PART 1.
Some things we know about oceans (from awesomeocean.com):
For starters there are five – Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, Arctic and Indian.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific is the largest and covers more than 30% of Earth’s
surface.
Challenger Deep, the lowest known point on Earth at 35,827 feet
below sea level, is in the Pacific Ocean near Guam.
The Pacific is home to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of
Australia and the Ring of Fire, which describes the collection of
volcanoes around the ocean basin
By volume, the Pacific contains more than half of the world’s
ocean waters.
Due to plate tectonics, the Pacific is currently sinking.
This ocean is home to the world’s second largest island, New
Guinea.
In the Northeast Pacific, tropical storms are known as
hurricanes; in the Northwest they are called typhoons. In the South Pacific,
they are known as cyclones.
Atlantic Ocean
The
Atlantic is the second largest, but only half the size of the Pacific Ocean. It borders North
America, South America, Africa and Europe. The mid-Atlantic ridge is the
longest mountain range of Earth, and since it is spreading, the ocean is
growing in size. The Atlantic was the first ocean to be crossed by ship
and plane. The largest island in the world, Greenland, is in the Atlantic
Ocean. The Atlantic contains more salt than the other four.
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean is
located around the South Pole.
It’s home to Emperor
penguins.
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic surrounds
the North Pole and many polar bears live on Arctic ice.
The ice covering the
Arctic is shrinking by 8% every ten years.
Most of the ground
features discovered in the Arctic Ocean have been named after explorers to the
region.
Indian Ocean
The Indian is located
between Africa and Austral-Asia.
This ocean is the
world’s largest breeding ground for humpback whales.
The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean on Earth.
Each ocean has a
diverse group of animals that call it home. In addition to the five oceans,
there are lots of seas. They are part of the ocean, but partially enclosed by
land. The most famous are the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
The “Seven Seas” was
thought to refer to the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black, Red, Arabian, Persian
Gulf, and Caspian seas. Today, most people believe that refers to the North and
South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Southern oceans.
Some things we don't know about oceans (from BuzzFeed.com):
About two-thirds of all marine
life remains unidentified.
Most
are probably tiny
ocean bugs or whatever.
No one knows what made this
sound.
While
the most famous mystery underwater sound — the Bloop — is consistent with (read: probably) some underwater
icequake or another, no one knows for sure what made this sound, nicknamed Julia. So it might be Cthulhu. You
don’t know.
There are probably halibut bigger than this, which
broke world records at 515 pounds.
We might not have identified eight whale and dolphin
species.
About 90% of the ocean is still unmapped.
Because 95% of it we haven’t explored, meaning there
COULD be mermaids
You
don’t know! Stop pretending like you know! (Source.)
Mysterious
rivers and lakes exist underwater,
with
creatures found nowhere else.
Some
of these brine-filled rivers and lakes have mussels living around them, and some don’t. Why don’t
some have mussels? Why?
(Brine is super salty and way
more dense than water, so it sinks and forms these pools and streams.)
Somebody just south of New Zealand caught this
39-foot-long Colossal Squid, but we don’t know a lot about it.
It’s also unclear how many valuable minerals are
hiding out in the water.
There’s gold in
them submarine hills, y’all.
Off the coast of Cuba, some researchers discovered a
possible lost city..
It could be nature
playing tricks, or it could be that long-lost Mayan city that disappeared under
the waves. Cough, ATLANTIS, cough
Some stuff about shells, also from BuzzFeed:
Lightning Whelk
The lightning whelk is a sea snail that actually eats other
things in shells, like oysters, scallops, and clams, oh my!
Murex
The dye this mollusk produces is a deep purple color, which was
once used to make royal robes and clothing. Hence the term “royal purple.”
Florida Fighting Conch
This sea snail lives in warm
Floridian waters in its special shell, which allows its eyes to peak
outside while its body stays within the safety of the shell.
Wentletrap
Wentletraps are rare and
extremely difficult to find, but when you find one, you’ll know immediately.
Their name is derived from the Dutch word “wendeltrappe,” which means
“spiral staircase.” Wentletraps have been popular with royalty for centuries,
so if you find one, hold onto it tight.
Banded Tulip
The tulip is named after its
shape, which resembles a tightly closed tulip flower. Inside this shell lives
the black snail, which has a toothed tongue to
bite through the shells of its prey.
Junonia
These snail shells are considered tough to find, as they normally live in deeper
waters and only get swept to shores after hurricanes. They’re named after the
Roman goddess Juno.
Spiny Jewel Box
The spines of the spiny jewel box give it its distinct look
and are used to protect them from predators like moon snails. Jewel boxes range
in color, but you can immediately recognize them from their spikes.
Scallop
Scallops actually have up
to 100 eyeballs. One. Hundred. Eyeballs.
Scallops!! Just some food for thought next time you see them on the menu.
Things kids think they know about the oceans (from democraticunderground.com):
An
octopus has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)
Oysters' balls are called
pearls. (Jerry, age 6)
If you are surrounded by
ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Mike, age 7)
Sharks are ugly and mean,
and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson . She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)
A dolphin breathes through
an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)
My uncle goes out in his
boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)
When ships had sails, they
used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)
Mermaids live in the ocean.
I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)
I'm not going to write
about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I
can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)
Some fish are dangerous.
Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug
themselves into chargers. (Christopher, age 7)
When you go swimming in the
ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)
Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have
to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)
On vacation my Mom went
water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)
The ocean is made up of
water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)
My dad was a sailor on the
ocean. He knows all about the ocean. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)
What with global warming & rising ocean levels, I'm thinking of investing in some beachfront property in Kansas----fishducky
