Sustainability

10 Unbelievable Facts About the Ocean

Recently updated on July 4th, 2023 at 02:53 pm

The climate crisis has given us all a renewed appreciation for our planet’s oceans and the marine life that lives beneath the water’s surface, as well as ocean conservation projects led by initiatives like the TreadRight Foundation. These 10 unbelievable ocean facts illustrate just how important these initiatives are.

Blue fish swimming in the ocean

1. Our oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

With so much of the Earth’s surface taken up by ocean, it’s evident how vital these marine environments are to the planet, and how much there still is to be explored.

2. The majority of life on Earth is aquatic.

As so much of the Earth’s surface is underwater, it comes as no surprise that marine species outnumber those on land. But, it’s an incredible 94 per cent of the Earth’s living species that exist within the oceans.

Giant crashing waves

3. Less than five per cent of the planet’s oceans have been explored.

According to the Ocean Service, man has explored less than five per cent of Earth’s oceans. As researchers strive to discover more, we’re continually getting to know our oceans better.

4. The world’s longest mountain chain is underwater.

Earth’s longest chain of mountains, the Mid-Ocean Ridge, is almost entirely beneath the ocean, stretching across a distance of 65,000 kilometres. It’s said that this mountain chain is less explored than the surface of Venus or Mars.

Underwater shipwreck

5. There are more historic artefacts under the sea than in all of the world’s museums.

Around 1,000 shipwrecks lie off the Florida Keys alone, some of which are within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Other underwater museums have been created in recent years, including the Mediterranean’s submerged bronze statue, Christ of the Abyss.

You might also like – Why our oceans and beaches need us now

6. We still only know a fraction of the marine species in our oceans.

According to the World Register of Marine Species there are now 240,470 accepted species, but this is believed to be just a small proportion of the species that exist, with new marine life being discovered everyday.

An underwater canyon

7. Over 70 per cent of our planet’s oxygen is produced by the ocean.

It’s thought that between 70 and 80 per cent of the oxygen we breathe is produced by marine plants, nearly all of which are marine algae.

8. It’s possible to find rivers and lakes beneath the ocean.

When salt water and hydrogen sulfide combine, it becomes denser than the rest of the water around it, enabling it to form a lake or river that flows beneath the sea.

a sea shell on the shore of a beach

9. Around 50 per cent of the US lies beneath the ocean.

Not only does a large part of the planet exist beneath the ocean, so does the United States – around 50 per cent, in fact.

10. The Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest ocean and contains around 25,000 islands.

With 25,000 islands lying within it, the Pacific Ocean has more islands than anywhere else on the planet.

Through projects like Shark Savers and Surfrider, the TreadRight Foundation champions the importance of our planet’s oceans, which we at Trafalgar support wholeheartedly through our JoinTrafalgar initiatives.

Image credits: Cover photo © iStock / Rainer von Brandis. A shoal of fish © iStock / atese. Crashing waves © iStock / jmorkel. Christ in the Abyss statue © iStock / Dan Hartmann. An underwater cave © iStock / gremlin. The seashore © iStock / wbritten.

  • Avatar photo Ziya says:

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    1. Avatar photo Sophia says:

      This is for my project to Jack

  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

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    1. Avatar photo Chinyeaka says:

      Like seriously p3

  • Avatar photo lexi says:

    thes are great facts for reports that kids need thank you so much.

  • Avatar photo Ken says:

    That fact about the oxygen is actually not true. Algae in the ocean are responsible for about 50% of photosynthesis on Earth, which produces oxygen as a by-product. But much of that oxygen remains dissolved in the seawater, where it supports marine life, but not us air-breatheres.

    1. Avatar photo Bin says:

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  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

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    1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

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  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

    Thanks for the facts for my project

    1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      same

      1. Avatar photo Izzy says:

        OMG!!! Same!

  • “Earth’s longest chain of mountains, the Mid-Ocean Ridge, is almost entirely beneath the ocean, stretching across a distance of 65,000 kilometres.” Didn’t know about this. Thanks for letting all know about these facts.

  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

    You teached me a lot so thank you soooooo much.
    PS. To who ever is reading this I hope you have a lovely day and may god bless you xxx

  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

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    1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      You teached me a lot so thank you soooooo much.
      PS. To who ever is reading this I hope you have a lovely day and may god bless you xxx

      1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

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  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

    This helped me with a project so, Thank You.

    1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      SAMMME

  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

    This helped my project about the ocean, it was the best website I was on the whole time I did my project

    1. Photo of Ginny standing in front of a flower stool in a cobbled city market square Ginny Smith says:

      Glad we could help 🙂

      1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

        😉

      2. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

        thanks

      3. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

        Tank you so much and I love all of the facts

    2. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      It helped with my project a lot too.

    3. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      SAME

  • Avatar photo Anonymous says:

    wow that is a lot of books. what is name of your song?

  • Avatar photo Mya Bachman says:

    This helped me with my ELA paper. Thank you so much!

    1. Photo of Ginny standing in front of a flower stool in a cobbled city market square Ginny Smith says:

      Glad we could help, Mya 🙂

      1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

        hu friendd

    2. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      it also helped me to!

  • Avatar photo nancy says:

    i love the ocean so much i wrote a song about it i have over 100,000,000 books about the ocean

    1. Photo of Ginny standing in front of a flower stool in a cobbled city market square Ginny Smith says:

      Wow Nancy, that’s ALOT of books 😉 Great to hear you share out passion for the ocean and ocean conservation.

      1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

        I agree

  • Avatar photo Carl says:

    About fact 10 – In the Baltic sea, between Sweden and Finland, are more than 50.000 islands.

    1. Avatar photo Anonymous says:

      Aww

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    this really helped me with my project!

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    this helped with my science paper about the ocean

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    Thanks…this really helped with my bio paper

  • Avatar photo Rayne Harned says:

    I have loved the ocean since i was 5. I have studied since i was 7. My dream is to be a marine biologist. I want to dedicate my life to the sea and the animals. I ❤ animals.

  • Avatar photo Pieter U. says:

    And in 50 years or so the oceans of Earth will be largely fished out and toxic, plastic polluted, liquid disaster areas.
    Such a shame we will never learn our lessons and realise we share the planet with so many other earthling – the fish and the land animals. Life before profit!!

  • Avatar photo evelyn says:

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  • Avatar photo lauralea says:

    i think you should put more info on your website but its good info it helped me with my biome paper

  • Avatar photo Maya Lemmon says:

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      me to with my ecology magazine prewrite

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        yes me three it helped in my project

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