Portal:Oceans

The Oceans Portal
A portal dedicated to oceans, seas, oceanography and related topics

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Introduction

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The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as oceans (in descending order by area: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Antarctic/Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean), and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of water. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of Earth's hydrosphere, acting as a huge reservoir of heat for Earth's energy budget, as well as for its carbon cycle and water cycle, forming the basis for climate and weather patterns worldwide. The ocean is essential to life on Earth, harbouring most of Earth's animals and protist life, originating photosynthesis and therefore Earth's atmospheric oxygen, still supplying half of it. (Full article...)

A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. (Full article...)

Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean' and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. (Full article...)

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Structure of a typical virus, in this case a *phage*. The appearance of these viruses has been likened to a miniature lunar lander. Marine viruses are essential to the regulation of marine ecosystems.

Marine viruses are defined by their habitat as viruses that are found in marine environments, that is, in the saltwater of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. Viruses are small infectious agents that can only replicate inside the living cells of a host organism, because they need the replication machinery of the host to do so. They can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.

When not inside a cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles called virions. A virion contains a genome (a long molecule that carries genetic information in the form of either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a capsid (a protein coat protecting the genetic material). The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral forms for some virus species to more complex structures for others. Most virus species have virions that are too small to be seen with an optical microscope. The average virion is about one one-hundredth the linear size of the average bacterium. (Full article...)

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The west coast seabream and the sand steenbras (pictured) start their adult lives as males and later change sex.

Sea fans such as Leptogorgia sarmentosa and Eunicella singularis are sometimes overgrown by false coral.

The Islamic prophet Muhammad, while in Mecca, was a merchant involved in trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

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Tasks

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Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : List of oceanographers, create a comprehensive article on Concentrations of marine debris out of all the gyre and "garbage patch" articles
Copyedit : Draft:Terrance (octopus)
Expand : Coral Sea, Endeavour Strait, Greenland Sea, Solomon Sea
Photo : find images for Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the oceans
Stubs : Oceanography stub articles, Marine geography stub articles, Aleutian Trench, Bellingshausen Sea, Caernarfon Bay, Gerlache Strait, Gulf of Oman, Iceland Sea, Draft:Terrance (octopus)
Update : Botany Bay, Wilkins Sound, Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep
Verify : Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Bering Sea, Gulf of Aden, Iceberg B-15, Ionian Sea, Japan Trench, Moreton Bay, Sound (geography), Timor Sea
Other : add ISBNs and remove excessive or inappropriate external links from Aral Sea; check La Belle (ship) for GA status; improve citations or footnotes and remove excessive or inappropriate external links from MS Estonia

