ocean facts

02/04/2023

There's around 20 million tons of gold dispersed throughout the oceans. It is, however, diluted pretty much to a pulp—its concentration is only a few parts per trillion, according to the National Ocean Service. The ocean floor also has undissolved gold embedded in it, but it's not cost-effective to mine it. However, if the ocean's gold were equally distributed among every person on earth, we'd each receive nine pounds of it.

29/03/2023

The biggest ocean waves are not the ones that you can see from the shoreline. As physical oceanographer Kim Martini told Deep Sea News, the largest waves that occur in the ocean are called internal waves, which take place between two fluids with two different densities. As these internal waves travel—for thousands of miles, no less—they can grow to be 650 feet tall.

29/03/2023

Water at the bottom of the ocean is incredibly hot.

27/03/2023

Not to take anything away from the gorgeous Grand Canyon on Earth, but the Zhemchug Canyon, located in the Bering Sea, has a vertical relief of 8,520 feet—almost 2,500 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon.

24/03/2023

In these deepest parts of the ocean, the water temperature may only be 2º to 4º Celsius, with the exception of water coming out of hydrothermal vents in the seafloor. The water released from these vents can be up to 400º Celsius (750º Fahrenheit). It's the intense pressure at these depths—the same pressure that would crush you—that keeps the water from boiling.

21/03/2023

21/03/2023

17/03/2023

You probably know that the majority of our planet's surface is covered by bodies of water. (Specifically: It's a hair shy of 71%.) What you might not have heard, though, is that sea waves can move at hundreds of miles per hour. Or that the ocean's depths are home to millions of tons of gold. Or that scientists have more detailed, more extensive maps of Mars than they do of our own oceans. Yes, as deep as our planet's oceans are physically, they're deeper still when it comes to mystery and fascination. The following little-known facts about the ocean are sure to blow you out of the water.