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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!

map of the oceans

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
atlantic salmon
NOAA
image in public domain

humpback whale breaching
humpback whale breaching
User: Wwelles14
GNU Free Documentation License 1.2

Ovibos moschatus

musk oxa
musk ox
User: Quart
Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Cystophora cristata

hooded seal pup
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 pup
harp seal (Pagophilus) pup
User: Matthieu Godbout
GNU Free Documentation License

elephant_seal
Elephant seals
User: Baldhur
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Image in Public Domain

Beluga Whales
beluga whales
User: Diliff
GNU Free Documentation License

narwhales
narwhales
Author: Glenn Williams
work by the U.S. government
Image in public domain

Ursus maritimus

polar bear
Polar bear
User: Ansgar_Walk
Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic

Ursus maritimus

polar bear and cub
Polar bear and cub
Author: Alan D. Wilson
Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported