Oceans are thought to store around 97.5 percent of the total water accessible on Earth. We humans only get to see the first 100 meters or so of a body of water 11 kilometers deep. Why are the oceans so deep?
The depth of the oceans is merely an unintended consequence of the amount of water on Earth. The oceanic depth of the Mariana Trench and other oceanic trenches results from subduction, which occurs when one of two converging tectonic plates lowers into the Earth’s mantle, forming a deep depression.
The depth of the oceans is due to abyssal plains at the bottom that are 10,000 to 20,000 feet deep. Tectonic plates change the chemistry of the crust, causing lighter materials to pack together to create the continents. These plates, which account for around 35% of the surface, cause the most change.
Continue reading to learn more about the depth of the ocean.
How Deep Is The Ocean?
Ocean levels were substantially lower during the previous Ice Age than they are now. Scientists are concerned that rising global temperatures will continue in the future, and ocean levels may shift substantially over thousands of years. How deep are the oceans?
The ocean has an average depth of around 3.7 kilometers (or 2.3 miles). According to satellite data, the average depth is 3,682 metres (12,080 feet). However, because only roughly 10% of the Earth’s seabed had been mapped to high resolution at the time, this amount is simply an estimate.
The ocean’s depth is classified into 4 zones: littoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal. The hadal zone is any portion of the ocean that is deeper than 6 km. At around 11 km deep, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest location in the ocean known to date. The trench lies in the Pacific Ocean’s western hemisphere.
What Lives On The Ocean Floor?
The ocean is extremely deep; light can only travel so far below the ocean’s surface. It is hard to discover a variety of marine life in the deep sea. But scientists have discovered some of what really lives on the ocean floor.
Crustaceans, fish, and creatures with soft, jelly-like bodies, such as jellyfish, are the major species. Benthic creatures such as worms, molluscs, crustaceans, starfish, brittlestars, shrimp, fishes, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins have built countless mounds and depressions on the deep sea bottom.
A newly found deep-sea jellyfish has researchers baffled. The newly found deep-sea jellyfish species, Atolla reynoldsi, is part of the Atolla jellyfish family, according to a video broadcast by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
Conclusion
The ocean has been a key source of nourishment, transportation, trade, expansion, and inspiration throughout history. Its depth can be credited to movements in tectonic plates and the dispersion of Earth’s oceanic crust. Despite our reliance on the ocean, more than 80% of it remains unmapped, unseen, and unexplored.
