The Ocean: Kind of a Big Deal

The Ocean Makes Our Planet

Since this is blog with a focus on conservation, it may be important for me to explain what is so great about the ocean in the first place.  So everyone get comfortable.

The Ocean is Responsible For:

• Making the planet fit for life to thrive billions of years ago
• The climate of the planet
• Gasses in the atmosphere (or not)
• Providing some of humanity's major food sources
• Providing most of the rainfall of the planet

So, yes, the ocean is kind of a big deal.  But how is it possible that this body of water that some humans never have the fortune to see has such a huge impact on human life?

How does the ocean control gasses?

Much of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean.  Animals in the ocean utilize carbon dioxide to make stones such as limestone and marble when they die, drawing it out of the atmosphere.  Additionally, phytoplankton in the ocean use photosynthesis, absorbing sunlight and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and, as a result, producing the oxygen we breathe!  

How does the ocean control climate?

Lots of ways!  From the temperature of the planet to the amount of rainfall in a landlocked place, the ocean has a huge hand in climate.  First of all, the ocean absorbs most of the sunlight that hits the planet on any given sunny day.  This means that most of the heat of the planet is absorbed by the ocean rather than the atmosphere.  

Then, of course, there is rainfall.  Most people are probably familiar with the water cycle, but they may not be familiar with the fact that 97% of the water on earth is ocean.  This means that most of the rainfall on the planet, even in non-coastal areas, is from the ocean.  

What if there was no ocean?

If there was no ocean on our planet--assuming our atmosphere was still intact and as it is now--the earth's surface temperature would settle at about 153 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is because there would be nothing to absorb greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and no convection or wind to transport heat, so they would remain near the surface.  

In Conclusion:

Even if you have never seen it up close, every time it rains, you experience it a little.  You have oxygen to breathe in part because there are little organisms floating around that make their own food with photosynthesis.  A hot day in Texas is 112 degrees and not 150+ degrees.  And we should love and appreciate the ocean!