Wikibooks: Science: An Elementary Teacher’s Guide/Oceans

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Antarctic; Pacific; Indian; Antarctic Ocean; Thumb; Antarc*; Atlantic Arctic; Atlantic-Arctic
• Online Access: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Science:_An_Elementary_Teacher%E2%80%99s_Guide/Oceans

=Introduction= Most of the water on Earth is in the oceans therefore salty The small percent of fresh water is contained in Atmosphere (Water Vapor) Lakes/Rivers Ice caps/Glaciers Ground water 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean water. The oceans contain 97% of the earth’s water. All the oceans and seas are actually one continuous body of water. =The Major Oceans= Earth has four major oceans Pacific Atlantic Arctic and Indian ocean. Together they cover more than 70 percent of the Earth s surface. Many countries including United States now recognize the Southern Antarctic Ocean as the fifth major ocean. These oceans are bordered by a variety of seas which together form the remainder of the ocean covered portion of the Earth. 1. Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of salt water on the face of the earth. It contains the greatest surface measure of water present as well as containing the Mariana Trench the deepest point in the earths crust found by man at approximately 36 069 feet deep. Largest(1/3 of total ocean surface) Deepest (average depth 12 900 ft) The area and volume of the Pacific Ocean are greater than the Atlantic and Indian combined. A sea is a part of an ocean that is nearly surrounded by land. The Mediterranean Sea Arctic Sea and Black Sea are really part of the Atlantic Ocean. 2. Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic is the second largest body of water on earth containing the Bermuda Triangle a notorious area known for mysterious shipwrecks and lost vessels. It also contains the Atlantic Ridge a 10 000 mile long underwater mountain ridge. 1/4 of Earths surface average depth of 11 700 ft [[thumb center Extent of the Atlantic Ocean according to the 2002 IHO definition excluding [[Arctic]] and [[Antarctic]] regions]] 3. Indian Ocean This ocean is the third largest on earth and is speculated to provide around 40 percent of the worlds crude oil. It is also considered a closed ocean given that it is landlocked to its north by Asia unlike the other oceans of earth. 1/8 of Earths surface ...