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02, Sep, 2010

Oceans

The oceans covering the Earth are rich in animal and plant life, but neither of these communities could survive without the chemical or gaseous constituents of seawater.

To phytoplankton, for instance, the silicates, nitrates and phosphates found in this water are essential. Oxygen, also necessary for marine life, is found in abundance in the sea - an average of 6ml is found per liter of water.

The dependence on the salinity (salt level) of water is also reflected in the movement of marine communities around its increase and reduction.

Light also affects them in this way. The blueness of the sea depends on the depth of penetration of blue light which, in turn, depends on the smoothness of the waters. In clear waters such as the Caribbean, light may reach depths of 160m, whereas on rough coasts it may only go down to 15m.


1 Humans and the Ocean earthfacts.net 507
2 Icebergs and Pack Ice earthfacts.net 555
3 Life at the Edge of the Ocean earthfacts.net 240
4 Ocean Color, Sound and Light earthfacts.net 482
5 Ocean Currents earthfacts.net 517
6 Ocean Facts earthfacts.net 1041
7 Ocean Floor earthfacts.net 1797
8 Ocean Waves earthfacts.net 951
9 Oceans and Geology earthfacts.net 387
10 Seawater Composition earthfacts.net 419
11 Seawater Temperature earthfacts.net 388
12 Tides earthfacts.net 720
13 Tsunamis earthfacts.net 538