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Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic
- Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic.
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Learn about the one global ocean and the four named oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. Find out why some countries recognize the Southern Ocean as the fifth ocean and how its boundaries are proposed.
- Pacific Ocean: This is the largest ocean of the world. Its average depth is 4280 meters (14040 feet) or 2,333 fathoms. Its total area is 16,52,50,000 square kilometers which is 1/3 part of total area of Earth.
- Atlantic Ocean: The shape of Atlantic Ocean resembles with English language Roman Script alphabet ‘s’. It covers 22% part of the Earth and its average area is 8,24,00,000 square kilometers.
- Indian Ocean: Although this ocean is smaller than Pacific and Atlantic Oceans yet it is more important for us. It is situated in the south of our country and its name is also based on older name of our country.
- Arctic Ocean: Its size and depth is less as compared to other oceans. Actually it is circular and surrounds the North Pole. Its average size is 1,40,56,000 Sq.
Learn about the four-ocean model and the five-ocean model of Earth's oceans, and the scientific and historical arguments for each. Find out how thermohaline circulation connects all the oceans and why the Southern Ocean is controversial.
- John P. Rafferty
- Overview
- Relative distribution of the oceans
An ocean is a continuous body of salt water that is contained in an enormous basin on Earth’s surface. The major oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, with an average depth of 3,688 metres (12,100 feet).
What are the five oceans of Earth?
The five major oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern oceans.
Which is the largest ocean on the Earth?
The Pacific is the largest ocean in both surface area and volume. The Atlantic is the next largest, and the Arctic is the smallest.
How much of the water found on Earth exists in the oceans?
Earth possesses one “world ocean.” However, those conducting oceanic research generally recognize the existence of five major oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans. Arbitrary boundaries separate these bodies of water, but they are largely defined by the continents that frame them. In the Southern Hemisphere, however, 60° S latitude, which corresponds to the approximate position of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, separates the Southern Ocean from the southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Many subdivisions can be made to distinguish the limits of seas and gulfs that have historical, political, and sometimes ecological significance. However, water properties, ocean currents, and biological populations are not constrained by these boundaries. Indeed, many researchers do not recognize them either.
If area-volume analyses of the oceans are to be made, then boundaries must be established to separate individual regions. In 1921 Erwin Kossina, a German geographer, published tables giving the distribution of oceanic water with depth for the oceans and adjacent seas. This work was updated in 1966 by American geologist H.W. Menard and American oceanographer S.M. Smith. The latter only slightly changed the numbers derived by Kossina. This was remarkable, since the original effort relied entirely on the sparse depth measurements accumulated by individual wire soundings, while the more recent work had the benefit of acoustic depth soundings collected since the 1920s. This type of analysis, called hypsometry, allows quantification of the surface area distribution of the oceans and their marginal seas with depth.
The distribution of oceanic surface area with 5° increments of latitude shows that the distribution of land and water on Earth’s surface is markedly different in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The Southern Hemisphere may be called the water hemisphere, while the Northern Hemisphere is the land hemisphere. This is especially true in the temperate latitudes.
This asymmetry of land and water distribution between the Northern and Southern hemispheres makes the two hemispheres behave very differently in response to the annual variation in solar radiation received by Earth. The Southern Hemisphere shows only a small change in surface temperature from summer to winter at temperate latitudes. This variation is controlled primarily by the ocean’s response to seasonal changes in heating and cooling. The Northern Hemisphere has one change in surface temperature controlled by its oceanic area and another controlled by its land area. In the temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the land is much warmer than the oceanic area in summer and much colder in winter. This situation creates large-scale seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and climate in the Northern Hemisphere that are not found in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Amanda Briney
- Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is by far the world's largest ocean at 60,060,700 square miles (155,557,000 sq km). According to the CIA World Factbook, it covers 28 percent of the Earth and is equal in size to nearly all of the land area on the Earth.
- Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is the world's second-largest ocean with an area of 29,637,900 square miles (76,762,000 sq. km). It is located between Africa, Europe, and the Southern Ocean in the Western Hemisphere.
- Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the world's third-largest ocean and it has an area of 26,469,900 square miles (68,566,000 sq km). It is located between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia.
- Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the world's newest and fourth-largest ocean. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit a fifth ocean.
Oct 19, 2023 · Learn about the ocean, the huge body of saltwater that covers 71 percent of Earth's surface. Find out how it is divided into five regions, what features and species it contains, and why it is a mystery to explore.
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approx. 70.8% of Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided. The following names describe five different areas of the ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic.
