big, blue, & beautiful

Today is devoted to the... OCEAN 🌊 As much time as I can spend talking about the different species that live in the ocean, it is just as important to bring awareness and educate you guys on the ocean itself!

Part 1: Ocean water holds the oxygen produced by photosynthetic organisms within it and the oxygen dissolved from the atmosphere, along with other gases like carbon dioxide. Animals, like the sharks or sea horses i’ve talked about, extract oxygen from the water to breath. Carbon dioxide on the other hand is also put into the water by those same animals that respire. This can change the pH of the water, making it more acidic. These rates of gas exchange and chemical reactions all influence the life that lives within the ocean!

Part 2: Water has a very high specific heat, meaning a very high temperature (100°C) must be reached to break its incredibly strong polar bonds and change its phase to a gas. Apply this to a larger scale and the ocean helps regulate temperatures globally, because it can hold a great deal of heat without changing phase or raising its temperature. Ocean currents transport warm and cold water to coastlines, from polar regions to southern regions and everywhere in between. The ocean surface provides a large area for wind to blow over and build up, influencing cloud formation and rain storms.

Part 3: Last, but certainly not least, what the ocean is most known for.

It is used to transport people, products, oil, war battlegrounds... all of these use the ocean in one way or another. In addition, the aesthetic gained from the ocean in coastal reality and development. The revenue brought in from recreational activities like boating, fishing, scuba diving, surfing. All of these things could not be possible if the ocean was not what it was and worked the way it did! It may seem so immense in size and unimaginable that we humans could ever impact it so much to change its processes, but we have and we are continuing to do so! It is a vital part of our planet that I really hope you guys are beginning care about and see its importance as much as I do!

Originally posted on 17 February 2019

(not my pictures)