Approximately 180 million years ago, the Indian Ocean was formed due to the outcome of the cracks in the South supercontinent that had existed in the geologic past of the earth known as Gondwana. This occurred because of the very gradual movement of Indian subcontinent towards the northeast side, which resulted in the collision between Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent around 50 million years ago. These cracks were also formed due to the African movement towards the west that caused the breakup of Australia from Antarctica. This led to the enigmatic appearance of today’s Indian Ocean in 36 million years. Though the cracks were formed around 140 million years ago, yet the age of the oldest basins is calculated to be 80 million years.
The Atlantic Ocean:
The Atlantic covers almost 22 % of Earth’s surface. The Atlantic as a water body occupies a narrow, elongated and S-shaped basin. The area measures approximately 41,100,000 square miles (106,460,000 square km) and 31,830,000 square miles (82,440,000 square km) with its dependent seas such as the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, etc. and without them respectively. The average depth with its seas included reaches 10,925 feet (3,300 meters) and it achieves its maximum depth, called Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench, north of the island of Puerto Rico amounting to 27,493 feet (8,380 meters). The Atlantic has the largest drainage area to receive water, beating the Pacific Ocean. The continents on both its sides slope toward it. Resultantly, water in a significant proportion from the major rivers of the world that include the Orinoco, the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Niger, the Loire, the Congo, the Elbe, the Rhine and the great rivers draining into the Mediterranean, Black, and Baltic seas, flows into it. The North Atlantic is rich in islands, in tributary seas and the variety of the coastline in comparison to the South Atlantic. In the west, the latter engulfs the Gulfs of Mexico and St. Lawrence, the Caribbean Sea, and Baffin and Hudson Bays. In the east, it includes the Black, North, Mediterranean, and Baltic seas.
The Pacific Ocean:
Is the biggest ocean amongst the five oceans on earth. It occupies the area of more than 155.557 million square kilometers (approximately 60.06 million sq. miles). It is so vast that it stretches from the Arctic Ocean on the northern side to the Southern Ocean present in the south of the earth. It is also located between North America and Asia to Australia to South America. It occupies almost 28% of the space on the earth, which is equivalent to the area of land on the planet. As it is the biggest water body on the earth, it is accountable for around 46% of the water on the globe. The Pacific Ocean was the final ocean found by the European people. In the year 1513, Balboa, a Spanish explorer is supposed to come across the Pacific Ocean in the month of September. He is trusted to be the first European to find this massive water body. The formation of the Pacific Ocean must have taken millions of years just like other oceans on the planet. Due to its enormous size, it has an unparalleled configuration of its surface, i.e., topography. The Pacific Ocean has a huge impact on the climate of the earth. It also plays a significant role in the economy of the world till date.
The Southern Ocean:
The Antarctic Ocean is known by various names famously, the Great Southern Ocean or the South Polar Ocean and is an enormous form of water surrounding the Antarctic Continent. The Antarctic Ocean is the fourth biggest form of water of any of the world’s major oceans as per the consideration by the International Hydrographic Organization. It has been defined merely recently by the methodical community, though the name Antarctic Ocean was used in previous eras by seamen and the one intricate with the marine research. This Ocean is considered by numerous oceanographers as the youngest of all the oceans in the world, formed only 30 million ages before. This formation of the ocean took place because of the tectonic drive, precisely when South America and Antarctica enthused separately during the development of the earth in the early stages. When two of those plates stirred apart, they unlocked the Drake Passage, which permitted the beginning of the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Arctic Ocean has this water current as a characteristic feature, as it aids to retain the waters curving about the landmass of Antarctica. The waters that are wedged in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current run eastward rapidly, as the current is assessed to transfer 130 million cubic meters of water every second.
The Arctic Ocean:
The narrowest and the smallest of the oceans amongst the 5 oceans in the world, about 13,986,000 square kilometres. This is nearly the magnitude of the entire country of Russia. North American and Eurasian continents surround the Arctic Ocean. It comprises of Barents Sea, Hudson Bay, and the North Sea. For the major part of the year, this sea remains covered with thick layer of ice as thick as hundreds of feet down. The Ocean remains inaccessible even during the peak of summer season. The Ocean being in Northern Hemisphere is often referred to as the World Ocean’s northernmost part. The periodic freezing and melting of the ice concealment result in variance in surface temperature as well as the saline content by different seasons. The lower rate of evaporation, limited connectivity to other oceans as well as a heavy influx of freshwater from streams and various rivers contributes towards low salinity, which ranks lowermost among all oceans. The major nations that share their border with the Arctic Ocean are Norway, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, The United States of America and Canada. It constitutes of several water bodies like straits, tributaries, and bays.