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| Ocean & Sea Chart |
Spectrum Chart - 568 : Ocean & Sea
1. Ocean - Oceans are large amounts of
saline water that make up most of a planet's water mass. World's
oceans cover approximately 71% of the surface of the earth. Pacific
Ocean is the largest ocean on earth and covers approximately 30% of
the surface of the earth. The deepest ocean is the Pacific ocean. The
deepest point is the Mariana Trench, being about 11,000 metres deep.
2. Lagoon - Lagoons are shallow, often
elongated bodies of water separated from a larger body of water by a
shallow or exposed shoal, coral reef or similar feature. Lagoon
refers both to coastal lagoons and the lagoons in atolls, formed by
the growth of coral reefs on slowly sinking central islands. Lagoons
are common coastal features around many parts of the world.
3. Sea – A sea is a large body of salt
water that is surrounded in whole or in part by land. More broadly,
"the sea" is the interconnected system of Earth's salty,
oceanic waters—considered as one global ocean. The sea moderates
Earth's climate and has important roles in the water cycle, carbon
cycle and nitrogen cycle.
4. Beach - A beach is a landform along the
coast of an ocean or sea. People often use beaches as a place to
swim, to work on their tan or just to relax. The most popular beaches
have fine white or light-coloured sand and warm water to swim in.
Beaches may also be popular because of the excellent opportunities
for diving, surfing or for seeing marine life.
5. Island - An island is a piece of ground
that is surrounded by a body of water such as a lake, river or sea.
Water is all around an island. There are two main types of islands:
continental islands and oceanic islands. The largest island in the
world is Greenland.
6. Coral Reef – A coral reef is a large
underwater structure made of dead and living corals. In most healthy
reefs, stony corals are predominant. They are built from colonial
polyps from the phylum Cnidaria which secrete an exoskeleton of
calcium carbonate. The reef acts as the home of many tropical fish
and other animals. Coral reefs systems are a major tourism attraction
because of their beauty and colour of the corals and their many
associated animals.
7. Sea Salt - Sea salt is salt produced
from the evaporation of seawater, rather than by being extracted from
sedimentary deposits. It is used in cooking and cosmetics. It is also
called bay salt or solar salt. Like mineral salt, production of sea
salt has been dated to prehistoric times. Some cooks believe it
tastes better than salt from mines. However, there is little or no
health benefit to using sea salt over other forms of sodium chloride
salts.
8. Oil - Oil and gas fields reside beneath
many inland waters and offshore areas around the world. Most of the
new oil fields are located in deep water and are generally referred
to as deep water systems.
9. Food (Sea Food) – Seafood is any form
of sea life regarded as food by humans. Seafood prominently includes
fish and shellfish. Some seafood is feed to aquarium fish or used to
feed domestic pets, such as cats and a small proportion is used in
medicine or is used industrially for non-food purposes (leather).
Seafood is consumed all over the world.
10. Pearl – Pearls are made of a kind of
material made by mollusks, like oysters. Pearls are small and often
white but sometimes in pale colours or even black. They are often
round, but sometimes half-round, oval or in different shapes. The
finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones
and objects of beauty for many centuries.
11. Lighthouse - A lighthouse is a tower,
building or other type of structure designed to emit light from a
system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for
maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark
dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs and safe entries to
harbours and can assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the
number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of
maintenance and use of electronic navigational systems.
12. Sea Lion - Sea lions are sea mammals
characterised by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability
to walk on all fours and short, thick hair. Together with the fur
seals, they comprise the family Otariidae. Their range extends from
the sub arctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the
Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the notable exception of the
northern Atlantic Ocean. Sea lions are also fierce fighters, just
like lions.
13. Whale - Whales are large marine mammals
which live in the ocean. Like other mammals, they breathe oxygen from
the air, have a small amount of hair and are warm blooded. Whales
have torpedo shaped bodies with non-flexible necks, limbs modified
into flippers, non-existent external ear flaps, a large tail fin and
flat heads. Whale skulls have small eye orbits, long snouts and eyes
placed on the sides of its head. Whales range in size from the 2.6
metre and 135 kg dwarf sperm whale to the 34 metre and 190 metric ton
blue whale.
14. Dugong - Dugong is a large mammal that
lives its whole life in the sea. They are sometimes called "sea
cows" as they eat large amounts of sea grass. Dugong can grow to
about 3 m (10 ft) long and weigh as much as 400 kg. They only come to
the surface to breathe and they never come up on the land. The dugong
can live for up to 70 years of age.
15. Dolphin - Dolphins are aquatic marine
mammals part of the toothed whales. Dolphins are from 1.5 to 4 metres
long. Although dolphins are widespread, most species prefer the
warmer waters of the tropic zones. Dolphins feed largely on fish and
squid. Dolphins are often regarded as one of Earth's most intelligent
animals.
