The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry.
Why is the Pacific ocean important to humans?
As one of the planet’s critical support systems, it is difficult to overstate the importance of the Pacific Ocean. Regulating weather and climate , feeding families, providing income, and facilitating trade, the Ocean is an essential resource and makes the Earth habitable for mankind.
What are two important things about the Pacific ocean?
It covers more than 30% of the earth’s surface. It is so large it is bigger than the landmass of all the world’s continents combined! The Pacific Ocean is also the deepest ocean. It has extremely deep trenches including The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.
What are the oceans give the important features of Pacific Ocean?
The mean depth of the Pacific (excluding adjacent seas) is 14,040 feet (4,280 metres), and its greatest known depth is 36,201 feet (11,034 metres)—in the Mariana Trench —also the greatest depth found in any ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere the Pacific Ocean meets the Arctic Ocean in the Bering Sea.
What are 3 interesting facts about the Pacific ocean?
- #1 The Pacific Ocean was named by Ferdinand Magellan. ...
- #2 The Pacific Ocean is shrinking. ...
- #3 The first European to discover the Pacific Ocean was Vasco Núñez de Balboa. ...
- #4 The deepest point in the Pacific Ocean is in the Mariana Trench.
What is the biggest ocean in the world?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the world ocean basins. Covering approximately 63 million square miles and containing more than half of the free water on Earth, the Pacific is by far the largest of the world’s ocean basins.
Why is the Pacific ocean named that?
Explorer Ferdinand Magellan named the Pacific Ocean in the 16th Century. ... He called this body of water pacific, due to the calmness of the water at the time (‘pacific’ means peaceful) . When Magellan and his crew entered the Pacific Ocean after their long journey, they thought that the Spice Islands were close at hand.
Why are ocean important for us?
The air we breathe: The ocean produces over half of the world’s oxygen and absorbs 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. Climate regulation: Covering 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, the ocean transports heat from the equator to the poles, regulating our climate and weather patterns.
What does the ocean give us?
The ocean provides us with the necessary resources to survive: oxygen, water, and food . Even if you do not eat seafood, fishmeal is used to feed poultry and pork, as well as to organically fertilize crops for millennia. Fish and other seafood are vital for good nutrition.
How do humans use the Pacific ocean?
Much of the ocean is still waiting to be explored, but human activities like industrial fishing, deep-sea mining, and fossil-fuel burning are already changing it in significant ways. The vast body of water is home to some of the most unique life forms on Earth and contains the deepest reaches known to humankind.
What is difference between ocean and sea?
In terms of geography, seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet. Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land. Seas are found on the margins of the ocean and are partially enclosed by land. ... Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet.
How many countries are in the Pacific ocean?
The Pacific Ocean is home to 23 island countries . These include large island countries, like Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as small countries located in Oceania.
Which ocean is the saltiest in the world?
Of the five ocean basins, the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest. On average, there is a distinct decrease of salinity near the equator and at both poles, although for different reasons.
What is the deepest spot in the world?
The Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean , is the deepest location on Earth. According to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the United States has jurisdiction over the trench and its resources.
How many animals live in the Pacific ocean?
How Many Species Live in the Pacific Ocean? There are currently 228,450 known species in the ocean. The exact number is unknown because scientists say more than 90% of ocean life remains unknown and unexplored. In 2020, biologists identified 1,500 new species.
What is the warmest ocean?
The waters of the Pacific Ocean comprise the world’s largest heat reservoir, by far, and it is the warmest ocean, overall, of the world’s five oceans.