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various ocean-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Admiral von Bellingshausen (from Southern Ocean)
Image 2The Austronesian maritime trade network was the first trade routes in the Indian Ocean. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 3Emanuel Bowen's 1780s map of the Arctic features a "Northern Ocean". (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 4Marine debris strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic Inaccessible Island (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 5Pacific Ocean currents have created three islands of debris. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 6Frank Hurley: As time wore on it became more and more evident that the ship was doomed (Endurance trapped in pack ice), National Library of Australia. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 7Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 8The Arctic region showing the Northeast Passage, the Northern Sea Route within it, and the Northwest Passage via Canadian Inland Waters. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 9Sunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Tops of thunderclouds are also visible. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 10James Weddell's second expedition in 1823, depicting the brig Jane and the cutter Beaufroy (from Southern Ocean)
Image 11Density structure of the upper 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in the Arctic Ocean. Profiles of temperature and salinity for the Amundsen Basin, the Canadian Basin and the Greenland Sea are sketched. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 12A general delineation of the Antarctic Convergence, sometimes used by scientists as the demarcation of the Southern Ocean (from Southern Ocean)
Image 13Thule archaeological site (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 14MS Explorer in Antarctica in January 1999. She sank on 23 November 2007 after hitting an iceberg. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 15Malé's population has increased from 20,000 people in 1987 to more than 220,000 people in 2020. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 16The 1564 Typus Orbis Terrarum, a map by Abraham Ortelius, showed the imagined link between the proposed continent of Antarctica and South America. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 17Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 18In 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Suga declined to drink the bottle of Fukushima's treated radioactive water that he was holding, which would otherwise be discharged to the Pacific. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 19Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) are the most southerly of Antarctic mammals. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 20Typhoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 21A Ring of Fire; the Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches. This map does not show the Cascadia subduction zone along part of the west coast of North America, whose trench is completely buried in sediments. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 221937 delineation (from Southern Ocean)
Image 231911 South Polar Regions exploration map (from Southern Ocean)
Image 24A copepod (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 25On the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean temporary logistic stations may be installed. Here, a Twin Otter is refueled on the pack ice at 86°N, 76°43‘W. on April 16, 1990 during a flight to the North Pole (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 26A female warty squid (Moroteuthis ingens) (from Southern Ocean)
Image 27During summer, warm continental masses draw moist air from the Indian Ocean, producing heavy rainfall. The process is reversed during winter, resulting in dry conditions. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 28Manganese nodule (from Southern Ocean)
Image 29"Terres Australes" [sic] label without any charted landmass (from Southern Ocean)
Image 30An iceberg being pushed out of a shipping lane by (L to R) USS Burton Island, USS Atka, and USS Glacier near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 1965 (from Southern Ocean)
Image 31Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are a keystone species of the food web. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 32Cod fishery in Norway (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 33Map showing the migration of the Austronesian peoples (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 34Embarked and disembarked slaves in the Atlantic slave trade 1525–1863 (first and last slave voyages) (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 35Madagascar's elephant bird, Mauritius's dodo bird and ostrich (from left to right) (from Indian Ocean)
Image 361928 delineation (from Southern Ocean)
Image 37Mombasa Port on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast (from Indian Ocean)
Image 38The Arctic Ocean, with borders as delineated by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), including Hudson Bay (some of which is south of 57°N latitude, off the map) and all other marginal seas. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 39An adult and sub-adult Minke whale are dragged aboard the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 40A bathymetric/topographic map of the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding lands. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 41The bathyscaphe Trieste before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 42Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 43The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the strongest current system in the world oceans, linking the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific basins. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 44Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 45The Kennedy Channel. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 46
Upwelling in the Southern Ocean
(from Southern Ocean)
Image 47The island geography of the Pacific Ocean Basin (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 48Famous official portrait of Captain James Cook who proved that waters encompassed the southern latitudes of the globe. "He holds his own chart of the Southern Ocean on the table and his right hand points to the east coast of Australia on it." (from Southern Ocean)
Image 49Waves in the trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean – areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind – create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes.
Image 50Excavation of the Ertebølle middens in 1880 (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 51Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, U.S. in 2020 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 52Impact of El Niño and La Niña on North America (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 53Walruses on Arctic ice floe (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 54"Southern Ocean" as alternative to the Aethiopian Ocean, 18th century (from Southern Ocean)
