Two-thirds of our planet is covered with oceans. The Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, and the Artic are the world's major oceans. They were formed by a series of geological processes that continue to affect the Earth. Seven main parts, called lithospheric plates, make up the Earth's mantle layer and crust. The plates fit together millions of years ago, and are constantly moving (at a slow pace-like a fingernail grows) over a layer of squishy, soft rock called asthenosphere that lies beneath the crust. Magma rises to fill the space when the two plates move away from each other to form an ocean. This is the way the ocean grows over millions of years.
The ocean floor has an amazing landscape similar to dry land with huge mountains and deep valleys, slopes and plains, trenches and ridges. Through today's technology advances we are able to study the ocean deep and learn about it.
The ocean is consistently moving. Its surface can change from calm and mirror like to wild and treacherous. Most waves at sea are caused by wind. The waves created the gales that blow during a tropical cyclone are 46ft and higher. The largest wave known to have been caused by the wind was 112ft high. Waves can also be created by volcanic eruptions. These waves are known at tsunamis. They are wide columns of water that reach down to the sea floor and can travel for great distances, at the speed of a jet plane. Colliding currents can also change the surface of the ocean. When the tide turns, the opposing currents meet and may create a whirlpool.
Ocean currents are massive bodies of water that travel long distances around the world. Wind is the major force that creates currents. There are seven main ocean currents that move in large, circular streams at a walking pace. In the Northern Hemisphere currents move in a clockwise direction; in the Southern Hemisphere they are counterclockwise. Warm or cold water currents are carried by winds along the shorelines. This affects the climate of the various continents on the way. The current that carries warm water from the Caribbean Sea, up the east coast of the United Stated and then to the west coasts of Britain and Northern Europe is called the Gulf Stream. These areas would be much colder without the Gulf Stream. The "pull" of the moon and the sun also affect the ocean by causing the tides.
wave to form, the surging tide must meet an obstacle. When the ocean meets the
The shaded stripes also represent older and older rock as they move away from the mid-oceanic ridge. Geologists have determined that rocks found in different parts of the planet with similar ages have the same magnetic characteristics. The deepest waters are found in oceanic trenches, which plunge as deep as 35,000 feet below the ocean surface. These trenches are usually long and narrow, and run parallel to and near the oceans margins.
a) physical and chemical changes related to tides, waves, currents, sea level and ice cap variations, upwelling, and salinity variations;
Rough waves are an open water phenomenon, in which winds, currents, nonlinear phenomena cause a wave to briefly form that is far larger than the "average" large occurring wave of that time and place. rogue waves can form in large bodies of freshwater as well as the ocean. The first rogue wave confirmed with scientific evidence,it has a maximum height of 25.6 metres (84 ft).rogue waves can also reach up to about 30 meters or 100 feet high. A rogue wave estimated at 18.3 meters (60 feet) in the Gulf Stream off of Charleston, S.C.
In the beginning of the creation of Earth volcanoes erupted all over the planet. During this period there was a time where a brief cooling period was allowed to take place. When this period took place evaporation caused a downpour of rain which flooded the ocean creating the ocean. At the time that ocean was averaged at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Around this same time an asteroid so powerful hit the Earth knocking off a large chunk of it. This chunk became the moon which at the time was twice as close as it is today. The hitting of the planet Earth cause such a shake that many new undersea volcanoes began spewing forth molten rock and gasses. These gasses and other particles formed on the oceans surface and with the moon being so close were smashed together by strong and violent waves.
The ocean takes up about 71 percent of the world, and, oddly enough, if someone can’t grasp how massive that is, it is also 1.3 billion cubic kilometers, holding over 99 percent of area that
Climate change is a long term change in the earth’s climate. Climate change is attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. There are 328,000,000 cubic miles of seawater on the planet, covering approximately 71 percent of the earth's surface. Ninety-seven percent of all water is in the oceans. The other three percent is divided amongst the two percent ice and one percent fresh water. Making earth’s waters composed mostly of salt water. Salt water covers most of our planet indicating climate change to have a giant impact on our oceans. Taking a closer look at the ocean and our water in general can reveal several clues to the greater effects of climate change and what other ways climate change can affect our planet. (2)
Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.
In the past, there was some kind of confusion between tsunami and other phenomena that generated similar large waves such as storm waves. Some other people used to think that the tsunamis were tidal waves that are caused by the gravity of the moon and the sun due to the similarity in its appearance to the tides. However, the origin of tsunami differs greatly from the origin of the tides. A tsunami can be generated from different sources (Cartwright and Nakamura 152).
Tsunamis are barely noticeable in deep ocean water; however when it starts approaching the land and shallow water the waves start to slow down and the height starts increase sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters).
Continental drifting is driven by the interaction between the oceans and the hot interior of Earth. Therefore, without oceans there would be no continents and no continental drifting and therefore, no new formation of oceans, no earthquakes or tsunamis. If this cycle did not happen, no new species would have evolved or no natural formation would occur. This shows us the importance of continental drifting and events occurring with it (McCarthy and Rubidge, 2005).
Plate Tectonics shows us that the entire world is broken up into roughly twelve giant plates. The six major tectonic plates, as the sections are called, are the African, American, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates. Each one reaching thousands of miles long and wide. Each specific plate is made up of rock and are about forty miles thick. All of the plates fit together like a puzzle. Fitting close to each other which in turn makes the earth. When the plates reach up very high they become continents the ones that are very low form basins. These basins then become filled with water and become our oceans. The plates are on the earth’s mantle. The mantle is 2,000 miles thick. The t...
All oceans contain salt water and other minerals. The Pacific Ocean has the largest body of water in it. It spreads nearly halfway around the world. The Pacific Ocean is also the deepest ocean out of all four oceans. The Atlantic contains the second largest body of water. Next is the Indian Ocean, which is on the borderline of being a big ocean and a small ocean. Last is the Arctic Ocean, which by all means is the smallest ocean of them all, and the shallowest.