16. Heron - Heron is a bird that can be
easily confused with a stork, due to similarities in appearance.
Heron prefer wetlands, swamps, coastlines and areas near rivers,
ponds and lakes. Herons have huge wingspan, usually two times bigger
than their body size. Wingspan of herons can reach 5.5 to 6.6 feet.
Herons are carnivores. They mainly eat fish, but their diet also
includes frogs, small mammals and birds, reptiles and insects.
17. Seagull - Seagull is a type of sea
bird. There are over 20 species of seagulls. Body of most seagulls is
covered with white plumage. Wingtips are usually black or dark in
colour. Some species are grey or entirely white. Seagull has strong
body, elongated legs and webbed feet. Beak is slightly hooked and
usually yellow in colour. Seagulls are one of the rare animals that
are able to drink salt water. Seagulls can survive from 10 to 15
years in the wild.
18. Gannet – Gannets are seabirds
comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae. The gannets are
large white birds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings and long
bills. Gannets only lay one blue egg. Northern gannets are the
largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up to 2
metres (6.6 ft). The other two species occur in the temperate seas
around southern Africa, southern Australia and New Zealand.
19. Cormorant – Cormorants are a family
of seabirds. There are about 40 different species of Cormorants. In
some areas, they are also known as shags. Cormorants are
medium-to-large birds, with body weight in the range of 0.35–5 kg
and wing span of 45–100 cm. The majority of species have dark
feathers. The bill is long, thin and hooked. Their feet have webbing
between all four toes. All species are fish-eaters, catching the prey
by diving from the surface. They are excellent divers, and under
water they propel themselves with their feet with help from their
wings.
20. Shark – Sharks are a superorder of
fish called the Selachimorpha. They, like other Chondrichthyes, have
skeletons made of cartilage instead of bone. Most sharks are
predators, meaning they hunt and eat fish, marine mammals and other
sea creatures. Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes, but
most are long and thin, with powerful jaws. Their teeth are
constantly replaced throughout their lives. Sharks eat so violently
they often break a few teeth.
21. Fish - Fish are vertebrates which live
in water and respire with gills. Fish are found in every ocean, lake,
river and stream in all corners of the globe, in many sizes, colours
and species. There are over 33,000 species of fish.
22. Octopus - Octopuses are invertebrates
sea creatures. There are over 200 species of octopuses and all of
them live in oceans around the world, usually near the coral reefs.
All octopuses have head, called mantle, surrounded with 8 arms,
called tentacles. All vital organs are located in their head. Their
colour and size is determined by their environment. They have 3
hearts and their blood is blue in colour. Octopuses live from few
months to few years, depending on the species.
23. Nudibranch - Nudibranchs are a
widespread and successful group of marine Gastropod molluscs. The
name means 'naked gills'. They are shelless and uncoiled Gastropods,
famous for their brilliant colours. There are more than 3000 known
species. Most nudibranchs are carnivorous.
24. Marine Iguana - Marine iguana is an
iguana found only on the Galapagos Islands. It is the only modern
lizards, to live and forage in the sea. Also unusually, it is a
vegetarian. It only eats algae. It mainly lives on the rocky
Galapagos shore to warm from the comparably cold water, but can also
be spotted in marshes and mangrove beaches.
25. Saltwater Crocodile - Saltwater
crocodile is the largest of all living reptiles, as well as the
largest terrestrial and riparian predator in the world. As its name
implies, this species of crocodile can live in marine environments,
but usually resides in saline and brackish mangrove swamps,
estuaries, deltas, lagoons and lower stretches of rivers. They have
the broadest distribution of any modern crocodile, ranging from the
eastern coast of India, throughout most of Southeast Asia and
northern Australia.
26. Sea Snake - Sea snakes are group of
snakes adapted to the life in salty and brackish water. These snakes
can be found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. There are around 60
species of sea snakes that differ in size, colour, type of diet and
habitat. Size of sea snake depends on the species. They are usually
3.9 to 4.9 ft long. Largest sea snake can reach 9.8 ft in length. Sea
snakes are carnivores. Their diet mainly consists of different types
of fish, crustaceans, mollusks and eggs of various sea creatures.
27. Sea Turtle - Sea turtles are group of
reptiles that can be found in all oceans of the world except in the
polar area. Out of 7 known species of sea turtles, 6 are critically
endangered. Sea turtles are very old organisms. They live on the
Earth more than 220 million years. They managed to survive weather
changes which killed the dinosaurs. Their body is protected with
upper shell called carapace. Sea turtles spend most of their life in
the ocean.
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