The term “World Ocean”, as part of the hydrosphere, was introduced into science by the famous oceanographer Yu. M. Shokalsky. Separate parts of the World Ocean, separated from each other by continents and, as a result, differing in certain natural features and unity, are called oceans. These are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans.
The ocean is playing big role in the cycle of matter and energy on Earth. There is a continuous water cycle between the ocean, atmosphere and land. The ocean is in constant interaction with the atmosphere. This is a huge accumulator of heat and moisture. The oceans - the cuisine of weather and climate on Earth. Thanks to the oceans on Earth, sharp fluctuations in air temperature are smoothed out and the land is moistened.
The world's oceans have enormous natural resources: biological, mineral, energy. Biological resources ocean- these are representatives of the flora and fauna of the ocean that are of commercial importance. The world's oceans are richest source food resources: fish, marine animals, mollusks (squid, mussels), crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, krill), some types of algae. Ocean mineral resources- these are the mineral wealth of the waters, shelf and ocean floor, used in industry and construction. These are chemicals dissolved in water, oil, gas, ferromanganese nodules, gravel, shell sand, etc. The shelf zone of the World Ocean (13 million km 2) is promising for oil and gas production. The main resource of the World Ocean is sea water.
Ocean Energy Resources - it is mechanical and thermal energy waters of the World Ocean. Most of all, the energy of ebbs and flows is used.
There are many islands and groups of islands in the ocean. By origin, continental, volcanic and coral islands are distinguished. Mainland Islands- these are areas of land that were once integral with the continents, but were separated from them as a result of land subsidence (Madagascar, New Earth, New Guinea, UK). The largest island by area is Greenland. Volcanic Islands formed as a result of volcanic eruptions at the bottom of the oceans and seas (Kuril, Hawaiian). Coral Islands are created as a result of the vital activity of marine organisms - coral polyps. They live only in warm waters with a temperature of approximately +20 ° C, for example Bolshoi barrier reef off the coast of Australia.
Pacific Ocean
Main questions. What determines the features of nature Pacific Ocean? What role does the Pacific Ocean play in people's lives?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest in area, the deepest and the most ancient of all oceans. Its area is 178.68 million km 2 (1/3 of the surface of the globe), and its expanses would accommodate all the continents taken together.
F. Magellan carried out trip around the world and was the first to explore the Pacific Ocean. His ships were never caught in a storm. The ocean was resting from its usual riots. That is why F. Magellan mistakenly called him Quiet.
Geographical position. The Pacific Ocean is located in the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Hemispheres and has an elongated shape from northwest to southeast. (Use a physical map of the world to determine which continents are washed by the Pacific Ocean and in which part it is especially wide.) In the northern and western parts of the Pacific Ocean there are marginal seas (more than 15) and bays. Among them Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese, Yellow Seas confined to Eurasia. In the east, the American coastline is flat. (Show on a physical map of the Pacific Ocean.)
Relief The bottom of the Pacific Ocean is complex, the average depth is about 4000 m. The Pacific Ocean is the only one that is almost entirely located within the boundaries of one lithospheric plate - the Pacific. When it interacted with other plates, seismic zones were formed. They are associated with frequent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and, as a consequence, the occurrence of tsunamis. (Give examples of what disasters a tsunami can cause for residents of coastal countries.) Off the coast of Eurasia, the maximum depth of the Pacific and the entire World Ocean is noted - the Mariana Trench (10,994 m).
The western part of the Pacific Ocean is characterized by deep-sea trenches (Aleutian, Kuril-Kamchatka, Japanese, etc.). The Pacific Ocean is home to 25 of the 35 deep-sea trenches in the world's oceans that are more than 5,000 m deep.
Climate. The Pacific Ocean is the warmest ocean on Earth. At low latitudes it reaches a width of 17,200 km, and with seas - 20,000 km. average temperature surface waters is about +19 ¨С. The water temperature of the Pacific Ocean in equatorial latitudes throughout the year ranges from +25 to +30 ¨C, in the north from +5 to +8 ¨C, and near Antarctica it drops below 0 ¨C. (In what climate zones is the ocean located?)
The size of the Pacific Ocean and the maximum temperatures of its surface waters in tropical latitudes create conditions for the formation of tropical cyclones or hurricanes. They are accompanied by destructive winds and downpours. At the beginning of the 21st century, an increase in the frequency of hurricanes was noted.
The formation of climate is greatly influenced by prevailing winds. These are trade winds in tropical latitudes, westerly winds in temperate latitudes, and monsoons off the coast of Eurasia. Maximum amount precipitation per year (up to 12,090 mm) falls on the Hawaiian Islands, and the minimum (about 100 mm) falls in the eastern regions in tropical latitudes. The distribution of temperatures and precipitation is subject to latitudinal geographic zoning. The average salinity of ocean water is 34.6 ‰.
Currents. The formation of ocean currents is influenced by the wind system, features of the bottom topography, and the position and outline of the coast. The most powerful current in the World Ocean is the cold current of the Western Winds.
This is the only current that circles the entire globe, carrying 200 times more water per year than all the rivers in the world. The winds that generate this current, the westerly transport, are of extraordinary strength, especially in the area of the southern 40th parallel. These latitudes are called the “roaring forties.”
In the Pacific Ocean there is a powerful system of currents generated by the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Northern Passatnoe And Southern Trade Wind Currents. Currents play an important role in the movement of Pacific Ocean waters. Kuroshio. (Study the direction of currents on the map.)
Periodically (every 4-7 years) the El Niño (“Holy Child”) current occurs in the Pacific Ocean, one of the factors of global climate fluctuations. The reason for its occurrence is a decrease in atmospheric pressure in the south Pacific Ocean and an increase over Australia and Indonesia. During this period, warm waters rush east to the coast of South America, where the temperature of ocean water becomes abnormally high. This causes intense rainfall, major floods and landslides on the mainland coast. In Indonesia and Australia, on the contrary, dry weather sets in.
Natural resources and environmental problems. The Pacific Ocean is rich in a variety of mineral resources. In the process of geological development, oil and natural gas deposits were formed in the ocean shelf zone. (Look at the map for the location of these natural resources.) At a depth of more than 3000 m, ferromanganese nodules with a high content of manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt were found. It is in the Pacific Ocean that nodule deposits occupy the most significant areas - more than 16 million km 2. Placers of tin ores and phosphorites were discovered in the ocean.
Nodules are round-shaped formations up to 10 cm in size. Nodules represent a huge reserve of mineral raw materials for the development of the metallurgical industry in the future.
More than half of the living matter of the entire World Ocean is concentrated in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The organic world is distinguished by species diversity. The fauna is 3-4 times richer than in other oceans. Representatives of whales are widespread: sperm whales, baleen whales. Seals and fur seals are found in the south and north of the ocean. Walruses live in northern waters, but are on the verge of extinction. Thousands of exotic fish and algae are common in the shallow waters off the coasts.
