Difference between sea and ocean

The concept of sea is neither more nor less, than a large extent of salt water than can be connected to an ocean, or notalthough usually it is. It is common for people to wonder, what is bigger, the ocean or the sea?

In general, the seas have lower extensions than the oceans and are less deep than these. The seas do not usually have natural exits and are close to Earth. They usually connect the earth to the oceans. In addition, waves are formed in its waves. The main seas of the world are:

• Mediterranean Sea: It is the largest continental interior sea on the planet, with an approximate extension of 2,500,000 km² And it is between Europe, Africa and Asia. Connect with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Baltic Sea: It is one of the seas of northeast Europe and has an extension of 377,000 km². It is an inner sea with brackish water, that is, it has more dissolved salts than fresh water, but it still has less than sea water.
• Aral Sea: It is located in Central Asia and has an extension of 6,800 km². He was known as one of the world’s largest lakes, until he went to consider himself a sea. At present, its surface has been reduced more than 10%, which is considered one of the largest environmental catastrophes of the plants.
• Dead Sea: It has an area of 605 km² and is located in the Middle East. Because of climate change, the waters of the Dead Sea are reduced every year 1 meter and the riverside lands fall 15 cm. Discover why it’s called Dead Sea, here.
• Antilles Sea: Also known as the Caribbean Sea, it is located between Central America and South America and has an area of 2,763,800 km². The first exploration of this sea known was by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
• Caspian Sea: Located in southeastern Europe, it has an area of 371,900 km² And there is debate in case it is the smallest sea that exists, or the largest lake. If you want to discover the answer, visit why it is called Mar Caspio if it is a lake.
• Red Sea: It has an area of 450 thousand km² and is located between Africa and Asia. It acts as an important route of communication between Europe and the Eastern East.
• Black Sea: It is between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It has an area of 436,400 km² and a maximum depth of 2,212 meters. If you are curious, you can find out why it’s called Negro Mar.

The oceans represent Large extensions of salt water that are part of the planet’s hydrosphere. The oceans cover most of the earth’s surface and even separate continents. Historically, there have always been four oceans, until in 2000 the international hydrographic organization added the southern or Antarctic ocean to this list. In this way, there are currently five oceans of the world:

• Atlantic Ocean: This ocean separates the continents from America, Europe and Africa. It has a length of 14,700 meters, from north to south, and a maximum width of 11,800 kilometers, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Black Sea. It reaches a maximum depth of 8,605 meters in the pit of Puerto Rico. It covers, approximately, the 20% of the earth’s surfacesince it extends over an area of 81,760,000 km². It is the most important ocean of the five from the point of view of commercial flows, whether export and import. If you want to learn more about this ocean, do not hesitate to read the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics, flora and fauna.
• Pacific Ocean: occupies 166 241 000 km²so it is about Ocean with greater extension Of the five that exist. It has a maximum depth of 10,924 meters in the Mariana pit and is among the continents of Asia, America, Oceania and Antarctica. It should be noted that it communicates with the Atlantic Ocean through 3 connections: the Magallanes Strait, the Panama Canal and the Drake Sea. If you are curious, do not hesitate to read why the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are not mixed in this other article.
• Indian ocean: It occupies almost 74 million km² and bathes the coasts of eastern Africa, the Middle East, Asia del Sur and Australia. It has a maximum width of 10,000 km and its surface occupies 68,556,000 km². He began to be known as an Indian Ocean from the year 1515, since he was previously called Eastern Ocean. The first civilizations were formed around the Indian.
• Arctic Ocean: It occupies 14,056,000 km² In the northern hemisphere, so it is the smaller ocean of all the earth. Its maximum depth is 5,607 meters in the Molloy abyss. It is largely covered by ice masses that protect it from atmospheric changes. Their temperatures in winter can reach -50 ºC and, in summer, it does not exceed 0 ºC. If you want to inform yourself more, do not hesitate to read the consequences of the thaw at the poles.
• Antarctic Ocean: Also known as Southern Ocean, occupies 20,327,000 km² surface and is located in the southern hemisphere. Its maximum depth is 7,235 meters in the southern sandwich grave.

Although at first glance they may seem the same, there are some differences between seas and oceans. Next, we will detail them.

Extension

The main difference between the two is its extension, since the seas are smaller than the oceans. In addition, the seas are closed, standing between the earth and the oceans, while the oceans are open, of greater depth and with strong sea currents. Also, there are seas that, due to their extension, are considered as large lakes of salt water. In this group, the Caspian Sea, the Dead Sea and the Aral Sea can be encompassed.

Depth

Due to its greater depth, the oceans reach lower temperatures than the seasapproximately 4 degrees at any point. On the other hand, because the seas are closer to the earth masses, they receive greater solar radiation and reach higher temperatures than the oceans, although this is variable between the different seas. Thus, for example, the waters of the Mediterranean Sea are warm and those of the Dead Sea, are cold. Precisely, due to their proximity to the earth, the seas suffer greater desertification with the growing global warming, while the oceans have increased their volume of water due to the melting of the poles and glaciers.

Biodiversity

As for life, seas have greater biodiversity in number of species that oceans, due to the highest solar radiation they receive, while the oceans house less number of species, but more adapted to the depths and low temperatures. The seas instead are more exposed to environmental pollution than oceans and, as a consequence, to a greater mortality of species.

Continue informing you by reading this post of ecologyverde to know how to avoid contamination of the seas and oceans.

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