the.com/ocean
Earth's biggest room, mostly unlit, mostly unvisited, and quietly running the entire planet.
means The vast continuous body of saltwater that covers most of Earth's surface, or any of its named divisions like the Pacific or Atlantic.
from From the Greek 'Okeanos', the great river the ancients believed encircled the whole flat disc of the world — and also a Titan, the god of that endless stream. It flowed through Latin as 'oceanus' and into Old French before reaching English. So the word still carries an old idea: not a sea among seas, but the one boundless water wrapped around everything.
- Mapping gap
- Less than a quarter is mapped in detail
- Oxygen source
- Makes over half the oxygen you breathe
- Crushing depth
- Pressure at the bottom exceeds 1,000 atmospheres
- Hidden mass
- Holds 97 percent of Earth's water
- Slow giant
- Stores most of the planet's trapped heat
pacific ocean — largest ocean on earth, covers 165 million square kilometers
atlantic ocean — second largest ocean, separates europe and africa from americas
indian ocean — third largest, bordered by asia, africa, and australia
arctic ocean — smallest ocean, mostly covered in sea ice year-round