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

Sep 10, 2020 · The ocean’s so-called biological carbon pump removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it deep in the ocean on timescales that are important to the lifespan of humans. The solubility carbon pump, which stores much larger amounts of carbon, operates on timescales in the thousands of years and is a much slower mixing process.

Nov 14, 2024 · Ocean currents are the reason London rarely has a white Christmas despite having a latitude on par with central Quebec’s. They’re the reason San Francisco can be a pleasant 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) while Sacramento swelters in the hundreds. Ocean dynamics determine whether it will be a good year for wheat in India.

6 days ago · Oceans The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.

The ocean matters The ocean covers more than two-thirds of Earth's surface, it makes life as we know it possible, and it sustains human society. Yet the global ocean is largely unexplored and unknown. What we do learn never ceases to amaze or …

Jun 10, 2024 · What are Currents, Gyres, and Eddies? Even on the calmest days, Earth's oceans are constantly on the move. At the surface and beneath, currents, gyres and eddies play a crucial role in physically shaping the coasts and ocean bottom; in transporting and mixing energy, chemicals and other materials within and among ocean basins; and in sustaining countless plants and animals that rely on the ...

Apr 12, 2016 · At mid-ocean ridges, plates are spreading apart and magma rises to fill the gaps. Near subduction zones, plates collide, forcing ocean crust down toward Earth’s hot interior, where this crustal material melts, forming magma that rises buoyantly back to the surface and erupts to create volcanoes and seamounts.

Feb 9, 2021 · Ocean acidification is a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by an increase of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Sep 29, 2023 · Animals in the twilight zone help support the ocean’s food web and transport huge amounts of carbon from surface waters into the deep ocean, helping to regulate global climate. So far, the twilight zone is largely unexplored and its rich biodiversity has remained mostly beyond the reach of commercial fishing—and the international laws that ...

Jan 23, 2025 · Climate Indicators hold key information for the most relevant domains of climate change: temperature and energy, atmospheric composition, ocean and water as well as the cryosphere. Cryosphere The cryosphere encompasses the frozen parts of Earth, including glaciers and ice sheets, sea ice, and any other frozen body of water.