The Pacific Ocean accounts for almost half of the world's catch of salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon, tuna, and Pacific herring. In the northwestern and northeastern parts of the ocean, large quantities of cod, halibut, navaga, and macrorus are caught (Fig. 42). Sharks and rays are found everywhere in warm latitudes. In the southwestern part of the ocean, tuna and swordfish spawn, sardines and blue whiting live. A feature of the Pacific Ocean are giant animals - Fig. 42. The main commercial fish are: the largest bivalve mollusk tridacna (shell up to 2 m, weight over 200 kg), Kamchatka crab (up to 1.8 m in length), giant sharks (giant shark - up to 15 m, whale shark - up to 18 m in length) etc.
The Pacific Ocean plays an important role in the lives of the peoples of many countries. About half the world's population lives on its coast. The Pacific Ocean ranks second in transportation in the world. The largest ports in the world are located on the Pacific coast in Russia, Japan, and China. As a result economic activity An oil film has formed on a significant part of its surface, which leads to the death of animals and plants. Oil pollution is most common along the Asian coast, where the main oil production takes place and transport routes pass through.
Bibliography
1. Geography 8th grade. Tutorial for 8th grade institutions of general secondary education with Russian as the language of instruction / Edited by Professor P. S. Lopukh - Minsk “People's Asveta” 2014
The Great, or Pacific, Ocean is the greatest ocean on Earth. It accounts for about half (49%) of the area and more than half (53%) of the volume of the waters of the World Ocean, and its surface area is equal to almost a third of the entire surface of the Earth as a whole. In terms of the number (about 10 thousand) and total area (more than 3.5 million km2) of islands, it ranks first among the other oceans of the Earth.
In the northwest and west, the Pacific Ocean is limited by the shores of Eurasia and Australia, in the northeast and east - by the shores of North and South America. The border with the Arctic Ocean is drawn through the Bering Strait along the Arctic Circle. The southern border of the Pacific Ocean (as well as the Atlantic and Indian) is considered to be the northern coast of Antarctica. When distinguishing the Southern (Antarctic) Ocean, its northern boundary is drawn along the waters of the World Ocean, depending on the change in the regime of surface waters from temperate latitudes to Antarctic latitudes. It runs approximately between 48 and 60° S. (Fig. 3).
The boundaries with other oceans south of Australia and South America are also drawn conditionally along the water surface: with the Indian Ocean - from Cape South East Point at approximately 147° E, with the Atlantic Ocean - from Cape Horn to the Antarctic Peninsula. In addition to wide connections with other oceans in the south, there is communication between the Pacific and northern Indian Oceans through the interisland seas and the straits of the Sunda archipelago.
The area of the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Strait to the shores of Antarctica is 178 million km2, the volume of water is 710 million km3.
The northern and western (Eurasian) shores of the Pacific Ocean are dissected by seas (more than 20 of them), bays and straits, separating large peninsulas, islands and entire archipelagos of continental and volcanic origin. Coast of Eastern Australia, southern part North America and especially South America, as a rule, are straightforward and difficult to access from the ocean. With a huge surface area and linear dimensions (more than 19 thousand km from west to east and about 16 thousand km from north to south), the Pacific Ocean is characterized by weak development of the continental margins (only 10% of the bottom area) and a relatively small number of shelf seas.
Within the intertropical space, the Pacific Ocean is characterized by clusters of volcanic and coral islands.
There are still different points of view on the question of the time of formation of the Pacific Ocean in its modern form, but, obviously, by the end of the Paleozoic era, a vast body of water already existed in the place of its basin, as well as the ancient continent of Pangea, located approximately symmetrically with respect to the equator . At the same time, the formation of the future Tethys Ocean began in the form of a huge bay, the development of which and the invasion of Pangea subsequently led to its disintegration and the formation of modern continents and oceans.
The bed of the modern Pacific Ocean is formed by the system lithospheric plates, bounded on the ocean side by mid-ocean ridges, which are part of the global system of mid-ocean ridges of the World Ocean. These are the East Pacific Rise and the South Pacific Ridge, which, reaching a width of up to 2 thousand km in places, connect with each other in the southern part of the ocean and continue westward into the Indian Ocean. The East Pacific Ridge, extending northeast to the coast of North America, in the Gulf of California region, connects with the system of continental rift faults of the California Valley, the Yosemite Trench and the San Andreas Fault. The middle ridges of the Pacific Ocean themselves, unlike the ridges of other oceans, do not have a clearly defined axial rift zone, but are characterized by intense seismicity and volcanism with a predominance of emissions of ultrabasic rocks, i.e., they have the features of a zone of intensive renewal of the oceanic lithosphere. Throughout the entire length, the middle ridges and adjacent plate sections are intersected by deep transverse faults, which are also characterized by the development of modern and, especially, ancient intraplate volcanism. Located between the median ridges and limited by deep-sea trenches and transition zones, the vast floor of the Pacific Ocean has a complexly dissected surface consisting of large number basins with a depth of 5000 to 7000 m or more, the bottom of which is composed of oceanic crust covered with deep-sea clays, limestones and silts of organic origin. The bottom topography of the basins is mostly hilly. The deepest basins (about 7000 m or more): Central, Western Mariana, Philippine, Southern, Northeastern, East Carolinian.
The basins are separated from each other or crossed by arched rises or blocky ridges on which volcanic structures are planted, within the intertropical space often crowned with coral structures. Their tops protrude above the water in the form of small islands, often grouped into linearly elongated archipelagos. Some of them are still active volcanoes, spewing streams of basaltic lava. But for the most part these are already extinct volcanoes built on top of coral reefs. Some of these volcanic mountains are located at a depth of 200 to 2000 m. Their peaks are leveled by abrasion; the position deep under water is obviously associated with the lowering of the bottom. Formations of this type are called guyots.
Special interest Among the archipelagos of the central Pacific Ocean are the Hawaiian Islands. They form a chain 2,500 km long, stretching north and south of the Tropic of the North, and are the tops of huge volcanic massifs rising from the ocean floor along a powerful deep fault. Their visible height is from 1000 to 4200 m, and their underwater height is approximately 5000 m. By their origin, internal structure and appearance, the Hawaiian Islands are typical example oceanic intraplate volcanism.
