Ocean

An ocean (from Greek Ωκεανός, Okeanos (Oceanus)) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (an area of some 361 million square kilometers) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas. More than half of this area is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt.

Though generally recognized as several 'separate' oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water often referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean.[1][2] This concept of a global ocean as a continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance to oceanography.[3] The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria. These divisions are (in descending order of size): The Pacific and Atlantic may be further subdivided by the equator into northern and southern portions. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays and other names. There are also some smaller bodies of saltwater that are on land and not interconnected with the World Ocean, such as the Aral Sea, and the Great Salt Lake – though they may be referred to as 'seas', they are actually salt lakes.

The oceans cover nearly 3/4 of the earth’s surface and have great impact on the biosphere. The evaporation of these oceans is how we get most of our rainfall, and their temperature determines our climate and wind pattern. Life within the ocean had already evolved 3 billion years prior to the movement of animal and plant life on land. The amount of life and distance from shore (abiotic factor) effects the major distribution of marine biomes. Animals such as algae, barnacles and mussels who live within the intertidal zone (land meets ocean) will fix themselves to rocks so they do not get washed from the resulting tides. The ocean is home to many species and consists of several other zones such as pelagic, benthic (sea floor), photic, and aphotic.[4]

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 where there are no continents. From this perspective, there are three oceans today: the World Ocean and the Caspian and Black Seas, the latter two having been formed by the collision of Cimmeria with Laurasia. The Mediterranean Sea is very nearly a discrete ocean, being connected to the World Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, and indeed several times over the last few million years movement of the African continent has closed the strait off entirely.