The Ocean Explorers
By: Pauline Yakubovich, Will Hastings, Cherie Sang
The Five Major Oceans
The five major oceans are the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and the Southern ocean. The Pacicific Ocean is located between North America, South America, and Asia. The Atlantic Ocean is located between the Americas and Africa/Europe. The Indian Ocean is located to the right of Africa,below Europe, and to the left of Australia. The Arctic Ocean is located north of Europe.The Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean) is located south of the continents.
Composition of the Ocean's Water
The ocean water composition is mostly oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine, sodium chloride, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, potassium, bromine, and carbon. Ocean water has alot of dissolved solids.
All The Water On Earth
97.2% of all water on Earth is saltwater. The rest, 2.8% is freshwater. Within that 2.8%, 2.17% are polar icecaps and glaciers. Other sources of freshwater include groundwater, lakes, rivers, and the atmosphere.
The Zones of The Ocean
The zones of the ocean differ in depth, life, sunlight, temperature, and salinity. As you go further down in the ocean, the temperature decreases, the pressure increases, the amount of sunlight decreases and the amount of life decreases. The benthic environment includes the intertidal zone, the sublittoral zone, the bathyal zone, the abyssal zone, and the hadal zone. The pelagic environment includes the neritic zone and the oceanic zone.
Topography of the Ocean Floor
The ocean floor isn't uniform, it includes basins, continental shelves, continental slopes, abyssal plains, trenches, and mid-ocean ridges. The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of all the oceans. A continental shelf is a relatively flat part of the ocean floor covered by sea water. A continental slope is a steeply sloping edge of the continental shelf that drops to the ocean basin. The abyssal plain is a flat, almost level, area of the ocean basin. A mid-ocean ridge is an under water mountain chain. An oceanic trench is a deep ocean trough.
Chemical Erosion and Salinity
Salt and other minerals are carried through chemical erosion from the land by surface waters to the ocean. The water dissolves various minerals on land and carries it to the ocean. Sodium chloride is an abundant dissolved solid in the ocean commonly known as salt. Salinity is how much salt there is in a certain part of the ocean.