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Ocean photosynthesis also produces half of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. [13] Light can only penetrate a few hundred more meters; the rest of the deeper ocean is cold and dark (these zones are called mesopelagic and aphotic zones). The continental shelf is where the ocean meets dry land. It is more shallow, with a depth of a few hundred ...
Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays, straits, and other terms. Geologically, an ocean is an area of oceanic crust covered by water. Oceanic crust is the thin layer of solidified volcanic basalt that covers the Earth's mantle. Continental crust is thicker but less dense.
Coral reefs, the so-called "rainforests of the sea", occupy less than 0.1 percent of the world's ocean surface, yet their ecosystems include 25 percent of all marine species. [86] The best-known are tropical coral reefs such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef , but cold water reefs harbour a wide array of species including corals (only six of ...
The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, [3] [4] mostly surrounded by the North American continent. [5] It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo; and on the ...
The oceans are not just a marine habitat. They are also a workplace, a highway, a prison, a grocery store, a trash can, a cemetery — and much more. Why we need to think about the oceans differently
The Indian Ocean has large marginal, or regional seas, such as the Andaman Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Laccadive Sea. Once called the Eastern Ocean, it is now named after India, which protrudes into it, and has been known by its current name since at least 1515. It is the only ocean named after a country.
The state's history has long been tied to its location near the ocean: Rhode Island was home to the first water-powered textile mill in the country in 1790 and built the first ocean wind farm in ...
The Pacific Ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, although it is generally called the Panthalassa until the breakup of Pangea, about 200 million years ago. [87] The oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old, with older crust subducted by now. [88]