Related topics: ocean · nasa · earthquake

Small eddies play a big role in feeding ocean microbes

Subtropical gyres are enormous rotating ocean currents that generate sustained circulations in the Earth's subtropical regions just to the north and south of the equator. These gyres are slow-moving whirlpools that circulate ...

Whale clans use vocalizations to mark their culture

For decades, researchers and the public have been captivated by the deep-diving sperm whales, highly social animals who live in groups of mothers and calves. The whales communicate with Morse code-like series of clicks called ...

page 1 from 40

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east. At 169.2 million square kilometres (65.3 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean – and, in turn, the hydrosphere – covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about 32% of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the Pacific and in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,798 ft).

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA