We are faced with a serious climate crisis. Fortunately, people from all around the world found a brand new appreciation for nature, including our oceans and their marine life. Unfortunately, we are still so far away from being where we should be.
Climate change has to be properly tackled and there is a need to have more initiatives to protect oceans. With this in mind, maybe the ocean expedition facts mentioned below will help you learn more and appreciate oceans more. A lot of people dream about adventures to Alaska and other memorable experiences like in Vietnam, but to reach such places, we often need to cross the ocean. So, let’s learn more about them.
Oceans Cover Over 70% Of The Planet’s Surface
We all know oceans are large but few know how large. The sheer size of these oceans can clearly show us why it is so important to protect the marine environments. Also, we should be aware of the fact that there is still so much to explore, especially under water.
Most Earth Life Is Aquatic
Because of the fact that such a large surface of the Earth is underwater, we should not be surprised to notice that there are many more marine species than land species. However, the stats are even higher, with 94% of the living species on Earth actually living inside oceans.
We Only Explored 5% Of Earth’s Oceans
The Ocean Service highlights that we only explored an incredibly small part of the planet’s oceans. Researchers work hard to discover much more so we keep learning brand new things about these huge masses of water.
The Longest Mountain Chain In The World Is Underwater
The name of the longest mountain chain in the world is Mid-Ocean Ridge, and it is almost completely under the ocean. It actually covers an incredible distance of around 65,000 kilometers. Statistics actually show us that the Mid-Ocean Ridge is currently less explored than Mars or Venus, which is truly incredible.
Countless Historical Artifacts Are Underwater
Let’s take a look just at Florida Keys. Close to 1,000 shipwrecks can be found there. Some are inside the renowned Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Every single one of these shipwrecks is basically an underwater museum. The number of artifacts that we can thus find underwater is much higher than everything we see in museums today.
Countless Undiscovered Marine Species
Right now, there are a little over 240,000 species registered in the World Register of Marine Species. However, this is only a very small part of the existing species. In fact, there are brand new species of marine life that are discovered almost every single day.
The Ocean Presents Over 70% Of Our Oxygen
This is just another reason why our oceans are so important. Although we do not know exactly the numbers, we think that we have between 70% and 80% of all oxygen produced by the marine plants. Almost all of them are actually marine algae.
Lakes And Rivers Appear Under Oceans
This is one thing that most people do not know. Because of the combination of hydrogen sulfide and salt water, the area becomes denser when compared to the area surrounding it. This enables the formation of a river or a lake, right under the ocean.
Half Of The US Is Ocean
Around 50% of the territory of the US is land under the ocean. This can put things into perspective.
The Largest Ocean Is The Pacific Ocean
This is something you might have already known, but did you know that the Pacific Ocean actually includes around 25,000 different islands? Many of them are not even inhabited.
