What are the characteristics of ocean or sea?

An ocean is a body of saline water that composes much of a planets hydrosphere. Salinity is a main defining component of the ocean, and it is the amount of dissolved solid material in the water. Although there are many dissolved salts in seawater, sodium chloride (commonly known as salt) is the most abundant.

What are the 4 characteristics of the ocean?

Explore the properties of ocean water, including salinity, temperature, heat capacity, and density.

What defines a sea?

In general, a sea is defined as a portion of the ocean that is partly surrounded by land. Given that definition, there are about 50 seas around the world. But that number includes water bodies not always thought of as seas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay.

What are 3 physical characteristics of oceans?

Oceans are divided into zones based on physical characteristics that include sunlight, temperature, salinity, and density.

What are five features of the ocean?

Features of the ocean floor include the continental shelf and slope, abyssal plain, trenches, seamounts, and the mid-ocean ridge.

What are the seven seas called?

The Seven Seas include the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans. The exact origin of the phrase ‘Seven Seas’ is uncertain, although there are references in ancient literature that date back thousands of years.

How do you describe the ocean?

The ocean is a huge body of saltwater that covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The planet has one global ocean, though oceanographers and the countries of the world have traditionally divided it into four distinct regions: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans.

What is the major property of seawater?

Salinity
– Salinity is the major property of seawater and is a measure of the ‘saltiness’ of seawater, or more precisely the amount of dissolved matter within seawater.

What are physical properties of the ocean?

The physical properties of seawater include both ‘thermodynamic properties’ like density and freezing point, as well as ‘transport properties’ like the electrical conductivity and viscosity.

How do you describe the ocean?

The ocean is a huge body of saltwater that covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The planet has one global ocean, though oceanographers and the countries of the world have traditionally divided it into four distinct regions: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans.

What are the characteristics of oceanic plates?

Oceanic plates are mafic in nature, composed of basalt rock and its coarse-grained equivalent, gabbro, both rich in iron, magnesium and calcium. In contrast, continental plates are felsic in nature, dominated by granitic rock with its abundant silica, aluminum, sodium and potassium.

What are the characteristics of the Atlantic ocean?

On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values.

What is difference between sea and ocean?

In terms of geography, seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet. Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land. Seas are found on the margins of the ocean and are partially enclosed by land. Here, you can see that the Bering Sea is part of the Pacific Ocean.

What is the characteristics of plate?

Answer. The plates are rigid and lie on top of the partially molten asthenosphere in the upper mantle below. The plates are able to move upon this layer, but very slow (centimetres a year). The plates move in relation to one another at plate boundaries: Divergent, Convergent and Transform boundaries.

What features and characteristics are different between oceanic and continental plates?

Continental plates have a lower density than Oceanic plates. Granite and recycled materials are much thinner than the ocean plates’ thick basalt layers. Oceanic plates occupy about 71% of the Earth’s surface. Continental plates make up 29% of the Earth’s surface.