OCEAN&SEAFACTS

DeepestPointInTheOcean Thedeepestpartoftheoceanwasfirstpinpointedin1951byHMSurveyShipChallengerintheMarianasTrenchinthePacificOcean.OnJanuary23,1960,the USNavyTriestevesseldescendedtothebottomofthePacificOcean,andonMarch24,1995,theJapaneseprobeKaikorecordedadepthof10,911m(35,797 ft),themostaccuratemeasurementyettaken.Ourhighestmountain,MountEverestinNepal,atalittleover29,000feetwouldbecompletelyswallowedbythe oceanatthatpoint. LargestIsland DiscountingAustralia,whichhasanareaof7,682,300sqkm.(2,966,200sqmiles)butisusuallyregardedasacontinentallandmass,thelargestislandinthe worldisGreenland,withanareaofabout2,175,600sqkm(840,000sqmiles). LargestOcean Excludingadjacentseas,thePacificOceanrepresents45.9%oftheworld'soceansandcovers166,241,700km(64,186,000miles)inarea.Theaveragedepthis 3,940m(12,925ft).Theoceanwasfirstgivenitsname,whichmeans"peaceful"in1520bythePortuguesenavigatorFerdinandMagellan.Acrossitsgreatest lengthitmeasures17,700km(10,998miles).TheAtlanticOceanisthesecondlargestoceanandcoversaround80millionsqkm.ItwasnamedaftertheAtlas MountainsinNorthAfrica. SmallestOcean TheArcticOcean,withanareaof9,485,000sqkm(3,662,000sqmiles),isthesmallestocean.Ithasamaximumdepthof5,450m(17,880ft).TheArcticOceanis notcompletelyenclosedbyland,however,andsoissometimesreferedtoasanarmoftheAtlantic.ItisalsoconnectedtothewatersofthePacificOceanbythe BeringStrait. ThickestIce Thegreatestrecordedthicknessoficeis4.78km.(2.97miles),measuredbyradioechosoundingsfromaUSAntarcticresearchaircraft.Antarcticais97.6% coveredinsnowandice.Thehugecontinenthasnoindigenousinhabitants.

HighestWaterspout ThehighestwaterspoutrecordedwasonMay16,1898,offthecoastofEden,NewSouthWales,Australia.Atheodolitereadingfromtheshoregaveitsheightas 1,528m.(5,014ft.). WhatareTheSevenSeas? Aphraseoftenusedtoemphasiseextensivetravelwithitsoriginsintheearlyhistoryofglobalseavoyages.Someancientcivilizationsusedthephraseto describethesevenlargebodiesofwaterthatwereknowntothematthetime.HistoriansgenerallythinkthattheseweretheIndianOcean,BlackSea,Caspian Sea,AdriaticSea,PersianGulf,MediterraneanSea,andtheRedSea.Themodernworldrecognisesmorethan50seasworldwide. TheSaltiest&WarmestSea. TheRedSeahas41partssaltper1,000partsofwater.TheRedSeaisalsothewarmestseawheretemperaturesregularlyrangefrom68degreesto87.8degrees Fahrenheit. WhyistheSeaSalty? Overbillionsofyearsfreshwaterflowingacrossthelandhasdissolvedsaltoutoftherocksandhascarriedthesemineraldepositsouttosea.Thesaltremainsin theseaaswaterdoesntflowoutoftheoceanbasins,andwaterevaporatingfromtheseatoformrainleavestheheaviermineralsbehind.Seawateralsopicks upsaltfromtheoceaniccrust. UnderseaRiches Therearemassivemineralreservesontheoceansfloors.Theserangefromsandandgravel,tomanganese,nickel,copper,cobalt.Surveyshavefoundthat therearehigherconcentrationsofdiamondsintheoceansthanonland,withdepositsofftheSkeletonCoastofNamibiabeingparticularlyplentiful.Thereare alsohugeuntappedreservesofmethanethatcouldbeusedasfuel. HomeisWheretheSeaIs 99%ofthelivingspaceontheplanetisintheoceansandseas.Only3%ofourwaterisfreshwater. LargestAnimal TheBlueWhale(Balaenoptearmusculus)isthelargestknownanimalevertohavelived,inseaoronland.Thisspeciesofwhalecanreach33.5m(110ft)in lengthandweigh200tons,equivalentto50fullygrownelephants.Thebluewhale'sbloodvesselsaresobroadthatafullgrowntroutcouldswimthroughthem, andaresuppliedbyaheartthesizeofasmallcar.

Largest&FastestFish BluefinTuna(Thunnusthynnus),areamongthelargestandfastestmarinefish.Anadultcanweighasmuchas680kg(1,500lbs)andswimupto55milesper hour.PrizedassushiinJapan,Bluefinsarealsoamongthemostvaluablefishwithindividualfishhavingcarriedapricetagofasmuchas$20,000atU.S.docks. OldestLife Ithasbeenestimatedthatlifebeganintheoceans3.4billionyearsago,farlongerthanthemere400millionyearsthefirstlanddwellersevolved. DeepestConcentrationofLife Arecentstudyofadeepseacommunityfound898speciesacrossmorethan100differentspeciefamiliesinanareahalfthesizeofatenniscourt.Incredibly overhalfofthesewerenewtoscience.Atgreatdepthsfrom3,700m(12,139ft)theabyssbegins,apointwheresunlightcannolongerpenetrateandonlysea creaturesthathaveevolvedtohandletotaldarkness,extremepressureandoftenlevelsofmineralsthatwouldbetotallylethaltoanimalsonland.Theyare keptalivebyaprocesscalledchemosynthesiswhichenablesthemtoconvertenergyfromchemicalreaction. DeepestDiveByAMammal ThedeepestdivebyamammalwasmadebyaBullSpermWhale(Physetermacrocephalus)offthecoastofDominica,intheCaribbean,in1991.Scientistsfrom theWoodsHoleOceanographicInstituterecordedthedivetoadepthof2,000m(6,500ft).Thedivelastedonehour13minutes.Thegreatestdepthreachedby apenguinwasrecordedin1993intheRossSeawhereanEmperorpenguinhaddivedto534m(1,751ft) LargestCreatureNeverObservedInOwnHabitat TheArchiteuthisduxisoftenknownastheGiantSquid.Becausescientistsdonotknowexactlywhereintheseaitlives,theyhaveneverbeenabletostudyit. Specimenshavemeasuredupto18m(59ft)inlengthand900kg(1,980lb)inweight. ShortFacts
Sharkshavetokeepswimmingtostayalive,evenwhentheyreasleep. KillerWhalesareinactualfactnotbiologicallyclassifiedaswhales.Theyfallwithinthedolphinfamily. Dolphinsneedtocomeupforairabouteverytwominutes. WhalesandDolphinsareclassifiedasmammals,butsharksarefish.