short essay on sea life

All About the Ocean

The ocean covers 70 percent of Earth's surface.

Biology, Earth Science, Oceanography, Geography, Physical Geography

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This article is also available in Spanish .

The ocean covers 70 percent of Earth 's surface. It contains about 1.35 billion cubic kilometers (324 million cubic miles) of water, which is about 97 percent of all the water on Earth. The ocean makes all life on Earth possible, and makes the planet appear blue when viewed from space. Earth is the only planet in our solar system that is definitely known to contain liquid water. Although the ocean is one continuous body of water, oceanographers have divided it into five principal areas: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. The Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans merge into icy waters around Antarctica. Climate The ocean plays a vital role in climate and weather . The sun’s heat causes water to evaporate , adding moisture to the air. The oceans provide most of this evaporated water. The water vapor condenses to form clouds, which release their moisture as rain or other kinds of precipitation . All life on Earth depends on this process, called the water cycle . The atmosphere receives much of its heat from the ocean. As the sun warms the water, the ocean transfers heat to the atmosphere. In turn, the atmosphere distributes the heat around the globe. Because water absorbs and loses heat more slowly than land masses, the ocean helps balance global temperatures by absorbing heat in the summer and releasing it in the winter. Without the ocean to help regulate global temperatures, Earth’s climate would be bitterly cold. Ocean Formation After Earth began to form about 4.6 billion years ago, it gradually separated into layers of lighter and heavier rock. The lighter rock rose and formed Earth’s crust . The heavier rock sank and formed Earth’s core and mantle . The ocean’s water came from rocks inside the newly forming Earth. As the molten rocks cooled, they released water vapor and other gases. Eventually, the water vapor condensed and covered the crust with a primitive ocean. Today, hot gases from the Earth’s interior continue to produce new water at the bottom of the ocean. Ocean Floor Scientists began mapping the ocean floor in the 1920s. They used instruments called echo sounders , which measure water depths using sound waves . Echo sounders use sonar technology. Sonar is an acronym for SOund Navigation And Ranging. The sonar showed that the ocean floor has dramatic physical features, including huge mountains, deep canyons , steep cliffs , and wide plains . The ocean’s crust is a thin layer of volcanic rock called basalt . The ocean floor is divided into several different areas. The first is the continental shelf , the nearly flat, underwater extension of a continent. Continental shelves vary in width. They are usually wide along low-lying land, and narrow along mountainous coasts. A shelf is covered in sediment from the nearby continent. Some of the sediment is deposited by rivers and trapped by features such as natural dams. Most sediment comes from the last glacial period , or Ice Age, when the oceans receded and exposed the continental shelf. This sediment is called relict sediment . At the outer edge of the continental shelf, the land drops off sharply in what is called the continental slope . The slope descends almost to the bottom of the ocean. Then it tapers off into a gentler slope known as the continental rise. The continental rise descends to the deep ocean floor, which is called the abyssal plain . Abyssal plains are broad, flat areas that lie at depths of about 4,000 to 6,000 meters (13,123 to 19,680 feet). Abyssal plains cover 30 percent of the ocean floor and are the flattest feature on Earth. They are covered by fine-grained sediment like clay and silt. Pelagic sediments, the remains of small ocean organisms, also drift down from upper layers of the ocean. Scattered across abyssal plains are abyssal hills and underwater volcanic peaks called seamounts. Rising from the abyssal plains in each major ocean is a huge chain of mostly undersea mountains. Called the mid-ocean ridge , the chain circles Earth, stretching more than 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles). Much of the mid-ocean ridge is split by a deep central rift, or crack. Mid-ocean ridges mark the boundaries between tectonic plates . Molten rock from Earth’s interior wells up from the rift, building new seafloor in a process called seafloor spreading . A major portion of the ridge runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and is known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It was not directly seen or explored until 1973. Some areas of the ocean floor have deep, narrow depressions called ocean trenches . They are the deepest parts of the ocean. The deepest spot of all is the Challenger Deep , which lies in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Guam. Its true depth is not known, but the most accurate measurements put the Challenger Deep at 11,000 meters (36,198 feet) below the ocean’s surface—that’s more than 2,000 meters (6,000 feet) taller than Mount Everest, Earth’s highest point. The pressure in the Challenger Deep is about eight tons per square inch.

Ocean Life Zones From the shoreline to the deepest seafloor, the ocean teems with life. The hundreds of thousands of marine species range from microscopic algae to the largest creature to have ever lived on Earth, the blue whale. The ocean has five major life zones, each with organisms uniquely adapted to their specific marine ecosystem . The epipelagic zone (1) is the sunlit upper layer of the ocean. It reaches from the surface to about 200 meters (660 feet) deep. The epipelagic zone is also known as the photic or euphotic zone, and can exist in lakes as well as the ocean. The sunlight in the epipelagic zone allows photosynthesis to occur. Photosynthesis is the process by which some organisms convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy and oxygen . In the ocean, photosynthesis takes place in plants and algae. Plants such as seagrass are similar to land plants—they have roots, stems, and leaves. Algae is a type of aquatic organism that can photosynthesize sunlight. Large algae such as kelp are called seaweed . Phytoplankton also live in the epipelagic zone. Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that include plants, algae, and bacteria. They are only visible when billions of them form algal blooms , and appear as green or blue splotches in the ocean. Phytoplankton are a basis of the ocean food web . Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton are responsible for almost half the oxygen released into Earth’s atmosphere. Animals such as krill (a type of shrimp), fish, and microscopic organisms called zooplankton all eat phytoplankton. In turn, these animals are eaten by whales, bigger fish, ocean birds, and human beings. The next zone down, stretching to about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) deep, is the mesopelagic zone (2). This zone is also known as the twilight zone because the light there is very dim. The lack of sunlight means there are no plants in the mesopelagic zone, but large fish and whales dive there to hunt prey . Fish in this zone are small and luminous . One of the most common is the lanternfish, which has organs along its side that produce light. Sometimes, animals from the mesopelagic zone (such as sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) and squid) dive into the bathypelagic zone (3), which reaches to about 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) deep. The bathypelagic zone is also known as the midnight zone because no light reaches it. Animals that live in the bathypelagic zone are small, but they often have huge mouths, sharp teeth, and expandable stomachs that let them eat any food that comes along. Most of this food comes from the remains of plants and animals drifting down from upper pelagic zones. Many bathypelagic animals do not have eyes because they are unneeded in the dark. Because the pressure is so great and it is so difficult to find nutrients , fish in the bathypelagic zone move slowly and have strong gills to extract oxygen from the water. The water at the bottom of the ocean, the abyssopelagic zone (4), is very salty and cold (2 degrees Celsius, or 35 degrees Fahrenheit). At depths up to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), the pressure is very strong—11,000 pounds per square inch. This makes it impossible for most animals to live. Animals in this zone have bizarre adaptations to cope with their ecosystem. Many fish have jaws that look unhinged. The jaws allow them to drag their open mouth along the seafloor to find food, such as mussels, shrimp, and microscopic organisms. Many of the animals in this zone, including squid and fish, are bioluminescent. Bioluminescent organisms produce light through chemical reactions in their bodies. A type of angler fish, for example, has a glowing growth extending in front of its huge, toothy mouth. When smaller fish are attracted to the light, the angler fish simply snaps its jaws to eat its prey. The deepest ocean zone, found in trenches and canyons, is called the hadalpelagic zone (5). Few organisms live here. They include tiny isopods , a type of crustacean related to crabs and shrimp. Invertebrates such as sponges and sea cucumbers thrive in the abyssopelagic and hadalpelagic zones. Like many sea stars and jellyfish, these animals are almost entirely dependent on falling parts of dead or decaying plants and animals, called marine detritus . Not all bottom dwellers, however, depend on marine detritus. In 1977, oceanographers discovered a community of creatures on the ocean floor that feed on bacteria around openings called hydrothermal vents. These vents discharge superheated water enriched with minerals from Earth’s interior. The minerals nourish unique bacteria, which in turn nourish creatures such as crabs, clams, and tube worms. Ocean Currents Currents are streams of water running through a larger body of water. Oceans, rivers, and streams have currents. The ocean’s salinity and temperature and the coast’s geographic features determine an ocean current’s behavior. Earth’s rotation and wind also influence ocean currents. Currents flowing near the surface transport heat from the tropics to the poles and move cooler water back toward the Equator . This keeps the ocean from becoming extremely hot or cold. Deep, cold currents transport oxygen to organisms throughout the ocean. They also carry rich supplies of nutrients that all living things need. The nutrients come from plankton and the remains of other organisms that drift down and decay on the ocean floor. Along some coasts, winds and currents produce a phenomenon called upwelling . As winds push surface water away from shore, deep currents of cold water rise to take its place. This upwelling of deep water brings up nutrients that nourish new growth of plankton, providing food for fish. Ocean food chains constantly recycle food and energy this way.

