The Ocean

The Ocean

The Ocean is the most important resource we have. It provides us with food, transportation, electricity, and it even regulates and purifies our water supply through the process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Without it, we would not be able to survive.

The Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans are the three major oceans. There are several smaller bodies of water that are considered parts of these oceans include the Caribbean Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. Most of these are located in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ocean water contains 96.5 percent fresh water, and 3.5 percent salts. It also contains hundredths of amounts of other minerals such as sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium sulfate. These minerals give the ocean a very salty taste. The amount of dissolved salts in ocean water is described using the term salinity. Salinity is the number of grams of dissolved salts in 1 kilogram of water.

The ocean is full of many exotic and beautiful creatures. These range from the tiny krill, to the strange sea anemone and sea cucumber, to the great white shark and to the gigantic great blue whale. Each and every one of these creatures plays an important role in the well being and the survival of the ocean. Krill are provided to feed baleen whales, which use their mouths like filters to catch the krill. The shark has been provided for us to clean up the ocean, and to get rid of the sick and dying creatures that will pollute the ocean. Even the little anemone has a role. Fish such as the clownfish and certain species of craps and shrimp use the anemone for protection, and in turn they help the anemone get food by attracting food for the anemone.

The coral reef is one of the most beautiful and colorful creatures in the ocean. Only a few feet under the waves of the ocean, a colorful “city” is at work. Hundreds of fish and animals use the coral reef as a way to survive, gather food, and reproduce. The billions of tiny creatures in the coral, called zooxanthelle, give the coral its vibrancy and beauty. These creatures live in the tiny pores in the coral skeleton, and are fed mainly by photosynthesis, the way that also plants convert sunlight into glucose, which they can then digest. The ocean is certainly a wonderful and beautiful place.

However, many factors are destroying the beautiful ocean and the millions of beautiful creatures that live in it. Pollution is one of the biggest of these factors.

Every day, several tons of hazardous waste, chemicals, and garbage are dumped into the ocean. Throughout the years, man’s carelessness has taken its toll on our ocean. International treaties have banned the dumping of nuclear and other hazardous wastes, but the dumping of common garbage continues in many coastal cities around the world.

Several coastal cities around the world consider the ocean a convenience for dumping trash, which will be swept away by oceanic currents into the open sea, making it a dangerous and hazardous obstacle for marine life including, but not limited to dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, rays, fish and porpoises.

The deep trenches of the world, which contribute to the growth and expansion of the ocean, and contain many important creatures, were once and may still be used for the dumping of radioactive wastes and other wastes that are dangerous to humans. These wastes are usually dumped in metal drums, which over time are wasted away by the salt in the ocean water. The drums then leak out, destroying and damaging many creatures in the process and poisoning fish and other creatures. Some of it may find its way up and onto the coast, which is a very expensive and dangerous problem to take care of.

Coral bleaching is another effect of global warming. Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature around the coral rises, and the zooxanthellae, algae that live within the skeletons of the coral, cannot survive the shock of the temperature rise. The coral then expels the zooxanthellae and tries to adapt