The Hawaiian Islands are the northern edge of a huge central Pacific island group collectively known as Polynesia. The continuation of this group to approximately 10° S. are the islands of Central and Southern Polynesia (Samoa, Cook, Society, Tabuai, Marquesas, etc.). These archipelagos, as a rule, extend from northwest to southeast, along transform fault lines. Most of them are of volcanic origin and are composed of strata of basaltic lava. Some are topped by wide and gently sloping volcanic cones 1000-2000 m high. The smallest islands in most cases are coral structures. Similar features have numerous clusters of small islands located mainly north of the equator, in the western part of the Pacific lithospheric plate: the Mariana, Caroline, Marshall and Palau Islands, as well as the Gilbert Archipelago, which partially extends into the southern hemisphere. These groups of small islands are collectively called Micronesia. All of them are of coral or volcanic origin, mountainous and rise hundreds of meters above sea level. The coasts are surrounded by surface and underwater coral reefs, making navigation very difficult. Many small islands are atolls. Near some islands there are deep-sea ocean trenches, and to the west of the Mariana Archipelago there is a deep-sea trench of the same name, belonging to the transition zone between the ocean and the Eurasian continent.
In the part of the Pacific Ocean bed adjacent to the American continents, small single volcanic islands are usually scattered: Juan Fernandez, Cocos, Easter, etc. The largest and interesting group are the Galapagos Islands, located near the equator near the coast of South America. This is an archipelago of 16 large and many small volcanic islands with the peaks of extinct and active volcanoes up to 1700 m high.
Transition zones from the ocean to the continents differ in the structure of the ocean floor and the characteristics of tectonic processes both in the geological past and at the present time. They surround the Pacific Ocean in the west, north and east. IN different parts ocean, the processes of formation of these zones proceed differently and lead to different results, but everywhere they are distinguished by great activity both in the geological past and at the present time.
On the side of the ocean floor, transition zones are limited by arcs of deep-sea trenches, in the direction of which lithospheric plates move and the oceanic lithosphere subsides under the continents. Within the transition zones, the structure of the ocean floor and marginal seas is dominated by transitional types of the earth's crust, and oceanic types of volcanism are replaced by mixed effusive-explosive volcanism of subduction zones. Here we are talking about the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” which encircles the Pacific Ocean and is characterized by high seismicity, numerous manifestations of paleovolcanism and volcanogenic landforms, as well as the existence within its boundaries of more than 75% of the planet’s currently active volcanoes. This is mainly mixed effusive-explosive volcanism of intermediate composition.
All the typical features of the transition zone are most clearly expressed within the northern and western margins of the Pacific Ocean, that is, off the coast of Alaska, Eurasia and Australia. This wide strip between the ocean bed and the land, including the underwater margins of the continents, is unique in the complexity of its structure and in the relationship between the land and the water area; it is distinguished by significant fluctuations in depths and heights, and the intensity of processes occurring both deep in the earth’s crust and on the water surface.
The outer edge of the transition zone in the north Pacific Ocean is formed by the Aleutian deep-sea trench, extending 4000 km in a convex arc to the south from the Gulf of Alaska to the shores of the Kamchatka Peninsula, with a maximum depth of 7855 m. This trench, towards which the movement of lithospheric plates of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean is directed, from the rear it borders the underwater foot of the Aleutian island chain, most of them are volcanoes of the explosive-effusive type. About 25 of them are active.
A continuation of this zone off the coast of Eurasia is a system of deep-sea trenches, with which are connected the deepest parts of the World Ocean and, at the same time, areas of the most complete and diverse manifestation of volcanism, both ancient and modern, both on island arcs and on the outskirts of the continent. In the rear of the Kuril-Kamchatka deep-sea trench (maximum depth over 9700 m) there is the Kamchatka Peninsula with its 160 volcanoes, of which 28 are active, and the arc of the volcanic Kuril Islands with 40 active volcanoes. The Kuril Islands are the peaks of an underwater mountain range that rises above the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk by 2000-3000 m, and the maximum depth of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, which runs from the Pacific Ocean, exceeds 10,500 m.
The system of deep-sea trenches continues to the south with the Japan Trench, and the volcanogenic zone continues with the extinct and active volcanoes of the Japanese Islands. The entire system of trenches, as well as island arcs, starting from the Kamchatka Peninsula, separates the shallow shelf Seas of Okhotsk and East China from the Eurasian continent, as well as the Sea of Japan depression located between them with a maximum depth of 3720 m.
Near the southern part of the Japanese Islands, the transition zone expands and becomes more complex, the strip of deep-sea trenches is divided into two branches, bordering on both sides the vast Philippine Sea, the depression of which has a complex structure and a maximum depth of more than 7000 m. From the Pacific Ocean it is limited by the Mariana Trench with its maximum depth World ocean 11,022 m and the arc of the Mariana Islands. The internal branch, limiting the Philippine Sea from the west, is formed by the trench and the Ryukyu Islands and continues further with the Philippine trench and the arc of the Philippine Islands. The Philippine Trench stretches along the foot of the islands of the same name for more than 1,300 km and has a maximum depth of 10,265 m. There are ten active and many extinct volcanoes on the islands. Between the island arcs and Southeast Asia, within the continental shelf, lie the East China Sea and most of the South China Sea (the largest in the region). Only the eastern part of the South China Sea and the interisland seas of the Malay Archipelago reach depths of over 5000 m, and their base is a transitional crust.
Along the equator, the transition zone within the Sunda archipelago and its island seas continues towards the Indian Ocean. There are a total of 500 volcanoes on the Indonesian islands, of which 170 are active.
The southern region of the Pacific Ocean transition zone northeast of Australia is particularly complex. It extends from Kalimantan to New Guinea and further south to 20° S, bordering the Sokhul-Queensland shelf of Australia to the north. This entire section of the transition zone is a complex combination of deep-sea trenches with depths of 6000 m or more, submarine ridges and island arcs, separated by basins or areas of shallow water.
Off the eastern coast of Australia, between New Guinea and New Caledonia, is the Coral Sea. From the east it is limited by a system of deep-sea trenches and island arcs (New Hebrides, etc.). The depths of the Coral basin and other seas of this transitional region (the Fiji Sea and especially the Tasman Sea) reach 5000-9000 m, their bottom is composed of oceanic or transitional type crust.
The hydrological regime of the northern part of this area favors the development of corals, which are especially common in the Coral Sea. On the Australian side, it is limited by a unique natural structure - the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches along the continental shelf for 2,300 km and reaches a width of 150 km in the southern part. It consists of individual islands and entire archipelagos, made of coral limestone and surrounded by underwater reefs from living and dead coral polyps. Narrow channels crossing the Great Barrier Reef lead to the so-called Great Lagoon, the depth of which does not exceed 50 m.
From the side of the Southern Basin of the ocean floor between the islands of Fiji and Samoa, the second, external to the ocean, arc of trenches extends to the southwest: Tonga (its depth of 10,882 m is the maximum depth of the World Ocean in the southern hemisphere) and its continuation Kermadec, maximum depth which also exceeds 10 thousand m. On the Fiji sea side, the Tonga and Kermadec trenches are limited by underwater ridges and arcs of the islands of the same name. In total, they stretch for 2000 km to North Island New Zealand. The archipelago rises above the underwater plateau that serves as its pedestal. This is a special type of structure of the underwater margins of continents and transition zones, called microcontinents. They vary in size and are uplifts composed of continental crust, topped with islands and surrounded on all sides by basins with oceanic-type crust within the World Ocean.
