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Nov 17, 2023 · Learn how the world's oceans are divided into five named regions and what makes them different from each other. Find out how the Southern Ocean became the fifth ocean in 2021 and what challenges it faces.
- Arctic Ocean. The smallest, coldest, and shallowest of the oceans of the world, the Arctic Ocean is located in the Northern Hemisphere’s Arctic north polar region.
- Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean spans an area of 85,133,000 square km. The Atlantic Ocean is bounded by the landmasses of North and South America to the west and Asia and Africa to the east.
- Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean occupies 70,560,000 square km area on the Earth’s surface. The Eurasian landmass lies to the north of the Indian Ocean, Australia to the east, Africa to the west and the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to the south.
- Pacific Ocean. The largest region of the Global Ocean, the Pacific Ocean has the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Southern Ocean to the south, Australia, and Asia to the west and the Americas to the east.
There is only one global ocean, but it is divided into five named regions: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (Antarctic). Learn about the history, geography, and science of these oceans from NOAA.
Learn about the debate over the number of oceans on Earth, from four to five, and the factors that influence the definition of ocean boundaries. Explore the features and functions of the oceans, such as thermohaline circulation, and their role in the water cycle.
- John P. Rafferty
Approximately 71% of Earth's surface, an area of some 361 million square kilometres (139.5 million square miles), is covered by ocean. The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5%).
Oceans of Earth. How are our oceans changing? Water on Earth is very abundant— about 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water. There are more than 326 million trillion gallons of water on Earth. Earth’s oceans contain about 96.5 percent of all the planet’s water.
Learn about the world ocean, the continuous body of salt water that covers 71 percent of Earth's surface. Find out how the ocean is divided into five major oceans and their subregions, and how water circulates between the ocean and other reservoirs.
