The difference between sea and ocean is in the territorial extension of these bodies of salt water, although the words are used interchangeably.
In this sense, the seas are smaller and can be linked to the oceans in some way. Also referred to are the open seas, which are bodies of water that may be part of the oceans.
The ocean is a vast aquatic territory, and 71% of the Earth is formed by the Ocean. Thus, the entire extent covered by water on the planet is considered the Ocean, while the ocean itself is divided into five: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic Glacier and Antarctic Glacier.
Sea
The sea is a long body of salt water. It is bigger than a lake, and it can be connected to the ocean or not. However, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has defined that the word “sea” can also refer to the ocean in its entirety.
However, assuming that the sea has a long extension, but is smaller than an ocean, it can be mentioned that the seas would be surrounded by continents or portions of Earth.
However, there is the term open seas to designate portions of salt water that are more broadly connected to the ocean, such as the Sea of Japan.
There are still the continental seas, which connect to the oceans through narrow passages, which are therefore called "straits". An example is the Bering Strait, which connects the Chukchi Sea to the Bering Sea, making a link between the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
In this view, the closed seas would be those that would be connected to the ocean indirectly, either through rivers or tributaries, but that do not actually present an opening related to the ocean.
In this sense, closed seas take the term "sea" purely for salt water. An example is the Caspian Sea in Asia.
Examples of open seas
- Caribbean Sea, connected directly to the Atlantic Ocean;
- arabian sea, which connects with the Indian Ocean;
- south china sea, which lies between China and several countries, such as the Philippines.
Examples of continental seas
- Mediterranean Sea, between the European continent, Africa and Asia;
- Red Sea, above the Horn of Africa, between Egypt, among other countries, and the Arabian Peninsula;
- Black Sea, connected to the Mediterranean, which in turn connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, between Africa and Europe.
Examples of closed seas
Caspian Sea, in Asia;
- Dead Sea, in the Middle East.
Ocean
The ocean is the portion of water that covers two-thirds of the earth's surface. It is the main component of the Earth, planet covered by water in 71% of the surface.
Unlike the seas, the ocean is deeper, averaging 3,000 meters deep. The deepest point is located in the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific, where the depth reaches more than 11 thousand meters.
For identification purposes, the Earth's ocean has been divided into five major water territories. Are they:
- Atlantic Ocean, between America and the continents of Africa and Europe;
- Indian Ocean, between the east coast of the African continent and extending to the west coast of Australia, taking its name from being the entire area below India;
- Pacific Ocean, located between Asia and Oceania and the American continent. It is the largest ocean on Earth, and from a certain point when turning a terrestrial globe it is possible to see a face of the planet entirely covered by water;
- arctic glacial ocean, which is located at the North Pole of the planet and is surrounded by several continents, having direct connections with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans;
- Antarctic Glacier Ocean, which encompasses the area around the Antarctic continent.
The latter is seen as one of the five oceans on Earth, although it is not yet officially considered an ocean. by most oceanographers and scientists, who claim that it is just an extension of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific.
However, each ocean also gains derivations of the term to determine its location. The Atlantic Ocean, for example, is divided into the North Atlantic for the portion in the northern hemisphere, and the South Atlantic for the part located below the equator. The Pacific Ocean is also divided into north and south.
Brazil has no sea, as its coast is bathed entirely by the Atlantic Ocean.
See also the difference between:
- downstream and upstream
- ecosystem and biome
