Portal:Oceans

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Introduction

The world ocean or ocean sea is the body of salt water that covers ~70.8% of the Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of the Earth's hydrosphere, thus the ocean is essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns, the carbon cycle, and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir. (Full article...)

A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. (Full article...)

Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean', and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and seabed geology; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. (Full article...)

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Satellite image of the Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the northern coast of South America. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the northwest.

The entire Caribbean Sea area, the West Indies' numerous islands, and adjacent coasts are collectively known as the Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,217 ft) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Gonâve, the Gulf of Venezuela, the Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, the Gulf of Paria and the Gulf of Honduras. (Full article...)
List of selected articles

Interesting facts -

  • Flashes of light emitted by the sea snail Hinea brasiliana may act as a "burglar alarm".

Selected list articles and Marine habitat topics

Tasks


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General images -

The following are images from various ocean-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

16 February 2024 – Red Sea crisis
U.S. officials confirm that a cyberattack was carried out on the MV Beshad, an Iranian spy ship in the Red Sea, to inhibit the ship from sharing intelligence with Houthi forces in Yemen. (NBC News)
8 February 2024 –
NASA's PACE mission is launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, to study Earth's ocean and atmosphere. (Ars Technica)
3 February 2024 – Red Sea crisis
2024 missile strikes in Yemen
The United States and United Kingdom launch airstrikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, including underground weapons storage facilities, missile systems, radars, and command and control centres. (Reuters)
27 January 2024 – Red Sea crisis
Marlin Luanda missile strike

WikiProjects

  • WikiProject Oceans
  • WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography
  • WikiProject Marine life
  • WikiProject Cetaceans
  • WikiProject Fishes
  • WikiProject Sharks

Related WikiProjects
  • WikiProject Arthropods
  • WikiProject Fisheries and Fishing
  • WikiProject Lakes
  • WikiProject Rivers

Topics


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Categories

Select [►] to view subcategories Oceans
Oceans
Categories by sea or ocean
Landforms by sea or ocean
Bays by ocean
Fish by ocean
Shipwrecks by ocean
Volcanism by ocean
Seas
Oceans surrounding Antarctica
Arctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Submarine cables
Coasts
Ocean currents
Marine energy
Oceans and seas in fiction
Historical oceans
Indian Ocean
Law of the sea
Ocean maps
Marine conservation
Oceanaria
Oceans-related lists
Pacific Ocean
Submarine pipelines
Ocean pollution
Southern Ocean
Works set on oceans
World Ocean


Seas
Seas
Categories by sea or ocean
Seas by country
Seas by continent
Fish by sea
Shipwrecks by sea
Seas of the Arctic Ocean
Seas of the Atlantic Ocean
Sea in culture
Sea and river deities
Oceans and seas in fiction
Seas of Greenland
Seas of the Indian Ocean
Lists of seas
Marginal seas
Marine energy
Maritime transport
Seas of the Pacific Ocean
Bays by sea
Seas of the Southern Ocean


Oceanography
Oceanography
Marine geophysicists
Oceans
Seas
Oceanography awards
Biological oceanography
Chemical oceanography
Oceanographic expeditions
Ocean exploration
Fracture zones
Oceanographic instrumentation
Oceanography journals
Marine biology
Marine geology
Marine meteorology
Maritime culture
Meteorology
Oceanographers
Oceanographic Time-Series
Oceanographical terminology
Oceanography of Canada
Oceanographic organizations
Paleoceanography
Physical oceanography
Research vessels
Sea ice
Underwater diving companies
Underwater diving sites
Underwater explorers
United States Exploring Expedition
Oceanography stubs

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Admiralty law

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