This article is about natural science aspects of Earth's oceans.

For more on human

experience, history and culture of oceans, see Sea. For other uses, see Ocean
(disambiguation).

Earth's ocean

Pacific Ocean, largest part of Earth and its ocean, seen

from space in 1969

Basin countr List of countries by length of coastline

ies

Surface area 361,000,000 km2 (139,382,879 sq mi)

(71% Earth's surface area)[1]

Average 3.688 km (2 mi)[2]

depth

Max. depth 11.034 km (6.856 mi)

(Challenger Deep)[3]

Water 1,370,000,000 km3 (328,680,479 cu mi)

volume [1]
(97.5% of Earth's water)

Shore Low interval calculation: 356,000 km

length 1
(221,208 mi)[4] High interval calculation:
1,634,701 km (1,015,756 mi)[5][vague]
 30 °C (86 °F) (max. surface)
Max.
20 °C (68 °F) (avg. surface)
temperature
4 °C (39 °F) (avg. overall)[6][7]

Min. −2 °C (28 °F) (surface)

temperature 1 °C (34 °F) (deepest points)[6][7]

Sections/ Main divisions (volume %):

sub-basins
Pacific Ocean (50.1%)
Atlantic Ocean (23.3%)
Indian Ocean (19.8%)
Antarctic/Southern Ocean (5.4%)
Arctic Ocean (1.4%)
Other divisions: Marginal seas

Trenches List of oceanic trenches

1
Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth.[8] The
ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to
as oceans (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic Ocean),[9][10]
[11]
and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of
water. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water[8] and is the primary component of
Earth's hydrosphere, acting as a huge reservoir of heat for Earth's energy budget, as
well as for its carbon cycle and water cycle, forming the basis
for climate and weather patterns worldwide. The ocean is essential to life on Earth,
harbouring most of Earth's animals and protist life,
[12]
originating photosynthesis and therefore Earth's atmospheric oxygen, still
supplying half of it.[13]

Ocean scientists split the ocean into vertical and horizontal zones based on physical
and biological conditions. Horizontally the ocean covers the oceanic crust, which it
shapes. Where the ocean meets dry land it covers relatively shallow continental
shelfs, which are part of Earth's continental crust. Human activity is mostly coastal
with high negative impacts on marine life. Vertically the pelagic zone is the open
ocean's water column from the surface to the ocean floor. The water column is
further divided into zones based on depth and the amount of light present.
The photic zone starts at the surface and is defined to be "the depth at which light
intensity is only 1% of the surface value"[14]: 36 (approximately 200 m in the open
ocean). This is the zone where photosynthesis can occur. In this process plants and
microscopic algae (free-floating phytoplankton) use light, water, carbon dioxide, and
nutrients to produce organic matter. As a result, the photic zone is the
most biodiverse and the source of the food supply which sustains most of the
ocean ecosystem. Light can only penetrate a few hundred more meters; the rest of
the deeper ocean is cold and dark (these zones are
called mesopelagic and aphotic zones).

Ocean temperatures depend on the amount of solar radiation reaching the ocean
surface. In the tropics, surface temperatures can rise to over 30 °C (86 °F). Near the
poles where sea ice forms, the temperature in equilibrium is about −2 °C (28 °F). In
all parts of the ocean, deep ocean temperatures range between −2 °C (28 °F) and
5 °C (41 °F).[15] Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents.
Those currents are caused by forces operating on the water, such as temperature
and salinity differences, atmospheric circulation (wind), and the Coriolis effect.
[16]
Tides create tidal currents, while wind and waves cause surface currents. The Gulf
Stream, Kuroshio Current, Agulhas Current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current are all
major ocean currents. Such currents transport massive amounts of water, gases,
pollutants and heat to different parts of the world, and from the surface into the deep
ocean. All this has impacts on the global climate system.

