Portal:Oceans
The Oceans Portal
A portal dedicated to oceans, seas, oceanography and related topics
Selected panorama
– Hover over image and scroll to middle for controls to see more selected panorama images –
A surfer in the Pacific Ocean at the 2010 Mavericks competition, village of Princeton-by-the-Sea, northern California.jpg)
A view of Filfla and the Mediterranean Sea. Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) south of Malta..jpeg)
Introduction
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| Earth's ocean |
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Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: Marginal seas |
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as oceans (in descending order by area: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Antarctic/Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean), and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of water. The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of Earth's hydrosphere, acting as a huge reservoir of heat for Earth's energy budget, as well as for its carbon cycle and water cycle, forming the basis for climate and weather patterns worldwide. The ocean is essential to life on Earth, harbouring most of Earth's animals and protist life. It originated photosynthesis and therefore Earth's atmospheric oxygen, and still supplies half of it. (Full article...)
A sea is a large body of salt water. The term has two distinct meanings. The first is the interconnected body of seawater that spans most of Earth, known as the sea or the ocean. The second is a named body of water: usually either a marginal sea (a second-order section of the oceanic sea such as the Mediterranean Sea), or a large, nearly landlocked body of water. (Full article...)
Oceanography (from Ancient Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) 'ocean' and γραφή (graphḗ) 'writing'), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The Agulhas Current (/əˈɡʌləs/) is the western boundary current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows south along the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong. It is suggested that it is the largest western boundary current in the world ocean, with an estimated net transport of 70 sverdrups (70 million cubic metres per second), as western boundary currents at comparable latitudes transport less—the Brazil Current 16.2 Sv, the Gulf Stream 34 Sv, and the Kuroshio 42 Sv. (Full article...)
Interesting facts -
- Captain James Young's capture of a Spanish frigate in 1799 (illustrated) brought each of his seamen the equivalent of ten years' pay in prize money.
- Observations and samplings from Jasper Seamount show that it is very similar to Hawaiian volcanoes.
- The snail species Oxygyrus keraudrenii shows an evolutionary reduction of the gastropod shell for living in open sea.
Selected list articles and Marine habitat topics
| Marine habitats |
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| Coastal habitats |
| Ocean surface |
| Open ocean |
| Sea floor |
- List of oceans
- List of ancient oceans
- List of seas
- List of circumnavigations
- List of cruise lines
- List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System
- List of marine biologists
- List of marine ecoregions
- List of maritime explorers
- List of naval battles
- List of ocean liners
- List of oceanographic institutions and programs
- List of oldest surviving ships
- List of rogue waves
- List of seafood dishes
- List of submarine topographical features
Tasks
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Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
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General images -
The following are images from various ocean-related articles on Wikipedia.
During summer, warm continental masses draw moist air from the Indian Ocean, producing heavy rainfall. The process is reversed during winter, resulting in dry conditions. (from Indian Ocean)
As the Gulf Stream meanders across the North Atlantic from the North American east coast to Western Europe its temperature drops by 20 °C (36 °F)..png)
The Kennedy Channel. (from Arctic Ocean)
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The British invasion of Isle de France on 29 November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars (from Indian Ocean)
Iceberg A22A in the South Atlantic Ocean (from Atlantic Ocean).jpg)
An iceberg being pushed out of a shipping lane by (L to R) USS Burton Island, USS Atka, and USS Glacier near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 1965 (from Southern Ocean)
Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754. (from Pacific Ocean)
Sunset in Monterey County, California, U.S. (from Pacific Ocean)
Bahama Banks (from Atlantic Ocean)
The Antarctic Ocean, as delineated by the draft 4th edition of the International Hydrographic Organization's Limits of Oceans and Seas (2002) (from Southern Ocean)
A map of Australia's official interpretation of the names and limits of oceans and seas around Australia (from Southern Ocean)
Greco-Roman trade with ancient India according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea 1st century CE (from Indian Ocean)
Frank Hurley: As time wore on it became more and more evident that the ship was doomed (Endurance trapped in pack ice), National Library of Australia. (from Southern Ocean)
Cod fishery in Norway (from Atlantic Ocean)
Typhoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979 (from Pacific Ocean)
Based on the medieval Íslendingasögur sagas, including the Grœnlendinga saga, this interpretative map of the "Norse World" shows that Norse knowledge of the Americas and the Atlantic remained limited. (from Atlantic Ocean)
Upwelling in the Southern Ocean(from Southern Ocean)
Seas that are parts of the Southern Ocean (from Southern Ocean)
A Chagossian on Diego Garcia in 1971, before the British expelled the islanders. He spoke a French-based creole language and his ancestors were likely brought as slaves in the 19th century. (from Indian Ocean)
