Part VIII: Can You Sea the Difference?
If I said I was going to the seaside, and then I said I was going to the ocean, would you think they were the same thing? If you said yes, you’d be wrong. Sorry! Seas and oceans are different. So, here are some facts about seas and oceans.
Although all the oceans on Earth are interconnected, this water is split up into oceans and seas. Oceans are huge. Seas are usually much smaller than oceans, and are found where the land and ocean meet – think of the North Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean, or the Bering Sea, which is part of the Pacific. Most seas are partially enclosed by land (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea). Seas can even be totally landlocked (surrounded by land), like the Caspian Sea.
What About the Sargasso Sea?
The only sea that has no land boundaries is the Sargasso Sea. It is a sea within the Atlantic Ocean, and its borders are four ocean currents. It gets its name because it’s full of a floating seaweed called sargassum, which provides a great home for lots of wildlife, from turtles to eels. Fin-tastic!
How Many Seas and Oceans are There?
There are five oceans in the world – the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic (or Southern) – but there are about 50 seas, from the tropical Caribbean Sea to the tiny Sea of Marmara.
How Did Oceans Get Their Names?
In 1520, explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first people to be recorded crossing the Pacific. When he saw how calm the ocean was, he decided to call it the ‘Pacific’ (although it was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honour until the eighteenth century).
Oh, We Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside
The beach is a popular holiday destination because of all the things you can do there: you can swim, sunbathe, socialise, walk along the prom, paddle, enjoy an ice cream, play games such as beach volleyball, throw a Frisbee or just catch some vitamin sea. The beach is for everyone.
If you go to the seaside this summer, as you explore a rock pool, build a sandcastle, or swim, here are some fun facts for you to consider.
- Oceans cover 71% of the surface of planet Earth.
- The biggest sea is the Philippine Sea, at 5.695 million km2.
- The biggest ocean is the Pacific (163 million km2: it contains more than half of the free water on Earth, and covers one-third of the Earth!).
- The smallest sea is the Sea of Marmara, at 11,350 km2 (it’s 280 km long and 80 km wide at its widest).
- The smallest ocean is the Arctic, which is about 15.8 million km2.
But although the Earth’s oceans and seas are massive, they are not invincible. Various problems are facing our seas and oceans today, including plastic pollution, coral bleaching, and sea level rise due to global warming. We will cover these in a future blog post.
If you’re going to the seaside this summer, have a fabulous time and don’t forget to slip-slop-slap – that is, slip on a T-shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat!
And while you’re there, remember the differences between an ocean and a sea. You could always ask some cunning questions of a family member or friend, to sea (ha!) if they know the difference too!