Atlantis.” The name comes from the famous Ancient Greece the myth of Atlas, the Titan holding the firmament on his shoulders at the extreme western point of the Mediterranean. The Roman scientist Pliny the Elder in the 1st century used modern name Okeanus Atlanticus - "Atlantic Ocean".

The third largest ocean on Earth, covering about 20% of its water surface. Its area is 76.17 million km², volume - 282.65 million km³. The deepest point of the ocean is in the Sunda Trench (7729 m).

In the north, the Indian Ocean washes Asia, in the west - Africa, in the east - Australia; in the south it borders on Antarctica. The border with the Atlantic Ocean runs along the 20° meridian of eastern longitude; from Quiet - along 146°55’ meridian of eastern longitude. The northernmost point of the Indian Ocean is located at approximately 30°N latitude in the Persian Gulf. The Indian Ocean is approximately 10,000 km wide between the southern points of Australia and Africa.

The ancient Greeks called the western part of the ocean known to them with the adjacent seas and bays the Erythraean Sea (Red). Gradually, this name began to be attributed only to the nearest sea, and the ocean was named after India, the country most famous at that time for its wealth on the ocean shores. So Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. e. calls it Indicon pelagos - “Indian Sea”. Since the 16th century, the name Oceanus Indicus - Indian Ocean, introduced by the Roman scientist Pliny the Elder back in the 1st century, has been established.

The smallest ocean on Earth, located entirely in the northern hemisphere, between Eurasia and North America.

The ocean area is 14.75 million km² (5.5% of the area of ​​the World Ocean), the volume of water is 18.07 million km³. The average depth is 1225 m, the greatest depth is 5527 m in the Greenland Sea. Most of the bottom relief of the Arctic Ocean is occupied by the shelf (more than 45% of the ocean floor) and the underwater margins of continents (up to 70% of the bottom area). The ocean is usually divided into three vast water areas: the Arctic Basin, the North European Basin and the Canadian Basin. Thanks to the polar geographical location The ice cover in the central part of the ocean persists throughout the year, although it is in a mobile state.

The ocean was identified as an independent ocean by the geographer Varenius in 1650 under the name Hyperborean Ocean - “Ocean in the extreme north.” Foreign sources of that time also used the following names: Oceanus Septentrionalis - “ Northern Ocean"(Latin Septentrio - north), Oceanus Scythicus - "Scythian Ocean" (Latin Scythae - Scythians), Oceanes Tartaricus - "Tartar Ocean", Μare Glaciale - "Arctic Sea" (Latin Glacies - ice). On Russian maps of the 17th - 18th centuries the names are used: Sea Ocean, Sea Ocean Arctic, Arctic Sea, Northern Ocean, Northern or Arctic Sea, Arctic Ocean, Northern Polar Sea, and the Russian navigator Admiral F. P. Litke in the 20s of the XIX century centuries called it the Arctic Ocean. In other countries the English name is widely used. Arctic Ocean - “Arctic Ocean”, which was given to the ocean by the London Geographical Society in 1845.

By resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated June 27, 1935, the name Arctic Ocean was adopted, as corresponding to the form already used in Russia since early XIX century, and close to earlier Russian names.

The conventional name for the waters of the three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) surrounding Antarctica and sometimes unofficially identified as the “fifth ocean”, which, however, does not have a clearly delineated northern border by islands and continents. The conditional area is 20.327 million km² (if we take the northern boundary of the ocean to be 60 degrees south latitude). Greatest depth (South Sandwich Trench) - 8428 m.

Quiet, Indian, Arctic and Southern. What is the largest ocean, do you think? Of course, Quiet! The area of ​​this gigantic reservoir of water is 178.6 million km2. Which is one third of the surface of our planet and almost half the area of ​​the entire World Ocean. Imagine that such a huge territory could freely accommodate all the earth’s continents and islands. And the largest ocean on Earth is also the deepest. Its average depth is 3984 m . The Pacific Ocean "owns" seas, islands, volcanoes, its waters are home to huge amount living beings. It’s not for nothing that this “quiet guy” is called the Great. You can talk endlessly about the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, our capabilities are limited to the scope of one article, but we will try to provide in it as much information as possible about the great aquatic Titan.

Where is the Pacific Ocean

Let's take a globe or a map and see where the largest ocean on the planet is. Look: in the west it stretches between Australia and Eurasia, in the east - between North and South America, in the south it approaches Antarctica itself.

