The largest and oldest of all oceans. Its area is 178.6 million km2. It can freely accommodate all the continents and combined, which is why it is sometimes called the Great. The name "Quiet" is associated with the name of F., who made a round-the-world trip and sailed across the Pacific Ocean under favorable conditions.
This ocean is really great: it occupies 1/3 of the surface of the entire planet and almost 1/2 of the area. The ocean has an oval shape, especially it is wide.
The peoples inhabiting the Pacific shores and islands have long sailed the ocean and mastered its riches. Information about the ocean was accumulated as a result of the voyages of F. Magellan, J.. The beginning of its wide study was laid in the 19th century by the first round-the-world Russian expedition of I.F. . At present, a special department has been set up for the study of the Pacific Ocean. In recent years, new data on its nature have been obtained, the depth has been determined, currents, the topography of the bottom, and the ocean are being studied.
The southern part of the ocean from the shores of the Tuamotu Islands to the shores is an area of calm, and stable. It is for this calmness and silence that Magellan and his companions called the Pacific Ocean. But west of the Tuamotu Islands, the picture changes dramatically. Calm weather is rare here, usually stormy winds blow, often turning into. These are the so-called southern squalls, especially fierce in December. Tropical cyclones are less frequent but more severe. They arrive in early autumn from , at the northern tip they turn into warm westerly winds.
The tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean are clean, transparent and have an average salinity. Their deep dark blue color amazed observers. But sometimes the waters here turn green. This is due to the development of marine life. In the equatorial part of the ocean, favorable weather conditions. The temperature above the sea is around 25°C and almost does not change throughout the year. Moderate winds blow here. At times there is complete silence. The sky is clear, the nights are very dark. The equilibrium is especially stable in the zone of islands. In the belt of calm, strong, but short-lived showers are frequent, mostly in the afternoon. Hurricanes are extremely rare here.
The warm waters of the ocean contribute to the work of corals, of which there are many. The Great Reef stretches along the eastern coast of Australia. This is the largest "ridge" created by organisms.
The western part of the ocean is under the influence of monsoons with their sudden vagaries. Terrible hurricanes arise here and. They are especially fierce in the northern hemisphere between 5 and 30 °. Typhoons are frequent from July to October, in August there are up to four in a month. They originate in the area of the Caroline and Mariana Islands and then "make raids" on the coast, and. Since in the west of the tropical part of the ocean it is hot and rainy, the islands of Fiji, New Hebrides, New are not without reason considered one of the most unhealthy places on the globe.
The northern regions of the ocean are similar to the southern ones, only as if in a mirror image: the circular rotation of the waters, but if in the southern part it is against, then in the northern part it is clockwise; unsettled weather in the west where typhoons move north; cross currents: Northern Equatorial and Southern Equatorial; there is little floating ice in the north of the ocean, since the Bering Strait is very narrow and protects the Pacific Ocean from the influence of the Arctic Ocean. This distinguishes the north of the ocean from its south.
The Pacific Ocean is the deepest. Its average depth is 3980 meters, and the maximum reaches 11022 m. The coast of the ocean is located in the seismic zone, as it is the boundary and the place of interaction with other lithospheric plates. This interaction is accompanied by ground and underwater and.
Bottom relief: East Pacific Rise, Northeast, Northwest, Central, East, South and other basins, deep-sea trenches: Aleutian, Kurile-, Mariana, Philippine, Peruvian and others.
Inhabitants: a large number of unicellular and multicellular microorganisms; fish (pollock, herring, salmon, cod, sea bass, beluga, chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, cinnamon and many others); seals, seals; crabs, shrimps, oysters, squids, octopuses.
: 30-36.5‰.
Currents: warm -, North Pacific, Alaska, South Tradewind, East Australian; cold - California, Kuril, Peruvian, for the Western winds.
Additional Information: The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world; for the first time he crossed it in 1519, the ocean was called "Pacific", because in all three months of travel they did not fall into a single storm; The Pacific Ocean is usually divided into northern and southern regions, the border of which runs along the equator line.
