Introduction More than two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by seawater Planet Earth isn’t exactly a fitting name for the world we live in It should really be called Planet Ocean As the largest habitat on Earth the ocean is home to millions of animals and plants These range from microscopic organisms to the largest animal ever to have lived the blue whale The ocean also drives Earth’s climate and weather patterns Seawater absorbs the sun’s heat and the ocean currents spread it across the globe Now take a breath Take another breath Did you know that more than half of the oxygen in our atmosphere comes from the ocean enough for every second breath we take This oxygen gas is produced by tiny marine organisms that live near the water’s surface They use sunlight and carbon dioxide gas to produce energy This process photosynthesis also releases the oxygen we breathe These marine organisms release more oxygen than all the trees grasses and other land plants combined They also form the foundation of nearly all ocean food chains
Humans need air to breathe water to drink food to eat and the right climate to live in Most of these come from or are brought to us by the ocean This means that no matter how far you are from the shore the ocean affects your life and your life affects the ocean too Water is essential to all life on Earth Every cell in our bodies needs water in order to function and stay healthy On average 60 percent of a human adult is made up of water This is true for most animals as well But the ocean is much more than just a vast expanse of water From bright and beautiful coral reefs to undersea forests from swampy coastal marshes to icy polar seas the ocean hosts some of the most diverse habitats on our planet Each provides food and shelter to a huge variety of marine life And far below the water’s surface we also find mountains and volcanoes There is even life at the bottom of the ocean where strange creatures have learned to live in the pitch-black dark Their unusual body structures help them survive freezing waters and extreme pressure These are truly extreme conditions to get used to
This book will take you on a journey to explore a wonderful and mysterious underwater world full of unique animals and plants You’ll learn fascinating facts and figures as you flick through its pages Inside you will find maps diagrams and colorful illustrations that tell a visual story about life in the ocean Most of the ocean still remains a secret Even so new discoveries are being made every day Humans are exploring the remotest parts of our blue planet and learning more and more about the deepest reaches of the oceans Why is the ocean blue Is it reflecting the color of the sky Not quite The ocean appears blue because of the way it filters sunlight Sunlight is a mix of red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet light These colors are the same as the colors of a rainbow Each color is made up of rays of light with a different wavelength It’s the value of this wavelength which makes a color different from the others The shortest wavelength is violet and the longest is red When sunlight hits the ocean the water quickly absorbs colors with long wavelengths red orange and yellow This leaves the short wavelength colors blue and green for us to see The ocean never ceases to amaze Let’s delve deeper into this remarkable and fragile environment and see what we can discover 6
So are you ready Take a deep breath and let’s plunge beneath the waves 7
