Questions tagged [ocean]

Questions regarding large bodies of salt water known as oceans. These bodies comprise about 70% of the Earth's surface.

209 questions
11
votes
1 answer

Deuterium-less oceans

Current fusion reactor schemes require deuterium and the plan is to extract it from the ocean where it can be found in small abundance. Does deuterium serve some purpose in the oceans? What would happen if there was none left?
cpc333
  • 211
  • 1
  • 2
8
votes
1 answer

How much garbage goes into the Pacific Ocean every year?

In this article, they mention that: More than 4.8 million metric tons [of] plastic waste gets dumped into the world’s oceans from land each year. And this number is just a conservative estimate. Researchers believe the real amount could be as high…
f.thorpe
  • 13,583
  • 2
  • 46
  • 89
6
votes
1 answer

Why are there 5 oceans?

Like many people, while in school I learned there were four Oceans on Earth - Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic. In general I think it was described that the currents and the surrounding continents are what divided them into different oceans. Now…
Raystafarian
  • 161
  • 1
  • 4
4
votes
1 answer

Current contaminant levels from Deep Water Horizon oil spill?

The Deep Water Horizon oil spill occurred in 2010 and is known as the largest marine oil spill ever. I heard on the radio the other day, from a not so reliable source, that contaminant levels have dropped in the 90% range since then due to naturally…
user11318
4
votes
1 answer

Would the oceans have boiled off if life (cyanobacteria) hadn't evolved on Earth?

The emergence of cyanobacteria caused removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, resulting in Earth becoming cooler. That perhaps implies that the Earth's oceans would have boiled off (in billions of years) if life like cyanobacteria didn't…
Daud
  • 357
  • 2
  • 8
3
votes
1 answer

Is the theory of hot spots compatible with lengthy volcanism?

The island of St Helena was volcanically active for five million years or longer. The island is located on the African plate and in that period of time would have moved at least a hundred miles or more. Surely the idea of a single hot spot cannot…
user8654
  • 171
  • 1
2
votes
0 answers

How many plant species and animal species are there in the ocean?

For a biology research project I have to look for the estimated amount of plant and animal species in the ocean. After hours of searching, I came here to ask for help. I need both of these questions answered. How many plant species are present in…
GamrCorps
  • 121
  • 3
2
votes
1 answer

Floating rock found in southern florida

I found the rock on the beach. It has a redish hue and floats on water. It feels as though it is hollow because it is light for its size. Does anyone have an idea what this is?
user13554
  • 21
  • 1
2
votes
1 answer

Do I need a permit for putting retrievable sensors in ocean (Atlantic)?

The project would be to place about a dozen sensors in "swarm" fashion and have them collect data from the Atlantic ocean. The sensors would be about the size of a softball and would be retrieved days later after data is collected. I've been looking…
The_MN_MechE
  • 163
  • 3