Pacific Ocean- the largest ocean on Earth. The area with the seas is 178.7 million km², the volume is 710 million km³, the average depth is 3980 m, the maximum is 11022 m (the Mariana Trench). The Pacific Ocean occupies half of the entire water surface of the Earth, and more than thirty percent of the planet's surface area.
The World Ocean embraces the Earth with inseparable waters and is, by its nature, a single element that acquires different properties with a change in latitude. Off the coast of Greenland and Antarctica, in the roaring winds of the forties all year round storms are raging. In the tropics, the sun bakes mercilessly, the trade winds blow, and only sometimes destructive hurricanes rush through. But after all, the vast World Ocean is also divided by continents into separate oceans, each of which has its own special natural features.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest, deepest and oldest of the oceans. Its main features are great depths, frequent movements of the earth's crust, many volcanoes at the bottom, a huge supply of heat in its waters, and an exceptional diversity of the organic world.
The Pacific Ocean, also called the Great Ocean, occupies 1/3 of the surface of the planet and almost 1/2 of the area of the World Ocean. It is located on both sides of the equator and the 1800 meridian. This ocean separates and simultaneously connects the coasts of five continents. The Pacific Ocean is especially wide near the equator, so it is the warmest on the surface.
In the east of the ocean, the coastline is poorly dissected; several peninsulas and bays stand out. In the west, the banks are heavily indented. There are many seas here. Among them there are shelf ones, located on the continental shelf, with depths of no more than 100 m. Some seas lie in the zone of interaction of lithospheric plates. They are deep and separated from the ocean by island arcs.
Many peoples inhabiting the Pacific shores and islands from ancient times made voyages on the ocean, mastered its riches. The beginning of the penetration of Europeans into the Pacific Ocean coincided with the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. The ships of F. Magellan for several months of navigation crossed a huge body of water from east to west. All this time, the sea was surprisingly calm, which gave Magellan reason to call it the Pacific Ocean.
Much information about the nature of the ocean was obtained during the voyages of J. Cook. A great contribution to the study of the ocean and islands in it was made by Russian expeditions led by I. F. Kruzenshtern, M. P. Lazarev, V. M. Golovnin, Yu. F. Lisyansky. In the same 19th century complex studies were carried out by S. O. Makarov on the ship "Vityaz". Regular scientific voyages since 1949 were made by Soviet expeditionary ships. A special international organization is engaged in the study of the Pacific Ocean.
The relief of the ocean floor is complex. The continental shelf (shelf) is well developed only off the coast of Asia and Australia. Continental slopes are steep, often stepped. Large uplifts and ridges divide the ocean floor into basins. Near America is the East Pacific Rise, which is part of the system of mid-ocean ridges. At the bottom of the ocean there are more than 10 thousand individual seamounts, mostly of volcanic origin.
The lithospheric plate, on which the Pacific Ocean lies, interacts with other plates at its boundaries. The edges of the Pacific Plate plunge into a tight space of trenches that encircle the ocean. These movements give rise to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Here lies the famous "Ring of Fire" of the planet and the deepest trench - the Mariana Trench (11022 m).
The climate of the ocean is varied. The Pacific Ocean is located in all climatic zones, except for the northern polar one. Above its vast expanses, the air is saturated with moisture. Up to 2000 mm of precipitation falls in the equator region. The Pacific is protected from the cold Arctic Ocean by land and underwater ridges, so its northern part is warmer than the southern.
The Pacific Ocean is the most restless and formidable among the oceans of the planet. Trade winds blow in its central parts. In the western - monsoons are developed. In winter, a cold and dry monsoon comes from the mainland, which has a significant
impact on ocean climate; some of the seas are covered with ice. Often, devastating tropical hurricanes sweep over the western part of the ocean - typhoons "typhoon" means "strong wind"). In temperate latitudes, storms rage throughout the cold half of the year. Westerly transport of air prevails here. The highest waves up to 30 m high were noted in the north and south of the Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes raise entire water mountains in it.
