One Planet One Ocean You may think that Earth is divided into five oceans the Pacific Atlantic Indian Southern Antarctic and Arctic Ocean If you look at a map of the world they are usually labeled this way The truth is they are all connected and part of one huge global ocean Stream Gulf Mexico of Gulf ATLANTIC OCEAN OPEN OCEAN The ocean is mostly open water Smaller areas of an ocean can include seas gulfs and bays These are usually partially enclosed by land The Coral Sea Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Bengal are among the largest in the world PACIFIC OCEAN THE SEVEN SEAS What exactly are the Seven Seas that are mentioned so often in books and films The answer depends on who you ask and when From ancient times until today the meaning of the Seven Seas has changed many times as people sailed around the world and came across parts they didn’t know about before Today the expression is often used to mean all of the world’s oceans and seas combined 8 SOUTHERN OCEAN
Did you know 96 5 1 6 1 7 0 2 The ocean holds 96 5 percent of all the water found on Earth 1 6 percent is stored in ice caps glaciers and permanent snow Another 1 7 percent is trapped in the ground Lakes rivers and swamps only make up a tiny fraction of Earth’s water about 0 2 percent ARCTIC OCEAN Ocean Ice caps Ground Lakes and rivers The ocean is one connected body of water But the physical properties of this water such as temperature salinity amount of salt pressure and the amount of light it receives can change from place to place The deeper you go the colder and darker the ocean gets There are also differences as you travel to different places across the globe For example tropical waters near the equator receive more direct sunlight This is why they are among the warmest in the world INDIAN OCEAN Did you know The salt in seawater comes from rocks on land and is flushed into the ocean by flowing rivers Humans can’t drink seawater because of the high level of salt in it Coral Sea THE OCEAN AND US The ocean supports life in many ways Much of the food we eat comes from the ocean Millions of people rely on fish and shellfish as their main source of protein A lot of the other food we eat every day contain ingredients that come from the ocean as well Plus some substances taken from plants and animals living in the ocean are used to make medicines that can help treat some illnesses Bay of Bengal 9
Legends of the Seas Throughout the centuries many myths and legends have grown up around the oceans Sailors exploring unknown waters continents and countries returned home with tales full of mysterious creatures they encountered along the way THE KRAKEN This legendary giant squid was said to inhabit the seas between Norway and Greenland It was feared for attacking large ships and devouring the sailors or fishermen on board Its arms were so strong that it could pull ships down to the bottom of the ocean Greenland Norway 10
GIANT SQUIDS There is some truth in this myth we now know that giant squids exist But they do not attack ships Scientists have been able to study real giant squids that have washed up on shore or have been caught by fishermen around the world It’s thought they can grow 40 ft 12 m long and roam the ocean at great depths of 1000 to 3,300 ft 300 to 1,000 m Squids have eight arms like octopuses They also have two longer tentacles which they can shoot out to grab prey Several different giant squid species have been discovered But these creatures still remain one of the most elusive large animals Despite their great size they are rarely seen alive 40 ft 12 m 0 ft 650 ft 200 m 1,300 ft 400 m 2,000 ft 600m 2,600 ft 800 m 3,300 ft 1,000 m 11
