Do you know the characteristics of the sea? Do you know how the oceans are distributed on our planet? Have you ever wondered about the different movements of marine waters, such as waves, tides and ocean currents?
The distribution and oceanic dynamics are well -known materials by geographers and other experts that have a long time ago asked about these interesting issues. If you also want to understand them, from Ecology Verde we invite you to read this brief article about the Distribution and dynamics of oceanic waters.
What are ocean waters
We start this article explaining What are ocean waters. Before that, it is convenient to know that the set of all the waters on Earth is called hydrosphere. Oceanic waters are a large part of the hydrosphere and correspond to all The water contained in oceans and seas. Seas and oceans together contain an immense amount of water, it is estimated that in total more than 1,332 million cubic kilometers.
Oceanic waters have greater salinity than the waters on continents or continental waters. This is due to the salts that have transported the rivers to them, being present predominantly the chlorine ions (CL–) and sodium (na+). This greater salinity means that they are not housing for drinking or watering, among other uses.
In this other article you can learn more about oceanic waters: what are, characteristics and importance.
Oceanic water distribution
We continue this topic by telling you now Where are oceanic waters. There are 5 oceans that we find on our planet: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Ocean. As for the seas (which are more closed and also less extensive and deep than the oceans), there are 60 main seas according to the International Hydrographic Organization, some of these are: Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Red Sea, etc.
Have you wondered which waters are most abundant: oceanic or continental? Oceans and seas occupy almost three quarters of the earth’s surface and percentage of oceanic waters is nothing less than the 97% of total water present throughout the planet. On the other hand, the water present in polar caps represents about 2%, while the water existing on the continents in the form of rivers, lakes and groundwater does not reach 1%. The small remaining fraction is located in the atmosphere and the biosphere.
It is also important to emphasize that Oceanic water distribution It is not the same in both hemispheres. Thus, in the southern hemisphere the proportion of water with respect to the presence of continents is much greater than in the northern hemisphere.
Oceanic waters dynamics
The Oceanic dynamics Study the different movements and routes of the oceanic water, the changes in them and also how they influence the field. In this section we will respond to How the dynamics of ocean waters are generatedwith which 3 types of movements occur. Without further delay, we tell you What are the 3 types of ocean waters movements and its main characteristics:
- Surf: Due to the action of the wind, the water moves in the form of a cylinder and, when the cylinder reaches the coast and touches the bottom, it is possible to unbalance the water and the wave breaks. A variant are tsunamis, which are giant waves caused by volcanic eruptions in the seabed or farm. Here we show you a brief video about the waves.
- Tides: The tides are caused by the force of joint gravitational attraction that the moon and the sun exert on the earth. They consist of up and down of sea levels that are produced periodically (approximately 6 hours). We will have high tide or pleamar if the sea level rises and low or low tide when the sea level descends.
- Oceanic currents: They can be caused by differences in salinity and temperature between some mass of water and others; This is the case of deep oceanic currents, also called thermohalin currents. They can also be originated by the winds, by the movement of terrestrial rotation and by the obstacle of the continental masses; This is the case of superficial ocean currents. On the map in the cover image at the beginning of this article you can see the sea and ocean currents, both warm and cold.
Importance of oceanic waters
¿What is the importance of the movements of oceanic waters? Its importance lies in Erosion and Transport of Materials which allows the formation of different types of ecosystems on the coasts, such as beaches, marshes or mareal rasas. No less important is the function they play in the nutrient transportessential for the development of populations and communities of marine and vegetable animals in these ecosystems.
In addition, oceanic currents are responsible for transporting heat from the terrestrial Ecuador to the poles, making the differences in temperatures between them not more accused, that is, they have a crucial role in the Thermoregulation of the planet.
They also play an important function in our society: since all ocean water masses are interconnected, we They serve as a link Among the different countries and continents of the globe when traveling and transporting goods. Finally, we must not forget that it is a great reservoir of Natural resources For our development.
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