The properties of water masses are determined by the characteristics of the climate. Due to the large extent of the ocean from north to south, the average annual water temperature on the surface varies from -1 to +29 °C. In general, precipitation in the ocean prevails over evaporation, so salinity surface water it is somewhat lower than in other oceans.
Currents in the Pacific Ocean are consistent with general scheme them in the oceans, which you already know. Since the Pacific Ocean is strongly elongated from west to east, it is dominated by latitudinal water flows. Both in the northern and southern parts of the ocean, ring-shaped movements of surface waters are formed.
The organic world of the Pacific Ocean is distinguished by an extraordinary richness and diversity of plant and animal species. Half of the total mass of living organisms of the oceans lives in it. This feature of the ocean is explained by its size, variety of natural conditions and age. Life is especially rich in tropical and equatorial latitudes near coral reefs. There are a lot of salmon fish in the northern "part of the ocean. Huge accumulations of fish form in the southeast of the ocean near the coast of South America. The water masses here are very fertile, they develop a lot of plant and animal plankton, which feed on anchovies (herring-like fish up to 16 cm long), horse mackerel, butterfish, mackerel, etc. Birds eat a lot of fish here: cormorants, pelicans, penguins.
Whales, fur seals, sea beavers live in the ocean (these pinnipeds live only in the Pacific Ocean). There are also many invertebrates - corals, sea urchins, shellfish (octopus, squid). The largest mollusk lives here - tridacna, weighing up to 250 kg.
Each of the belts of the Pacific Ocean has its own characteristics. The northern subpolar belt occupies a small part of the Bering and Okhotsk seas. The temperature of the water masses here is low (up to -1 °C). In these seas, there is an active mixing of waters, and therefore they are rich in fish (pollock, flounder, herring). There are a lot of salmon fish and crabs in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Vast territories cover the northern temperate zone. It is strongly influenced by westerly winds, storms are frequent here. In the west of this belt lies the Sea of Japan - one of the richest in diverse species of organisms.
In the equatorial belt at the boundaries of currents, where the rise of deep waters to the surface increases and their biological productivity increases, many fish live (sharks, tuna, sailboats, etc.).
In the southern tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Australia, there is a unique natural complex of the Great Barrier Reef. This is the largest "mountain range" on Earth created by living organisms. It is comparable in size to the Ural Range. Under the protection of islands and reefs in warm waters, coral colonies develop in the form of bushes and trees, columns, castles, bouquets of flowers, mushrooms; corals are light green, yellow, red, blue, purple. Many mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans, and various fish live here.
More than 50 coastal countries are located on the shores and islands of the Pacific Ocean, in which approximately half of humanity lives.
The use of the natural resources of the ocean began in antiquity. Several centers of navigation arose here - in China, in Oceania, in South America, on the Aleutian Islands.
The Pacific Ocean plays an important role in the life of many nations. Half of the world's fish catch comes from this ocean. In addition to fish, various shellfish, crabs, shrimp, and krill make up part of the catch. In Japan, algae and mollusks are grown on the seabed. In some countries, salt and other chemicals are extracted from sea water and desalinated. Metal placers are being developed on the shelf. Oil is being produced off the coast of California and Australia. Ferromanganese ores have been found at the bottom of the ocean.
Important transport routes pass through the greatest ocean of our planet, the length of these routes is very large. Navigation is well developed, mainly along the coasts of the mainland.