Along the Bering Strait (from Cape Peek in Chukotka to Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska), the Pacific Ocean borders on its brother, the Arctic Ocean. Along the western coast of Sumatra, the northern edge of the Strait of Malacca, the southern shores of the Timor Islands, New Guinea and Java, through the beautiful Torres and Bass Straits, along the coast of eastern Tasmania and further to Antarctica, the border with the Indian Ocean stretches, and the Pacific borders with the Atlantic, starting from the Antarctic Peninsula, then along the dangerous rapids between the Shetland Islands to Tierra del Fuego. The Great Ocean extends from north to south for approximately 15.8 thousand km, and from east to west - for 19.5 thousand km.

A little history

The largest ocean in the world was named "Pacific" light hand the famous Spanish and Portuguese navigator Magellan. It was he who, in 1520, was the first to venture on a journey through uncharted waters. During the entire sea voyage, which lasted more than three months, Magellan’s ship did not encounter a single storm, the skies were surprisingly favorable to the brave sailors, which is quite strange, because it is in these places that the strongest and most ferocious typhoons and hurricanes are born, which are so generous World ocean.

The Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa is considered to be the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean. This conquistador was lucky enough to be the first to see new, previously unseen ocean spaces. And it happened in 1510 in this way: de Balboa founded a settlement on the shores of the Gulf of Darien, and unexpectedly rumors reached him about a fabulous rich country, which can be reached if you sail across the huge sea located in the south. Balboa's detachment immediately set off and after 4 weeks reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Of course, he had no idea about the fantastic size of the expanse of water he had discovered. Balboa thought it was the sea.

Pacific Seas

The largest ocean on Earth is joined by 31 seas. Here are their names:

• Javanese.
• Japanese.
• South China.
• Tasmanovo.
• Filipino.
• New Guinea.
• Okhotsk.
• Sea of ​​Savu.
• Halmahera Sea.
• Koro.
• Mindanao.
• Yellow.
• Solomon Sea.
• Visayan.
• Samar.
• Coral.
• Sea Bali.
• Japanese;
• Sulu.
• Sea Banda.
• Silavesi.
• Fiji.
• Moluccan.
• Camotes.
• Sea Seram.
• Flores.
• East China.
• Sibuyan.
• Amundsen Sea.
• Bering Sea.

Pacific Islands

The largest ocean on our planet washes the shores of 5 continents: Australia, Eurasia, South and North America and Antarctica. It also contains more than 25 thousand islands with a total area of ​​3.6 million km 2. Most of them are of volcanic origin.

The Aleutian Islands are located in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese, Kuril, Philippine, Sakhalin, New Guinea, Tasmania, New Zealand, Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands are located in the western part, and a huge number of small islands are scattered in the southern and central regions. The islands located in the western and central parts of the ocean form the Oceania region.

Climate zones

The world's largest oceans are capable of dramatically influencing the weather on the entire planet. What can we say about such a giant as the Pacific Ocean! Typhoons of terrible destructive power, tropical storms, and huge tsunamis are born there, threatening many countries with great disasters. Scientists carefully monitor all changes in his mood, and this is not so easy to do, because thousands of kilometers of ocean water, stretching from north to south, are divided into different climatic zones - from cold Antarctic to hot equatorial.

The widest climatic zone of the Pacific Ocean is the equatorial one. It is located between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Here the average temperature never drops below +20 degrees. These places are characterized by frequent tropical cyclones. To the north and south of the equatorial zone there are tropical and subtropical climatic zones, and then there are temperate ones, bordering the polar zones. Antarctica has a significant influence on the temperature characteristics of ocean water. In equatorial and tropical zones there is a lot of precipitation, approximately 3000 mm per year. This value is significantly greater than the amount of moisture evaporating from the ocean surface. 30 thousand m 2 of fresh water annually enters the Pacific thanks to the numerous rivers flowing into it. These two factors lead to the fact that the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean are less saline than those in the Atlantic, Indian, etc.

Bottom relief

The bottom of the Pacific Ocean has an extremely diverse topography. In the center of the Pacific Basin there are deep-sea basins and trenches. And in the west there is the deepest place in the entire World Ocean - the Mariana Trench. Vast areas of the bottom are covered with products of volcanic activity containing cobalt, nickel, and copper. Some sections of these deposits are about three km thick.

The floor of the Pacific Ocean contains volcanoes and several long chains of high seamounts. These are the Emperor Mountains, Hawaiian Islands and Louisville. In the east of the ocean, where the East Pacific Rise is located, the relief is relatively flat.

Mariana Trench

The greatest depth of the ocean is 10,994 km. This place is located in the famous Mariana Trench - the most inaccessible and little-studied place on Earth. The Mariana Trench forms a giant crack in the earth's crust, 2550 km long and 69 km wide, resembling a crescent in shape. The water pressure at the bottom of the depression is almost a thousand times greater than on the surface. That is why diving into this place, even with the help of the most modern deep-sea vehicles, poses incredible danger and difficulty.