Some ocean currents are enormous and extremely powerful. One of the most powerful is the Gulf Stream , a warm surface current that originates in the tropical Caribbean Sea and flows northeast along the eastern coast of the United States. The Gulf Stream measures up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and is more than a kilometer (3,281 feet) deep. Like other ocean currents, the Gulf Stream plays a major role in climate. As the current travels north, it transfers moisture from its warm tropical waters to the air above. Westerly, or prevailing, winds carry the warm, moist air to the British Isles and to Scandinavia , causing them to have milder winters than they otherwise would experience at their northern latitudes . Northern parts of Norway are near the Arctic Circle but remain ice-free for most of the year because of the Gulf Stream. The weather pattern known as El Niño includes a change to the Humboldt Current (also called the Peru Current) off the western coast of South America. In El Niño conditions, a current of warm surface water travels east along the Equator and prevents the normal upwelling of the cold, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current. El Niño, which can devastate the fisheries of Peru and Ecuador, occurs every two to seven years, usually in December. The paths of ocean currents are partially determined by Earth’s rotation. This is known as the Coriolis effect . It causes large systems, such as winds and ocean currents that would normally move in a straight line, to veer to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere . People and the Ocean For thousands of years, people have depended on the ocean as a source of food and as a route for trade and exploration . Today, people continue to travel on the ocean and rely on the resources it contains. Nations continue to negotiate how to determine the extent of their territory beyond the coast. The United Nations’ Law of the Sea treaty established exclusive economic zones (EEZs), extending 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond a nation’s coastline. Even though some countries have not signed or ratified the treaty (including the U.S.), it is regarded as standard. Russia has proposed extending its EEZ beyond 200 nautical miles because two mid-ocean ridges, the Lomonosov and Medeleev Ridges, are extensions of the continental shelf belonging to Russia. This territory includes the North Pole. Russian explorers in a submersible vehicle planted a metal Russian flag on the disputed territory in 2007. Through the centuries, people have sailed the ocean on trade routes . Today, ships still carry most of the world’s freight , particularly bulky goods such as machinery, grain, and oil . Ocean ports are areas of commerce and culture. Water and land transportation meet there, and so do people of different professions: businesspeople who import and export goods and services; dockworkers who load and unload cargo ; and ships’ crews. Ports also have a high concentration of migrants and immigrants with a wide variety of ethnicities, nationalities, languages, and religions. Important ports in the U.S. are New York/ New Jersey and New Orleans. The busiest ports around the world include the Port of Shanghai in China and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Ocean ports are also important for a nation’s armed forces. Some ports are used exclusively for military purposes, although most share space with commercial businesses. “The sun never sets on the British Empire” is a phrase used to explain the scope of the empire of Great Britain , mostly in the 19th century. Although based on the small European island nation of Great Britain, British military sea power extended its empire from Africa to the Americas, Asia, and Australia. Scientists and other experts hope the ocean will be used more widely as a source of renewable energy . Some countries have already harnessed the energy of ocean waves, temperature, currents, or tides to power turbines and generate electricity. One source of renewable energy are generators that are powered by tidal streams or ocean currents. They convert the movement of currents into energy. Ocean current generators have not been developed on a large scale, but are working in some places in Ireland and Norway. Some conservationists criticize the impact the large constructions have on the marine environment. Another source of renewable energy is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). It uses the difference in temperature between the warm, surface water and cold, deep water to run an engine. OTEC facilities exist in places with significant differences in ocean depth: Japan, India and the U.S. state of Hawai'i, for instance. An emerging source of renewable energy is salinity gradient power , also known as osmotic power. It is an energy source that uses the power of freshwater entering into saltwater. This technology is still being developed, but it has potential in delta areas where fresh river water is constantly interacting with the ocean. Fishing Fishers catch more than 90 million tons of seafood each year, including more than 100 species of fish and shellfish . Millions of people, from professional fishers to business owners like restaurant owners and boat builders, depend on fisheries for their livelihood . Fishing can be classified in two ways. In subsistence fishing, fishers use their catch to help meet the nutritional needs of their families or communities. In commercial fishing , fishers sell their catch for money, goods or services. Popular subsistence and commercial fish are tuna, cod, and shrimp. Ocean fishing is also a popular recreational sport. Sport fishing can be competitive or noncompetitive. In sport fishing tournaments, individuals or teams compete for prizes based on the size of a particular species caught in a specific time period. Both competitive and noncompetitive sport fishers need licenses to fish, and may or may not keep the caught fish. Increasingly, sport fishers practice catch-and-release fishing, where a fish is caught, measured, weighed, and often recorded on film before being released back to the ocean. Popular game fish (fish caught for sport) are tuna and marlin. Whaling is a type of fishing that involves the harvesting of whales and dolphins. It has declined in popularity since the 19th century but is still a way of life for many cultures, such as those in Scandinavia, Japan, Canada, and the Caribbean. The ocean offers a wealth of fishing and whaling resources, but these resources are threatened. People have harvested so much fish and marine life for food and other products that some species have disappeared. During the 1800s and early 1900s, whalers killed thousands of whales for whale oil (wax made from boiled blubber ) and ivory (whales’ teeth). Some species, including the blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) and the right whale, were hunted nearly to extinction . Many species are still endangered today. In the 1960s and 1970s, catches of important food fish, such as herring in the North Sea and anchovies in the Pacific, began to drop off dramatically. Governments took notice of overfishing —harvesting more fish than the ecosystem can replenish . Fishers were forced to go farther out to sea to find fish, putting them at risk. (Deep-sea fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.) Now, they use advanced equipment, such as electronic fish finders and large gill nets or trawling nets, to catch more fish. This means there are far fewer fish to reproduce and replenish the supply. In 1992, the collapse, or disappearance, of cod in Canada’s Newfoundland Grand Banks put 40,000 fishers out of work. A ban was placed on cod fishing, and to this day, neither the cod nor the fisheries have recovered. To catch the dwindling numbers of fish, most fishers use trawl nets. They drag the nets along the seabed and across acres of ocean. These nets accidentally catch many small, young fish and mammals. Animals caught in fishing nets meant for other species are called bycatch . The fishing industry and fisheries management agencies argue about how to address the problem of bycatch and overfishing. Those involved in the fishing industry do not want to lose their jobs, while conservationists want to maintain healthy levels of fish in the ocean. A number of consumers are choosing to purchase sustainable seafood . Sustainable seafood is harvested from sources (either wild or farmed) that do not deplete the natural ecosystem. Mining and Drilling Many minerals come from the ocean. Sea salt is a mineral that has been used as a flavoring and preservative since ancient times. Sea salt has many additional minerals, such as calcium, that ordinary table salt lacks. Hydrothermal vents often form seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits , which contain precious metals. These SMS deposits sit on the ocean floor, sometimes in the deep ocean and sometimes closer to the surface. New techniques are being developed to mine the seafloor for valuable minerals such as copper, lead, nickel, gold, and silver. Mining companies employ thousands of people and provide goods and services for millions more. Critics of undersea mining maintain that it disrupts the local ecology . Organisms—corals, shrimp, mussels—that live on the seabed have their habitat disturbed, upsetting the food chain. In addition, destruction of habitat threatens the viability of species that have a narrow niche . Maui’s dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus hectori maui ), for instance, is a critically endangered species native to the waters of New Zealand’s North Island. The numbers of Maui’s dolphin are already reduced because of bycatch. Seabed mining threatens its habitat, putting it at further risk of extinction. Oil is one of the most valuable resources taken from the ocean today. Offshore oil rigs pump petroleum from wells drilled into the continental shelf. About one-quarter of all oil and natural gas supplies now comes from offshore oil deposits around the world. Offshore drilling requires complex engineering . An oil platform can be constructed directly onto the ocean floor, or it can “float” above an anchor. Depending on how far out on the continental shelf an oil platform is located, workers may have to be flown in. Underwater, or subsea, facilities are complicated groups of drilling equipment connected to each other and a single oil rig. Subsea production often requires remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). Some countries invest in offshore drilling for profit and to prevent reliance on oil from other regions. The Gulf of Mexico near the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana is heavily drilled. Several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands, drill in the North Sea. Offshore drilling is a complicated and expensive program, however. There are a limited number of companies that have the knowledge and resources to work with local governments to set up offshore oil rigs. Most of these companies are based in Europe and North America, although they do business all over the world. Some governments have banned offshore oil drilling. They cite safety and environmental concerns. There have been several accidents where the platform itself has exploded, at the cost of many lives. Offshore drilling also poses threats to the ocean ecosystem. Spills and leaks from oil rigs and oil tankers that transport the material seriously harm marine mammals and birds. Oil coats feathers, impairing birds’ ability to maintain their body temperature and remain buoyant in the water. The fur of otters and seals are also coated, and oil entering the digestive tract of animals may damage their organs. Offshore oil rigs also release metal cuttings, minute amounts of oil, and drilling fluid into the ocean every day. Drilling fluid is the liquid used with machinery to drill holes deep in the planet. This liquid can contain pollutants such as toxic chemicals and heavy metals . Pollution Most oil pollution does not come from oil spills, however. It comes from the runoff of pollutants into streams and rivers that flow into the ocean. Most runoff comes from individual consumers. Cars, buses, motorcycles, and even lawn mowers spill oil and grease on roads, streets, and highways. (Runoff is what makes busy roads shiny and sometimes slippery.) Storm drains or creeks wash the runoff into local waterways, which eventually flow into the ocean. The largest U.S. oil spill in the ocean took place in Alaska in 1989, by the tanker Exxon Valdez . The Exxon Valdez spilled at least 10 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. In comparison, American and Canadian consumers spill about 16 million gallons of oil runoff into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans every year. For centuries, people have used the ocean as a dumping ground for sewage and other wastes. In the 21st century, the wastes include not only oil, but also chemical runoff from factories and agriculture . These chemicals include nitrates and phosphates , which are often used as fertilizers . These chemicals encourage algae blooms. An algae bloom is an increase in algae and bacteria that threatens plants and other marine life. Algae blooms limit the amount of oxygen in a marine environment, leading to what are known as dead zones , where little life exists beneath the ocean’s surface. Algae blooms can spread across hundreds or even thousands of miles. Another source of pollution is plastics . Most ocean debris, or garbage, is plastic thrown out by consumers. Plastics such as water bottles, bags, six-pack rings, and packing material put marine life at risk. Sea animals are harmed by the plastic either by getting tangled in it or by eating it. An example of marine pollution consisting mainly of plastics is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch . The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating dump in the North Pacific. It’s about twice the size of Texas and probably contains about 100 million tons of debris. Most of this debris comes from the western coast of North America (the U.S. and Canada) and the eastern coast of Asia (Japan, China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea). Because of ocean currents and weather patterns, the patch is a relatively stable formation and contains new and disintegrating debris. The smaller pieces of plastic debris are eaten by jellyfish or other organisms, and are then consumed by larger predators in the food web. These plastic chemicals may then enter a human’s diet through fish or shellfish. Another source of pollution is carbon dioxide. The ocean absorbs most carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, which is necessary for life, is known as a greenhouse gas and traps radiation in Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide forms many acids, called carbonic acids , in the ocean. Ocean ecosystems have adapted to the presence of certain levels of carbonic acids, but the increase in carbon dioxide has led to an increase in ocean acids. This ocean acidification erodes the shells of animals such as clams, crabs, and corals. Global Warming Global warming contributes to rising ocean temperatures and sea levels . Warmer oceans radically alter the ecosystem. Global warming causes cold-water habitats to shrink, meaning there is less room for animals such as penguins, seals, or whales. Plankton, the base of the ocean food chain, thrives in cold water. Warming water means there will be less plankton available for marine life to eat. Melting glaciers and ice sheets contribute to sea level rise . Rising sea levels threaten coastal ecosystems and property. River deltas and estuaries are put at risk for flooding. Coasts are more likely to suffer erosion . Seawater more often contaminates sources of fresh water. All these consequences—flooding, erosion, water contamination—put low-lying island nations, such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, at high risk for disaster. To find ways to protect the ocean from pollution and the effects of climate change, scientists from all over the world are cooperating in studies of ocean waters and marine life. They are also working together to control pollution and limit global warming. Many countries are working to reach agreements on how to manage and harvest ocean resources. Although the ocean is vast, it is more easily polluted and damaged than people once thought. It requires care and protection as well as expert management. Only then can it continue to provide the many resources that living things—including people—need.

