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		OCEAN FACTS AND STATISTICS

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Ocean facts and statistics

362,000,000 km2 (!!!) or 71% of the surface of the globe is water. The oceans influence all life on earth. We actually know relatively little about the oceans. The Earth exists 4,500,000,000 years; modern technology less than 100 years. In our times, political and commercial decisions are made, which can destroy developments of billions of years, in just days, hours and minutes. Some may think that changes in one drop of water don't change the 1,300,000,000 km3 of water on earth. A human being also consists of billions of cells; the change in just one cell, may be the beginning of a terminal illness. People must be informed about the oceans because protection starts with awareness! Coastal Issues Fisheries Geography Life in the Oceans Ocean Waters Polar Regions Pollution Resources, Minerals Territorial Waters, EEZ Water, hydrogen   Hot Topics   COASTAL ISSUES Coastline - The total length of the world's coastlines is about 504,000 km, enough to circle the Equator 12 times. The apparent length of a coastline depends on the scale (length of ruler) at which it is measured. The coastline appears longer as shorter rulers are used, because more small features are included. Canada has the longest coastline of any country. The 1996 Canadian Encyclopedia gives the length as 243,797 km, including the major island coastlines while the 1997 Guiness Book of Records gives a figure of 244,800 km, including the islands. Erosion - As coastal zones become more and more crowded, the quality of coastal water will suffer, the wildlife will be displaced, and the shorelines will erode. 60% of the Pacific and 35% of the Atlantic Coast shoreline are eroding at a rate of a meter every year. Population - More than half the world’s population live within a 100 km or 60 miles distance from the coast. This is more than 2.7 billion people. Rapid urbanization will lead to more coastal megacities containing 10 million or more people. By the end of the millennium 13 out of 15 of the world’s largest cities will be located on or near the coast. Growing population in coastal areas leads to more marine pollution and distribution of coastal habitats. Some 6,5 million tons (6,500,000,000 kilo) of litter finds its way into the sea each year. (Close to one-half of all Americans live in coastal counties). Protection - The Netherlands has built 800 miles of massive dikes and sea walls to hold back the sea. If it wasn't for these walls, 40% of the country would be flooded. Tourism - In 1990 international tourism made $ 250,000,000. Most of these proceeds came from coastal areas. FISHERIES Production - The sea provides the biggest source of wild or domestic protein in the world. Each year some 70 to 75 million tonnes of fish are caught in the ocean. Of this amount around 29 million tonnes is for human consumption.The global fish production exceeds that of cattle, sheep, poultry or eggs. Fish can be produced in two ways: by capture and by aqua culture. The total production has grown 34% over the last decade. -The largest numbers of fish are located in the Southern Hemisphere due to the fact that these waters are not largely exploited by man. - Fifteen out of seventeen of the world's largest fisheries are so heavily exploited that the reproduction can't keep up. With the result that many fish populations are decreasing rapidly. - Species of fish endangered by overfishing are: tuna, salmon, haddock, halibut, and cod. - In the 19th century, codfish weighing up to 200 pounds used to be caught. Nowadays, a 40 pound cod is considered a giant. Reason: overfishing. GEOGRAPHY 7 Seas - Depending on the map or atlas , one may find about 70 water bodies listed as seas. LIFE IN THE OCEANS Ocean life - 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface. Algae - The first plants on earth, the algae, developed in the sea 3.5 million years ago. Algae, like other plants, give off oxygen as they produce food. In time, these algae have produced enough oxygen to provide an atmosphere in which animals could survive. Today, algae produce over half of the oxygen that we breathe. Kelp - Giant kelp are the fastest growing plants in the world. In warm water, they can grow up to two feet in one day. Seaweed Substances out of seaweed are used in photographic film, cotton thread, medecines, paint, face creams, soup and ice cream. Habitat - The oceans contain 95% of the habitat space on the planet. Creatures, large and small - The number of ocean species known to man are 275,000. The largest animal and marine mammal in the world is the blue whale. It's up to 33 meters long and weighs as much as 40 rhinoceroses put together. The tiniest sea creatures are the microscopic plankton. They form the basis of the ocean food web on which all higher animals depend. - Some fish are very long-lived. For example, the age on one specimen of Rougheye Rockfish, from the Pacific Coast of Canada, was estimated at over 147 years. Cod - A female cod can lay 4,000,000 eggs in a year. Electric Eel-The electric eel (which isn't a "true eel") discharges 350 volts on average and up to 650 volts total. However, brief discharges of 500 volts at 2 amperes have been measured, which produced 100 watts of energy. Voltage continues to increase in eels up to 3 feet in length, after which as their length increases only the amperage increases. Electric eels in South America can reach lengths of up to 10 feet. In addition, there are at least 500 kinds of fish that produce noticeable amounts of