5global ocean, (World Ocean)

The World Ocean,   or global ocean, is the interconnected

system of the Earth's oceanic (or marine) waters, and

comprises the bulk of the hydrosphere, covering almost 71% of

the Earth's surface, with a total volume of 1.332 billion cubic

kilometres.
The unity and continuity of the World Ocean, with relatively free

interchange among its parts, is of fundamental importance to

oceanography. It is divided into a number of principal oceanic

areas that are delimited by the continents and various

oceanographic features: these divisions are the Atlantic Ocean,

Arctic Ocean (rarely considered a sea of the Atlantic), Indian

Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean (typically reckoned

instead as just the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and

Pacific Oceans). In turn, oceanic waters are interspersed by

many smaller seas, gulfs, and bays.
A global ocean has existed in one form or another on Earth for

eons, and the notion dates back to classical antiquity (in the

form of Oceanus). The contemporary concept of the World

Ocean was coined by the Russian oceanographer Yuly

Shokalsky in the early 20th century to describe what is basically

a solitary, continuous ocean that covers and encircles most of

the Earth.
If viewed from the southern pole of Earth, the Atlantic, Indian,

and Pacific Oceans can be seen as lobes extending northward

from the Southern Ocean. Farther north, the Atlantic opens into

the Arctic Ocean, which is connected to the Pacific by the

Bering Strait, forming a continuous expanse of water.

1.The Pacific Ocean, the largest of the oceans, also reaches

northward from the Southern Ocean to the Arctic Ocean. It

spans the gap between Australia, Asia, the Americas and

Oceania. The Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic south of South

America at Cape Horn.

2.The Atlantic Ocean, the second largest, extends from the

Southern Ocean between South America, Africa, North America

and Europe, to the Arctic Ocean. The Atlantic meets the Indian

Ocean south of Africa at Cape Agulhas.

3.The Indian Ocean extends northward from the Southern Ocean

to India, between Africa and Australia. The Indian Ocean joins


4.the Pacific Ocean to the east, near Australia.

5,The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the five. It joins the Atlantic

near Greenland and Iceland and joins the Pacific at the Bering

Strait. It overlies the North Pole, touching North America in the

Western hemisphere and Scandinavia and Asia in the Eastern

hemisphere. The Arctic Ocean is partially covered in sea ice,

the extent of which varies according to the season.
The Southern Ocean is a proposed ocean surrounding

Antarctica, dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current,

generally the ocean south of sixty degrees south latitude. The

Southern Ocean is partially covered in sea ice, the extent of

which varies according to the season. The Southern Ocean is

the second smallest of the five named oceans.
The approximate shape of the World Ocean can for most

purposes be treated as constant, although in fact it is not:

continental drift continually changes its structure.