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About 75 % of the earth is made up of water. This percent is slowly increasing because the glaciers are melting and making more water. This is a result of the greenhouse effect , which is slowly causing global warming.
OCEANS
All oceans have saltwater. In oceans, there is a force called a current which mostly forms from the wind. Surface currents make up 10% of the currents in the upper 400 meters of the ocean. Deep Water currents make up 90% of the ocean water. Primary forces in the ocean are solar heating, winds, gravity and corollas. Secondary forces influence where the currents flow. Where a river runs into an ocean or sea is called a delta. A delta has very rich soil and is home to shallow water creatures such as minnows. Did you know there are more organisms in the ocean than people of the earth's population?
Ocean Area Ocean area: 335,258,000 square kilometer
Total water area: 361,419,000 square kilometers
Type of water: 97% salt, 3% fresh
Salt in the ocean Salt that is in the ocean washes in from rivers. This flowing water picks up the salt off the sedimentary rocks and flows into the ocean.
Ocean and size (in km) From largest to smallest #1 Pacific - 155,557,000 square kilometers #2 Atlantic - 76,762,000 square kilometers
#3 Indian - 68,556,000 square kilometers
#4 Arctic - 14,056,000 square kilometers
Depth by Ocean Mariana Trench - (35,827 feet) - located in the Pacific Ocean
Puerto Rico Trench - (30,246 feet) - located in the Atlantic Ocean
Java Trench - (24,640 feet) - located in the Indian Ocean
Arctic Basin - (18,456 feet) - located in the Arctic
Great Barrier Reef
The biggest group of coral reefs in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. This reef extends 1,250 miles. The closest part of this reef is about 10 miles offshore. The coral that forms on the reef is made of the hard skeletons of dead waters animals called polyps. About 400 species of polyps live there and about 1,500 species of fish. Other animals that live there are crabs, giant clams, and sea turtles. Scientist believe the reef started forming about 30 million years ago.
Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is home to the most animals in the world?
River Biomes Streams and rivers are bodies of water which are constantly flowing in the same direction all the time. At the beginning of the stream the water is cold and clear. It does not carry a lot of sediment and only carries a few nutrients. The width of a stream is usually narrow. All rivers run from mountains and those rivers run into oceans.
Dive in and learn how to Adopt-A-Dolphin
If you would like to be involved in helping save other animals go to our game and activities page and click on adopt-a-dolphin.
CITATIONS
Prentice hall science explorer Earth's changing surface Teacher's Edition University, Usc. "Depatment Recources." Department of Earth Sciences University of Southern California. University of Southern California. 1 Mar. 2006 <earthsci@usc.edu>. Wn Network. "Great Barrier Reef." Great Barrier Reef. 1 Mar. 2006. Wn Network. 1 Mar. 2006 <http://GreatBarrierReef.com>.
Ricciuti, Edward R., John H. Tullock, and Martin A. Moe. "Aquatic Biomes." World Biomes. 14 Apr. 2003. 1 Mar. 2006 "Earth's surface and atmosphere." World Book. 2005. 8 Mar. 2006 <http://www.worldbook.com/wc/popup?path=features/earth&page=html/explore_surface.htm&direct=yes>. http://www.gifanimations.com/action/ImageDisplay?group=1&category=46&index=0&dir=next
http://www.animation-station.com/fish/
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