Oceans cover more then two third of the surface of our planet. A ship can sail around the world without touching any land and if it would drain, it would probably sink more than 7000 meters until it would reach the ground. This huge depth is the home to millions of plants and animals. Our ocean absorbs and saves energy from the sun and transports it all across the globe, giving it back to the atmosphere. This process cools down the earth's temperature. The enormous water reservoirs of the oceans creates rain, which brings fruitfulness and prevents the continents of being covered by deserts. They contribute to our nutrition and their enormous supplies of oil and natural gas cover a large part of our power requirements. Continents divide the deep sea into four basins connected with each other; the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic ocean. The Pacific ocean, the biggest and deepest, covers over one third of the planet. The arctic ocean’s the smallest, flattest and coldest of them all.

 

The Map shows division of the worlds ocean into the Atlantic, the Arctic, Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

 

At the beginning of this project, we find it appropriate to tell you, what water actually is. Each molecule of water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen. The hydrogen atoms bond to the oxygen atom asymmetrically by sharing electrons (Each hydrogen atoms shares its only electron with the oxygen atom. The oxygen atom receives the two electrons needed to complete its outer shell, making it a stable molecule.) The hydrogen bonding and polarity of water molecules is responsible for many of the unique characteristics and physical properties of water. Water would be a gas at room temperature and have an extremely low freezing point, making life impossible if it wasn’t polar. It has the possibility to store heat energy and the again is able to release considerable amounts of heat energy when it freezes. Because of that, water keeps the climate of the earth from rapidly fluctuating. The temperature of the surface of the ocean ranges from 26C in tropical waters to -1.4 C in polar regions. Surface temperatures generally decrease with increasing latitude and depth.

 

On the left you see a water molecule composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen.

The sea level didn‘t always have today's height. 18000 years ago, during the last ice age, it would have been possible to walk from France to England. After this ice age the sea level rose year by year.

© by Team 27115