The Most Coast . . . Canada has 202,080 kilometers (125,567 miles) of coastline. Short But Sweet . . . Monaco has four kilometers (2.5 miles) of coastline.

No, the Toilet Doesn't Flush Backward in Australia The Coriolis effect, which can be seen in large-scale phenomena like trade winds and ocean currents, cannot be duplicated in small basins like sinks.

Extraterrestrial Oceans Mars probably had oceans billions of years ago, but ice and dry seabeds are all that remain today. Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, is probably covered by an ocean of water more than 96 kilometers (60 miles) deep, but it is trapped beneath a layer of ice, which the warmer water below frequently cracks. One of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, has cryovolcanism, or ice volcanoes. Instead of erupting with lava, ice volcanoes erupt with water, ammonia, or methane. Ice volcanoes may indicate oceanic activity.

International Oil Spill The largest oil spill in history, the Gulf War oil spill, released at least 40 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf. Valves at the Sea Island oil terminal in Kuwait were opened on purpose after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991. The oil was intended to stop a landing by U.S. Marines, but the oil drifted south to the shores of Saudi Arabia. A study of the Gulf War oil spill (conducted by the United Nations, several countries in the Middle East and the United States) found that most of the spilled oil evaporated and caused little damage to the environment.

Ocean Seas The floors of the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea are more like the ocean than other seas they do not rest on a continent, but directly on the ocean's basalt crust.

Early Ocean Explorers Polynesian people navigated a region of the Pacific Ocean now known as the Polynesian Triangle by 700 C.E. The corners of the Polynesian Triangle are islands: the American state of Hawai'i, the country of New Zealand, and the Chilean territory of Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui). The distance between Easter Island and New Zealand, the longest length of the Polynesian Triangle, is one-quarter of Earth's circumference, more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles). Polynesians successfully traveled these distances in canoes. It would be hundreds of years before another culture explored the ocean to this extent.

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March 5, 2024

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Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created The Deep Ocean, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. Arthur C. Clarke

Planet Ocean

In the late 1960s, the Apollo Mission captured images of Earth from space for the very first time. These iconic photos gave people around the world a fresh perspective on our home planet — more specifically, its vast and dazzling expanses of blue. It's perhaps unsurprising that science has subsequently established the key roles that the ocean and its marine organisms play in maintaining a planetary environment suitable for life.

While the Apollo astronauts were sending back pictures of our blue planet, a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was searching for ways to detect life on other planets such as Mars. James Lovelock's investigations led him to conclude that the only way to explain the atmospheric composition of Earth was that life was manipulating it on a daily basis. In various publications, including his seminal 1979 book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth , Lovelock launched the Gaia hypothesis, which describes how the physical and living components of the natural environment, including humankind, interact to maintain conditions on Earth. During the same period, marine scientists including Lawrence Pomeroy, Farooq Azam and Hugh Ducklow were establishing a firm link between the major biogeochemical cycles in the oceans and marine food webs, particularly their microbial components. In the late 1980s and 1990s, large-scale research programs like the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) explored ocean biogeochemistry and established the oceans' pivotal role in the Earth's carbon cycle.

Research efforts like these underscored the oceans' critical importance in regulating all the major nutrient cycles on Earth. It's now widely recognized that the ocean regulates the temperature of Earth, controls its weather, provides us with oxygen, food and building materials, and even recycles our waste.

The advent of deep-sea science

It seems remarkable that until fairly recently many scientists believed that life was absent in the deep sea. Dredging in the Aegean Sea in the 1840s, marine biologist Edward Forbes found that the abundance of animals declined precipitously with depth. By extrapolation he concluded that the ocean would be azoic (devoid of animal life) below 300 fathoms (~550m depth). Despite evidence to the contrary, scientists supported the azoic hypothesis, reasoning that conditions were so hostile in the deep ocean that life simply could not survive. Extreme pressure, the absence of light and the lack of food were viewed as forming an impenetrable barrier to the survival of deep-sea marine species.

But others were already proving this hypothesis wrong. As Edward Forbes published his results from the Aegean, Captain James Clark Ross and the famous naturalist John Dalton Hooker were exploring the Antarctic in the Royal Navy vessels HMS Terror and HMS Erebus . During this expedition, Ross and Hooker retrieved organisms from sounding leads at depths of up to 1.8km, including urchin spines and other fragments of various marine invertebrates, a number of bryozoans and corals. Ross remarked, "I have no doubt that from however great a depth we may be enabled to bring up the mud and stones of the bed of the ocean we shall find them teeming with animal life." This contention was supported by work of Norwegian marine biologists Michael Sars and George Ossian Sars who dredged hundreds of species from depths of 200 to 300 fathoms off the Norwegian coast.

Further evidence came from natural scientists William Carpenter and Charles Wyville-Thomson, who mounted expeditions in 1868 and 1869 on the vessels HMS Lightening and HMS Porcupine to sample the deep ocean off the British Isles, Spain and the Mediterranean. The findings of these expeditions, which Wyville-Thomson published in his 1873 book The Depths of the Sea , confirmed the existence of animal life to depths of 650 fathoms — including all the marine invertebrate groups — and suggested that oceanic circulation exists in the deep sea.

This convinced the Royal Society of London and the Royal Navy to organize the circumnavigating voyage of HMS Challenger in the 1870s. In part, the expedition's purpose was to survey potential routes for submarine telegraph cables, and so the links between scientific exploration and human use of the deep sea were established in the very early days of oceanography. The Challenger expedition was a watershed for deep-ocean science, establishing the basic patterns of distribution of deep-sea animals, and that their main food source was the rain of organic material from surface waters.

In the 1950s, the Danish Expedition Foundation's Galathea voyage established that life occurred at depths of more than 10km in the Philippines Trench. In 1960 marine explorers Auguste Picard and Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, at a depth estimated to be 10,916 meters--the deepest part of the ocean — where they observed flatfish from the porthole of their pressure sphere. This feat was not repeated until 2012 when James Cameron visited the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the submersible Deepsea Challenger .

Hype or hyper-diversity in the deep sea?

While working at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the late 1960s, scientists Howard Sanders and Robert Hessler developed new types of deep-sea trawls called epibenthic sleds that featured extra- fine mesh in the nets. When the new trawls were tested, they recovered an astonishing diversity of species from the deep sea. It became apparent that the species richness of deep-sea communities actually increased with greater depth to a peak somewhere on the continental slope between 2,000 and 4,000 meters depth. Beyond these depths, diversity appeared to decrease (but not everywhere), or the pattern was unclear.

How to explain this amazing diversity in the deep sea? Initially, scientists credited the species richness to the stability of environmental conditions in the deep ocean, which would support extreme specialization of the animals and thus allow many species to coexist. This is known as the stability-time hypothesis. Some scientists considered that small-scale variations of the sediments of the deep ocean, including reworking of seabed by animals, was important in maintaining microhabitats for many species. In the late 1970s other scientists suggested that conditions in shallow waters allow competitive exclusion, where relatively few species dominate the ecosystem, whereas in deeper waters environmental factors associated with depth and a reduced food supply promote biological communities with more diversity.

