Dive deep into the world's oceans with these fascinating facts about them
Close to 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. The oceans hold about 96.5% of this water. Evidently, they are an indispensable part of our planet. However, the ongoing climate crises is posing a severe threat to our planet’s oceans. Read on to learn some fascinating facts about them which illustrate what makes the well-being of oceans so crucial.
Aquatic life accounts for the majority of life on Earth
It is estimated that almost 94% of all of our planet’s living species exist underwater. This corroborates with the fact that most of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. What makes it even more fascinating is that according to marine scientists, more than 80% of the oceans have still not been mapped, explored or even seen by humans.
Oceans produce more than 70% of the Earth’s oxygen
Oxygen is vital for the survival of living beings. Between 70-80% of all the oxygen on Earth is produced by marine plants, more specifically, marine algae.
New marine life is discovered almost every day
Up until now, humans have discovered quite a negligible amount of aquatic species. According to the World Register of Marine Species, only 240,740 have been registered by now. This number is consistently increasing as new species are discovered on almost a daily basis.
More historic artefacts exist in the oceans than in museums
It might be hard to believe but it’s true: There are more historical artefacts in existence in oceans than in all of the world’s museums combined. This is why numerous underwater expeditions are undertaken all the time in search of these lost treasures. It is believed that there is close to 20 million tonnes of gold dispersed throughout the oceans. This has also led to the development of underwater museums in recent times. For example, the ‘Christ of Abyss’ bronze statue which is submerged in the Mediterranean.
The longest mountain-chain can be found underwater
Certain points in oceans can be several kilometres deep. The average depth of oceans is around 12,000 ft. Thus, there exist mountains, valleys, trenches and different landforms within oceans as well. In fact, the longest chain of mountains in the world stretching across a distance of 40,390 miles between all continents, known as the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, is almost entirely underwater as well. To put this into perspective, the longest mountain-chain on land, the Andes, is estimated to be 4,300 miles long. What makes this even more interesting is that the surface of planets like Venus and Mars are more explored than this chain!