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The Oceans Portal
A portal dedicated to oceans, seas, oceanography and related topics

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Introduction

Surface view of the Atlantic Ocean

The ocean is the body of salt water that covers ~70.8% of the Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of the Earth's hydrosphere, thus the ocean is essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns, the carbon cycle, and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir. ( Full article...)

Waves in Pacifica, California

A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. ( Full article...)

Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) ' ocean', and γραφή (graphḗ) ' writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and seabed geology; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. ( Full article...)

A summary of the path of the thermohaline circulation. Blue paths represent deep-water currents, while red paths represent surface currents.

Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep Water). This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters (with a transit time of about 1000 years) upwell in the North Pacific. Extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the Earth's oceans a global system. The water in these circuits transport both energy (in the form of heat) and mass (dissolved solids and gases) around the globe. As such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the Earth.

The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt, coined by climate scientist Wallace Smith Broecker. It is also referred to as the meridional overturning circulation, or MOC. This name is used because not every circulation pattern caused by temperature and salinity gradients is necessarily part of a single global circulation. Further, it is difficult to separate the parts of the circulation driven by temperature and salinity alone from those driven by other factors, such as the wind and tidal forces. ( Full article...)
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In the news

12 April 2024 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict
Germany tells its citizens to leave Iran immediately, saying that "air, land and sea transport routes" will likely be affected by military action in the region. (Reuters)
8 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine claims to have damaged the Russian Navy missile ship Serpukhov [ ru] in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad. (Kyiv Independent)
1 April 2024 –
North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan near South Korean territory. (AP)
31 March 2024 – Visa policy of the Schengen Area
Bulgaria and Romania partially join the Schengen Area, allowing travel by air and sea without border checks, Austria vetoed travel by land without border checks over fears that non- EU citizens could get easier access to the European Union. (France 24)
28 March 2024 – 2023–24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Cyclone Gamane makes landfall in Madagascar, killing at least eleven people and causing widespread flooding, according to local officials. (AP)

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Oceanography

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Admiralty law

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Portal:Ocean)

The Oceans Portal
A portal dedicated to oceans, seas, oceanography and related topics

Selected panorama

– Hover over image and scroll to middle for controls to see more selected panorama images –

Introduction

Surface view of the Atlantic Ocean

The ocean is the body of salt water that covers ~70.8% of the Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. Distinct names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of the Earth's hydrosphere, thus the ocean is essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns, the carbon cycle, and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir. ( Full article...)

Waves in Pacifica, California

A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. ( Full article...)

Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) ' ocean', and γραφή (graphḗ) ' writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and seabed geology; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. ( Full article...)

A summary of the path of the thermohaline circulation. Blue paths represent deep-water currents, while red paths represent surface currents.

Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep Water). This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters (with a transit time of about 1000 years) upwell in the North Pacific. Extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the Earth's oceans a global system. The water in these circuits transport both energy (in the form of heat) and mass (dissolved solids and gases) around the globe. As such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the Earth.

The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt, coined by climate scientist Wallace Smith Broecker. It is also referred to as the meridional overturning circulation, or MOC. This name is used because not every circulation pattern caused by temperature and salinity gradients is necessarily part of a single global circulation. Further, it is difficult to separate the parts of the circulation driven by temperature and salinity alone from those driven by other factors, such as the wind and tidal forces. ( Full article...)
List of selected articles

Interesting facts - show different entries

Selected list articles and Marine habitat topics

Tasks


Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

General images - show new batch

The following are images from various ocean-related articles on Wikipedia.

Related portals

In the news

12 April 2024 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict
Germany tells its citizens to leave Iran immediately, saying that "air, land and sea transport routes" will likely be affected by military action in the region. (Reuters)
8 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine claims to have damaged the Russian Navy missile ship Serpukhov [ ru] in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad. (Kyiv Independent)
1 April 2024 –
North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan near South Korean territory. (AP)
31 March 2024 – Visa policy of the Schengen Area
Bulgaria and Romania partially join the Schengen Area, allowing travel by air and sea without border checks, Austria vetoed travel by land without border checks over fears that non- EU citizens could get easier access to the European Union. (France 24)
28 March 2024 – 2023–24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Cyclone Gamane makes landfall in Madagascar, killing at least eleven people and causing widespread flooding, according to local officials. (AP)

WikiProjects

Topics


More topics

Categories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories Oceans


Seas


Oceanography

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Admiralty law

Need assistance?

Need assistance?
Need assistance?

Do you have a question about oceans, seas or oceanography that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.

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External media

Discover Wikipedia using portals

Purge server cache


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