There ’s one question that ’s traverse many a head whilst having a paddle at the beach : am I in the ocean or the sea ? Saying you ’ve dip your toes in the ocean for certain sounds more telling , but is there actually a difference between the two ?
Before we plunge into it , it ’s important to have it away that the definitions of oceans and seas are n’t incisively the strictest – there ’s a lot of way for rendition , with abstraction and exceptions , particularly when it do to seas .
If we ’re get really liberal with definitions , oceans and ( most of ) the ocean are all just one vast body of water anyway , known as the World Ocean . But for a multitude of grounds , be it cultural , geographical , or scientific , that water has been carved up and categorized .
What is an ocean?
When referring tothe sea , it typically means that big ol’ soundbox of salt water covering most three - quarters of the planet ’s surface , while each of the regions that oceanographers have separate it up into can be consideredanocean ( well , so cantheocean , but a word count only allows for so much pedantry ) .
Historically , there were four officially recognized oceans – the Atlantic , Pacific , Indian , and Arctic – their boundaries primarily delineate by the continents that they surround . Then , after long time of argumentation , there arrive a 5th : theSouthern Ocean , finally recognized by the National Geographic Society in 2021 .
What make believe this sea different from the other four is that rather than the continents , it ’s defined by an invisible anchor ring : the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that encircles Antarctica .
What is a sea?
If you materialize to callthe seathe ocean , you ’re not needs wrong – sea can still be considered a part of the ocean . What typically specify them , however , is that they are much smaller than an ocean , regain where the land and sea meet , and are ordinarily at least part enfold by land .
…or are they?
We did warn you that there ’d be exceptions and when it comes to seas , theSargasso Seashows that enclosure by land is n’t incisively a strong and quick rule .
Like the Southern Ocean , the edge of the Sargasso Sea are set by current rather than domain – four currents , in fact . Found in the Frederick North of the Atlantic Ocean , it ’s enclosed by the North Atlantic Current , the Canary Current , the North Atlantic Equatorial Current , and theGulf Stream , making it the only ocean without a land boundary .
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