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These envelopes nevertheless limit observation of the ice giants' interiors, and thereby the information on their composition and evolution. [2] Although Uranus and Neptune are referred to as ice giant planets, it is thought that there is a supercritical water-ammonia ocean beneath their clouds, which accounts for about two-thirds of their ...
However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation. In the Earth's polar regions ocean water gets very cold, forming sea ice.
Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. [1] [2] [3] Much of the world's sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth's polar regions: the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean and the ...
Planetary oceanography, also called astro-oceanography or exo-oceanography, [1] is the study of oceans on planets and moons other than Earth.Unlike other planetary sciences like astrobiology, astrochemistry, and planetary geology, it only began after the discovery of underground oceans in Saturn's moon Titan [2] and Jupiter's moon Europa. [3]
Earth's surface is dominated by the ocean, which forms 75% of Earth's surface.. An ocean world, ocean planet or water world is a type of planet or natural satellite that contains a substantial amount of water in the form of oceans, as part of its hydrosphere, either beneath the surface, as subsurface oceans, or on the surface, potentially submerging all dry land.
A pressure ridge, when consisting of ice in an oceanic or coastal environment, is a linear pile-up of sea ice fragments formed in pack ice by accumulation in the convergence between floes. Such a pressure ridge develops in an ice cover as a result of a stress regime established within the plane of the ice.
Despite being the largest animal on the planet, blue whales maintain a life of secrecy, spending their days in the deep, open ocean. The opportunity to see a blue whale comes once-in-a-lifetime ...
This gyre is characterized by a clockwise rotation of surface waters, driven by the combined influence of wind, the Earth's rotation, and the shape of the seafloor. The gyre plays a crucial role in the transport of heat, nutrients, and marine life in the Southern Ocean, affecting the distribution of sea ice and influencing regional climate ...