Fred Grassle and Nancy Maciolek added substantially to our knowledge of deep-sea biodiversity when they published a study of the continental slope of the eastern coast of the USA in the early 1990s. Grassle and Maciolek based their study on quantitative samples of deep-sea sediments taken with box cores. These contraptions retrieve a neat cube-shaped chunk of the seabed and bring it to the surface enclosed in a steel box. Scientists then sieve the mud and count and identify the tiny animals living in the sediment.

In a heroic effort, Grassle and Maciolek analyzed 233 box cores, an equivalent of 21 square meters of the seabed, identifying 90,677 specimens and 798 species. They estimated that they found approximately 100 species per 100 km along the seabed they sampled. Extrapolations of this figure suggested that there may be 1 - 10 million macrofaunal species in the deep sea.

What's more, some scientists argued that Grassle and Maciolek's estimates represented only a small part of the species diversity in the ocean depths. Dr John Lambshead of London's Natural History Museum pointed out that Grassle and Maciolek had not examined the smallest animals in sediments — the meiofauna — made up of tiny nematode worms, copepods and other animals. These are at least an order of magnitude more diverse than the macrofauna, suggesting that as many as 100 million species may inhabit the deep ocean.

However, given that the latest approximation of the Earth's biodiversity is 10 million species in total, Lambshead's number appears to be an overestimate. Scientists have since realized that there are major problems with estimating the species richness of large areas of the deep sea based on local samples. Today we understand that species diversity in the deep ocean is high, but we still don't know how many species live in the sediments of the continental slope and abyssal plains. We also don't understand the patterns of their horizontal distribution or the reasons for the parabolic pattern of species diversity as it relates to depth. Evidence suggests, however, that the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems depends on a high diversity of animals — although exactly why remains open to conjecture.

The creation of deep-sea environments: "Drifters" and "Fixists"

In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener put forward his theory of continental drift to address many questions that engaged the geologists and biologists of his time. For example, why do the continents appear to fit together as though they had once been joined? Why are many of the large mountain ranges coastal? And, perhaps most intriguing, why do the rocks and fossil biotas (combined plant and animal life) on disconnected land masses appear to be so similar?

Wegener's theory provoked a major scientific controversy that raged for more than 50 years between "drifters" and "fixists." Critics of Wegener's — the "fixists" — pointed out that Wegener's proposed mechanism for drift was flawed.

In the search for an alternate mechanism to explain continental drift, British geologist Arthur Holmes suggested that radioactive elements in the Earth were generating heat and causing convection currents that made the Earth's mantle fluid. Holmes argued that the mantle would then rise up under the continents and split them apart, generating ocean basins and carrying the landmasses along on the horizontally-moving currents.

Following World War II, scientific expeditions employing deep-sea cameras, continuously recording echo-sounders, deep-seismic profilers and magnetometers lent support to the arguments of Holmes and his fellow "drifters." Scientists realized that the deep sea hosted a vast network of mid-ocean ridges located roughly in the center of the ocean basins. These ridges were characterized by fresh pillow lavas, sparse sediment cover, intense seismic activity and anomalously high heat flow. Scientists found geologically-synchronous magnetic reversals in the rocks of the ocean crust moving away from either side of the mid-ocean ridges. Added to this was the fact that nowhere could scientists find sediments older than the Cretaceous in age. Together, these findings suggested that new oceanic crust was being formed along the mid-ocean ridges, while old oceanic plates are forced underneath continental plates and destroyed along the ocean trenches. By the late 1960s, the bitter scientific debate between the "fixists" and the "drifters" was finally settled.

Life without the sun

During the next decade, scientists investigating volcanic activity at mid-ocean ridges became interested in the associated phenomenon of hot springs in the deep sea. Anomalously high temperature readings over mid-ocean ridge axes led scientists to mount an expedition in 1977 to the 2.5 km-deep Galápagos Rift. From the submersible Alvin, the scientists observed plumes of warm water rising from within the pillow lavas on the seabed. Living amongst the pillows were dense communities of large vesicoyid clams, mussels, limpets and giant vestimentiferan tube worms (Siboglinidae). An abundance of bacteria around the Galápagos Rift site immediately suggested that these communities might be based on bacterial chemosynthesis, or chemolithotrophy, using chemical energy obtained by oxidizing hydrogen sulphide to drive carbon fixation. Subsequent investigation confirmed that the giant tube worms, clams and mussels actually hosted symbiotic sulphur-oxidizing bacteria in their tissues.

The discovery caused huge excitement in the scientific community. Here was life thriving in the deep sea, where primary production — the basis of the food web — was independent from the sun's energy. Furthermore, as scientists discovered additional vent communities and surveyed elsewhere in the mid-ocean ridge system, they found that environmental conditions were extreme, with high temperatures, acidic waters, hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and the presence of toxic chemicals the norm.

The implications of this were enormous and went well beyond the study of the ocean itself. First, it meant that life could exist elsewhere in our solar system in environments previously thought too extreme. Second, it widened the potential area for habitable planets around suns elsewhere in the universe. For example, the discovery in 2000 of the Lost City alkaline hydrothermal vents presented an environment that some scientists suggest is analogous to the conditions in which life evolved on Earth.

Subsequently, chemosynthesis has been discovered in many places in the ocean, including deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps, in large falls of organic matter such as whale carcasses, and from shallow-water sediments associated with, for example, seagrass beds.

Drawing down the oceans' natural capital

Over the past two decades, we've developed a much deeper understanding of the relationship between humankind and the natural world, including the Earth's oceans. In 1997 Robert Costanza and his colleagues published a paper in Nature that estimated the economic value of the goods and services provided by global ecosystems. Costanza and his colleagues argued that the living resources of Earth could be viewed as a form of natural capital with a value averaging $33 trillion per annum, upon which the entire human economy depended. These goods and services were later grouped into supporting (e.g. primary production), provisioning (e.g. food), regulating (climate regulation) and cultural (e.g. education) services.

While this knowledge may have been intuitive for many people, Costanza's recasting of the environment in economic terms forced policymakers, industry leaders and others to recognize the importance of long-term environmental sustainability. With the support of international agencies such as the World Bank, many countries are now implementing natural capital accounting procedures through legislation. The purpose of this is to help monitor and regulate the use and degradation of the environment and to ensure that the critical ecosystem goods and services underpinning economic activity and human well-being are not undermined.

Although it seems like a modern preoccupation, sustainability is actually a centuries-old challenge, particularly as it relates to marine environments. For example, there is evidence that aboriginal fisheries in ancient times may have overexploited marine species. Certainly by medieval times in Europe, a thriving market for fish, coupled with other developments like changing agricultural practices, forced species such as salmon and sturgeon into decline.

The Industrial Revolution led to an increase in hunting fish, seals and whales, thanks to the development of steam- and then oil-powered fishing vessels that employed increasingly sophisticated means of catching animals. Pelagic whaling began in the early 20th century; the development of explosive harpoons, the ability to process whales at sea, and the strong demand for margarine made from whale oil all contributed to dramatic rises in catches. Despite the initiation of the International Whaling Commission in 1946, a serial depletion of whale populations took place from the largest, most valuable species (e.g. blue whale) through to the smallest species (minke whale). The failure to regulate catches of whales led to the establishment of a near-moratorium on whaling in 1986.

Over the same post-war period, fishing fleets underwent a major expansion and deployed increasingly powerful fishing vessels. Improved technologies for navigating, finding fish and catching them led to increasing pressure on fish stocks and the marine ecosystems in which they lived. In 1998, after analyzing catch statistics from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Daniel Pauly and his colleagues from the University of British Columbia identified a global shift in fish catches from long-lived, high trophic level predators to short-lived, low trophic level invertebrates and plankton-eating fish. This was the first evidence that fishing was having a global impact on marine ecosystems, causing major changes in the structure of ocean food webs. Aside from the economic impacts of "fishing down the food web," evidence was accumulating that it also affected the vulnerability and/or resilience of marine ecosystems to shocks such as invasions by alien species and climate-change effects such as mass coral bleaching.

Further evidence came in 2003 from a study by Ransom Myers and Boris Worm. Myers and Worm documented a significant decline over time in the stocks of certain large, predatory fish after analyzing information from research trawl surveys and the catches of the Japanese long-line fleet. Other studies over the same time period suggested that sharks, seabirds and turtles were suffering large-scale declines as they became by-catch in many industrial fisheries. Scientists also asserted that some fishing technologies, such as bottom trawling, were extremely damaging to seabed communities — deep-sea ecosystems in particular — by documenting the devastation of cold-water coral communities.

These studies sparked a bitter war of words between marine ecologists, fishing industry executives and fisheries biologists. While it has now been demonstrated that fish stocks can recover if levels of exploitation by fisheries are reduced through management measures, it's clear that in many parts of the world's oceans this is not happening. Overall, global yields from marine capture fisheries are in a downward trajectory. By-catch of some marine predators, such as albatrosses, still poses a threat of extinction. Habitat destruction resulting from fishing is continuing.

In addition to overfishing, other human activities are damaging marine ecosystems. During the 1960s and 1970s, several major accidents with oil tankers and oil installations resulted in serious oil spills. While oil pollution is still a significant problem, as illustrated by the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, other less-visible sources of pollution are causing large-scale degradation of the ocean.

Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals such as mercury are being recognized as major health issues for marine animals (especially high trophic level predators, such as killer whales and tuna) and also for humans. The oceans are becoming the dumping ground for a wide range of chemicals from our personal care products and pharmaceuticals, as well as those that leach out of all manner of plastics that are floating in our seas. Agrochemicals are pouring into the oceans through rivers; in some cases these artificially fertilize coastal waters, generating blooms of algae which are broken down by bacteria, thus stripping the water of oxygen and creating dead zones.

Our release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), is leading to a profound disturbance in ocean temperatures and ocean chemistry. Since the late 1970s, mass coral bleaching from ocean warming has killed large areas of tropical coral reefs. Marine animals are changing their distribution and the timing of their lifecycles, sometimes with catastrophic effects across the wider ecosystem. Such effects are often propagated from lower levels of food webs up through to predators such as fish and seabirds: witness recent declines in spectacled sea duck populations in the Arctic and the decline of cod populations in the North Sea. The oceans are becoming more acidic, which affects the growth rates of animals with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons and has other negative impacts on animal physiology. Many of these different stresses on marine species interact in a form of "negative synergy", inducing more severe effects than if they had presented in isolation. At the ecosystem level these stresses reduce the resilience of marine ecosystems to "shocks" arising from large-scale effects, such as anomalous warming events associated with climate change.

Ocean future

The TEDTalks in The Deep Ocean illuminate many current topics in marine science and oceanic exploration. These include the call for better conservation management in the face of unprecedented threats to marine ecosystems, the discovery and application of as-yet-untapped natural resources from the ocean depths, and the quest for improved technologies to support both of these endeavors. As Sylvia Earle eloquently reminds us in her 2009 TEDTalk, the oceans are critically important to maintaining the planet in a condition that is habitable, and better cooperative, international management of marine ecosystems is essential. However, as other TED speakers like Robert Ballard and Craig Venter argue, the oceans should also interest us because they contain vast untapped resources: unexploited mineral resources as well as genes, proteins and other biomolecules of marine life, which may furnish the medicines and industrial materials of the future.

Smart management of these natural resources requires knowledge, as do our efforts to ensure the oceans' ongoing species richness and their critical function in maintaining the Earth system. In their TEDTalks, explorers and scientists Edith Widder, Mike deGruy and Craig Venter share some of the amazing physical and biological features of ocean habitats and describe how new technologies allow more careful study and exploitation of deep-sea environments.

Despite these advances, there are still enormous gaps in our knowledge. In a TEDTalk he gave in 2008, Robert Ballard noted that many parts of the ocean remain entirely unexplored and he advocated for increased resources for organizations like NOAA. As many of the TED speakers in The Deep Ocean argue, marine science is more important than ever because the oceans are under serious threat from a range of human impacts including global-scale climate change.

However, these speakers also offer a message of hope, underscoring that there is still time to alter the current trajectory of degradation. Scientists including TED speaker John Delaney present a vision for the future where ecosystem-based management, coupled with the advent of new technologies that allow us to monitor ocean health in real time, provide us with tools to heal marine ecosystems. This may allow us to restore their capacity to provide goods and services for humankind over the long term. Measures such as marine-protected areas can maintain the oceans' important biogeochemical functions, but will also conserve the remarkable and beautiful marine ecosystems that have culturally enriched the human experience for millennia.

We'll begin our journey into The Deep Ocean with legendary explorer and oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who shares disturbing data about the decline of marine ecosystems and proposes one method to protect what she calls "the blue heart of the planet."

Sylvia Earle

My wish: protect our oceans, relevant talks.

Craig Venter

On the verge of creating synthetic life.

David Gallo

Underwater astonishments.

Edith Widder

Glowing life in an underwater world.

John Delaney

Wiring an interactive ocean.

Mike deGruy

Hooked by an octopus.

Robert Ballard

The astonishing hidden world of the deep ocean.

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Marine life

Our ocean, coasts, and estuaries are home to diverse living things. These organisms take many forms, from the tiniest single-celled plankton to the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale. Understanding the life cycles, habits, habitats, and inter-relationships of marine life contributes to our understanding of the planet as a whole. Human influences and reliance on these species, as well as changing environmental conditions, will determine the future health of these marine inhabitants. Toxic spills , oxygen-depleted dead zones, marine debris , increasing ocean temperatures, overfishing, and shoreline development are daily threats to marine life. Part of NOAA's mission is to help protect these organisms and their habitats.

Food webs describe who eats whom in an ecological community. Made of interconnected food chains, food webs help us understand how changes to ecosystems — say, removing a top predator or adding nutrients — affect many different species, both directly and indirectly.

Phytoplankton and algae form the bases of aquatic food webs. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans. Primary consumers are in turn eaten by fish, small sharks, corals, and baleen whales. Top ocean predators include large sharks, billfish, dolphins, toothed whales, and large seals. Humans consume aquatic life from every section of this food web.

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral polyps , the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, can take many forms: large reef building colonies, graceful flowing fans, and even small, solitary organisms. Thousands of species of corals have been discovered; some live in warm, shallow, tropical seas and others in the cold, dark depths of the ocean.

Seafood plays an essential role in feeding the world’s growing population. Healthy fish populations lead to healthy oceans and it's our responsibility to be a part of the solution. The resilience of our marine ecosystems and coastal communities depend on sustainable fisheries.

Estuaries are areas of water and shoreline where rivers meet the ocean or another large body of water, such as one of the Great Lakes. Organisms that live in estuaries must be adapted to these dynamic environments, where there are variations in water chemistry including salinity, as well as physical changes like the rise and fall of tides. Despite these challenges, estuaries are also very productive ecosystems. They receive nutrients from both bodies of water and can support a variety of life. Because of their access to food, water, and shipping routes, people often live near estuaries and can impact the health of the ecosystem.

Marine mammals are found in marine ecosystems around the globe. They are a diverse group of mammals with unique physical adaptations that allow them to thrive in the marine environment with extreme temperatures, depths, pressure, and darkness. Marine mammals are classified into four different taxonomic groups: cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), and marine fissipeds (polar bears and sea otters).

Sea turtles breathe air, like all reptiles, and have streamlined bodies with large flippers. They are well adapted to life in the ocean and inhabit tropical and subtropical ocean waters around the world. Of the seven species of sea turtles, six are found in U.S. waters; these include the green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley.

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Essay on Ocean

Table of contents

Introduction, going back to the beginning, state of our ocean, 1. no corner left clean:, 2. survey of life:, 3. the most endangered places:, ii. coasts:, iii. continental shelves:, iv. open ocean, the impact of humans, getting on the right track, reference list.

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• Lem, V. K. (2012, Jun 22). One ocean: Episode 1: Birth of an ocean. (the nature of things series)/One ocean: Episode 2: Footprints in the sand. (the nature of things series)/One ocean: Episode 3: Mysteries of the deep. (the nature of things series)/One ocean: Episode 4: The changing sea. (the nature of things series). CM: Canadian Review of Materials, 18, 1. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1023805845?accountid=158790
• State of Our Oceans | Ocean Leadership. (2016, June 29). Retrieved from https://oceanleadership.org/state-of-our-oceans/
• Mooney, C. (2015, Oct 09). Worldwide coral reef death underway; coral bleaching; dramatic loss blamed on global warming. Edmonton journals retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1720957384?accountid=158790
• Underwater Noise Pollution Harms Marine Life Publication info: Voice of America News /FIND; Washington, (Dec 15, 2008).
• Galloway, Gloria. Daily Townsman; Cranbrook, B.C. [Cranbrook, B.C]22 Feb 2001: 2.
• Osterlund, Peter. The Christian Science Monitor; Boston, Mass. [Boston, Mass]31 Aug 1983
• Science File; IN BRIEF; Warming Is Seen in Oceans' Saltiness Publication info: Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]20 Dec 2003: A.31.
• Ecology, Environment & Conservation ; Atlanta [Atlanta]03 May 2019: 260.
• Lockwood, Deirdre. Chemical & Engineering News; Washington Vol. 91, Iss. 49, (Dec 9, 2013): 8.
• Mooney, Chris. Edmonton Journal; Edmonton, Alta. [Edmonton, Alta]09 Oct 2015: N.3.
• Ecology, Environment & Conservation ; Atlanta [Atlanta]26 Dec 2014: 607.
• Allsopp, Michelle, Adam Walters, David Santillo, and Paul Johnston (2014), 'Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans - a UNEP Report.
• 'The Ocean Conference | 5–9 June 2017'. United Nations. Retrieved 6 June 2017.

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What Is Marine Life And Its Importance? Facts & Statistics

Reading time: 8 minutes

The Earth’s oceans are home to millions of animal and plant species, as well as potentially millions more that are so far undiscovered. They are delicately balanced ecosystems and their healthy function is key to the balance of all life on Earth. Many people see marine life as something altogether separate to life on land but the two are far more connected than we might think. Crucially, the behavior and choices made by people seriously impact the wellbeing of our aquatic friends.

What Is Marine Life?

Marine life refers to all the animals, plants and organisms that live in Earth’s saltwater seas and oceans. From the smallest plankton to the largest whale, all organisms play a role in the healthy function of these amazing, complex ecosystems.

Coral Reef Ecosystems

Coral reefs are diverse, colorful and home to millions of marine species across the planet. They provide a natural barrier to the power of the ocean, protecting coastal communities from extreme weather events such as tsunamis. As food chains, they are extremely important, providing an area in which marine species can live, feed, raise their young and thrive.

