Characteristics and Geography of the Ocean

An Introduction in Aquatic Science

Oceans and Continents

• Ocean Basins– All the large bodies of water on Earth are

connected to each other are considered to be the World Ocean.

– The World Ocean is divided into 4 major ocean basins

1. Arctic2. Atlantic3. Indian4. Pacific

Ocean Boundaries• Atlantic – connects the polar ocean waters. The Artic

Ocean is not included as part of the Atlantic. Some maps slit the Atlantic into North and South.

• Arctic – AKA Northern Ocean, includes waters north of North America and Eurasia. It is bounded from the Pacific by the Bering Strait and the Atlantic at ~65⁰ N Latitude (just north of Iceland).

• Indian Ocean – divided from the Atlantic by a line drawn from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to the Antarctica. It is divided from the Pacific by a line running through Indonesia, Australia, and Tasmania to Antarctica.

• Pacific – the largest of the ocean basins, usually separated from the Atlantic by a line drawn between the eastern tip of Cape Horn in South America and the northern end of the Palmer Peninsula in Antarctica.

• Taken from the Fluid Earth page 5

Seas • Almost always at least partially enclosed by land– An exception of a sea that is

not partially enclosed is the Sargasso Sea

• Typically smaller than oceans

• The term “sea” is not used consistantly. – It is used mainly historically,

and in literature– The Seven Seas refers to the

world’s oceans

Continents v. Islands• Continents are larger

landmasses surrounded by ocean

• There are 6 major continental land areas:1. Africa2. Antarctica3. Australia4. Eurasia5. North America6. South America

• Islands are smaller landmasses surrounded by ocean

Continent Boundaries• Africa – bordered to the north by the

Mediterranean Sea, to the west by the Atlantic, to the east by the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and the east-southeast by the Indian Ocean.

• Antarctica – located at the south pole.• Eurasia – includes Europe and Asia.• North America – includes Canada, the US,

Mexico and Central America down to Panama. Islands in the Arctic are included in North America

• South America – includes all countries south of Panama

• Taken from the Fluid Earth page 5

Ice• Covers up to 10% of

the total Surface Area of the earth– ~4% of landmasses are

covered in ice– ~5% of ocean surface

is covered in ice– The amount of ice will

grow and shrink depending on the season.

Mapping Activity

• The Fluid Earth page 4• Follow the instructions given– Write and answer all questions in your lab

notebook

How Much Water???

Mapping• Cartographer – a map

maker• There are two types of

maps1. Equal area – 2. Cylindrical-projection

• These types of maps are used to show the surface areas of the oceans and continents

• What characteristics can you identify???

Surface Area Activity

• The Fluid Earth page 7• Follow the directions

and answer the questions.– Draw all data tables,

write and answer the questions in your lab notebook

Locating Points on a Globe

• We use 2 types of imaginary lines in order to locate positions/points on the earth.1. Latitude or parallels2. Longitude or meridians

• There are 2 primary reference lines1. Prime Meridian (longitude)2. Equator (latitude)

Equator, Hemispheres, Axis, and Directions

• The equator runs around the globe, half way between the 2 poles, separating the northern hemisphere from the southern.

• The earth rotates daily around its axis (imaginary line), which goes through both poles.

• Movement toward the North Pole is northerly in direction and movement toward the South pole is southerly in direction.

Parallels of Latitude

• Distance measured in degrees from 0⁰ to 90⁰ N or S of the equator.

• The latitudinal distance from the equator to either pole is 90⁰, the equator is 0⁰ and the poles are 90⁰N/90⁰S

Meridians of Longitude

• Imaginary half circles passing from the north to the south pole.

• The 0⁰ Meridian or Prime Meridian is drawn through Greenwich, England.

• Meridians are numbered east and west from the Prime Meridian.

• East and West meet at 180⁰, which runs through the Pacific.

Meridians of Longitude Con’t.

• Longitude and Latitude lines form a grid that is used to locate any point on the globe.

• Due to the fact that deg of Longitude and Latitude cover large areas, they are further subdivided into minutes and seconds (this refers to parts of degrees, not time).

• 1⁰ = 60 minutes (60’) • 1 min = 60 seconds (60”)

Meridians of Longitude Con’t.

• The latitude and longitude readings of a place are called its sperical coordinants.

• A nautical mile is 1 min. of an arc measured along a meridian or equator.

• 1 nautical mile = 1.85 km (1.15 mi)• 1 knot = 1 nautical mile/hr

• What do we use knots sto measure???

• Wind speed, ship speed, and plane speed.

Plate Tectonics