electricity. Shark - The largest fish in the world is the whale shark, which lives in warm waters and feeds on plankton. The largest one measured was 12 m long, and was estimated to weigh 10,000 kg. - The basking shark is the second largest fish, and has been hunted commercially for the oil from its liver. A single adult can yield up to 900 liters of oil. - Megalodon, a shark which lived in the time of the dinosaurs, was bigger and heavier than Tyrannosaurus Rex. Seahorses - The 35 species of seahorse or hippocampus vary in size from 1" to 14". Their main food is shrimp and other Crustaceans. They have a life span of about one year. The seahorse changes its color for reasons of safety (camouflage) as well as expressing emotions to other seahorses. The female hippocampus can lay about 200 eggs and the male carries the eggs until they hatch. Roughly 20 million live and dead seahorses were traded legally in 1993. They are primarily used for medicines and aphrodisiacs (in Asia), aquariums and food. Tuna - Tuna are the fastest swimming fish in the ocean. An adult bluefin tuna can swim up to 55 miles per hour. - The bluefin tuna are among the largest marine fish. An adult may weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Prized for sushi in Japan, bluefins can bring as much as $20,000 each at U.S. docks. Food - Photosynthesis is not the only way new food is produced in the ocean. Bacteria living near hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean and oil and gas seeps along the continental margins in the deep can fix carbon from carbon dioxide into nutritious molecules using the chemical energy in hydrogen sulfide or methane. Whale - The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. - The sperm whale is the largest predator that has ever lived. OCEAN WATERS Acoustics - Sound travels five times faster in water than in air. - In 1960, scientists set off depth charges off the coast of Australia. About 2-1/2 hours later it was heard under the water in Bermuda. Carolus effect - The rotation of the earth causes water to circle away from the equator. It creates the major currents. Currents - The Kuroshio Current, off the shores of Japan, is the largest current. It can travel between 25 and 75 miles a day, 1 - 3 miles per hour, and extends some 3300 feet deep. The Gulf Stream is close to this current's speed. - The Gulf Stream is a well known stream of warm water in the Atlantic Ocean. At a speed of 60 miles per day, the Gulf stream moves a 100 times as much water as all the rivers on earth. Because the Gulf Stream is part of a larger current system, it is difficult to set boundaries of start and finish. Generally, the northeasterly flow can be charted from the Straits of Florida, at a speed of 3 - 4 knots with a rate of 26 million cubic meters per second, increasing past the Chesapeake Bay to a rate of 75 - 90 million cubic meters per second due to addition of waters from the Sargasso Sea, up to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland where the rate drops to 40 million cubic meters per second. Foam - Sea foam is made of air bubbles separated by a film of liquid. Air bubbles in fresh water unite, while air bubbles in salt water bounce off of each other. When these air bubbles rise to the surface in the ocean, they burst and release salt spray into the air. It is believed that most of the airborne salt comes from the bursting of bubbles. Light - Blue is the longest wavelength of the colors of the spectrum. Since it is the last absorbed by the ocean, it is the most dominant color reflected. When descending into the sea, the colors of the spectrum begin to be filtered out. The first color to disappear is red. Ocean Depth - The average depth of the ocean is 3795 m. (The average height of the land is 840m). The Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean is, with a depth of 11.7 km, the deepest spot on earth and deeper than the highest mountain is tall. At the deepest point in the ocean, the pressure is more than 8 tons per square inch - The Caribbean Sea is the deepest at 8,448 feet. Ocean productivity - The productivity for a given area of a natural shallow estuary is similar to that of most productive land crops. Estuaries, sugarcane and sorghum all produce between 500 and 1250 grams of Carbon per square meter per year. - The productivity for a given area of the open ocean is similar to that of deserts and grasslands on land, between 40 and 80 grams of Carbon per square meter per year. - A given area in an ocean upwelling zone or deep estuary is as productive as the same area in rain forests, moist crops and intensive agriculture. They all produce between 150 and 500 grams of Carbon per square meter per year. Rising Sea Level - The sea level has risen with an average of 4-10 inches (10 to 25 cm) over the past 100 years and scientists expect this rate to increase. Sea levels will continue rising even if the climate has stabilized, because the ocean reacts slowly to changes. - 10,000 years ago the ocean level was about 330 ft (110 mtr) lower than it is now. - If all the world's ice melted, the oceans would rise 200 ft (66 mtr). Tides - The highest tides in the world are found in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. At times during the year the difference between high and low tide may be as high as 53 feet, the equivalent of a three-story building. - Each year there are 26 spring tides: 13 at full moon and 13 when the moon is none. Volcanic Activity - 90% of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs in the ocean. The largest known concentration of active volcanoes (approximately 1,133) on the sea