.World Ocean.
World Ocean | |
---|---|
Surface area | 361,132,000 km2 (139,434,000 sq mi) |
Average depth | 3,688 m (12,100 ft) |
Max. depth | 10,911 m (35,797 ft) |
Water volume | 1,332,000,000 km3 (320,000,000 cu mi) |
The World Ocean or Global Ocean (colloquially the sea or the ocean) is the interconnected system of Earth's oceanic waters, and comprises the bulk of the hydrosphere, covering 361,132,000 square kilometres or 139,434,000 square miles (70.8%) of Earth's surface, with a total volume of roughly 1,332,000,000 cubic kilometres (320,000,000 cubic miles)
Organization
The unity and continuity of the World Ocean, with relatively free interchange among its parts, is of fundamental importance to oceanography. It is divided into a number of principal oceanic areas that are delimited by the continents and various oceanographic features: these divisions are the Achrinian Ocean, the Arisle Sea, the Depian Ocean, the Gulf of Ascone, the Rochian Ocean, and the Tenific Ocean. A global ocean has existed in one form or another on Earth for eons, and the notion dates back to classical antiquity in the form of Oceanus. The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was coined in the early 20th century.