Unfortunately, they are also highly vulnerable to ocean temperature change, a direct result of climate breakdown. In 2016, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef experienced a 30 percent loss of coral reef due to a nine-month marine heatwave, the largest reef loss ever recorded. The fishing of reefs has also led to species loss, as food chains are interrupted and predators cannot survive.

Some examples of the largest reef ecosystems on earth include:

• The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• The Red Sea Reef, Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea
• New Caledonia Barrier Reef, southwest Pacific Ocean
• Florida Reef, USA
• Andros Coral Reef, the Bahamas

Ocean Fishes

There are thousands of different species of ocean fish, yet populations are continually declining as we allow commercial fleets to fish our oceans. Atlantic cod, for example, can live up to 25 years, yet their populations are now at critically low levels. Some other ocean fish include:

• Barramundis

Marine Mammals

Marine mammals are generally larger sea creatures, who live underwater but need to breathe air also. Around the world these marine mammals still lose their lives unnecessarily due to habitat loss, being caught and killed by fishing fleets (“ fishing bycatch ”), hunting and noise pollution.

• Marine mammals include:

Sea Turtles And Reptiles

Reptile life in the sea is largely made up of turtle species such as:

• Loggerhead turtles
• Hawksbill sea turtles
• Green sea turtles
• Leatherback sea turtles

All seven species of sea turtles are endangered or critically endangered with The World Wildlife Fund stating that “the single biggest threat to most sea turtles is fishing gear.”

Marine iguanas and saltwater crocodiles are also ocean-dwelling species of reptile. Reptilian life in the sea is particularly vulnerable to pollutants such as plastic, as these animals live in shallow seas and come into contact with human populations often.

Cephalopods, Crustaceans And Shellfish

Cephalopods, crustaceans and shellfish play an important role in ocean ecosystems and the marine food chains, and includes:

• Cuttlefishes

They are particularly vulnerable to increased ocean acidification, a direct result of increased human-generated greenhouse gas emissions.

Seabirds are found on coastlines, in coastal waters and far out at sea, and include species such as:

• Albatrosses
• Fish eagles

Seabirds play a vital role in marine ecosystems but populations have dropped by 70 percent since the middle of the 20th century, with campaigners saying that they are being pushed to the brink of extinction by the fishing industry. Habitat destruction and pollution also play a part.

Why Marine Life Is Important?

The oceans provide 50 percent of the world’s oxygen and they provide essential ecosystem services that allow our planet to function in a healthy way. For example, ocean currents govern our weather systems, and if they were to be interrupted, the extreme weather consequences would be drastic. The oceans can only provide these services by maintaining delicately balanced ecosystems, made up of food chains and biological systems. Human activity risks the shutdown of essential ecosystem services that we rely on to survive.

One example is coral reefs. When we fish around coral reefs, those reefs’ delicate ecosystems are damaged and often die. We then lose the essential service a coral reef provides such as protection from erosion and weather, biochemical regulation, and recreation. This is just one of the reasons why taking care of the oceans is essential for our own wellbeing.

Marine Life Facts And Statistics

• An estimated 50-70 percent of all life on Earth is found under the oceans
• Humans have explored roughly 10-20 percent of the ocean
• There are around 230,000 classified marine species, but as many as two million or more yet to be discovered
• Marine biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate. It is estimated the oceans suffered around a 50 percent species loss between 1970 and 2012

Marine Life Pollution

Humans continue to pollute the oceans, despite the huge risks to marine life and to ourselves. Marine pollution comes in many forms such as plastic pollution, acidification and oil spills.

How Does Ocean Acidification Affect Marine Life?

Ocean acidification occurs due to increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (due to climate warming) and it can have terrible consequences for marine life, particularly crustaceans. Higher acidity in water results in shells dissolving more quickly, which of course has a devastating impact on shellfish and other crustaceans. This can have drastic knock-on consequences for other animals who rely on them for food, and throw marine food chains and whole ecosystems out of balance..

How Do Fisheries And Seafood Affect Marine Life?

Probably the largest risk posed to marine life is the fishing industry. Vast commercial fleets trawling the oceans has been common practice for many years and sadly shows no signs of slowing. The negative impacts for marine life are huge and includes:

• Fish population crashes which impacts every species that live in the oceans. Bycatch from fishing nets results in huge biodiversity loss, including driving species to the brink of extinction.
• There is evidence to show that catching fish causes pain and is hugely distressing for those caught and those left behind.

How Does Fish Farming Affect Marine Life?

Fish farming poses various environmental and welfare risks including:

• Disease is easily spread in fish farms and too often spreads beyond the farm into the natural environment.
• Fish farms pollute waters with the chemicals needed to treat diseases caused by the appalling conditions, excess feed and concentrated fish waste. This pollution causes algal blooms, resulting in the deaths of wild fish, too.
• Wild marine animals, such as seals, are inevitably attracted to fish farms as a potential source of food, but these animals are often killed deliberately by farmers to stop them eating the valuable fish.

How Does Human-generated Noise Pollution Affect Marine Life?

Natural soundscapes in the ocean are key for healthy marine life, as animals use sound to communicate, catch food, navigate, defend themselves and attract mates. Machinery like boats, jet skis or oil drills create an unnatural barrier to marine life’s natural soundscape, and the impacts can devastating:

• Marine mammals like whales use complex songs to communicate, navigate and attract one another. If these are interrupted, they cannot enact basic natural functions and die as a consequence
• Animals can be directly stressed by unnatural noise, leading them to make poor decisions that can lead to their deaths

Other Forms Of Pollution?

Plastic pollution is the other major form of marine pollution that affects marine life:

• Plastic waste can entrap marine animals resulting in them drowning, starving or being eaten
• Soft plastics and microplastics can be ingested by marine life and cause their deaths
• Plastic pollution kills 100 million marine mammals and up to a million seabirds every year
• Most plastic pollution comes from the fishing industry

How Can We Save Marine Life?

Put simply, we can save marine life by leaving the oceans alone and letting their ecosystems operate naturally. These systems have developed over millions of years of evolution and they can only operate without our intrusion.

We can reduce our impact on marine life in a few ways:

• Go vegan. Stopping consumption of marine animals is the single biggest way to help the oceans. It would stop overfishing and bycatch, returning fish populations to healthy levels. It would also reduce noise pollution from fishing vessels, reduce oil spills and plastic pollution from fishing fleets, and lower carbon dioxide levels, thereby reducing ocean acidification
• Reduce our consumption of all unnecessary products and buy local as much as we can – global shipping networks create noise and chemical pollution in the oceans, which directly affects marine life
• Reduce our reliance on plastics, stop buying single-use plastic items, and recycle plastic waste effectively, so that it never ends up in the ocean
• Raise awareness of the issues – watch and share documentaries such as Seaspiracy to alert others of the need to save marine life

Healthy marine life is critical to the healthy function of the whole planet and to the lives of all those who inhabit it. Without healthy balanced oceans, many of our essential ecosystem services would collapse, resulting in terrible knock-on effects for humans and animals alike. But that is not the only reason to protect marine life. We should protect them for their own sake. The lives of marine animals are as important to them as ours are to us. They are here on Earth with us, not for us.

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Ocean facts!

Take a deep breath and join us as we dive to the depths of the sea….

Bursting with wildlife and teeming with mysteries to be solved, our oceans are one of the most amazing habitats on Earth. Take a deep breath, gang, as we dive into our ocean facts…

Top ten ocean facts

1.  Around  70% of the planet’s surface is covered by oceans. In fact, the oceans hold about 96.5% of all water on Earth.

2.  The largest ocean on Earth is the  Pacific Ocean , covering around  30%  of the Earth’s surface.

Love marine life? You’d love our magazine!

Ask your parents to check out Nat Geo Kids magazine !

3.  The name “Pacific Ocean” comes form the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, “peaceful sea”.

4.  The deepest known area of the Earth’s oceans is known as the Mariana Trench . It’s deepest point measures 11km. That’s a long dive down!

5.  The world’s oceans are home to incredible creatures that are masters of disguise! Take a look for yourself…

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable ocean ecosystems primary resource ? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

6.  The longest mountain range in the world is found under water. Stretching over 56,000km , the Mid-Oceanic Ridge is a mountain chain that runs along the centre of the ocean basins.

7.  About 70% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans.

For World Oceans Day, we chatted to young Nat Geo Kids readers to find out what they think about our amazing oceans… What do YOU think?

8.  The sea is home to the world’s largest living structure – the Great Barrier Reef . Measuring around 2,600km, it can even be seen from the Moon !

9.  We have only explored about 5% of the world’s oceans. There’s a lot more to be discovered!

10 . The sea can be described as the planet’s mega museum. There are more artefacts and remnants of history in the ocean than in all of the world’s museums combined! Pretty amazing, huh?

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Plastic Pollution primary resource , all about protecting our oceans and sea life? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

Video: TED2007 Photos: Getty Images UK

Did you enjoy our ocean facts let us know which one was your favourite by leaving a comment below, leave a comment.

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WELL DONE, YOUR COMMENT HAS BEEN ADDED!

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CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR

More like general geography.

Meet the Met Office!

Forest Holidays

10 facts about the Arctic!

Dare To Explore with Paul Rose!

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Sea, My Life: Protecting Oceans, Sustaining our Future

June 5, 2017.

A voyage to UNDP-supported marine protected areas around the world

In the turquoise seas of the western Indian Ocean, a coelacanth drifts slowly and deliberately through underwater caves hidden deep beneath the volcanic islands of the Comoros archipelago. These enigmatic prehistoric fishes — once thought to be extinct — have survived for over 70 million years in the warm, temperate waters off the coasts of Africa and Indonesia. What does the future hold for these animals? It depends on the measures we take to protect ocean ecosystems, the millions of species that live in them, and the people who depend on them.