The transition zone of the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, facing the continents of North and South America, differs significantly from its western margin. There are no marginal seas or island arcs. A strip of narrow shelf with mainland islands stretches from the south of Alaska to Central America. Along the western coast of Central America, as well as from the equator along the outskirts of South America, there is a system of deep-sea trenches - Central American, Peruvian and Chilean (Atacama) with maximum depths of more than 6000 and 8000 m, respectively. Obviously, the process of formation of this part of the ocean and neighboring continents proceeded in interaction deep-sea trenches and continental lithospheric plates that existed at that time. North America moved onto the trenches along its path to the west and closed them, and the South American Plate moved the Atacama Trench to the west. In both cases, as a result of the interaction of oceanic and continental structures, folding occurred, the marginal parts of both continents were uplifted, and powerful suture zones were formed - the North American Cordillera and the Andes of South America. Each of these structural zones is characterized by intense seismicity and the manifestation of mixed types of volcanism. O.K. Leontiev considered it possible to compare them with the underwater ridges of the island arcs of the western transition zone of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean extends between 60° north and south latitude. In the north, it is almost closed by the landmass of Eurasia and North America, separated from each other only by the shallow Bering Strait with a smallest width of 86 km, connecting the Bering Sea of the Pacific Ocean with the Chukchi Sea, which is part of the North Arctic Ocean.
Eurasia and North America extend south all the way to the Tropic of the North in the form of vast, massive land areas that represent centers of formation of continental air that can influence the climate and hydrological conditions of neighboring parts of the ocean. To the south of the Northern Tropic, the land becomes fragmented; up to the coast of Antarctica, its large land areas are only Australia in the southwest of the ocean and South America in the east, especially its extended part between the equator and 20° S latitude. South of 40° S. The Pacific Ocean, together with the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, merge into a single water surface, uninterrupted by large areas of land, over which oceanic air of temperate latitudes is formed, and into which Antarctic air masses freely penetrate.
The Pacific Ocean reaches its greatest width (almost 20 thousand km) within the tropical-equatorial space, i.e. in that part where the thermal energy of the sun is most intensively and regularly received throughout the year. Because of this, the Pacific Ocean receives more solar heat throughout the year than other parts of the world's oceans. And since the distribution of heat in the atmosphere and on the water surface depends not only on the direct distribution of solar radiation, but also on the air exchange between land and water surface and water exchange between various parts of the World Ocean, it is quite clear that the thermal equator over the Pacific Ocean is shifted to the northern hemisphere and runs approximately between 5 and 10° N, and the northern part of the Pacific Ocean is generally warmer than the southern part.
Let us consider the main pressure systems that determine meteorological conditions (wind activity, precipitation, air temperature), as well as the hydrological regime of surface waters (current systems, temperature of surface and subsurface waters, salinity) of the Pacific Ocean throughout the year. First of all, this is a subequatorial depression (calm zone), somewhat expanded towards the northern hemisphere. This is especially pronounced in the summer of the northern hemisphere, when a vast and deep pressure depression is established over highly heated Eurasia, centered in the Indus River basin. Streams of moisture-unstable air from subtropical high pressure centers of both the northern and southern hemispheres rush towards this depression. Most of the northern half of the Pacific Ocean at this time is occupied by the North Pacific High, along the southern and eastern periphery of which the monsoons blow towards Eurasia. They are associated with heavy rainfall, the amount of which increases towards the south. The second monsoon flow moves from the southern hemisphere, from the side of the subtropical high pressure belt. In the northwest there is a weakened westerly transport towards North America.
In the southern hemisphere, where it is winter at this time, strong westerly winds carrying air from temperate latitudes cover the waters of all three oceans south of the parallel of 40° S. almost to the shores of Antarctica, where they are replaced by easterly and southeasterly winds blowing from the mainland. The westerly transport operates at these latitudes of the southern hemisphere in the summer, but with less force. Winter conditions in these latitudes are characterized by heavy precipitation, stormy winds, and high waves. With a large number of icebergs and floating sea ice, travel in this part of the world's oceans poses great dangers. It is not for nothing that sailors have long called these latitudes “the roaring forties.”
At the corresponding latitudes in the northern hemisphere, the dominant atmospheric process is also westerly transport, but due to the fact that this part of the Pacific Ocean is closed by land from the north, west and east, in winter the meteorological situation there is slightly different than in the southern hemisphere. With the westerly transport, cold and dry continental air from Eurasia enters the ocean. It is involved in the closed system of the Aleutian Low, which forms over the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, is transformed and is carried by southwestern winds to the shores of North America, leaving heavy precipitation in the coastal zone and on the slopes of the Cordillera of Alaska and Canada.
Wind systems, water exchange, topography features of the ocean floor, the position of continents and the outlines of their coasts influence the formation of surface ocean currents, and these, in turn, determine many features of the hydrological regime. In the Pacific Ocean, with its vast size within the intertropical space, there is a powerful system of currents generated by the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres. In accordance with the direction of movement of the trade winds along the equatorward outskirts of the North Pacific and South Pacific maximums, these currents move from east to west, reaching a width of more than 2000 km. The Northern Trade Wind Current heads from the coast of Central America to the Philippine Islands, where it splits into two branches. The southern one partially spreads over the interisland seas and partially feeds the surface inter-trade wind countercurrent running along the equator and to the north of it, moving towards the Central American isthmus. The northern, more powerful branch of the North Trade Wind Current heads towards the island of Taiwan, and then enters the East China Sea, skirting the Japanese islands from the east, giving rise to a powerful system of warm currents in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean: this is the Kuroshio, or Japan Current, moving at a speed of 25 to 80 cm/s. Near the island of Kyushu, the Kuroshio branches, and one of the branches enters the Sea of Japan under the name of the Tsushima Current, the other goes out into the ocean and follows along the eastern coast of Japan, until at 40 ° N. latitude. it is not pushed to the east by the cold Kuril-Kamchatka countercurrent, or Oyashio. The continuation of the Kuroshio to the east is called the Kuroshio Drift, and then the North Pacific Current, which heads towards the shores of North America at a speed of 25-50 cm/s. In the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, north of the 40th parallel, the North Pacific Current branches into the warm Alaskan Current, heading towards the shores of Southern Alaska, and the cold California Current. The latter, following along the coast of the mainland, south of the tropic flows into the Northern Trade Wind Current, closing the northern gyre of the Pacific Ocean.
Most of the Pacific Ocean north of the equator experiences high surface water temperatures. This is facilitated by the large width of the ocean in the intertropical space, as well as by the system of currents that carry the warm waters of the Northern Trade Wind Current north along the coast of Eurasia and its neighboring islands.
