OCEANS

30

Planet Ocean

30

60

120

150

180

150

120

90

60

30

ARCTIC OCEAN
LOCATING OCEAN
CHLOROPHYLL

CONNECTIONS

Chlorophyll concentration (a(mg/m)), 2009

>.01

0.1

The oceans are responsible for

roughly half of the plant-produced
oxygen on the planet. Tiny phytoplankton are the engines of this
production, and their blooming
is tracked through the observation of chlorophyll concentrations.
Coastlines with rich upwellings have
some of the highest concentrations,
while nutrient-decient areas are
known as "deserts." Fluctuations and
storms such as El Nio and Atlantic
hurricanes can shift these patterns,
causing some "deserts" to
occasionally bloom.

0.3
1
3
No data available

10

30 60
e
E. Gre

nla

nd

Nor

ren
Cu r

we

Curr
gian

ARCTIC

ent

rth

Dri

La

ft

Alask

t
en

aC

ur

ren

ad

or

Cu

ur

en

rr

en

Compare the shipping map on this plate with the

transportation maps on Plate 22. How do shipping
lanes connect with the world's top ports?
Transportation | Plate 22

am

Gulf S
tr

NORT H

en

AMERICA

ASIA

io

Ca

li

fo

rn

Ku

TROPIC O
F CANCER

sh

r
Cu

t
en

Cu

30
NORTH

ro

yC

rr

Cu

N. Atlantic
Drift

t
Ca

r
na

br

North Pacific Current

30

tk

aC

EUROPE

st

60 reenlan

ARCTIC
CIRCLE

ur

No

a
Atl

c
nti

E
CIRCL

Ea

60

Compare the ocean patterns on this plate with the

land climate patterns on Plate 17. How do currents
and ocean temperatures affect terrestrial climate?
Climate | Plate 17

Ka mcha

The oceans are both the great barriers of human

history and the major highways of our modern globalized worldwhile information flows
through cables and air, the physical matter of the
global economy is moved across ocean waves.
But oceans are first and foremost living things,
and they are home to environments and processes
that affect us all, no matter how far from shore.
Great surface currents circle the major ocean
basins, ferrying the heat of the tropical sun north
to warm and expand the temperate zones. Vertical currents, driven by wind, temperature, and
salinity, take surface waters down to the depths
and draw up cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the
sunlit surface. There, vast blooms of microscopic
phytoplankton convert carbon dioxide to oxygen
and form the first step in marine food webs, supplying the world with half of its fresh air and the
overwhelming majority of its seafood.
As vast as they are, the oceans too have been
transformed by human action. At the mouths of
rivers, sediment, sewage, and runoff from farms
hundreds of kilometers away wash into the sea,
smothering corals and sea-grass beds in the tropics and creating oxygen-depleted dead zones in
what once were some of the worlds most productive fisheries. Wildlife-choking plastic trash swirls
throughout the oceans, while the flotilla of fishing vessels moves ever farther offshore, pushing
fish populations to the brink of collapse.

NORTH

rr

en

CER
TROPIC OF CAN

PACIFIC

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

OCEAN
N

AFRICA

ia
ator
. Equ

l Cu

rre

nt

No r t h E q u a t o r i a l C u r r e n t
N orth Equ ator ial Curre nt

E qua tor ial Co u nte rcu rren t

EQUATOR

Equatorial Countercurrent

Equatorial
Countercurrent

EQUATOR

Equ a torial Count erc urrent

South Equatorial Current

Sou th Equatorial Curren
t

So uth Equat orial Cu rrent

SOUT H
AMERICA
INDIAN
ng
ue

Debris source:
Shoreline and recreational activities
Ocean and waterway activities

S O U T H E R N

65%

mp
ic Circu

re

ur

)C
u

bo
um
(H

O C E A N
Fa
Antarcti

c Circu
m

polar C
urren

lk

d
an

Cu

rre

nt

60
C
RCTIC
ANTA

IRCLE

ANTAR

CTIC C

IRCLE

A FIFTH OCEAN?
The Atlantic, Indian, and Pacic Oceans merge into
icy waters around Antarctica. Some dene this as an
oceancalling it the Antarctic Ocean, Austral Ocean,
or Southern Ocean. While most accept four oceans,
including the Arctic, there is no international
agreement on the name or extent of a fth ocean.

MAPPING FISHING ACTIVITY

CHARTING SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE

threatens ocean ecosystems. Crude
shing techniques often result in
unintentional bycatch, which globally
accounts for more than 40 percent of
all marine catch. Not all sh is consumed by humans, either. One-third
of marine catch is fed to livestock.

az

30

ent
olar Curr

10%

Other

Br

ldt

OCEAN

60

25%

lC

rre

nt

PACIFIC

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Antarct

nt

TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

er

nt

INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP

Debris collected, 2009

SOUTH

A U S TR A L I A
stralia Cu
East Au
rren
t

Agulhas Current

rre

RN

Cu

APRICO
TROPIC OF C

West
Au str alia Current

la

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

OCEAN

Be

SOUTH

30

Roughly one billion people depend

on sh as their main protein source,
making it a globally vital commodity. As demand for sh has risen, so
too has global shing. Unfortunately,
shing is often practiced unsustainably, and the resultant overshing

90

Average annual marine catch

20002004
Tonnes per sq km/year
10
3
.25

Sea surface temperature drives

many of the ocean's most crucial
systems. Destructive tropical storms
are generated and sustained only in
areas with high surface temperatures. As global ocean temperatures
rise, so does the threat of more

frequent and more destructive

storms. Sea surface temperatures
also dictate the number and types
of organisms that live within a given
ocean area. As ocean temperatures
shift and change, so do the types of
organisms in an area.

Ocean currents

A N TA R C TI C A

Cold Current
Warm Current

VISUALIZING SHIPPING TRAFFIC

Sea surface temperature, 2008
High

Low

Global shipping has increased

exponentially in the past half century
because of free-trade agreements
and economic growth in many parts
of the world. An average container
ship travels more than 300,000
kilometers (186,000 miles) per year,

OBSERVING GLOBAL FISHING TRENDS

and this carries a heavy environmental cost. It is estimated that shipping
may contribute up to 5 percent of the
world's carbon dioxide emissions.
Shipping also is responsible for
signicant ocean pollution. Oil spills
cause lasting damage to marine life.

Global shipping intensity

20042005
Ships tracked
High

Low

In 2000, more than 35 million people

were employed full time in the shing
industry. This number does not take
into account the millions more who
work in other industries but sh to
supplement their families' incomes
or food supplies. For millions, shing

is crucial to survival. This is true in

the Indian state of Goa (seen below).
With Goa's 105 kilometers (65 miles)
of coastline, the diet for people there
is primarily seafood, and shing is
a major part of the economy. But in
Goa, as in many parts of the world,

shing stocks have been depleted

or stressed. Large-scale commercial shing efforts worldwide
are responsible for much of this
depletion, which leaves families who
are dependent on small-scale shing
unable to harvest enough.

NORWAY

CHINA

UNITED STATES

JAPAN

INDIA
PHILIPPINES
THAILAND

Marine catch, 2004

Top 10 countries
CHINA
PERU
CHILE
UNITED STATES
INDONESIA
JAPAN
INDIA
THAILAND
NORWAY
PHILIPPINES

19
Oceans.indd 1-2

PERU

CHILE

19

INDONESIA

5/18/10 10:53:58 AM