From the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current off the coasts of Chile and Peru, and the coastal fishing grounds of Turkey and India, to the spectacular coral reefs of the tropical seas of the Indian Ocean, and the mangrove swamps of Tonga in the South Pacific, Sea, My Life: Protecting Oceans, Sustaining our Future explores UNDP’s work to expand and strengthen marine protected areas in developing countries.

Written in the style of an oceanic travel magazine, the reader sets sail on a mesmerizing journey around the world. Visiting myriad countries that promote the conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and ecosystems while facilitating the establishment of effectively managed marine protected areas, the reader witnesses their multiple global and local development benefits in support of SDG 14 and other SDGs — as well as global biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

A diverse set of case studies presents the work of a wide range of GEF-financed and UNDP-supported projects that make a clear case for further investment in marine protected areas to restore the health of oceanic and coastal ecosystems, strengthen resilience in the face of climate change, sustain fisheries and other economic activities, and improve the lives of the world’s poorest communities.

Document Type

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Short Essay & Paragraph On Sea For Kids Students

The sea has always provided an endless supply of food and wealth. It covers roughly three-quarters of the earth’s surface and has largely untapped resources.

Table of Contents

Short Paragraph about Sea For Kids Students

At least 100 million metric tones of fish are thought to be in the sea, worth trillions of dollars each year. Many countries rely heavily on fishing as a source of revenue.

Other valuable minerals, as well as energy like oil and natural gas, can be found in the seas. They also provide us with medicines, salt, drinking and irrigation water, beautiful pearls, and much else to enjoy, exploit, or account for. Man may one day derive power from the waves that lash our shores.

The sea, in addition to its material benefits, provides spiritual lift to men through its beauty. In comparison to its vastness, it reminds us of our insignificance. At the same time, it prepares us to face life’s challenges with courage by constantly calling forth men willing to risk their lives at sea for food, wealth, or adventure in each generation.

500 Essay on Sea

The sea is a vast and mysterious body of water that covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface. It is a vital part of our planet’s ecosystem, providing food, recreation, and transportation for people all over the world.

One of the most striking features of the sea is its size. The ocean is so vast that it can be difficult to grasp just how big it is. The average depth of the ocean is around 12,000 feet, and it covers an area of over 140 million square miles. This means that the sea is larger than all of the land on Earth combined.

Another important aspect of the sea is its role in the Earth’s climate. The ocean plays a crucial role in regulating the planet’s temperature by absorbing and releasing heat. It also acts as a massive carbon sink, absorbing a significant amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This helps to slow down the process of global warming, which is a major concern for scientists and policymakers around the world.

The sea is also home to an incredible diversity of life. There are an estimated 230,000 known species of marine animals, with many more yet to be discovered. These creatures range from tiny plankton to massive whales, and they play important roles in the ocean’s ecosystem. For example, small creatures like plankton form the base of the ocean’s food chain, while larger animals like sharks and tuna help to keep populations of smaller fish in check.

The sea also has a long and rich history of human interaction. People have been using the ocean for transportation, food, and trade for thousands of years. The sea has played a vital role in the development of human civilization, and today it continues to be a major source of economic activity. For example, fishing and tourism are both major industries that rely heavily on the sea.

Despite its many benefits, the sea is also facing a number of serious threats . Pollution, over fishing, and climate change are all taking a toll on the health of the ocean. In order to protect this vital resource for future generations, it is important that we take steps to reduce our impact on the sea. This includes reducing our carbon emissions, protecting marine habitats, and limiting the amount of pollution that we release into the ocean.

In conclusion, the sea is an awe-inspiring and important part of our planet, with a unique physical characteristics, plays a vital role in regulating the Earth’s climate, home to an incredible diversity of life and a long and rich history of human interaction. It is essential for us to take steps to protect this vital resource for future generations and to reduce the negative impact we have on it.

200 Words Essay on Sea Turtle

Sea turtles are one of the most ancient creatures on Earth, with a history that dates back to the time of the dinosaurs. They are also one of the most endangered animals in the world, with all seven species facing varying degrees of threat.

One of the most distinctive features of sea turtles is their hard shells, which protect them from predators and provide buoyancy while swimming. They have flippers instead of legs, which allow them to move quickly and gracefully through the water. Sea turtles are also known for their long lifespans, with some species living over 100 years.

Sea turtles play an important role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. They help to control the population of jellyfish and other small sea creatures by eating them. They also play a role in the food chain, serving as prey for larger animals like sharks and crocodiles.

Despite their ecological importance, sea turtles are facing numerous threats. The biggest threat to sea turtles is habitat loss and degradation. Many beaches where sea turtles lay their eggs have been developed for human use, making it difficult for the turtles to find suitable nesting sites. Pollution is also a major problem for sea turtles, as they often mistake plastic debris for food and ingest it, which can lead to injury or death.

Another significant threat is the illegal harvesting of sea turtle eggs, which has led to a decline in sea turtle populations in many areas. Illegal hunting of sea turtles for their meat and shells is also a problem in some countries.

Conservation efforts have been put in place to help protect sea turtles. These include protecting nesting beaches, reducing pollution, and enforcing laws against hunting and egg harvesting. Programs have been implemented to protect and conserve sea turtle populations.

In conclusion, sea turtles are ancient and endangered creatures that play an important role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. They are facing numerous threats, including habitat loss, pollution, and hunting. Conservation efforts such as protecting nesting beaches, reducing pollution, and enforcing laws against hunting and egg harvesting are in place to help protect sea turtle populations. It’s important for all of us to do our part in protecting these amazing animals and their habitat for future generations.

5 Sentences about Sea

1. The sea is a vast body of salty water that covers the majority of the Earth’s surface. 2. The sea is home to millions of species of plants and animals, many of which are still undiscovered. 3. The sea has been an important source of food and resources for humans for thousands of years. 4. The sea is also a major source of transportation for goods and people, with ships and submarines being used to cross the vast distances between land masses. 5. The sea can be dangerous, with storms, currents, and tides that can endanger those who venture too far from the safety of land. 6. The sea is also a beautiful and mysterious place, with its never-ending depths and its many wonders waiting to be discovered.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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Beach Description Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Looking for simple and beautiful descriptive writing about a beach in summer? The beach description essay below is just what you need! Get inspired for your own creative writing with us.

Introduction

Description of a beach.

Summer is the perfect time for individuals to visit and enjoy the marvelous scenes along the coast. In addition, the feelings and experiences felt on the beach during the summer are always fantastic. Several sceneries and experiences are seen and felt at the beach during summer. These include; the plantation along the beach and inside the sea, the animals, the waters, and the people found on the beach.

The beach appears to be alive and joyful with the presence of the natural vegetation. There are evergreen plantations both along and inside the beach. Images of buoyant seaweeds can be seen along the shore. Palms trees are seen to stand tall along the beach, dancing to the tune of the breeze emanating from the waters of the sea.

The sea grapes and the sea oats are also observed gathered in clusters in the sea next to the shore. Their colored flowers are splendid and brighten at the shining of the summer sun. The sweet scent of the flower grapes sends a signal to the world about the hope brought by nature.

The atmosphere is fully intensified by the aroma produced by the buoyant sea flowers. In addition, from afar, images of leafless trees are also observed. The perfect combination of the vegetation along the beach and inside the sea displays the beauty of nature to the highest peak.

It mesmerizes the eyes to gaze at the beautiful creatures that hover all over the beach and on the deep-sea waters. There are sights of beautiful birds that fly all over the dry shoreland and over the seawaters. Their colored feathers brightened the sea with a marvelous appearance at their illumination by the sun’s rays.

There are varieties of birds that are in the vicinity. For instance, there are pelicans and seagulls. Pelicans are seen hovering over the sand, singing sweet melodies that make the atmosphere at the beach vibrant. The seagulls are also observed to be flying over the seawater in small groups. Some of the birds are gathered in groups spreading the wings that cloaked a soft shadow on the gentle water ripples.

Next to the shore, there are sea turtles that seem to enjoy the summer heat from the sun. Their eggs are also seen to be exposed on the sand by the children that play on the shoreline. Bees are seen flying from one flower to another over the sea grapes. The humming of the bees as they gather nectar from the sea flowers attracts insect-eating birds.

Large crowds are observed all over the seashore. These people come to enjoy themselves on the beach at this period of the year. In the sea, people of all ages and sexes are seen swimming and playing with the cool seawater. The scorching heat from the summer sun is felt on the forehead of all individuals.

This makes the people chill themselves in the cool waters of the sea. The children are seen playing beach ball on the shoreline. Some children are also seen pelt each other with sand on the shoreline. Besides, young boys are observed climbing tall palm trees to gather fruits.

What is more, several activities take place along and inside the shoreline. Vendors are seen carrying ice creams and soft drinks all over the shoreline. Views of homes, hotels, and other buildings that run along the peak of the beach are also seen. On the sand where children play, pieces of shells are scattered.

In most cases, children collect the shells for fun. In the shades built along the shoreline, people are seen reading books, journals, and magazines. Some are seen idling on the sand, while few adults are observed playing football.

However, there is a disgusting scene of plastic bags, cigarette butts, food wrappers, and beer bottles along the beach. These items seem to pollute the entire shoreline and the seawater.