The Northern Trade Wind Current carries water with temperatures of 25...29 °C all year round. High surface water temperatures (up to a depth of approximately 700 m) persist within Kuroshio to almost 40° N latitude. (27...28 °C in August and up to 20 °C in February), as well as within the North Pacific Current (18...23 °C in August and 7... 16 °C in February). A significant cooling effect on the northeast of Eurasia up to the north of the Japanese Islands is exerted by the cold Kamchatka-Kuril Current originating in the Bering Sea, which in winter is intensified by cold waters coming from the Sea of Okhotsk. From year to year, its power fluctuates greatly depending on the severity of winters in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. The area of the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido is one of the few in the North Pacific Ocean where there is ice in winter. At 40° N latitude when meeting the Kuroshio Current, the Kuril Current plunges to depth and flows into the North Pacific. In general, the temperature of the waters of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean is higher than in the southern part at the same latitudes (5...8 °C in August in the Bering Strait). This is partly due to limited water exchange with the Arctic Ocean due to the threshold in the Bering Strait.
The Southern Trade Wind Current moves along the equator from the coast of South America to the west and even enters the northern hemisphere to approximately 5° N latitude. In the area of the Moluccas Islands, it branches: the bulk of the water, together with the Northern Trade Wind Current, enters the Inter-Trade Wind Countercurrent system, and the other branch penetrates the Coral Sea and, moving along the coast of Australia, forms the warm East Australian Current, which flows into the current off the coast of the island of Tasmania Western winds. The temperature of surface waters in the South Trade Wind Current is 22...28 °C, in the East Australian Current in winter it changes from north to south from 20 to 11 °C, in summer - from 26 to 15 °C.
The Circumpolar Antarctic, or Western Wind Current, enters the Pacific Ocean south of Australia and New Zealand and moves in a sublatitudinal direction to the shores of South America, where its main branch deviates to the north and, passing along the coasts of Chile and Peru under the name of the Peruvian Current, turns to the west, flowing into the South Trade Wind, and closes the Gyre of the southern half of the Pacific Ocean. The Peruvian Current carries relatively cold waters and reduces the air temperature over the ocean and off the western coasts of South America almost to the equator to 15...20 °C.
There are certain patterns in the distribution of surface water salinity in the Pacific Ocean. With an average ocean salinity of 34.5-34.6%o, maximum values (35.5 and 36.5%o) are observed in zones of intense trade wind circulation of the northern and southern hemispheres (respectively between 20 and 30° N and 10 and 20° S) This is due to a decrease in precipitation and an increase in evaporation compared to the equatorial regions. Up to the forties latitudes of both hemispheres in the open part of the ocean, salinity is 34-35%. Salinity is lowest in high latitudes and in coastal areas of the northern part of the ocean (32-33% o). There, this is due to the melting of sea ice and icebergs and the desalinating effect of river runoff, so there are significant seasonal variations in salinity.
The size and configuration of the largest of the Earth's oceans, the features of its connections with other parts of the World Ocean, as well as the size and configuration of the surrounding land areas and the associated directions of circulation processes in the atmosphere have created a number of features of the Pacific Ocean: average annual and seasonal temperatures its surface waters are higher than those of other oceans; the part of the ocean located in the northern hemisphere is generally much warmer than the southern one, but in both hemispheres West Side warmer and receives more precipitation than the eastern one.
The Pacific Ocean, to a greater extent than other parts of the World Ocean, is the arena for the emergence of the atmospheric process known as tropical cyclones or hurricanes. These are vortices of small diameter (no more than 300-400 km) and high speed (30-50 km/h). They form within the tropical trade wind convergence zone, usually during the summer and autumn of the northern hemisphere, and move first in accordance with the direction of the prevailing winds, from west to east, and then along the continents to the north and south. For the formation and development of hurricanes, a vast expanse of water is required, heated from the surface to at least 26 ° C, and atmospheric energy, which would impart forward motion to the resulting atmospheric cyclone. The characteristics of the Pacific Ocean (its size, in particular, its width within the intertropical space, and the maximum surface water temperatures for the World Ocean) create conditions over its waters that are conducive to the formation and development of tropical cyclones.
The passage of tropical cyclones is accompanied by catastrophic phenomena: winds of destructive force, strong waves in the open sea, heavy rainfall, flooding of plains on adjacent land, floods and destruction, leading to severe disasters and loss of life. Moving along the coasts of continents, the most powerful hurricanes go beyond the intratropical space, transforming into extratropical cyclones, sometimes reaching great strength.
The main area of origin of tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean is located south of the Tropic of the North, east of the Philippine Islands. Moving initially to the west and northwest, they reach the shores of Southeast China (in Asian countries These vortices have the Chinese name “typhoon”) and move along the continent, deviating towards the Japanese and Kuril Islands.
The branches of these hurricanes, deviating to the west south of the tropic, penetrate into the interisland seas of the Sunda archipelago, into the northern part of the Indian Ocean and cause destruction in the lowlands of Indochina and Bengal. Hurricanes originating in the southern hemisphere north of the Tropic of the South move towards the coast of North-Western Australia. There they are called locally "BILLY-BILLY". Another center of origin of tropical hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean is located at western shores Central America, between the Tropic of the North and the equator. From there, hurricanes rush to the offshore islands and shores of California.
In the first years of the new millennium, an increase in the frequency of tropical cyclones (typhoons) off the Asian and North American coasts of the Pacific Ocean, as well as an increase in their power, was noted. This applies not only to the Pacific, but also to other oceans of the Earth. This phenomenon may be one of the consequences of global warming. The increased warming of the surface waters of the oceans in tropical latitudes also increases the atmospheric energy that provides the forward movement, speed of movement and destructive power of hurricanes.
More than half of the living matter of the entire Earth's oceans is concentrated in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This applies to both plants and animal populations. The organic world as a whole is distinguished by species richness, antiquity and high degree endemism.
The fauna, totaling up to 100 thousand species, is characterized by mammals that live mainly in temperate and high latitudes. The representative of toothed whales, the sperm whale, is widespread; among the toothless whales, there are several species of striped whales. Their fishing is strictly limited. Individual births families of eared seals (sea lions) and fur seals are found in the south and north of the ocean. Northern fur seals are valuable fur-bearing animals, the hunting of which is strictly controlled. The northern waters of the Pacific Ocean are also home to the now very rare Steller sea lion (an eared seal) and the walrus, which has a circumpolar range but is now on the verge of extinction.
The fish fauna is very rich. There are at least 2,000 species in tropical waters, and about 800 species in the northwestern seas. The Pacific Ocean accounts for almost half of the world's fish catch. The main fishing areas are the northern and central parts of the ocean. The main commercial families are salmon, herring, cod, anchovies, etc.
