ocean: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- marine ecosystem
- air-sea interface
- atmosphereEffect of oceans on air movement
- marine ecosystemBiological productivity
- biological rhythm
- carbon sequestrationCarbon sources and carbon sinks
- conservationIn the oceans
- geochronologyEarly attempts at calculating the age of the Earth
- global warmingCarbon cycle feedbacks
- global warmingIce melt and sea level rise
- hydrosphereDistribution and quantity of Earth’s waters
- EarthThe hydrosphere
- icebergImpact on ocean structure
- Just How Many Oceans Are There?
- Ocean AcidificationHow Carbon Dioxide Is Hurting the Seas
- Ocean vs. SeaWhat’s the Difference?
- ocean warming
- inland water ecosystemThe origin of inland waters
- soundRefraction
- sea iceInteractions with the oceans, atmosphere, and climate
- AsiaTectonic framework
- community ecologyThe pyramid structure of communities
- tropical cycloneOcean basins and peak seasons
- tropical storm
- Henry Melson Stommel
- river
- Which Ocean Is DeeperThe Atlantic or the Pacific?
- Who Owns the Oceans?
- Why Is The Ocean Blue?
Additional Reading
Broad overviews of the oceans are provided by Alan P. Trujillo and Harold V. Thurman, Essentials of Oceanography, 10th ed. (2011); Keith A. Sverdrup, Alison B. Duxbury, and Alyn C. Duxbury, Fundamentals of Oceanography, 5th ed. (2006); and M. Grant Gross and Elizabeth Gross, Oceanography, a View of the Earth, 7th ed. (1996). Sylvia A. Earle, National Geographic Atlas of the Ocean: The Deep Frontier (2001), provides a graphic look at all aspects of the ocean.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Alyn C. Duxbury
-
Claudia Cenedese
Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corrected display issue. | Sep 25, 2026 | ||
| Modified link of Web site: Geosciences LibreTexts - Introduction to the Oceans. | Aug 01, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Salt Lake Community College - Physical Geography and Natural Disasters - Significance of Ocean. | Dec 22, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Unuted Nations - Climate Action - The ocean the worlds greatest ally against climate change. | Oct 09, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Oceans and human health: Emerging public health risks n the marine environment. | Aug 26, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 20, 2025 | ||
| Added ocean depth interactive. | Aug 25, 2023 | ||
| Adjusted location of media. | Jul 28, 2023 | ||
| Added an interactive feature that provides various data about Earth's oceans. | Jul 26, 2023 | ||
| Added a map that delineates Earth's oceans. | Jul 20, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Geosciences LibreTexts - Introduction to the Oceans. | Dec 16, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Canadian Encyclopedia - Ocean. | Oct 15, 2022 | ||
| Noted that the Southern Ocean includes the portion of the world ocean south of 60° S latitude. | Jul 08, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Oct 29, 2020 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Aug 16, 2018 | ||
| Updated the boundary years of geologic time intervals and added cross-references. | Oct 24, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 24, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Geographic - Ocean Facts! | Oct 03, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 19, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Ocean Facts! | Jul 05, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Ocean Motion and Surface Currents - Ocean's Vertical Structure Background. | Oct 05, 2015 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Ocean Facts. | Jun 02, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Untamed Science - Biology - Ten Ways to Save the Ocean. | Sep 12, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Dive and Discover. | May 14, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Dive and Discover. | May 14, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Ocean Facts. | Mar 16, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: How Stuff Works - Geography - The Geography of Oceans. | Nov 25, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Fact Monster - Science - Ocean. | Nov 25, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Ocean. | Nov 03, 2011 | ||
| Article thoroughly revised. | Sep 27, 2011 | ||
| Text noting that tropical cyclones can regain their strength and metric-to-English conversions added to the section concerning ocean-atmosphere impacts on weather and climate. | Sep 27, 2011 | ||
| Section describing density currents of the ocean thoroughly revised. | Sep 27, 2011 | ||
| Photo of smoke rising from buring oil during the Gulf oil spill of 2010 added. | Sep 27, 2011 | ||
| Geostrophic current equation and other metrics updated in the section, Geostropic currents. | Sep 27, 2011 | ||
| Bibliography thoroughly revised. | Sep 14, 2011 | ||
| A video describing El Nino, a map depicting the path of the Gulf Stream, and a diagram of the upwelling process in oceans added. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| A video describing plankton ecology, a map depicting the average salinity in ocean regions, a diagram showing ocean temperatures changes with latitude, and a photo of a polar bear on a patch of sea ice added. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Two maps presenting the world's ocean basins and the general boundaries between one body of water added, along with a diagram of the hypsographic curve. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Two maps depicting ocean currents and global thermohaline circulation added along with a diagram showing upwelling in the sea. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Three diagrams depicting various qualities of water waves added along with a wave video. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Four new photos added. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Window To The Universe - Earth's Ocean. | Apr 23, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: National Geographic - Environment - Ocean. | Apr 20, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science and Space - Oceans. | Apr 17, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: MBGnet - Temperate Oceans. | Sep 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Science Clarified - Ocean. | Jan 22, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Discovery Education - The Ocean. | Jan 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Earth's Ocean. | Jan 18, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 12, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Goddard Space Flight Center - SeaWiFS Project. | Nov 16, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: NASA - Ocean Surface Topography from Space. | Nov 13, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Museum of Science, Boston - Oceans Alive. | Aug 09, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Museum of Science, Boston - Oceans Alive. | Aug 09, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: PBS Online - Savage Seas. | Aug 07, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Sea and Sky - The Sea. | Jul 05, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Sea and Sky - The Sea. | Jul 05, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Oceanlink - All About the Ocean... | May 26, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Oceanlink - All About the Ocean... | May 26, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Aug 05, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | May 31, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | May 29, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 16, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Oct 05, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Aug 03, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 30, 1999 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |
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