Human economic activity in the Pacific Ocean has led to the pollution of its waters, to the depletion of certain types of biological resources. So, by the end of the XVIII century. mammals were exterminated - sea cows (a type of pinnipeds), discovered by one of the participants in the expedition of V. Bering. On the verge of extinction at the beginning of the twentieth century. there were seals, the number of whales decreased. Currently, their fishery is limited. A great danger in the ocean is water pollution by oil, some heavy metals and waste from the nuclear industry. Harmful substances carried by currents throughout the ocean. Even off the coast of Antarctica, these substances have been found in the composition of marine organisms.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and oldest of all oceans. Its area is 178.6 million km2. It can freely accommodate all the continents and islands combined, which is why it is sometimes called the Great. The name "Pacific" is associated with the name of F. Magellan, who made a round-the-world trip and sailed across the Pacific Ocean under favorable weather conditions. This ocean is really great: it occupies 1/3 of the surface of the entire planet and almost 1/2 of the area of the World Ocean. The ocean has an oval shape, it is especially wide at the equator. The peoples inhabiting the Pacific shores and islands have long sailed the ocean and mastered its riches. Information about the ocean was accumulated as a result of the voyages of F. Magellan, J. Cook. The beginning of its wide study was laid in the 19th century by the first round-the-world Russian expedition of I.F. Kruzenshtern. A special international organization for the study of the Pacific Ocean has now been established. In recent years, new data on its nature have been obtained, the depth has been determined, the currents, the bottom topography, and the biological resources of the ocean are being studied. The southern part of the ocean from the shores of the Tuamotu Islands to the shores of South America is an area of calm, light winds and a stable atmosphere. It is for this calmness and silence that Magellan and his companions called the Pacific Ocean. But west of the Tuamotu Islands, the picture changes dramatically. Calm weather is rare here, usually stormy winds blow, often turning into hurricanes. These are the so-called southern squalls of Australia, especially ferocious in December. Tropical cyclones are less frequent but more severe. They arrive in early autumn from the Coral Sea, at the northern tip of New Zealand they move into warm westerly winds.
The tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean are clean, transparent and have an average salinity. Their deep dark blue color amazed observers. But sometimes the waters here turn green. This is due to the development of marine life. In the equatorial part of the ocean, favorable weather conditions. The temperature above the sea is around 25°C and almost does not change throughout the year. Moderate winds blow here. At times there is complete silence. The sky is clear, the nights are very dark. The equilibrium is especially stable in the zone of the islands of Polynesia. In the belt of calm, strong, but short-lived showers are frequent, mostly in the afternoon. Hurricanes are extremely rare here.
The warm waters of the ocean contribute to the work of corals, of which there are many. The Great Reef stretches along the eastern coast of Australia. This is the largest "ridge" created by organisms. The western part of the ocean is under the influence of monsoons with their sudden vagaries. There are terrible hurricanes and typhoons. Especially 
they are fierce in the northern hemisphere between 5 and 30 ° north latitude. Typhoons are frequent from July to October, in August there are up to four in a month. They originate in the area of the Caroline and Mariana Islands and then "make raids" on the shores of the Philippines, Japan and China. Since the climate in the west of the tropical ocean is hot and rainy, the islands of Fiji, New Hebrides, New Guinea are not without reason considered one of the most unhealthy places on the globe. The northern regions of the ocean are similar to the southern ones, only as if in a mirror image: the circular rotation of the waters, but if in the southern part it is counterclockwise, then in the northern part it is clockwise; unstable weather in the west, where typhoons set north of the Kuril Islands; cross currents: Northern Equatorial and Southern Equatorial; there is little floating ice in the north of the ocean, since the Bering Strait is very narrow and protects the Pacific Ocean from the influence of the Arctic Ocean. This distinguishes the north of the ocean from its south.