The predominant mass of living organisms inhabiting the Pacific Ocean (as well as other parts of the World Ocean) are invertebrates that live at various levels ocean waters and at the bottom of shallow waters: these are protozoa, coelenterates, arthropods (crabs, shrimp), mollusks (oysters, squid, octopuses), echinoderms, etc. They serve as food for mammals, fish, seabirds, but also form a significant component of marine fisheries and are objects of aquaculture.
Pacific Ocean, thanks high temperatures its surface waters in tropical latitudes are especially rich various types corals, including those with a calcareous skeleton. No other ocean has such an abundance and diversity of coral structures. various types, as in Quiet.
The basis of plankton is made up of single-celled representatives of the animal and plant world. There are almost 380 species of phytoplankton in the Pacific Ocean.
The greatest wealth of the organic world is characteristic of areas where so-called upwelling is observed (the rise to the surface of deep waters rich in minerals) or mixing of waters with different temperatures occurs, which creates favorable conditions for the nutrition and development of phyto- and zooplankton, which feed on fish and other nekton animals. In the Pacific Ocean, upwelling areas are concentrated off the coast of Peru and in divergence zones in subtropical latitudes, where there are areas of intensive fishing and other industries.
Against the background of normal, annually recurring conditions, the Pacific Ocean is characterized by a phenomenon that disrupts the usual rhythm of circulation and hydrological processes and is not observed in other parts of the World Ocean. It manifests itself at intervals of 3 to 7 years and entails a disruption of the usual environmental conditions within the intertropical space of the Pacific Ocean, affecting the life of living organisms, including the population of coastal regions of land. It consists of the following: at the end of November or December, i.e. shortly before Christmas (which is why the phenomenon received the popular name “El Niño”, which means “Holy Child”), for reasons that have not yet been clarified, the southern trade wind weakens and, consequently, the Southern Trade Wind weakens and the influx of relatively cold waters to the shores of South America and to the west of it. At the same time, winds that are usually unusual for these latitudes begin to blow from the northwest towards the southern hemisphere, carrying relatively warm waters to the southeast, strengthening the Intertrade Wind Countercurrent. This disrupts the upwelling phenomenon both in the intertropical divergence zone and off the coast of South America, which, in turn, leads to the death of plankton, and then the fish and other animals that feed on them.
The El Niño phenomenon has been observed regularly since the second half of the 19th century centuries. It was established that in many cases it was accompanied by a violation of ecological conditions not only in the ocean, but also in vast areas of adjacent land: an anomalous increase in precipitation in the arid regions of South America and, conversely, droughts in the island and coastal regions of South America. East Asia and Australia. The consequences of El Niño 1982-1983 and 1997-1998 are considered especially severe, when this unfavorable phenomenon lasted for several months.
The world's oceans are a huge amount of water and the earth's crust underneath; its area significantly exceeds the land area. Such a territory has a huge supply of resources that are actively used by humans. What resources is the ocean rich in and how do they help humans?
Water
The volume of the World Ocean is 1370 million square meters. km. This is 96% of the entire hydrosphere of the Earth. Despite the fact that sea water is not suitable for drinking, it is used in production and on the farm. In addition, desalination plants have been developed that can turn sea water into drinking water. In the Arctic Ocean, in addition to sea water, there is a huge supply of fresh water in the form of glaciers.
Rice. 1. The most important resource of the World Ocean is water
Mineral
The ocean water itself and the earth's crust beneath it are rich in all kinds of minerals. The following species are found in the water:
- magnesium;
- potassium;
- bromine;
In total, ocean water contains about 75 chemical elements. Oil and natural gas are extracted from the shelf. In total, 30 oil and gas production basins have been developed in the World Ocean. The largest deposits are located in the Persian Gulf of the Indian Ocean. Iron and manganese ore have been discovered in deep-sea areas. The largest amount of them is now mined in the Pacific Ocean. Stone ore is mined in Japan and the UK, and sulfur is mined in the USA. Off the coast of Africa there are placers of gold and diamonds, on the shores Baltic Sea amber is mined.
Rice. 2. There are amber deposits off the coast of the Baltic Sea
There is a huge amount of uranium and deuterium in the waters of the World Ocean. Active development of ways to isolate these elements from water is underway, as uranium reserves on land are disappearing.
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Mineral resources are non-renewable. The constant development of deposits and the search for new ones leads to significant environmental disturbances in the World Ocean system.
Energy
The ability of water to ebb and flow provides energy resources. With the help of water energy, thermal and mechanical energy is generated. The following countries have the greatest potential:
- Australia;
- Canada;
- England;
- France;
- Argentina;
- Russia.
The height of the tides here can reach 15 meters, which means the power of water energy is much greater.
Rice. 3. Tidal energy powers hydroelectric power plants.
Biological
The biological resources of the World Ocean include plants and animals living in its waters. They are quite diverse - about 140 thousand species of biological objects are found here. The volume of biomass in the World Ocean is 35 billion tons.
The most common occupation is fishing. With the help of fish and seafood, humanity provides itself with protein, fatty acids, microelements. Microscopic organisms are used to make animal feed. Algae are used in various types of production - chemical, food, pharmaceutical.
The largest fish catch is observed in the shelf zone of the oceans. The richest in this regard is the Pacific Ocean, as it is the largest and most climatically favorable. In second place is the Atlantic Ocean. The natural resources of the Pacific Ocean are the most vulnerable to destruction. There are many communication routes passing through here, as a result of which the ocean waters become heavily polluted.
Today, there are plantations in the seas where certain organisms are bred. Pearl oysters are bred in Japan, European countries– mussels. This type of fishing is called mariculture.
Recreational
The resources of the World Ocean are also recreational. These include those areas of the ocean that are used for recreation, entertainment, and scientific excursions. Assess all the recreational opportunities of the World Ocean in in full it is forbidden. Almost all ocean coasts are used for recreation, with the exception of the Arctic.4.6. Total ratings received: 266.