floor is located in the South Pacific Water Masses - Over 70% of the earth's surface is covered with water. This is approximately 362,000,000 square kilometers. The oceans contain 97% of all the water on earth, which is about 1,300,000,000 km3 or 328,000,000 miles3. The amount of water on earth has never changed and will never change. - The Pacific Ocean holds more than half the seawater on Earth - almost as much as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans combined. - The South China Sea, located between the coasts of China and Philippines, is the largest sea on Earth. It has an area of 1,148,500 square miles. Salinity - Some scientists estimate that the oceans contain as much as 50 quadrillion tons (50 million billion tons=50,000,000,000,000,000) of dissolved solids. If the salt in the ocean could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth’s land surface it would form a layer more than 500 feet (166 m) thick, about the height of a 40-story office building. - The ocean's principal dissolved solids are sodium salts (sodium chloride or common salt), calcium salts (calcium carbonate or lime, and calcium sulfate), potassium salts (potassium sulfate), and magnesium salts (magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, and magnesium bromide). - Atlantic sea water is heavier than Pacific sea water due to its higher salt content. - The freezing point of sea water depends on its salt content. Typical ocean water has about 35 grams of salt per liter and freezes at -19 degrees C. Density - The density of ocean water varies. It becomes more dense as it becomes colder, right down to its freezing point of -1.9 degrees C. (This is unlike fresh water, which is most dense at 4 degrees C, well above its freezing point.) Water temperature - Under the enormous pressures of the deep ocean, sea water can reach very high temperatures without boiling. A water temperature of 400 degrees C has been measured at one hydrothermal vent. - The average temperature of all ocean water is about 3.5° C. - Almost all of the deep ocean temperatures are only a little warmer than freezing (39°F). Waves - Waves are primarily created by the friction between water and wind. They go forward without replacing any water. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tides also cause waves. - Ordinary ocean waves get their energy from the wind. Higher waves need more energy. 'Sea state' (the typical height of wind waves) is determined by the wind speed, the lenght of time the wind has been blowing steadily (the 'duration), and the distance over the water that the wind blows in a single direction (the 'fetch'). - Wind-generated ocean wavescontinue to travel after the wind stops. Longer waves travel faster than shorter ones, and go farther before friction causes them to disappear. Groups of waves from sortm in the Pacific near Antarctica have been detected in Hawaii and Alaska, more than 10,000 km away. - A Tsunami, can move as fast as 500 miles per hour. The largest recorded tsunami measured 210 feet above sea level, which is about 18 stories high. It reached Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula in 1737. - Seiche is a wave formed by the rocking of water in an enclosed water area such as a harbor or bay. - Even underwater waves exist: between layers of water of different denseties. - Kinetic energy, the energy of motion, in waves is tremendous. An average 4-foot, 10-second wave striking a coast puts out more than 35,000 horsepower per mile of coast. If this seems confusing, another way to determine how much power is contained in a wave can be best visualized by looking at the damage it does when it hits the coast. For example, on the coast of Scotland a block of cemented stone weighing 1,350 tons was broken lose. Later, the replacement pier, weighing 2,600, tons was carried away by waves. Off the coast of Oregon, the roof of a lighthouse 91 feet above water was damaged by a 135 pound rock that was carried by the high waves. Waterless Oceans The oceans will completely disappear in about one billion years due to increased temperatures from a maturing sun. The problems begin in half that time because of falling levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As time progresses, the sun, like all main sequence stars, is getting brighter and that affects the climate of our planet. Eventually temperatures will become high enough so that the oceans evaporate. At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, water becomes a major constituent of the atmosphere. Much of this water migrates to the stratosphere where it is lost to the vacuum. Eventually, the oceans will evaporate into space. POLAR REGIONS - Antarctica has as much ice as the Atlantic Ocean has water. - 10% of the earth's surface is covered with ice. - The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean, holding only one percent of the Earth's seawater. This is still more than 25 times as much water as all rivers and fresh water lakes. - The average thickness of the Arctic ice sheet is about 9 to 10 feet, although there are some areas as thick as 65 feet. - In the unlikely event that all the polar ice were to melt, the sea level all over the world would rise 500 to 600 feet. As a result, 85 to 90% of the Earth's surface would be covered with water as compared to the current 71%. The U.S. would be split by the Mississippi Sea, which would connect the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. - The Arctic produces 10,000 to 50,000 icebergs annually. The amount produced in the Antarctic regions is inestimable. Icebergs normally have a four-year life-span; they