Introduction
In the face of the earth there are five oceans and these include the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. The surface of the earth is for this reason covered by water with up to 71% of its area (Briney). The largest of the oceans is the Pacific followed by the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean respectively.
The southern ocean comes in forth position and the smallest of them all is the Arctic Ocean. The southern ocean is the fifth ocean that was recently created in the year 2000 (Rosenberg). The arctic and the southern oceans are both found in the northern and southern regions of the world respectively. In this research I will identify and discuss the major oceans on the face of the earth and their topographical positions on the surface of the earth.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean extending from the northern region of the earth to the southern region. It is estimated to cover up to 28% of the earth’s surface which is a significant area of coverage (Briney). The Equator cuts through the ocean dividing it into northern and southern pacific and it is characterized by unique landscape owing to its many years of existence (Briney). The ocean was formed after the geographical break up of the ancient Pangaea (Znaniecki).
This is estimated to have taken place 250 million years ago (Briney). The Pacific Ocean is formed from the Panthalassa Ocean that was a large water body surrounding Pangaea (Briney). It is formed on oceanic ridges and trenches giving the ocean a very unique topography. The ocean is positioned on one of the most vulnerable surfaces of the earth to volcanic activity (Briney). This is the reason as to why the area covered by the Pacific Ocean is referred to as the pacific ring of fire. The pacific’s coastline is characterized by rugged edges and high cliffs albeit it has other coastlines that are gentler and gradual
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the five oceans and covers the area between Africa and Europe and between the Arctic Ocean and the southern ocean. It covers approximately an area of about 82,440 million sq km and has a coastline of about 111,866 km (Znaniecki). Research records reveal that the surface of the ocean is normally covered with ice in the southern regions and warm waters in the northern regions (Znaniecki). The lowest point of the Atlantic Ocean is approximately -8,605 (Znaniecki). Just like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean is subdivided by the equator into two halves namely the northern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Atlantic oceans.
The Atlantic Ocean covers approximately one fifth of the earth’s surface and has most of the interesting features. The most notable being the underwater mountain rage running through from Iceland (Znaniecki). Other features include the great mid- Atlantic ridge that separates the ocean into two distinct ocean basins. The basins are further divided into other smaller basins. The most notable of these smaller subdivisions according to research include the “Baffin basin, Hudson basin, Labrador basin, the Newfoundland basin and the large north American basin” (Znaniecki). The Atlantic surface water has been found to contain more salt than the rest of the oceans (Znaniecki).
Salinity in the Atlantic oceans can be attributed to factors such as current flow which can bring salty water from other seas of high water salinity. Precipitation, river flow and rate of water evaporation from the ocean are other causes of high water salinity in the Atlantic oceans. High evaporation rate means that the concentration of salt in the ocean increases as water evaporates (Znaniecki). Precipitation on the other hand will reduce salinity as salt is diluted. River flows increase the amount of water in the ocean thereby reducing the concentration of salt and as a result low salinity.
Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean is ranked third place after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean and it covers the surface between Africa and the southern ocean. It also covers the area between Asia and Australia. It has four main water inlets that include the Suez Canal in Egypt, Bab el Mandeb in Djibouti, the straight of hamuz in Iran and the straight of Malacca in Malaysia (Rosenberg). The area covered by the Indian Ocean is approximately 68.556 million sq km with a coastline of approximately 66,526 km (about.com). The lowest point of the Indian Ocean is -7,258 m and sometimes there forms occasional icebergs (Briney). This ocean is commercially busy as it provides sea routes that join the Middle East, East Asia and Africa (Rosenberg).
The Indian Ocean provides fishing grounds for countries aligned at its vast coastline. This is a commercial engagement that has sustained and contributed to great economies like Japan. The ocean also carries volume of petroleum and petroleum products from there sources to other regions where the commodity is scarce. Indian Ocean is also credited for offshore oil production accounting for 40% or the world’s total production (Rosenberg).
Southern ocean
Frequently referred to as the new southern ocean, it is the newest of the earth’s oceans and also the second smallest of them all. It was created in the year 2000 by the international hydrographic organization. In addition, the ocean was created out of the southern parts of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean (Rosenberg). It covers an area of estimated 20.3 million sq km and its lowest point is estimated to be 23,737 feet (Rosenberg). Though it was recently formed, the debate on how many oceans should be recognized is not yet over as some feel that the creation of a new ocean was not necessary thereof sticking to the original four oceans.
Arctic Ocean
Located at the northern regions of the earth’s surface, the Antarctic Ocean is mainly characterized by the presence of ice. It has limited biological activities as a result of this and it is also the smallest of the oceans. It has a relatively small coastal line that is about 165,000 km which experiences geographical processes such as volcanic activities, glaciations faulting and folding (Hebert). Due to water salinity, its water’s freezing point lowers to -2° C from the normal freezing point of 0° C for fresh and pure water (Hebert).
In this ocean, icebergs are found with heights ranging from 60-200 meters which are very huge and are estimated to weigh about 10 million tons (Hebert). The Arctic Ocean receives water through inflows from rivers like the Mackenzie River in Canada as well as Ob, Yenisey and Lena Rivers found in Siberia (Hebert). Much about this ocean has not been identified though due to difficulties provided by the ice characteristic.
Conclusion
The formation of oceans is a geographical process that took place as a result of the drifting away of land masses from the original land namely Pangaea. This process led to the formation of basins in between the drifting land mass which were filled by oceanic waters hence creating the water bodies that we now call the oceans. The size of an ocean depends on the distance created as a result of the land drift. Oceans play a very important role on earth as they influence weather patterns and seasons. It is therefore important for scientist to keep researching and gathering information on how the oceans influence human existence.
Works Cited
Briney, Amanda. “Geography of the Pacific Ocean; Learn Information about the World’s Largest Ocean”. About.com. Geography. 2011. Web.
Earth’s Ocean. “Atlantic Ocean.” New world encyclopedia. 2012. Web.
Hebert, Paul. “Arctic Ocean.” The Encyclopedia of Earth. 2010. Web.
Rosenberg, Matt. “The World’s Newest Ocean – The Southern Ocean.” About.com guide. 2009. Web.
Rosenberg, Matt. “Geography; Indian Ocean.” About.com. 2012. Web.