Mineral resources
The world's oceans are rich in mineral resources that are mined from the ocean floor. The most significant among them: oil and gas. They account for 90% of all resources extracted from the seabed. Offshore oil production accounts for approximately 1/3 of the total volume. The world's oceans are a source of ores such as iron, tin, copper-nickel. Rich seams of coal lie at the bottom of the ocean.[*]
Table 1 - Proven oil and gas reserves for 2012
|
Proven reserves in barrels |
||
|
Saudi Arabia |
||
|
Venezuela |
||
|
Proven reserves in m3 |
||
|
47 570 000 000 000 |
||
|
33 070 000 000 000 |
||
|
25 200 000 000 000 |
||
|
Turkmenistan |
24 300 000 000 000 |
|
|
Saudi Arabia |
8 028 000 000 000 |
|
|
7 716 000 000 000 |
||
|
6 089 000 000 000 |
||
|
Venezuela |
5 524 000 000 000 |
|
|
5 110 000 000 000 |
||
|
4 502 000 000 000 |
The main wealth of the deep ocean floor are ferromanganese nodules containing up to 30 different metals. They were discovered on the ocean floor back in the 70s of the 19th century by the English research vessel Challenger. The largest volume of ferromanganese nodules is located in the Pacific Ocean (16 million km?). The first experience in mining nodules was undertaken by the Americans in the Hawaiian Islands. [*]
Brief description of the mineral resources of the oceans
1. The Pacific Ocean is the largest basin of the World Ocean. Oil and gas deposits have been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, and placers of heavy minerals and other minerals on the bottom. The main oil and gas bearing areas are concentrated on the periphery of the ocean. Oil and gas fields have been discovered in the Tasman Basin - Barracouta (over 42 billion m3 of gas), Marlin (more than 43 billion m3 of gas, 74 million tons of oil), Kingfish, off the island New Zealand The Kapuni gas field (15 billion m3) has been explored. Among solid minerals, alluvial deposits of magnetite sands (Japan, the western coast of North America), cassiterite (Indonesia, Malaysia), gold and platinum (the coast of Alaska, etc.) have been discovered and are partially being developed. IN open ocean large accumulations of deep-sea iron-manganese nodules were discovered, also containing significant amount nickel and copper (Clarion-Clipperton fault). On many seamounts and slopes of oceanic islands, iron-manganese crusts and nodules enriched in cobalt and platinum have been discovered. Phosphorite deposits are known on the shelves of California and the islands of New Zealand.
2. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest basin of the World Ocean. Among mineral resources The Atlantic Ocean is dominated by oil and gas. North America has oil and gas shelves in the Labrador Sea, the bays of St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, and Georges Bank. Oil reserves on the eastern shelf of Canada are estimated at 2.5 billion tons, gas reserves at 3.3 trillion. m3, on the eastern shelf and continental slope USA - up to 0.54 billion tons of oil and 0.39 trillion. m3 of gas. More than 280 fields have been discovered on the southern shelf of the United States, and more than 20 fields off the coast of Mexico. The total reserves of the Caribbean Sea shelves amount to 13 billion tons of oil and 8.5 trillion. m3 of gas. Oil and gas bearing areas have been identified on the shelves of Brazil (Toduz-yc-Santos Bay) and Argentina (San Xopxe Bay). Oil fields have been discovered in the North (114 fields) and Irish Seas, the Gulf of Guinea (50 on the Nigerian shelf, 37 off Gabon, 3 off Congo, etc.).
Sulfur is mined in the Gulf of Mexico. Coal is mined in offshore extensions of continental basins - in Great Britain (up to 10% of national production) and Canada. Off the east coast of the island
Newfoundland is home to the largest iron ore deposit of Waubana (total reserves of about 2 billion tons). Heavy minerals (ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite) are mined off the coast of Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. off the coast of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, the Scandinavian and Iberian Peninsulas, Senegal, South Africa. The shelf of South-West Africa is an area of industrial diamond mining (reserves 12 million carats). Gold placers have been discovered off the Nova Scotia Peninsula. Phosphorites were found on the shelves of the USA, Morocco, Liberia, and on the Agulhas Bank.
3. Indian Ocean. Oil and gas deposits have been discovered almost throughout the entire shelf of the Indian Ocean. Largest reserves concentrated on the shelf of Southeast Asia, where geological reserves are estimated at 2.4 billion tons of oil and 2.3 trillion. m3 of gas. The largest fields are located in the oil and gas basin of the Persian Gulf. There are 10 known oil fields on the western and northwestern shelves of Australia (potential recoverable reserves of 600-900 million tons), and 7 gas fields have been discovered off the coast of Bangladesh. Gas deposits have been discovered in the Andaman Sea, oil and gas bearing areas in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and along the coast of Africa. The most important placer deposits in the Indian Ocean are located off the coasts of southeast Asia and Australia. In the open ocean, large fields of ferromanganese nodules were found at the bottom of the Western Australian, Central, South Arabian, Crozet basins, relatively small ones - in the Somali, Mascarene, etc. basins. In the Red Sea, large deposits of salt, ore-bearing sediments of rift basins, enriched iron, copper, zinc, etc.
4. The server Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth by area. On the continental frame of the Arctic Ocean, large oil and gas basins (OGBs) are known, extending onto its shelves: the West Siberian, the northern periphery of which is located in the southwestern part of the Kara Sea shelf, the Pechora (Barents Sea shelf), the Northern Slope of Alaska oil and gas basin (USA) ), Sverdrup (on the Arctic islands of Canada). Oil and gas bearing areas have also been identified on the shelf of the Norwegian Sea and in the part of the Barents Sea adjacent to Norway, as well as on the shelf of north-eastern Greenland. The interior of the Arctic Ocean, due to its thermobaric conditions, is favorable for the formation of gas hydrates. Cassiterite placers are known on the coast of the Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas. The rift gorges of the Mid-Arctic Ridge appear to be promising for metal-bearing oozes and polymetallic hydrothermal massive sulfide deposits.
Energetic resources
The potential for using the energy resources of the waters of the World Ocean is enormous. The greatest progress has been made in the use of tidal energy. It has been established that the best opportunities for creating large tidal stations exist in 25 places on Earth. Countries such as France, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Argentina, USA, Russia have large tidal energy resources. The best opportunities of these countries are explained by the fact that the tide height here reaches 10-15 m.
Scientists have calculated that with rational use of the energy of ocean tides, humanity can receive an astronomical amount of electricity - approximately 70,000,000 billion kilowatt-hours per year.
Biological resources
We must not forget about the biological resources of the World Ocean: plants (algae) and animals (fish, mammals, mollusks, crustaceans). The volume of total ocean biomass is 35 billion tons, of which fish account for 0.5 billion tons. As on land, there are more and less productive areas in the World Ocean. They cover areas of the shelf and peripheral part of the ocean. The most productive in the world are the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese seas. Oceanic spaces, characterized by low productivity, occupy almost 2/3 of the ocean area.
More than 85% of the biomass used by humans is fish. A small share comes from algae. Thanks to fish, mollusks, and crustaceans caught in the World Ocean, humanity provides itself with 20% of animal proteins. Ocean biomass is also used to produce high-calorie feed meal for livestock.
Rice. 1
To summarize, we can say that the World Ocean is an important supplier of almost all substances necessary for existence. The world's oceans are the most valuable source supply of important mineral resources such as oil and natural gas. We should also not deny the role of biological resources, because they account for about 20% of animal proteins consumed by humanity. The oceans play a huge role as a new source of energy; it is possible to use the energy of waves, ebbs and flows. It is possible to use sea water to obtain fresh water.
Mineral resources of the Pacific Ocean.
