5 Types of Oceans in the World and Their Characteristics

5 Types of Oceans in the World and Their Characteristics – Earth is the only planet in the universe with the most perfect composition to be inhabited by living things. All components needed by living things such as air, water and soil are available with balanced components.

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The earth itself has a diverse natural appearance, and when viewed from outer space you will see the color of the earth which is dominated by green or brown. The green color seen from outer space is water that dominates the earth with a percentage of more than 50%.

Well, one of the waters on earth is called an ocean, then what is that ocean and how many kinds of oceans are there on earth? Watch until the end of the article to find out more about Samudra, Sinaumed’s!

Definition of Ocean

As has been explained, that the waters on earth dominate until they reach a composition of more than 50%. There are various types of waters on earth, ranging from fresh water, open water, ocean waters to springs.

In short, foreign waters with a large size or volume of water are referred to as seas, whereas if their size is wider than the sea, they are referred to as oceans.

The ocean is a collection of several seas which then gather together, so that the area of the ocean is very wide compared to the sea.

The ocean can also be interpreted as a vast sea with a continuous mass of salt water covering the earth’s surface and bounded by continents and large islands. The word ocean itself comes from the Sanskrit language which means sea.

Reporting from The Free Dictionary, the oceans are all foreign containers of water that include more than 70 percent of the water on the earth’s surface.

Meanwhile, The Britannica said that the ocean is a container of entangled salty water and a large basin was found in the container. The Britannica also mentions, if the ocean is seen from outer space, it will be clear that the ocean dominates the earth’s surface.

According to the National Geography book, the ocean is a container of interconnected salt water and includes more than 70 percent of the salt water on the earth’s surface. The ocean also has currents that regulate the world’s weather and produce a kaleidoscope of life on earth. The ocean has an important role in human life, because humans depend on ocean waters for their survival and comfort.

Types of Oceans in the World

There are five oceans in the world, along with the five oceans and their explanations.

1. The Pacific Ocean

The first ocean is the Pacific Ocean and is the most extensive of the five other oceans. The Pacific Ocean covers half of the water area on earth, covering an area of about 179,700,000 square km and stretching from north to south, causing the Pacific Ocean to be divided into two parts, namely the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.

The name Pacific itself comes from the Spanish language, namely pacifico which means calm. The Pacific Ocean or calm sea has 25,000 islands around it and the majority of these islands are south of the equator.

Meanwhile, in the irregular boundaries of the Pacific Ocean there are many large seas that have accumulated, including the Sulawesi Sea, Coral Sea, Sea of Japan, East China Sea, North Natuna Sea, Tasman Sea, Sulu Sea and Tasman Sea.

The following are the characteristics of the Pacific Ocean as well as interesting facts about this calm ocean.

Fernando de Magalhães, a Portuguese explorer is the person who gave the name to this Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is bounded by continents and islands.
Even though it has the nickname of a calm sea, the Pacific Ocean is the center of tropical storms.
This area in the Pacific Ocean is the epicenter of volcanic earthquakes.
As the world’s largest ocean, the length of the Pacific Ocean reaches 15,500 km which is formed from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the ice cap in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.
The width of the Pacific Ocean reaches 5 degrees LU latitude and extends approximately 19,800 km from the Indonesian archipelago to the coast in Colombia.
There is the Mariana Trench, which is the lowest point on earth.
It has many volcanoes under the Pacific Ocean or seamounts.

2. Atlantic Ocean

After the Pacific Ocean, the second largest ocean is the Atlantic Ocean which has an area of about 106,450,000 square kilometers and stretches from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. The Atlantic Ocean connects the two polar regions, namely the North Pole and the South Pole.

The Atlantic Ocean has a unique shape, which resembles the letter ‘S’ and has irregular boundaries in various bays and seas. The Pacific Ocean is indeed the epicenter of tropical storms, but in the Atlantic Ocean tropical storms also frequently occur which develop around the African coastal area near Cape Verde and then move westward, down the Caribbean Sea from May to December.