Anglers are also observed far into the sea casting large nets into the waters to have a bulk catch of their prey. Some of the anglers are also observed perching on the edge of the shore carrying sticks in their hands. Their faces displayed the anticipation that they had for their prey.

The deep waters of the sea produce a marvelous view for anyone who gazes at the sea. The water is seen to be slowly running low on the shore. Small waves are also observed crashing on the shoreline. The surface of the sea is seen to appear blue in color.

However, some portions are also seen to have the spectrum that results from the sun’s refracted rays. Deep inside the sea, there are high waves that lift boats up and down mightily. The shimmering waves of the sea that are clear and blue mirror the rays of the hot sun. The refreshing breeze that emanates from the seawater is enjoyable.

In conclusion, the beach has a perfect view and activities that are delightful to experience during the summer. It is a place that everyone would love to be at all times.

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Essay on Sea

Students are often asked to write an essay on Sea in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Sea

The magnificent sea.

The sea, a vast body of saltwater, covers 71% of our planet’s surface. Its depth varies, creating a diverse habitat for countless marine species.

Life in the Sea

The sea teems with life, from the smallest plankton to the largest whales. It’s a vibrant ecosystem, providing food and shelter to all marine life.

Importance of the Sea

The sea plays a crucial role in maintaining Earth’s climate. It absorbs heat, helping to regulate temperatures. Additionally, it generates oxygen, contributing to the air we breathe.

Threats to the Sea

Sadly, human activities like pollution and overfishing pose threats to the sea, endangering its delicate balance. We must strive to protect it.

250 Words Essay on Sea

The sea: a vast universe.

The sea, an immense expanse of saline water, covers approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface, serving as a testament to the planet’s life-sustaining capabilities. Encapsulating a world teeming with diverse life forms and ecosystems, the sea is a vital part of our planet’s biosphere.

The Sea’s Biodiversity

The sea is a cradle of biodiversity, hosting an array of organisms that range from the microscopic plankton to the colossal blue whale. Coral reefs, often referred to as the ‘rainforests of the sea’, are particularly rich in species diversity. These complex ecosystems not only provide shelter and food for numerous marine species but also play a critical role in carbon sequestration, aiding in the fight against climate change.

Sea as a Resource

The sea is a critical resource for humans, providing food, minerals, and energy. Fisheries and aquaculture are significant contributors to global food security, while offshore drilling and wind farms harness the sea’s potential as an energy source. Moreover, the sea acts as a major conduit for international trade, with countless vessels traversing its waters daily.

However, the sea faces numerous threats, primarily from human activities. Overfishing, pollution, and climate change-induced warming and acidification are causing unprecedented changes to marine ecosystems. These threats, if left unchecked, could lead to a significant loss of biodiversity and the collapse of vital ecosystem services.

In conclusion, the sea is an integral part of our planet, teeming with life and providing invaluable resources. Its preservation is not just a moral imperative but a necessity for our survival.

500 Words Essay on Sea

The sea: a deep dive into its significance, the sea as a biodiversity hotspot.

The sea is home to an estimated 230,000 known species, but the actual number may be in the millions. This biodiversity spans from microscopic phytoplankton, which contribute up to 50% of the Earth’s oxygen, to the largest animal ever to have lived, the blue whale. Coral reefs, often referred to as the ‘rainforests of the sea,’ are particularly rich in species diversity. However, the sea’s biodiversity is under threat due to human activities such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change, which can lead to habitat destruction and species extinction.

The Sea and Climate

The sea plays a crucial role in regulating the Earth’s climate. It absorbs about a quarter of the carbon dioxide humans produce, reducing the impact of greenhouse gases. The sea’s surface also absorbs the majority of the sun’s radiation, leading to the evaporation of water and the formation of clouds. This process, along with the sea’s currents, helps distribute heat around the globe, influencing weather and climate patterns.

The Sea and Human Culture

The sea and economy.

The sea is a significant contributor to the global economy. It provides a wealth of resources, including fish, shellfish, and seaweed, which are vital sources of food and income for millions of people. The sea also facilitates international trade, with about 80% of global trade by volume being carried by sea. Moreover, the sea is a major destination for tourism and recreation, contributing billions to the economy.

The Sea: A Call for Conservation

Despite its importance, the sea is facing unprecedented threats due to human activities. Overfishing is depleting fish stocks, pollution is causing harm to marine life, and climate change is leading to ocean warming and acidification. These issues underscore the urgent need for marine conservation. Through sustainable practices and international cooperation, we can help protect the sea and ensure its health for future generations.

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Short Essay on “Aquatic Life”

There is one world inside water. This world contains many animals and plants. These animals are called as aquatic animals. They have their separate lifestyle. These animals live completely different from normal living beings. They have an entirely different respiratory system. Their respiratory system has provision to breathe inside water but not on the ground or land area.

Aquatic animals take oxygen inside the water. Therefore it is said that aquatic life is very much different and opposite to a normal terrestrial life. With increasing water contamination and spilling of oils in seas and water bodies and increasing incidences of trapping activities by humans, this aquatic life is trapped in danger situations.

Aquatic life is one part of many life cycles that exist to maintain equilibrium of entire life cycle. Food chain is highly dependant on the aquatic animals . Thus aquatic life has an immense importance in this world.

Therefore, it is necessary to keep a good balance of their life. If sea water and ocean water are polluted then it affects the aquatic life. Many aquatic animals face death because of polluted water. As water is the only source of oxygen they have, if this source is polluted then for sure it will affect their life.

It needs a huge research to understand the life cycle of aquatic animals. Aquatic life is too complex. Many animals in aquatic life are not defined yet and there are many new species that are born each day. They are not discovered yet or not specified or not named yet. The vastness of aquatic life is the reason that it is to maintain a deep knowledge of aquatic life.

There are many species inside water. Each animal inside water has different respiratory system. Few animals breathe through their gills while few breathe directly through their skins. Oxygen gets dissolved in water.

Aquatic animals extract this oxygen to maintain their respiration. Normal living beings that live on earth except amphibious animals can not breathe inside water.

Similarly these aquatic animals can not breathe on ground. Amphibious animals are those who live on ground as well as inside water. They have provision to breathe both inside the water as well as on the ground.

Aquatic life is very different in all respects than normal living beings. These animals are soft and delicate. Some of these are so delicate that they can die even from a small push. Therefore it is necessary to be aware of their life.

Aquatic life is a beautiful life if think deeply. This aquatic life increases the beauty of this nature. They are an indispensable part of this nature. If aquatic life is so important then everyone must take good care of it.

Aquatic animals have added colors to this environment and this has given a wide scope to the beauty of this nature. Nature is nothing without aquatic life. If aquatic life is disturbed then the colors of this nature may get stolen.

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Essay On River

500 words essay on river.

Rivers are the backbone of human civilizations which provide freshwater that is the basic necessity for human life. We cannot live without water and rivers are the largest water bodies for freshwater. In fact, all civilizations in the past and present were born near river banks. In other words, they are veins of the earth that make life possible. Through an essay on rivers, we will take a look at their importance and how to save them.

Importance of Rivers

We refer to rivers as the arteries of any country. No living organism can live without water and rivers are the most important source of water. Almost all the early civilizations sprang up on the river banks.

It is because, from ancient times, people realized the fertility of the river valleys. Thus, they began to settle down there and cultivate the fertile valleys. Moreover, rivers originate from mountains which carry down rock, sand and soil from them.

Then they enter plains and water keeps moving slowly from the mountainsides. As a result, they deposit fertile soil. When the river overflows, this fertile soil deposits on the banks of rivers. Thus, bringing fresh fertile soil constantly to the fields.

Most importantly, rivers help in agriculture. In fact, a lot of farmers depend on rivers for agricultural purposes. Rivers have the ability to turn deserts into productive farms. Further, we can use them for constructing dams as well.

Further, rivers also are important highways. That is to say, they offer the cheapest method of transport. Before road and railways, rivers were essential means of transportation and communication.

In addition, rivers bring minerals down from hills and mountains. We construct damns across the river for generating hydel power and also preserve the wildlife. Further, they also come in use for encouraging tourism and developing fisheries.

Save Rivers

As pollution is on the rise, it has become more important than ever to save rivers. We must take different measures to do so. First of all, we must use biodegradable cleaning products and not use chemical products for body washing.

Further, we must not waste water when we shower. After that, we must install the displacement device in the back of the toilet for consuming less water. It is also essential to turn the tap off while brushing or shaving.

Moreover, one must also switch off the lights and unplug devices when not in use. This way we save electricity which in turn saves water that goes into the production of electricity. Always remember to never throw trash in the river.

Insulating your pipes will save energy and also prevent water wastage. Similarly, watering the plants early morning or late evening will prevent the loss of water because of evaporation . Finally, try to use recycled water for a carwash to save water.

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Conclusion of the Essay on River

Rivers are essential as they are nature’s blessings for human beings. It provides us with so many things but nowadays, they are being polluted on a very large scale. We must all come together to prevent this from happening and saving our rivers for a better future.

FAQ of Essay on River

Question 1: What is the importance of rivers?

Answer 1: Rivers are important as they carry water and nutrients to areas all around the earth. Further, rivers play quite an important part of the water cycle, as they act as drainage channels for surface water. Most importantly, they provide excellent habitat and food for many of the earth’s organisms.

Question 2: How can we protect our rivers?

Answer 2: We can protect our rivers by segregating our household garbage into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Moreover, volunteering with NGOs and community groups is also great option to save rivers from pollution.

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