Banks of the northwest Atlantic (from Atlantic Ocean)
Sunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Tops of thunderclouds are also visible. (from Pacific Ocean).jpg)
Marine debris strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic Inaccessible Island (from Atlantic Ocean)
The Atlantic Gyres influenced the Portuguese discoveries and trading port routes, here shown in the India Run ("Carreira da Índia"), which would be developed in subsequent years. (from Atlantic Ocean)
USS Vincennes at Disappointment Bay, Antarctica in early 1840 (from Southern Ocean)
Thule archaeological site (from Arctic Ocean)
An adult and sub-adult Minke whale are dragged aboard the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru. (from Southern Ocean)
Manganese nodule (from Southern Ocean)
Density structure of the upper 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in the Arctic Ocean. Profiles of temperature and salinity for the Amundsen Basin, the Canadian Basin and the Greenland Sea are sketched. (from Arctic Ocean)
The Arctic region showing the Northeast Passage, the Northern Sea Route within it, and the Northwest Passage via Canadian Inland Waters. (from Arctic Ocean)
Distribution of the major water mass in the Arctic Ocean. The section sketches the different water masses along a vertical section from Bering Strait over the geographic North Pole to Fram Strait. As the stratification is stable, deeper water masses are denser than the layers above. (from Arctic Ocean)
In 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Suga declined to drink the bottle of Fukushima's treated radioactive water that he was holding, which would otherwise be discharged to the Pacific. (from Pacific Ocean)
According to the Coastal hypothesis, modern humans spread from Africa along the northern rim of the Indian Ocean. (from Indian Ocean)
Waves in the trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean – areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind – create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes.
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Coral reefs of the Maldives (from Indian Ocean)
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the strongest current system in the world oceans, linking the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific basins. (from Southern Ocean)
MS Explorer in Antarctica in January 1999. She sank on 23 November 2007 after hitting an iceberg. (from Southern Ocean).jpg)
Famous official portrait of Captain James Cook who proved that waters encompassed the southern latitudes of the globe. "He holds his own chart of the Southern Ocean on the table and his right hand points to the east coast of Australia on it." (from Southern Ocean)
Path of the thermohaline circulation. Purple paths represent deep-water currents, while blue paths represent surface currents.
The three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia (from Pacific Ocean)
Fish of the Notothenioidei suborder, such as this young icefish, are mostly restricted to the Antarctic and Subantarctic. (from Southern Ocean)
Related portals
In the news
- 25 August 2026 – Operation Southern Spear
- The U.S. military launches a strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea allegedly carrying drug smugglers, killing four people. (The Guardian)
- 24 August 2026 – Operation Southern Spear
- The United States Southern Command's Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere launches a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on alleged drug traffickers, killing two people. (CNN) (PBS)
- 23 August 2026 –
- The Indian Coast Guard and Navy's Eastern Naval Command reports that two crew members from the Panama-flagged MV Ocean Winner have been rescued after it sank off the coast of Bay of Bengal in eastern India. (Times of India) (New Indian Express)
- 21 August 2026 –
- Around 16 people in Sudan's Red Sea state have reportedly died from a heat stroke amidst a rise in temperatures in the state. (Middle East Monitor)
- 14 August 2026 –
- Thai rescuers find a French tourist and his two sons alive after they spend more than 16 hours at sea when their rented jet ski capsizes off Ko Samui. The family receives medical checks and is discharged. (CBS News)
WikiProjects
- WikiProject Oceans
- WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography
- WikiProject Marine life
- WikiProject Cetaceans
- WikiProject Fishes
- WikiProject Sharks
- Related WikiProjects
- WikiProject Arthropods
- WikiProject Fisheries and Fishing
- WikiProject Lakes
- WikiProject Rivers
Topics
Ocean currents and gyres | |||||||||||
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| Currents |
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Categories
Select [►] to view subcategories
Oceans
Seas
Oceanography
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
Free media repository -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Admiralty law
| Admiralty and maritime law |
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| History |
| Features |
| Contract of carriage / charterparty |
| Parties |
| Judiciaries |
| International organizations |
| International conventions |
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| International Codes |
Need assistance?
Do you have a question about oceans, seas or oceanography that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
External media
- World Ocean Database and World Ocean Atlas Series – from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Includes the World Ocean Atlas.
- European Atlas of the Seas – the European Atlas of the Seas, from the European Commission
- NOAA Research – NOAA research news, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- Ocean Research – from The World Ocean Observatory
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System – "a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development"
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