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Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km 3 (170,000,000 cu mi). [ 1 ] Due to the effects of plate tectonics , the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km 2 (0.20 sq mi) a year.
The mean depth between 60°N and 60°S is 3,730 m (12,240 ft), or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between 4,000 and 5,000 m (13,000 and 16,000 ft). [26] In the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents. The Laurentian Abyss is found off the eastern coast of Canada.
The entire ocean, containing 97% of Earth's water, spans 70.8% of Earth's surface, [8] making it Earth's global ocean or world ocean. [ 23 ] [ 25 ] This makes Earth, along with its vibrant hydrosphere a "water world" [ 43 ] [ 44 ] or " ocean world ", [ 45 ] [ 46 ] particularly in Earth's early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly ...
The 2020 study also suggests that about 4% of the planet's mass is composed of water, suggesting it could be an ocean world estimated to have an average ocean depth of 779 ± 650 km. [ 4 ] A 2023 study measuring the planet's mass and radius with greater precision found a lower mass of about 5.6 times Earth's, and a correspondingly lower density ...
The beams update many times per second (typically 0.1–50 Hz depending on water depth), allowing faster boat speed while maintaining 100% coverage of the seafloor. Attitude sensors allow for the correction of the boat's roll and pitch on the ocean surface, and a gyrocompass provides accurate heading information to correct for vessel yaw. (Most ...
A new satellite mission called the Surface Water Ocean Topography Mission has been proposed to make the first global survey of the topography of all of Earth's surface water—the ocean, lakes and rivers. This study is aimed to provide a comprehensive view of Earth's freshwater bodies from space and more much detailed measurements of the ocean ...
Most water in Earth's atmosphere and crust comes from saline seawater, while fresh water accounts for nearly 1% of the total. The vast bulk of the water on Earth is saline or salt water, with an average salinity of 35‰ (or 3.5%, roughly equivalent to 34 grams of salts in 1 kg of seawater), though this varies slightly according to the amount of runoff received from surrounding land.
The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean, lying within oceanic trenches.The hadal zone ranges from around 6 to 11 km (3.7 to 6.8 mi; 20,000 to 36,000 ft) below sea level, and exists in long, narrow, topographic V-shaped depressions.