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Arctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Southern Ocean
The oceans of planet Earth
Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by saline water, a huge area of water of approximately 360 million square kilometers. This mass of water is a principal component of the hydrosphere.
We have named oceans, for example the Indian ocean, but all the oceans of planet earth are joined together.
The oceans contain plankton. These microscopic organisms are at the very bottom of the food chain. All the life in the oceans depends upon plankton!
The Arctic Ocean is located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean. It covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface.
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceans.
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises all of the ocean area below 60° S latitude.
 atlantic salmon NOAA image in public domain |
 humpback whale breaching User: Wwelles14 GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 |
Ovibos moschatus musk ox User: Quart Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported |
Cystophora cristata hooded seal pup Author: ANOAA Fisheries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Image in public domain |
Life in the oceans
The oceans are home to billions of plants and animals. Many live only near the sunlit surface.
Recent research has found many species that live in the deepest depths, as deep as 7000 metres, where there is no natural light and the water pressure is immense.
The most abundant plants in the ocean are phytoplankton. These are single-celled, minute floating plants that drift throughout the surface waters of the ocean. Without plankton there would be no life in our oceans!
Pagophilus groenlandicus harp seal (Pagophilus) pup User: Matthieu Godbout GNU Free Documentation License |
 Elephant seals User: Baldhur National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Image in Public Domain |
 beluga whales User: Diliff GNU Free Documentation License |
 narwhales Author: Glenn Williams work by the U.S. government Image in public domain |
Ursus maritimus Polar bear User: Ansgar_Walk Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic |
Ursus maritimus Polar bear and cub Author: Alan D. Wilson Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported |