What if we were to tell you that we know more about the surface of the moon, than of the bottom of our very own oceans? It’s true. The dark abyss that is our oceans hold many secrets, wonders, and unexplored territories that are completely alien to our understanding. But that’s not the only fact that makes our oceans so interesting! Read on to find out 25 Surprising Things You Might Not Know About Earth’s Oceans!
25
Antarctica holds as much water in its ice as the entire Atlantic Ocean
24
The top ten feet of the oceans holds the same amount of heat as the entire atmosphere
23
In water the speed of sound is 1,435 meters per second. That is almost five times faster than it is in air.
22
90% of all volcanoes are underwater
21
As of today roughly 226,408 underwater animal species have been identified
20
Scientists estimate that there could be up to 25 million marine species living in the oceans
19
This means we have only discovered less than 1% of all underwater marine life
18
This is mostly because we have only managed to explore about 10% of the oceans area/volume
17
Most of the other 90% consists of something known as the deep sea
16
The deep sea begins at a depth of roughly 1800 meters and more people have actually gone to space than have traveled into these unexplored regions
15
Most of what you imagine the ocean to be is actually just the intertidal zone. This zone is a very small area where the ocean meets the land
14
Once you go much deeper than this sunlight quickly disappears and pressure increases rapidly. Most of the ocean is cold, black, and deep.
13
In fact, we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep sea
12
Thanks to remote controlled vehicles, scientists have discovered that there is actually a significant amount of life on the ocean floor
11
In many ways this life could be considered "alien". Because sun light does not reach that deep these creatures must rely on alternative energy sources
10
Two of the primary sources are volcanic activity on the ocean floor and organic material falling down from shallower waters
9
There are actually organisms on the ocean floor that live in lightless and airless water around volcanic vents that reaches 150 degrees celcius. Under normal atmospheric conditions this water would be boiling!
8
If Mount Everest were submerged in the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean its summit would be nearly 2 km below the surface!
7
The pressure at the deepest point in the oceans averages about 11,318 tons per square meter.
6
Imagine laying on your back with 50 jumbo jets on your chest. Now you can see why exploring the ocean floor is so difficult.
5
One third of the Earth is covered by the Pacific Ocean
4
The Pacific Ocean contains roughly 25,000 islands. This is more than the number of islands in the rest of the oceans put together
3
Most of these islands are found south of the equator
2
Earth's longest mountain range is the Mid-Ocean Ridge which cuts across most of the globe via the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. It is longer than the Andes, Himalayas, and Rockies put together. One of the few places that it comes up above the surface is the island of Iceland as you can see here.
1
90% of trade between countries is carried by ships and about 50% of communications between countries involves underwater cables
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