1. 1. Educational awareness
2. 2. While there is only one global ocean, the vast body of water that covers 71 percent of the Earth is geographically divided into distinct named regions. The boundaries between these regions have evolved over time for a variety of historical, cultural, geographical, and scientific reasons. Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. However, most countries - including the United States - now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian are known as the three major oceans.
3. 3. The Atlantic Ocean
4. 4. The Atlantic Ocean covers an area of approximately 41,105,000 square miles. As the second largest ocean basin, the Atlantic Ocean borders the east coast of the U.S., while the Pacific, Earth's largest ocean basin, borders the U.S. West Coast.
5. 5. The Pacific Ocean
6. 6. The Pacific Ocean is by far the largest of the world's ocean basins, covering approximately 59 million square miles and containing more than half of the free water on Earth.
7. 7. The Arctic Ocean
8. 8. The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five ocean basins. With an area of about 5.4 million square miles, the Arctic Ocean is about 1.5 times as big as the United States. It is bordered by Greenland, Canada, Norway, Alaska, and Russia. The average depth of the Arctic Ocean is 12,000 feet and it is 17,850 feet at its deepest point. The Arctic Ocean is almost completely covered with ice for the majority of the year and its average temperature seldom rises above freezing. However, this ocean is anything but barren.
9. 9. A warming climate can cause seawater to expand and ice over land to melt, both of which can cause a rise in sea level.
10. 10. Sea level can rise by two different mechanisms with respect to climate change. First, as the oceans warm due to an increasing global temperature, seawater expandstaking up more space in the ocean basin and causing a rise in water level. The second mechanism is the melting of ice over land, which then adds water to the ocean.
11. 11. Why is the Ocean Blue? Big Sur coastline looking north to Bixby Canyon Bridge in California.
12. 12. The ocean is blue because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see. The ocean may also take on green, red, or other hues as light bounces off of floating sediments and particles in the water. Most of the ocean, however, is completely dark. Hardly any light penetrates deeper than 656 feet, and no light penetrates deeper than 3,280 feet.
13. 13. Runoff and Pollution Although the ocean covers two-thirds of the surface of the Earth, it is surprisingly vulnerable to human influences such as overfishing, pollution from run-off, and dumping of waste from human activity. This kind of pollution can have serious economic and health impacts by killing marine life and damaging habitats and ecosystems. Toxins from pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals used on farms contaminate nearby rivers that flow into the ocean, which can cause extensive loss of marine life in bays and estuaries leading to the creation of dead zones. The dumping of industrial, nuclear and other waste into oceans was legal until the early 1970's when it became regulated; however, dumping still occurs illegally everywhere.
14. 14. Contaminants in the Environment
15. 15. Oil and other chemicals can get into sediments, impacting large coastal areas, threatening human health, and reducing the economic well-being of regions that depend on a healthy coastal environment. Our ocean and coastal areas provide us with a lot from food, places to boat and swim, and wildlife to enjoythe list goes on. So when these areas become polluted and unhealthy, it isnt just bad for the environment, its also bad for us. At NOS, scientists, economists, and other experts are busy monitoring, assessing, and working to clean up contaminants in the environment.
16. 16. The source A wide range of chemicals can contaminate our water, land, or air, impacting the environment and our health. Most contaminants enter the environment from industrial and commercial facilities; oil and chemical spills; non-point sources such as roads, parking lots, and storm drains; and wastewater treatment plants and sewage systems. Many hazardous waste sites and industrial facilities have been contaminated for decades and continue to affect the environment.
17. 17. The Impact Contaminants in the environment can look and smell pretty nasty, but their impacts go beyond just aesthetics. Some pollutants resist breakdown and accumulate in the food chain. These pollutants can be consumed or absorbed by fish and wildlife, which in turn may be eaten by us. Chemicals can also get into sediments, impacting large coastal areas, threatening human health, and reducing the economic well-being of regions that depend on a healthy coastal environment.
18. 18. Most ocean pollution begins on land
19. 19. Eighty percent of pollution to the marine environment comes from the land. One of the biggest sources is called nonpoint source pollution, which occurs as a result of runoff. Nonpoint source pollution includes many small sources, like septic tanks, cars, trucks, and boats, plus larger sources, such as farms, ranches, and forest areas. Millions of motor vehicle engines drop small amounts of oil each day onto roads and parking lots. Much of this, too, makes its way to the sea. Some water pollution actually starts as air pollution, which settles into waterways and oceans. Dirt can be a pollutant. Top soil or silt from fields or construction sites can run off into waterways, harming fish and wildlife habitats.
20. 20. Aquatic Vegetation - Eel grass
21. 21. Eel grass, a type of submerged aquatic vegetation, supports the life cycle of many fish and shellfish. The health of submerged aquatic vegetation is an important environmental indicator of overall ocean and estuary health. Seagrasses in bays and lagoons, for instance, are vital to the success of small invertebrates and fish. These small creatures are a food source for commercial and recreational fish. Seagrasses also stabilize sediments, generate organic material needed by small invertebrates, and add oxygen to the surrounding water. Underwater vegetation in shallow coastal waters also supports a wide diversity of marine creatures by providing spawning, nursery, refuge, and foraging grounds for many species.
22. 22. Millions of species live in and around coral reefs
23. 23. There Importance to the Ecosystem Hidden beneath the ocean waters, coral reefs team with life. Fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges, and sea turtles are only a few of the thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival. Reef-building corals are restricted in their geographic distribution by factors such as the temperature and the salinity (salt content) of the water. The water must also be clear to permit high light penetration. Thousands of creatures rely on coral reefs for their survival. Hidden beneath the ocean waters, reefs are also some of the oldest ecosystems on the planet, reflecting thousands of years of history.
24. 24. Coral reefs are also living museums and reflect thousands of years of history. Today, these important habitats are threatened by a range of human activities. Many of the worlds reefs have already been destroyed or severely damaged by water pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, disease, global climate change, and ship groundings. However, we can still protect and preserve our remaining reefs by acting now.
25. 25. Are you aware Healthy coral reefs are valuable to you. Coral ecosystems are a source of food for millions; protect coastlines from storms and erosion; provide habitat, spawning and nursery grounds for economically important fish species; provide jobs and income to local economies from fishing, recreation, and tourism; are a source of new medicines, and are hotspots of marine biodiversity. These values contribute approximately $29.8 billion to world economies each year. Continued decline of reefs will have alarming consequences for people worldwide. The top threats to coral reefs change, unsustainable fishing and land-based pollutionare all due to human activities.
26. 26. Coral, a sessile animal, relies on its relationship with plant-like algae to build the largest structures of biological origin on Earth.
27. 27. Corals are sessile, which means that they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor, essentially "taking root" like most plants do. We certainly cannot recognize them by their faces or other distinct body parts, as we can most other animals. The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef. More than merely a clever collaboration that has endured between some of the tiniest ocean animals and plants for some 25 million years, this mutual exchange is the reason why coral reefs are the largest structures of biological origin on Earth, and rival old-growth forests in the longevity of their ecological communities.
28. 28. Ocean Habitat
29. 29. The deep sea is the largest museum on Earth: There are more artifacts and remnants of history in the ocean than in all of the worlds museums, combined.