The bottom of the Pacific Ocean hides rich deposits of various minerals. On the shelves of China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the United States of America (Alaska), Ecuador (Gulf of Guayaquil
), Australia (Bass Strait) and New Zealand produce oil and gas. According to existing estimates, the subsoil of the Pacific Ocean contains up to 30-40% of all potential oil and gas reserves in the World Ocean. The largest producer of tin concentrates in the world is Malaysia, and Australia is the largest producer of zircon, ilmenite and others. The ocean is rich in ferromanganese nodules, with total reserves on the surface up to 7‣‣‣1012 tons. The most extensive reserves are observed in the northern, deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the Southern and Peruvian basins. In terms of the main ore elements, ocean nodules contain 7.1‣‣‣1010 tons of manganese, 2.3‣‣‣‣109 tons of nickel, 1.5‣‣‣‣109 tons of copper, 1‣‣‣‣109 tons of cobalt. In the Pacific Ocean Rich deep-sea deposits of gas hydrates were discovered: in the Oregon Trench, the Kuril Ridge and the Sakhalin shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Nankai Trench in the Sea of Japan and around the coast of Japan, in the Peruvian Trench. In 2013, Japan intends to begin pilot drilling to extract natural gas from methane hydrate deposits on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean northeast of Tokyo.
Red clays are widespread in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the northern hemisphere. This is due to the great depth of the ocean basins. In the Pacific Ocean there are two belts (southern and northern) of siliceous diatomaceous oozes, as well as a clearly defined equatorial belt of siliceous radiolarian deposits. Vast areas of the southwestern ocean floor are occupied by coral-algal biogenic deposits. Foraminiferal muds are common south of the equator. There are several fields of pteropod deposits in the Coral Sea
In the northern, deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the Southern and Peruvian basins, extensive fields of ferromanganese nodules are observed.
Since ancient times, many peoples inhabiting the Pacific coasts and islands have sailed the ocean and developed its riches. The beginning of European penetration into the Pacific Ocean coincided with the era of the Great geographical discoveries. F. Magellan's ships crossed a huge expanse of water from east to west over several months of sailing. All this time the sea was surprisingly calm, which gave Magellan reason to call it the Pacific Ocean. Much information about the nature of the ocean was obtained during the voyages of J. Cook. Russian expeditions led by I. F. Kruzenshtern, M. P. Lazarev, V. M. Golovnin, Yu. F. Lisyansky made a great contribution to the study of the ocean and the islands in it. In the same XIX century. comprehensive studies were carried out by S. O. Makarov on the ship “Vityaz”. Regular scientific flights since 1949. carried out by Soviet expeditionary ships. A special international organization is studying the Pacific Ocean.
Concentrated in the waters of the Pacific Ocean more than half of the living matter of the entire oceans Earth. This applies to both plants and animal populations. The organic world as a whole is distinguished by species richness, antiquity and a high degree of endemism.
The fauna, numbering up to 100 thousand species in total, is characterized by mammals, living mainly in temperate and high latitudes. The representative of toothed whales, the sperm whale, is widespread; among the toothless whales, there are several species of striped whales. Their fishing is strictly limited. Separate genera of the family of eared seals (sea lions) and fur seals are found in the south and north of the ocean. Northern fur seals are valuable fur-bearing animals, the hunting of which is strictly controlled. The northern waters of the Pacific Ocean are also home to the now very rare Steller sea lion (an eared seal) and the walrus, which has a circumpolar range but is now on the verge of extinction.
Very rich fauna fish. There are at least 2,000 species in tropical waters, and about 800 species in the northwestern seas. The Pacific Ocean accounts for almost half of the world's fish catch. The main fishing areas are the northern and central parts of the ocean. The main commercial families are salmon, herring, cod, anchovies, etc.
The predominant mass of living organisms inhabiting the Pacific Ocean (as well as other parts of the World Ocean) falls on invertebrates that live at various levels of ocean waters and at the bottom of shallow waters: these are protozoa, coelenterates, arthropods (crabs, shrimp), mollusks (oysters, squids, octopuses), echinoderms, etc.
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They serve as food for mammals, fish, and seabirds, but also constitute an essential component of marine fisheries and are objects of aquaculture.
The Pacific Ocean, due to the high temperatures of its surface waters in tropical latitudes, is especially rich in various species corals, incl. having a calcareous skeleton. In no other ocean is there such an abundance and variety of coral structures of various types as in the Pacific.
The basis plankton are made up of single-celled representatives of the animal and plant worlds. There are almost 380 species of phytoplankton in the Pacific Ocean.
The greatest wealth of the organic world is characteristic of areas where the so-called upwelling(the rise to the surface of deep waters rich in minerals) or mixing of waters with different temperatures occurs, which creates favorable conditions for the nutrition and development of phyto- and zooplankton, which feed on fish and other nekton animals. In the Pacific Ocean, upwelling areas are concentrated off the coast of Peru and in divergence zones in subtropical latitudes, where there are areas of intensive fishing and other industries.
The Amundsen Sea is located off the coast of Antarctica.
Banda, Interisland Pacific Sea in Indonesia.
The Bellingshausen Sea is located off the coast of Antarctica
The Bering Sea is the largest and deepest among the seas of Russia
The Inland Sea of Japan (Seto-Nikai) is located inside the straits between the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku (Japan).
The East China Sea (Donghai) is a semi-enclosed sea of the Pacific Ocean, between the coast of East Asia (China) and the Ryukyu and Kyushu islands (Japan).
The Yellow Sea is limited from the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea by a conventional border that runs from the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula to Jeju Island and further to the coast somewhat north of the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Coral Sea, a semi-enclosed sea of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia.
Mindanao, an interisland sea in the southern part of the Philippine archipelago.
The Moluccas Sea is an interisland sea of the Pacific Ocean, in the Malay Archipelago, between the islands of Mindanao, Sulawesi, Sula, Moluccas and Talaud. Area 274 thousand sq. km, greatest depth 4970 m.
The New Guinea Sea lies northeast of the island of New Guinea.
The Sea of Okhotsk is one of the largest and deepest seas in Russia.
The Ross Sea is located off the coast of Antarctica.
Seram is an interisland sea in the Malay Archipelago.
The Solomon Sea is limited by the islands of New Guinea.
Sulawesi (Celebes Sea) is located between the islands of Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Mindanao, Sangihe and the Sulu Archipelago.
The Tasman Sea is located between Australia and the island of Tasmania.
Fiji is located between the islands of Fiji, New Caledonia, Norfolk, Kermadec and New Zealand.
The Philippine Sea is located between the islands of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines in the west, underwater ridges and the Izu islands
FLORES is located between the island of Sulawesi in the north and the islands of Sumba and Flores in the south.
South China Sea, in the western Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Asia, between the Indochina Peninsula.
JAVA SEA, in the western Pacific Ocean, between the islands of Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan.
The Sea of Japan lies between the Eurasian mainland and the Korean peninsula, the Sakhalin and Japanese islands, separating it from other Pacific seas and the ocean itself.
