Oceans
Oceans are large bodies of salt water that surround Earth's continents and occupy the basins between them. The four major oceans of the world are the Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Pacific. These interconnected oceans are further divided into smaller regions of water called seas, gulfs, and bays. The combined oceans cover almost 71 percent of Earth's surface, or about 139,400,000 square miles (361,000,000 square kilometers).
Marine pollution is a major threat to any organism living in or depending upon the ocean. Human impact on coastal and open ocean habitats comes in many forms: nutrientloading from agricultural runoff and sewage discharges, toxic chemical inputs from industry and agriculture, petroleum spills, and inert solid wastes. While there…>> (read more)
Oceans in the News
Byline: Jane Kay; Chronicle Environment Writer
Amid growing concern over an imminent shutdown of the commercial and sport chinook salmon season, scientists are struggling to figure out…>> (read more)
You might expect enviros to applaud the first large-scale test of an innovative method to combat global warming. But last spring, when Planktos Inc. announced it would seed the…>> (read more)
"Give me half a tanker of iron, and I'll give you an ice age" may rank as the catchiest lilac ever uttered by a biogeochemist. The man responsible was…>> (read more)
Oceans Statistics