The Pacific Ocean is the deepest. Its average depth is 3980 meters, and the maximum reaches 11022 m in the Mariana Trench. The coast of the ocean is located in the seismic zone, as it is the boundary of the lithospheric plate and the place of interaction with other lithospheric plates. This interaction is accompanied by terrestrial and underwater earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A characteristic feature of the relief of the ocean floor is the confinement of the greatest depths to its outskirts. Deep-sea trenches stretch in the form of long narrow trenches in the western and eastern parts of the ocean. Large uplifts divide the ocean floor into basins. In the east of the ocean, the East Pacific Rise is located, which is part of the system of mid-ocean ridges. Currently, the Pacific Ocean plays an important role in the life of many countries. Half of the world's fish catch falls on this area, a significant part of it is made up of various mollusks, crabs, shrimp, krill. In some countries, mollusks and various algae are grown on the seabed and used as food. Metal placers are being developed on the shelf, oil is being produced off the coast of the California Peninsula. Some countries are desalination sea water and use it. Important sea routes pass through the Pacific Ocean, the length of these routes is very large. Navigation is well developed, mainly along the coast of the mainland. Human economic activity has led to the pollution of ocean waters and to the extermination of some species of animals. So, in the 18th century, sea cows discovered by one of the participants in the expedition of V. Bering were exterminated. On the verge of extermination are seals, whales. Currently, their fishery is limited. A great danger to the ocean is water pollution by oil and industrial waste. Location: bounded by the east coast of Eurasia and Australia, the west coast of North and South America, the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Southern Ocean in the south. Area: 178.7 million km2 Average depth: 4,282 m Maximum depth: 11,022 m (Marian Trench). Bottom relief: East Pacific Rise, Northeast, Northwest, Central, East, South and other basins, deep-sea trenches: Aleutian, Kuril-Kamchatsky, Mariana, Philippine, Peruvian and others.
Inhabitants: a large number of unicellular and multicellular microorganisms; fish (pollock, herring, salmon, cod, sea bass, beluga, chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, cinnamon and many others); seals, seals; crabs, shrimps, oysters, squids, octopuses. Salinity: 30-36.5‰. Currents: warm - Kuroshio, North Pacific, Alaska, South Trade Wind, East Australian; cold - California, Kuril, Peruvian, for the Western winds. Additional information: The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world; for the first time it was crossed by Ferdinand Magellan in 1519, the ocean was called "Pacific", because for all three months of the journey Magellan's ships did not fall into a single storm; The Pacific Ocean is usually divided into northern and southern regions, the border of which runs along the equator line.
) is the largest ocean basin in the world. It is bounded in the west by the shores of Eurasia and Australia, in the east by North and South America, in the south by Antarctica. Sea borders with the Arctic Ocean pass through the Bering Strait between the Chukotka and Seward peninsulas, with the Indian Ocean - along the northern edge of the Strait of Malacca, the western coast of the island of Sumatra, the southern coast of the islands of Java, Timor and New Guinea through the Torres and Bass Straits, along the eastern coast of Tasmania and further along the ridge of underwater rises to Antarctica, with the Atlantic Ocean - from the Antarctic Peninsula (Antarctica) along the rapids between the South Shetland Islands to Tierra del Fuego.
The area of the Pacific Ocean with the seas is about 180 million km 2 (1/3 of the surface of the globe and 1/2 of the World Ocean), the volume of water is 710 million km 3. The Pacific Ocean is the deepest basin of the World Ocean, the average depth is 3980 m, the maximum in the region of the trenches is 11,022 m (Marian Trench). Includes marginal seas in the north and west: Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese, Yellow, East and South China, Philippine, Sulu, Sulawesi, Moluccas, Seram, Banda, Flores, Bali, Javanese, Savu, New Guinea, Coral, Fiji, Tasmanovo ; in the south - Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen. The largest bays are Alaska, California, Panama. A characteristic feature of the Pacific Ocean is the numerous islands (especially in the central and southwestern parts of Oceania), in terms of the number (about 10,000) and area (3.6 million km2) of which this ocean ranks first among the basins of the World Ocean.