Ocean water contains dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon

dioxide and nitrogen. An exchange of these gases occurs at the ocean's surface.
The solubility of these gases depends on the temperature and salinity of the water.
[17]
The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is rising due
to CO2 emissions, mainly from fossil fuel combustion. As the oceans absorb
CO2 from the atmosphere, a higher concentration leads to ocean acidification (a drop
in pH value).[18]

The ocean provides many benefits to humans such as ecosystem services, access
to seafood and other marine resources, and a means of transport. The ocean is
known to be the habitat of over 230,000 species, but may hold considerably more –
perhaps over two million species.[19] Yet, the ocean faces
many environmental threats, such as marine pollution, overfishing, and the effects of
climate change. Those effects include ocean warming, ocean acidification and sea
level rise. The continental shelf and coastal waters are most affected by human
activity.

Terminology
Ocean and sea
The terms "the ocean" or "the sea" used without specification refer to the
interconnected body of salt water covering the majority of Earth's surface, i.e., the
world ocean.[9][10] It includes the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern/Antarctic,
and Arctic oceans.[20] As a general term, "the ocean" and "the sea" are often
interchangeable.[21]

Strictly speaking, a "sea" is a body of water (generally a division of the world ocean)
partly or fully enclosed by land.[22] The word "sea" can also be used for many specific,
much smaller bodies of seawater, such as the North Sea or the Red Sea. There is
no sharp distinction between seas and oceans, though generally seas are smaller,
and are often partly (as marginal seas) or wholly (as inland seas) bordered by land.[23]

World Ocean
"World Ocean" redirects here; not to be confused with ocean world.
 Maps exhibiting the world's oceanic waters. A continuous body
of water encircling Earth, the World/Global Ocean is divided into a number of principal areas. Five
oceanic divisions are usually recognized: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern/Antarctic; the
last two listed are sometimes consolidated into the first three.

The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was coined in the early 20th century
by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky to refer to the continuous ocean that
covers and encircles most of Earth.[24][25] The global, interconnected body of salt water
is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean, global ocean or the great ocean.[26][27]
[28]
The concept of a continuous body of water with relatively unrestricted exchange
between its components is critical in oceanography.[29]

Etymology
The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity, Oceanus (/oʊ
ˈsiːənəs/; Ancient Greek: Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós,[30] pronounced [ɔːkeanós]), the elder of
the Titans in classical Greek mythology. Oceanus was believed by the ancient
Greeks and Romans to be the divine personification of an enormous river encircling
the world.

The concept of Ōkeanós could have an Indo-European connection. Greek Ōkeanós

has been compared to the Vedic epithet ā-śáyāna-, predicated of the dragon Vṛtra-,
who captured the cows/rivers. Related to this notion, the Okeanos is represented
with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases.[31]

Natural history
Further information: List of ancient oceans

Origin of water
Further information: Origin of water on Earth

Scientists believe that a sizable quantity of water would have been in the material
that formed Earth.[32] Water molecules would have escaped Earth's gravity more
easily when it was less massive during its formation. This is called atmospheric
escape.

During planetary formation, Earth possibly had magma oceans.

Subsequently, outgassing, volcanic activity and meteorite impacts, produced an
early atmosphere of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapor, according to current
theories. The gases and the atmosphere are thought to have accumulated over
millions of years. After Earth's surface had significantly cooled, the water vapor over
time would have condensed, forming Earth's first oceans.[33] The early oceans might
have been significantly hotter than today and appeared green due to high iron
content.[34]

Geological evidence helps constrain the time frame for liquid water existing on Earth.
A sample of pillow basalt (a type of rock formed during an underwater eruption) was
recovered from the Isua Greenstone Belt and provides evidence that water existed
on Earth 3.8 billion years ago.[35] In the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, Quebec,
Canada, rocks dated at 3.8 billion years old by one study[36] and 4.28 billion years old
by another[37] show evidence of the presence of water at these ages.[35] If oceans
existed earlier than this, any geological evidence either has yet to be discovered