The following are the characteristics and interesting facts about the Atlantic Ocean that Sinaumed’s can know.

The Atlantic Ocean has a mysterious place called the Bermuda triangle.
The Atlantic Ocean covers about 1/5 of the earth’s surface.
The word Athletics comes from ancient Greek mythology which means the Sea of Atlas.
The Atlantic Ocean has irregular boundaries bounded by bays and seas, including the Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Mexico, St. Lawrence Bay, and the Norwegian-Greenland Sea.
It has the lowest point which is in the Milwaukee Valley, namely the Puerto Rico Trench.
It has two important canals as waterways, namely the Kiel Canal and the Saint Lawrence Canal.
The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is about 3,332m.
Because it has a large area, the Atlantic Ocean is divided into two regions, namely the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic.

3. Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is an ocean that lies between the Asian Continent, the Australian Continent and the African Continent, with an area of around 68,526,000 square kilometers. In the Indian Ocean, floods often occur which then affect Sri Lanka, due to the large waves that occur in the Indian Ocean. In addition, in the western part of the Indian Ocean there is the island of Madagascar and in the north there are the islands of Sri Lanka and the islands of the Maldives.

The following are characteristics and interesting facts about the Indian Ocean.

In the Indian Ocean, there was an earthquake to be exact off the west coast of Aceh with a magnitude of 9.3 on the Richter scale.
The earthquake that has occurred in the Indian Ocean is one of the most powerful earthquakes that has ever occurred and hit several areas, such as Aceh, North Sumatra, the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the east coast of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand to the east coast of Africa.
The area from the Indian Ocean to cover 20 percent of the earth’s surface.
Phenomena that occur in the Indian Ocean can greatly affect the ecosystem on earth.
The Indian Ocean is also known as the Indonesian Ocean.
The deepest point in the Indian Ocean is the Java Trench with a depth of about 7,725 m.
Has relatively high currents and waves.
It has important ports that are busy with trading activities, such as Colombo, Fremantle in Australia, Richards Bay in South Africa, Karachi in Pakistan, Calcutta in India, Jakarta in Indonesia.

4. Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the five other oceans. The area of the Arctic Ocean reaches about 14,056,000 square kilometers which extends from the North Pole region.

The Arctic Ocean is an ocean that has a layer of ice around it. Then in summer, the ice around the Arctic Ocean will break apart, and then drift into the ocean because it is carried away. The drifting ice shards can endanger shipping activities, such as accidents if they hit the shards of ice.

The following are the characteristics and facts about the Arctic Ocean.

The average temperature in the Arctic Ocean is always around -2 degrees Celsius.
Summer in the Arctic Ocean is characterized only by continuous sunshine, with humid and misty air accompanied by weak whirlwinds as well as rain and snow.
Winter in the Arctic Ocean is characterized by continuous darkness, cool air with stable weather conditions and clear skies.
The ice around the Arctic Ocean from 1979 to 2005 has been reduced, and is one of the harbingers of the climate crisis.
Has a polar climate characterized by cold air throughout the year.
The shallowest ocean, among the other five oceans.
The temperature and salt levels in the Arctic Ocean are always changing depending on the season and the ice that covers the waters in the Arctic Ocean.
Has a basin with a depth reaching 4000 – 5450 m.
The basic shape of the Arctic Ocean varies greatly, from the plan of the abyssal to the fault block – ridge.

5. Antarctic Ocean / Southern Ocean

The Antarctic Ocean or the Southern Ocean is a mass of seawater surrounded by the Antarctic Continent and is the fourth largest ocean among the five other oceans. At first, the Antarctic Ocean was not recognized by scientists or researchers, initially the Antarctic Ocean was only referred to as an ice land. In addition, the Antarctic Ocean does not have clear boundaries between other areas.