The exploration of the underwater world of the deepest point of the World Ocean is carried out mainly with the help of special robots. Only a few people have managed to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench. For the first time, Don Walsham and Jacques Picard landed there in the bathyscaphe Trieste. This event occurred on January 23, 1960. The next human-assisted voyage into the depths of the ocean took place in 2012. This was done by the famous American film director James Cameron. Thanks to these brave people, humanity's knowledge of the secrets of the Pacific Ocean has been significantly enriched.

The largest volcano in the world

The largest ocean in the world never ceases to amaze its researchers. In 2013, under its waters it was discovered extinct volcano, whose area is 310 thousand km. This huge mountain range is called Tamu, and its size is comparable only to the Martian giant volcano Olympus.

Flora of the Pacific

The Pacific flora amazes with its richness and diversity. In the Pacific Ocean, as in all others, the laws of the distribution of wildlife across climatic zones operate. Thus, in temperate and cold climatic areas, species diversity is poorer, but this is compensated larger numbers one or another type of plant or animal.

Plant life is especially vibrant in tropical and subtropical ocean waters, between the coasts of Australia and Asia. There are gigantic areas occupied by coral reefs and covered with mangroves. The bottom flora of the Pacific Ocean includes almost 4 thousand species of algae and more than 28 species of flowering plants. In the cold and temperate regions of the Pacific basin, algae from the kelp group are common. In the southern hemisphere you can find giant brown algae, the length of which reaches 200 m.

Fauna

The Pacific Ocean, Earth's largest ocean, is endless blue waters that are home to thousands of living creatures. There is a place for both huge white sharks and very tiny mollusks. Pacific fauna almost 4 times richer in species composition than in other oceans!

Sperm whales, representatives of toothed whales, are widely distributed, and there are several species of rare striped whales. Fishing for both is strictly limited. In the north and south of the Pacific Ocean there are colonies of sea lions and seals. The northern waters are home to walruses and sea lions, which are now on the verge of extinction. In total, the Pacific fauna includes about 100 thousand species of various animals.

As for fish, there are a great variety of them here - about 2000 species. Almost half of the world's fish catch comes from the Pacific Ocean. Among all living creatures living in the Pacific Ocean, invertebrates predominate, living at various depths. These are crabs, shrimp, various shellfish (squid, oysters, octopus), etc. Tropical latitudes are rich in various types corals

Tourist paradise

The largest ocean is loved by tourists all over the world. Of course! Who hasn’t dreamed of finding themselves, at least for a short time, in paradises located in Polynesia, Hawaii and the Philippine Islands? Fiji, Palau, and the Cook Islands are visited annually by huge crowds of vacationing people. In these places, the ocean water is clean, especially transparent and has a wonderful blue or green color.

In the equatorial Pacific Ocean, moderate winds blow, and water temperatures all year round comfortable. Beautiful underwater world, sandy white beaches, the friendliness of the local population, exotic flora and fauna - all the signs of heaven on earth are evident!

Ocean tracks of the Pacific

The largest ocean in the world plays a huge communication role. Through its waters lie many trade and passenger sea routes connecting the states of the Pacific basin, as well as the coasts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The largest ports are: Nakhodka and Vladivostok (Russia), Singapore, Shanghai (China), Sydney (Australia), Los Angeles and Long Beach (USA), Vancouver (Canada), Huasco (Chile).

There are many interesting facts, thanks to which you can immediately understand which ocean is the largest and most amazing. You have already learned about many from this article. Here are some more interesting facts about the Pacific Ocean:

• If it were possible to evenly distribute all the Pacific water over the surface of our planet, it would cover the Earth completely with a water layer thickness of 2700 m.
• Nowhere in the world are there such high waves as in the Pacific Ocean, which is why it is especially respected by fans of extreme surfing.
• The most big fish in the ocean it is a giant whale shark. Its length can reach 18-20 meters. And this giant prefers to live in the Pacific water.
• The average speed of destructive Pacific tsunamis is about 750 km per hour.
• The Pacific Ocean boasts the highest tides. For example, off the coast of Korea, water at high tide can rise up to 9 meters.
• The largest inhabitant of the ocean is the blue whale. Its weight sometimes exceeds 150 tons, and its length is more than 33 meters. In the Pacific Ocean, these rare animals can be found much more often than in other oceans.

Ecology

Now you know what the largest ocean is on our planet, as well as how important it is for the Earth and for us, the people living on it. Unfortunately, due to unreasonable human activity The waters of many parts of the Pacific basin were polluted with industrial waste and oil, and many species of fauna were exterminated. All this threatens the fragile ecosystem of our planet and affects climate change. We can only hope that humanity will come to its senses, begin to behave more intelligently and learn to live in harmony with nature.