Introduction To Oceanography

Introduction To Oceanography
Have you ever seen the ocean ? have you ever been in the
ocean ?have you ever gone snorkelling or scuba diving and gotten a
really good look at what exists beneath the ocean ’s surface ? it is
just amazing ! the ocean is teeming with life.
When most people think about ocean life , they tend to think about
fish but there is a lot more to marine life than that.
There are other amzing organisms that exist in the ocean (like
zooxanthelae and deep-ocean anglerfish) , these amazing organisms
make their homes in the ocean and have complex interactions with
one another , and with land-dwelling creatures, as you study all of
these things , you will see that the oceans play a vital role for all life
on earth.
The ocean is a vast realm that contains many strange and wonderful
creatures, the beauty , mystery and power of the sea fascinate
people all over the world, even professional marine biologists feel
the sense of adventure and wonder in their studies.
1-what is oceanography :
Oceanography studies a wide diversity of topics , including , but not
limited to : the composition of sea water , geology of the ocean
basins , aquatic life , the physics of ocean waves, dynamics of
hurricanes , coastal geological processes and marine mineral
ressources.
As one of the Earth’s sciences , oceanography is interdisciplinary in

nature , combining geology , geophisics , chemistry , biology ,
meteorology and engineering.
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Specialists may have titles reflecting their area of specialization in
oceanography such as marine geologists or ( geological
oceanographer) who study the sea floor , chemical oceanographer
study ocean chemistry , and physical oceanographer study waves ,
tides , currents and other physical aspects of the sea .
*Physical oceanography :
Studies all forms of motion in the ocean. It relates observations of

motions to physical laws .
*Chemical oceanography :
Studies the unique properties of ocean water. Ocean water contains

a vast array of substances besides salt, and chemical oceanography
examines how these various ions,elements , gases and other
substances interact with each other , with marine organisms and with
the seawater itself.
*Geological oceanography :
Studies the ocean floor and the processes that influence its structure.
*Marine biology :
Life on earth is believed to be originated in the sea, therefore the

study of marine life teaches us much about all life on earth , not just
in the sea.
Marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet.
Marine organisms produce much of the oxygen we breathe and help

regulate the earth’s climate , thus to make full and wise use of the
sea’s living ressources ,to solve any kind of problems marine
organisms may create , we must learn all we can about marine life.
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In addition,marine organisms provide clues to the earth’s past , the
history of life , this is the challenge and the adventure of marine
biology.
2- The oceans of our planet :

The combined surfaces of earth’s oceans cover 72% of the earth !
with nearly three-fourths of our world covered with sea water , it is
easy to see the great impact marine biology has on all of us and the
importance of studying it.
The ocean water is not distributed equally over the globe, however
there is more ocean area in the Southern Hemisphere than in the
Northern Hemisphere .
In fact, almost two-thirds of our planet’s land area is located in the

Northern Hemisphere, while 80% of the Southern Hemisphere is
covered by water.
There are four large ocean basins on the earth .
An ocean basin is basically a very large depressions, or bowl ,on the

surface of the earth .
The largest and deepest of these is : The Pacific Ocean basin , it is

almost as large as the other three basins put together.
The Atlantic Ocean basin is the next largest in size.
The Indian Ocean basin is a little smaller than the Atlantic basin , but
it is similar in depth.
Finally , The Arctic Ocean basin is the smallest and shallowest.
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These four deep basins are connected to various shallowers seas( The
Caribbean , Arabian and Mediterranean seas, as well as the Gulf of
Mexico , are a few examples of these shallowers seas.
The pacific , Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected by a large

pathway of water that surrounds the continent of Antarctica.
Scientists sometimes call this " the southern ocean" . There are also
waterways that connect these oceans to the Arctic ocean in the
North. This makes it possible for seawater and organisms to move
from one ocean to another.
3- oceans and seas

An ocean is a vast and continious frame of salty water that shelters
almost 70 percent of the total earth’s surface, while a sea is a large
body of saline water that occupies a greater part of the world’s
surface but it is smaller than an ocean. The differnce between the
two water bodies is summarized in terms of depth,area and marine
life.
Depth :
As stated earlier,oceans are large water bodies that exist on the

earth’s surface , the Pacific Ocean is the largest with a depth of
around 10,924 meters and the Arctic Ocean is the smallest with a
depth of 5,625 meters.
On the other hand , there are different types of seas with most
common ones being ; the Mediterranean sea, Baltic sea ( in Northern
Europe), North sea (located between the British isles and the
mainland of northwestern europe) , Bering sea (is bordered in the
west by Russia and the Kamchakta Peninsula ;in the South by the
Aleutian islands , and in the east by Alaska) and the Red and Yellow
sea.( the red sea separates the coasts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea
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to the west from those of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the east , and
the yellow sea is bordered in the west by China , in the east by the
Korean Peninsula ).
The major seas are : the Caribbean sea , the South China sea and the
Mediterranean sea.
The Caribbean sea is the deepest sea with an approximate depth of

6,924 meters.
The comparison by depth shows that oceans are much deeper as

compared to sea because land usually encloses the seawaters.
Area :
Oceans are the most prominent water bodies on planet earth with an
average total area of 361,900,000 square kilometers.
The largest ocean is the Pacific ocean which covers an area of

60,060,700 square miles , while the largest sea which is the
Mediterranean sea has an area of 1,114,800 square miles , a smaller
area than that of the smallest ocean .
Thus, this variation in the area indicates that seas are smaller than
oceans.
Marine life :
The plants and animals that exist in salty water ( oceans and seas )
are the ones that make up marine life.
The distance from the shore of the ocean or sea and their depths
intensely impact the quantity and biodiversity of aquatic plants and
sea creatures that exist there.
Since seas are permanently around the land , aquatic existence is

abundant , but this is not the case with oceans , the basic life forms
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that exist on oceans include microscopic planktons, bacteria and
shrimp.
Seas support a large portion of marine life since sunlight penetrates

deep down allowing photosynthesis to take place.
Oceans rarely support marine life since they are deeper than seas
and thus sunlight doesn’t penetrate deep enough to let
photosynthesis to take place.
Essential difference :
In conclusion, the essential difference between oceans and seas is

that oceans are massive saline water bodies that exist on the earth’s
surface while seas are vast saline waters that are either connected or
not connected to the ocean .
The terms oceans and seas are often used interchangeably since they
almost mean the same thing It is therefore ,necessary to note these
differences while talking about seas and oceans.
(For a full expalantion check the other

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Introduction To Oceanography

As one of the Earth’s sciences , oceanography is interdisciplinary in

Studies all forms of motion in the ocean. It relates observations of

Studies the unique properties of ocean water. Ocean water contains

Life on earth is believed to be originated in the sea, therefore the

Marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet.

Marine organisms produce much of the oxygen we breathe and help

2- The oceans of our planet :

In fact, almost two-thirds of our planet’s land area is located in the

There are four large ocean basins on the earth .

An ocean basin is basically a very large depressions, or bowl ,on the

The largest and deepest of these is : The Pacific Ocean basin , it is

The Atlantic Ocean basin is the next largest in size.

Finally , The Arctic Ocean basin is the smallest and shallowest.

The pacific , Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected by a large

3- oceans and seas

As stated earlier,oceans are large water bodies that exist on the

The Caribbean sea is the deepest sea with an approximate depth of

The comparison by depth shows that oceans are much deeper as

The largest ocean is the Pacific ocean which covers an area of

Since seas are permanently around the land , aquatic existence is

Seas support a large portion of marine life since sunlight penetrates

In conclusion, the essential difference between oceans and seas is

(For a full expalantion check the other

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