The following are the characteristics and facts about the Antarctic Ocean.

Because it does not have clear boundaries, the naming of the area in the Antarctic Ocean is combined with other oceans around the Antarctic Ocean.
As the fourth largest ocean, the Antarctic Ocean has an area of around 20,327,000 square kilometers.
Ships sailing in the Antarctic Ocean must have special features to be able to break the ice to avoid accidents.
The Antarctic Ocean region, is estimated to start from the shoreline on the Antarctic Continent with a limit of 60 degrees LS and encircle all the land in the Antarctic Ocean.
The oceans surrounding the Antarctic Ocean are always covered in ice throughout the year.
There are frequent strong cyclonic storms, due to the temperature differences in the Antarctic Ocean.
Has a depth of about 4000 to 5000 m and the depth is almost the same in all corners of the ocean.
From March to September, the Antarctic Ocean is getting bigger, 7 times.
It has the largest ocean current, namely the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which moves eastward and circulates approximately 130 million cubic meters of water per second. Or the equivalent of 100 times the flow of all rivers in the world.

Ocean Formation Process

Like continents, oceans were also formed through events that took place 4.4 billion years ago. At that time, the earth underwent a change in shape that occurred due to volcanic eruptions, thus making the earth’s surface covered by volcanic ash.

Volcanic dust that coats the earth, then blocks sunlight from entering the earth. So that there is a buildup of water vapor that should become rainwater. The buildup of steam, then becomes the condensed atmosphere so that eventually rain occurs.

Because the shape of the earth’s surface changed, the rainwater that fell earlier then filled the basin, so that the oceans were formed on earth.

At first, the water in the oceans is very acidic, with temperatures reaching around 100 degrees Celsius. The acidic nature that appears in this ocean, can occur because the earth’s condition is very hot. Thus, the earth’s atmosphere is enveloped and covered by carbon dioxide.

When the sea was still acidic too, the earth often experienced tsunami waves, which were caused by asteroids falling to earth. The tsunami was then accompanied by high tides and low tides that occurred too quickly. The ebb and flow of water can occur, because the distance between the earth and the moon is too close.

Over time, the amount of carbon dioxide that blanketed the earth then dissolved into the sea water. Then it reacts with carbonate ions to form calcium carbonate.

As a result of the formation of these substances, the earth’s sky begins to brighten, so that sunlight can finally re-enter the earth. After sunlight enters the earth, the volume of sea water continues to experience shrinkage. As a result, the part of the earth that was concave and filled with rain water, began to dry up.

After some parts of the earth dry up, rock weathering occurs and the weathering is continuously carried out to sea because it is carried away by rainwater. It was the weathering of the rock, which then caused seawater to become salty and no longer acidic.

After knowing the meaning, types, and the process of the formation of oceans, what are the benefits of oceans for human life?

At the beginning of the article according to the book National Geography, the ocean has an important role for humans. Mainly for the sake of comfort and human survival. Then what are the benefits obtained through the ocean? Here’s an explanation.

Ocean Benefits

The ocean can be a place for humans to find food sources. Because it is a container of the oceans that are collected, the oceans also store other marine wealth.
The ocean serves as a territorial boundary between countries.
An ocean with a mass of water that can automatically function as a reserve of clean water for humans.
Apart from being a source of food, the ocean also serves as a place for natural resources.
The ocean also functions as a research site to find out natural resources that live in the trenches and other parts under the ocean.
Become a conservation area for endangered marine biota.
Oceans can function as trade routes, such as the important sea canals that are in the Atlantic Ocean.
As a means of transportation for sailing ships.

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That’s a brief explanation of the 5 kinds of oceans in the world . If Sinaumed’s wants to know more about the ocean, then Sinaumed’s can dig deeper into this one material by reading the books available at sinaumedia. Because as #FriendsWithoutLimits, sinaumedia always provides complete and quality reference books for Sinaumed’s! Buy and read the book right now!