Portal:Oceans
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| Earth's ocean |
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Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: Marginal seas |
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as oceans (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic Ocean), and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of water. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of Earth's hydrosphere, acting as a huge reservoir of heat for Earth's energy budget, as well as for its carbon cycle and water cycle, forming the basis for climate and weather patterns worldwide. The ocean is essential to life on Earth, harbouring most of Earth's animals and protist life, originating photosynthesis and therefore Earth's atmospheric oxygen, still supplying half of it. (Full article...)
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. (Full article...)
Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean' and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. (Full article...)
The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba. The coastal areas along the Southern U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are occasionally referred to as the "Third Coast" of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts), but more often as "the Gulf Coast".
The Gulf of Mexico took shape about 300 million years ago (mya) as a result of plate tectonics. The Gulf of Mexico basin is roughly oval and is about 810 nautical miles (1,500 kilometers; 930 miles) wide. Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the gulf has very small tidal ranges. (Full article...)
- The color of the sea snail Simnia spelta varies, but when it grazes on the white gorgonian it mimics the twigs.
- A sculpture of the god Neptune on one of the parapets of the University of Washington's Gerberding Hall represents the academic disciplines of oceanography and fisheries science.
- After sinking the British ocean liner SS Dwinsk in June 1918, the German submarine U-151 remained in the area and used the survivors in seven lifeboats as a lure in order to try and sink additional Allied ships.
| Marine habitats |
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| Coastal habitats |
| Ocean surface |
| Open ocean |
| Sea floor |
- List of oceans
- List of ancient oceans
- List of seas
- List of circumnavigations
- List of cruise lines
- List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System
- List of marine biologists
- List of marine ecoregions
- List of maritime explorers
- List of naval battles
- List of ocean liners
- List of oceanographic institutions and programs
- List of oldest surviving ships
- List of rogue waves
- List of seafood dishes
- List of submarine topographical features
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- 11 June 2025 – Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling
- At least eight migrants are found dead and 22 others are missing as the United Nations International Organization for Migration and the Djiboutian government launch a joint rescue operation after migrants were forced off a boat and forced to swim to shore off the coast of Djibouti. (AP)
- 8 June 2025 – 2025 San Diego Cessna 414 crash
- All six occupants are killed after a Cessna 414 crashed into the ocean off the coast of Point Loma after takeoff from San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, United States. (CBS News)
- 5 June 2025 – Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling, Sudanese refugee crisis
- The Freedom Flotilla, a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid en route to Gaza with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, and French European Parliament member Rima Hassan, rescue four Sudanese civil war refugees from a dinghy near Libya. (The Times of Israel) (The Print)
- 28 May 2025 – Red Sea crisis
- Israel says it launched airstrikes against targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen, destroying the last operational plane of Yemenia Airlines at Sanaa International Airport. (Reuters)
- 16 May 2025 – Red Sea crisis
- The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes on the ports of Hudaydah and Salif in Houthi-controlled Yemen, as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel Katz warn that if the Houthis persist in attacking Israel, their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi will be directly targeted. (Al Arabiya)
- WikiProject Oceans
- WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography
- WikiProject Marine life
- WikiProject Cetaceans
- WikiProject Fishes
- WikiProject Sharks
- Related WikiProjects
- WikiProject Arthropods
- WikiProject Fisheries and Fishing
- WikiProject Lakes
- WikiProject Rivers
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
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Wikibooks
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Wikidata
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Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
| Admiralty and maritime law |
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| History |
| Features |
| Contract of carriage / charterparty |
| Parties |
| Judiciaries |
| International organizations |
| International conventions |
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| International Codes |
Do you have a question about oceans, seas or oceanography that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
- World Ocean Database and World Ocean Atlas Series – from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Includes the World Ocean Atlas.
- European Atlas of the Seas – the European Atlas of the Seas, from the European Commission
- NOAA Research – NOAA research news, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- Ocean Research – from The World Ocean Observatory
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System – "a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development"
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