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Introduction
Earth's ocean |
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Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: Marginal seas |
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers ~70.8% of the Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of the Earth's hydrosphere, thus the ocean is 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. (Full article...)
A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. (Full article...)
Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean', and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and seabed geology; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The U.S. state of Texas has a series of estuaries along its coast on the Gulf of Mexico, most of them bounded by the Texas barrier islands. Estuaries are coastal bodies of water in which freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the sea. Twenty-one drainage basins terminate along the Texas coastline, forming a chain of seven major and five minor estuaries: listed from southwest to northeast, these are the Rio Grande Estuary, Laguna Madre, the Nueces Estuary (Corpus Christi Bay), the Mission–Aransas Estuary (Aransas Bay), the Guadalupe Estuary (San Antonio Bay), the Colorado–Lavaca Estuary (Matagorda Bay), East Matagorda Bay, the San Bernard River and Cedar Lakes Estuary, the Brazos River Estuary, Christmas Bay, the Trinity–San Jacinto Estuary (Galveston Bay), and the Sabine–Neches Estuary (Sabine Lake). Each estuary is named for its one or two chief contributing rivers, excepting Laguna Madre, East Matagorda Bay, and Christmas Bay, which have no major river sources. The estuaries are also sometimes referred to by the names of their respective primary or central water bodies, though each also includes smaller secondary bays, inlets, or other marginal water bodies.
These water bodies include some of the largest and most ecologically productive coastal estuaries in the United States and contribute significantly to the ecological and economic resources of Texas. They are included in a number of national protected areas such as National Wildlife Refuges, a National Seashore, and a National Estuarine Research Reserve, as well as various state parks and other regional protected areas. The two most economically important (the Nueces and Trinity–San Jacinto Estuaries) have been designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as estuaries of national significance under the National Estuary Program. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs through each of the major estuaries, linking Texas ports with others along the Gulf Coast of the United States. (Full article...)Interesting facts -
- The NOAAS Pisces (R 226) oceanographic research vessel (pictured) was named by five seventh graders from Southaven, Mississippi.
- The Top 10 New Species of 2014 included a protist that acts like a sponge.
- In 2018, an asteroid measuring 12 meters (39 feet) across exploded in an air burst over the Bering Sea near the Kamchatka Peninsula with the force of 173 kilotons of TNT.
Selected list articles and Marine habitat topics
Marine habitats |
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Coastal habitats |
Ocean surface |
Open ocean |
Sea floor |
- List of oceans
- List of ancient oceans
- List of seas
- List of circumnavigations
- List of cruise lines
- List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System
- List of marine biologists
- List of marine ecoregions
- List of maritime explorers
- List of naval battles
- List of ocean liners
- List of oceanographic institutions and programs
- List of oldest surviving ships
- List of rogue waves
- List of seafood dishes
- List of submarine topographical features
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In the news
- 12 April 2024 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict
- Germany tells its citizens to leave Iran immediately, saying that "air, land and sea transport routes" will likely be affected by military action in the region. (Reuters)
- 8 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine claims to have damaged the Russian Navy missile ship Serpukhov in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad. (Kyiv Independent)
- 1 April 2024 –
- North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan near South Korean territory. (AP)
- 31 March 2024 – Visa policy of the Schengen Area
- Bulgaria and Romania partially join the Schengen Area, allowing travel by air and sea without border checks, Austria vetoed travel by land without border checks over fears that non-EU citizens could get easier access to the European Union. (France 24)
- 28 March 2024 – 2023–24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Gamane makes landfall in Madagascar, killing at least eleven people and causing widespread flooding, according to local officials. (AP)
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Wiktionary
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Admiralty law
Admiralty law |
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History |
Features |
Contract of carriage/Charterparty |
Parties |
Judiciaries |
International conventions |
International organizations |
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External media
- World Ocean Database and World Ocean Atlas Series – from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Includes the World Ocean Atlas.
- European Atlas of the Seas – the European Atlas of the Seas, from the European Commission
- NOAA Research – NOAA research news, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- Ocean Research – from The World Ocean Observatory
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System – "a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development"
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