Image 55The Arctic region; of note, the region's southerly border on this map is depicted by a red isotherm, with all territory to the north having an average temperature of less than 10 °C (50 °F) in July. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 56Based on the medieval Íslendingasögur sagas, including the Grœnlendinga saga, this interpretative map of the "Norse World" shows that Norse knowledge of the Americas and the Atlantic remained limited. (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 57Orca (Orcinus orca) hunting a Weddell seal in the Southern Ocean (from Southern Ocean)
Image 58Air pollution in South Asia spread over the Bay of Bengal and beyond. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 59As the Gulf Stream meanders across the North Atlantic from the North American east coast to Western Europe its temperature drops by 20 °C (36 °F).
Image 60Iceberg A22A in the South Atlantic Ocean (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 61Marine debris on a Hawaiian coast in 2008 (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 62Path of the thermohaline circulation. Purple paths represent deep-water currents, while blue paths represent surface currents.
Image 63The Antarctic Ocean, as delineated by the draft 4th edition of the International Hydrographic Organization's Limits of Oceans and Seas (2002) (from Southern Ocean)
Image 64The Aethiopian Ocean depicted in a 1710 French map of Africa (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 65Agulhas Bank (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 66The Andaman Negritos are thought to be the first inhabitants of the Andaman Islands, having emigrated from the mainland tens of thousands of years ago. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 67For most of the 16th century, the Portuguese dominated the Indian Ocean trade. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 68Seas that are parts of the Southern Ocean (from Southern Ocean)
Image 69Coral reefs of the Maldives (from Indian Ocean)
Image 70Area inside the black line indicates the area constituting the Pacific Ocean prior to 2002; darker blue areas are its informal current borders following the recreation of the Southern Ocean and the reinclusion of marginal seas. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 71Maris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 72Capture of Atlantic northwest cod in million tons (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 73Minke whale (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 74In the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic warm subtropical waters are transformed into colder subpolar and polar waters. In the Labrador Sea this water flows back to the subtropical gyre. (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 75Aldabra giant tortoise from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles (from Indian Ocean)
Image 76Sunset in Monterey County, California, U.S. (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 77A Chagossian on Diego Garcia in 1971, before the British expelled the islanders. He spoke a French-based creole language and his ancestors were likely brought as slaves in the 19th century. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 78USS Vincennes at Disappointment Bay, Antarctica in early 1840 (from Southern Ocean)
Image 79Severe cracks in an ice pier in use for four seasons at McMurdo Station slowed cargo operations in 1983 and proved a safety hazard. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 80The Atlantic Gyres influenced the Portuguese discoveries and trading port routes, here shown in the India Run ("Carreira da Índia"), which would be developed in subsequent years. (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 81A wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) on South Georgia (from Southern Ocean)
Image 82Banks of the northwest Atlantic (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 83A stratovolcano in Ulawun on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 84Major ocean trade routes in the world include the northern Indian Ocean. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 85A map of Australia's official interpretation of the names and limits of oceans and seas around Australia (from Southern Ocean)
Image 86Fish of the Notothenioidei suborder, such as this young icefish, are mostly restricted to the Antarctic and Subantarctic. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 87Continents and islands of the Southern Ocean (from Southern Ocean)
Image 88The British invasion of Isle de France on 29 November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars (from Indian Ocean)
Image 89Greco-Roman trade with ancient India according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea 1st century CE (from Indian Ocean)
Image 90Three polar bears approach USS Honolulu near the North Pole. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 91The International Hydrographic Organization's delineation of the "Southern Ocean" has moved steadily southward since the original 1928 edition of its Limits of Oceans and Seas. (from Southern Ocean)
Image 92The three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 93Portrait of Edmund Halley by Godfrey Kneller (before 1721) (from Southern Ocean)
Image 94Distribution of the major water mass in the Arctic Ocean. The section sketches the different water masses along a vertical section from Bering Strait over the geographic North Pole to Fram Strait. As the stratification is stable, deeper water masses are denser than the layers above. (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 95Model of a Fijian drua, an example of an Austronesian vessel with a double-canoe (catamaran) hull and a crab claw sail (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 96Location of the Southern Ocean gyres (from Southern Ocean)
Image 97According to the Coastal hypothesis, modern humans spread from Africa along the northern rim of the Indian Ocean. (from Indian Ocean)
Image 98Sea cover in the Arctic Ocean, showing the median, 2005 and 2007 coverage (from Arctic Ocean)
Image 99Banks of the northeast Atlantic (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 100Bahama Banks (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 101False color map of ocean depth in the Atlantic basin (from Atlantic Ocean)
Image 102An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) map of the Pacific (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 103Universalis Cosmographia, also known as the Waldseemüller map, dated 1507, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered the New World and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo Vespucci (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 104Made in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size (from Pacific Ocean)
Image 105The economically important Silk Road was blocked from Europe by the Ottoman Empire in c. 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. This spurred exploration, and a new sea route around Africa was found, triggering the Age of Discovery. (from Indian Ocean)