begin entering shipping lanes after about three years. POLLUTION Pollutants - Sewage, pulpmill wastes, fertilizers, soaps, detergents, radioactive wastes, synthetic fibers, plastics, oils, tars, greases, and insecticides are all pollutants man has placed in our Earth's oceans. Hot and cold water from factories and silt from dredging can also be considered pollutants because they are abnormal to the surrounding water conditions. Air Pollution - Air pollution is responsible for 33% of the toxic contaminants that end up in oceans and coastal waters. About 44% of the toxic contaminants come from rivers and streams. Animal Deaths - In one year, over a 100 million sharks are killed, many solely for their fins. In one year one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles suffer cruel deaths from entanglement or suffocation in plastics. Annually, about 600 miles of commercial fishing nets break loose, float freely, become a curtain of death. Carbon Dioxyde Absorbtion - Oceans absorb between 30% and 50% of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuel. Carbon dioxide is transported downwards by plankton. Any change in the temperature of the ocean water, influences the ability of plankton to take up carbon dioxide. This has consequences for the ecosystem, because plankton form the base of the food web. Reefs - Over 60% of the world's coral reefs are threatened as a result of pollution, sedimentation and bleaching due to rising water temperatures caused by global warming. Global Coral Monitoring Network (GCRMN) states that currently 27% of all coral reef worldwide has disappeared and around 2050 only 30% will be left. Rubbish/Contamination- In one year, three times as much rubbish is dumped into the world's oceans as the weight of fish caught. - A single quart of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of drinking water. Marine Salvage - In 1998, marine salvors recovered 986,116 tonnes of oil, 84,994 tonnes of hazardous chemicals, and 47,385 tonnes of other pollutants. In the five year period from 1994-98, marine salvors recovered 6,956,922 tonnes of oil, 428,728 tonnes of hazardous chemicals and 206,130 of other pollutants. Oil spills- The Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska. 42,000 tons of oil were spilled. It was the worst tanker spill in U.S. history. In terms of all time oil spills, it doesn't even rank among the top 20. - Only about one tenth of one percent of oil shipped each year is spilled at sea. That amounts to 2,200,000 tons. RESOURCES, MINERALS Gold - If all the gold suspended in the world's seawater were mined, each person on Earth could have about 9 pounds of gold. Oil - Oil is one of the ocean's greatest resources. nearly one-third of the world's oil comes from offshore fields in our oceans. Areas most popular for oil drilling are the Arabian Gulf, the North Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Oil was also borne from the sea. Millions of years ago, countless marine microscipic plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) lived in the ancient seas as they do today. As they died, the skeletal remains of these tiny organisms settled to the sea floor, mixed with mud and silt, and over millions of years, formed organic-rich sedimentary layers. Other sediments continued to be deposited and further buried the oganic-rich sediment layer to depths of thousands of feet, compressing the layers into a rock that would become the source for oil. Over the years, as the depth of the burial increased, pressure increased, along with the temperature. Under such conditions, and over long periods of time, the original skeletal remains of phytoplankton and zooplankton changed, breaking down into simpler substances called hydrocarbons - compounds of hydrogen and carbon. This process still continues, although it will be millions of years before the next batch of oil is done cooking. TERRITORIAL WATERS, EEZ EEZ - The EEZ refers to the coastal waters that lie adjacent to the coast and extend 200 nautical miles offshore. Marine resources within the EEZ is governed by the adjacent country. The 10 Largest Territorial Powers (in million sq kms) Country Land Area Sea Claims Total Area 1. Australia 7,700,000 28,500,000 36,200,000 2. Russia 17,100,000 21,500,000 38,600,000 3. USA 9,400,000 20,000,000 29,400,000 4. Canada 9,900,000 12,400,000 22,300,000 5. China 9,600,000 11,400,000 21,000,000 6. Brazil 8,500,000 11,000,000 19,500,000 7. France 500,000 6,000,000 6,500,000 8. Indonesia 1,900,000 6,000,000 7,900,000 9. India 3,200,000 5,700,000 8,900,000 10. New Zealand 300,000 5,500,000 5,800,000 WATER (hydrogen) Hydrogen - About 97% of the atoms in our universe are hydrogen: more than 50% of the atoms in our environment (the soil beneath our feet, the atmosphere, the oceans) are hydrogen, most of it combined with oxygen as water. Desalination - Arabian Gulf reverse osmosis plants treat 500,000,000 gallons of sea water to obtain 100,000,000 gallons of fresh water. Daily over 500,000,000 gallons of Seawater must be heated to extremely high temperatures. Mixed with toxic chemicals the Seawater is injected under high pressure through a series of membrane filters. Only 100,000,000 gallons of fresh water is generated. The 5:1 ratio of this highly inefficient process means 400,000,000 gallons of untreated water are returned to the sea each day. The higher temperature of the discharged water causes environmental problems. Worse, the super heated brine discharge has significantly higher levels of total dissolved solids, and toxic chemicals are mixed in with it. This pollution is usually discharged back into the sea.