Jul 13, 2025 · The ocean covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water. This vast, critical reservoir supports a abundance of life and helps regulate Earth’s climate.

The ocean plays a central role in global climate and regional weather patterns. Explore how the ocean regulates climate by absorbing carbon, the ways a warming ocean impacts the intensity of storms and the height of the sea, and how scientists study the ocean's climate history.

Dec 19, 2024 · The ocean water column is made up of five zones: the sunlight (epipelagic), twilight (mesopelagic), midnight (bathypelagic), abyssal (abyssopelagic) and hadal zones (trenches).

Discover the Ocean Learning Hub—your gateway to trusted ocean science content. Easily explore by topic, media type, grade level, and educational standards.

5 days ago · Oceans Before altering the air, microbes oxygenated large swaths of the sea Hundreds of millions of years before oxygen surged in the atmosphere 2.4 billion years ago, swaths of oxygen winked in ...

Feb 6, 2025 · Ocean circulation refers to the flow of water throughout the world's oceans, which acts as a fundamental driver of Earth's climate. This continuous movement redistributes heat, cycles essential nutrients for marine life, and affects …

Jan 30, 2013 · Incredible diversity exists in the ocean, from microscopic organisms to the largest animals on Earth.

Nov 14, 2024 · The ocean, however, is a non-linear and chaotic system, meaning nothing scales in a straight line, and even small perturbations in a current’s temperature, salinity, strength, or location can cause large changes that ripple through the planet’s teleconnection.

Without the ocean, life as we know it wouldn't be possible. There are a number of key reasons why. First, the ocean is the largest source of oxygen on Earth. According to scientists, approximately half of the planet's oxygen production originates from the sea. Most of this oxygen is created in the top 200 meters (656 feet) of the ocean's surface. Within this depth, sunlight …

6 days ago · Ocean color is a measure of sunlight that is reflected by the water and its components, such as phytoplankton, sediments, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Remotely collected ocean color data can be used as a substitute for directly sampling and examining water quality in any body of water.