Historical outline
The first scientific information about the Pacific Ocean was obtained at the beginning of the 16th century by the Spanish conquistador V. Nunez de Balboa. In 1520-21 F. Magellan crossed the ocean for the first time from the strait named after him to the Philippine Islands. During the XVI-XVIII centuries. the ocean has been studied in numerous voyages by naturalists. A significant contribution to the study of the Pacific Ocean was made by Russian sailors: S.I. Dezhnev, V.V. Atlasov, V. Bering, A.I. Chirikov and others. Systematic studies are carried out with early XIX v. (geographic expeditions of I.F. Kruzenshtern, Yu.F. Lisyansky on the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva", O.E. Kotzebue on the "Rurik" and then the "Enterprise", F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev on "Mirny"). A major event in the history of ocean exploration was Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle (1831-36). The first actual oceanographic expedition was a round-the-world voyage on the English ship Challenger (1872-76), in which extensive information was obtained on the physical, chemical, biological and geological features of the Pacific Ocean. The greatest contribution to the study of the Pacific Ocean at the end of the 19th century was made by scientific expeditions on ships: "Vityaz" (1886-89, 1894-96) - Russia, "Albatross" (1888-1905) - USA; in the XX century: on the ships "Carnegie" (1928-29) - USA, "Snellius" (1929-30) - the Netherlands, "Discovery II" (1930) - Great Britain, "Galatea" (1950-52) - Denmark and "Vityaz" (since 1949 it has made over 40 flights) - USSR. A new stage in the exploration of the Pacific Ocean began in 1968, when deep-sea drilling was started from the American vessel Glomar Challenger.
Relief and geological structure
Within the Pacific Ocean, a wide (up to several hundred kilometers) shelf is developed in the marginal seas and along the coast of Antarctica.
Off the coast of North and South America, the shelf is very narrow - up to several kilometers. The depth of the shelf is mainly 100-200 m, off the coast of Antarctica up to 500 m. To the north-west of Cedros Island there is a peculiar area of the underwater margin of North America (California borderland), represented by a system of underwater ridges and basins formed as a result of attachment to the mainland of alien blocks (zone of accretionary tectonics) and rearrangement of plate boundaries during the collision of North America with the spreading axis of the East Pacific Rise. The continental slope from the edge of the shelf descends steeply to the pelagic depths, the average steepness of the slope is 3-7°, the maximum is 20-30°. The active margins of the continents frame the ocean from the north, west and east, forming specific transitional zones of subduction of lithospheric plates. In the north and west, the transition zones are a combination of marginal seas, island arcs, and deep sea trenches. Most of the marginal seas were formed as a result of spreading that developed between island arcs and adjacent continental masses (back-arc spreading). In some cases, spreading zones passed along the edge of continental masses, and their fragments were pushed aside and separated from the continents by marginal seas (New Zealand, Japan). Island arcs framing the seas are ridges of volcanoes, limited from the ocean by deep-sea trenches - narrow (tens of kilometers) deep (from 5-6 to 11 km.) And extended depressions. On the eastern side, the ocean is framed by the active margin of the continent, where the oceanic plate is directly subducted under the continent. Subduction-related volcanism develops directly on the continental margin.
Within the ocean floor, a system of active mid-ocean ridges (rift systems) is distinguished, located asymmetrically with respect to the surrounding continents (see map). The main ridge consists of several links: in the north - Explorer, Juan de Fuca, Gorda, south of 30 ° north latitude - the East Pacific Rise. The Galapagos and Chilean rift systems are also distinguished, which, approaching the main ridge, form specific areas of the triple junction. The rate of expansion of the ridges mainly exceeds 5 cm/year, sometimes up to 16-18 cm/year. The width of the axial part of the ridge is several kilometers (extrusive zone), the average depth is 2500-3000 m. At a distance of about 2 km. from the axis of the ridge, the bottom is broken by a system of normal faults and grabens (tectonic zone). At a distance of 10-12 km. tectonic activity practically stops, the slope of the ridge gradually passes into the adjacent deep-water basins of the bed. The depth of the oceanic basalt bed increases with distance from the ridge axis to the subduction zones, simultaneously with an increase in the age of the oceanic crust. For areas of the ocean floor with a maximum age of the bed of about 150 million years, a depth of about 6000 m is typical. , Melanesian, Southern, Bellingshausen, Guatemalan, Peruvian and Chilean, etc.). The relief of the bottom of the basins is predominantly wavy. About 85% of the area is occupied by very gently sloping hills up to 500 m. Tubuai, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Galapagos, etc.) - the volcanic rocks that compose them are younger than the rocks of the ocean floor.
The section of the oceanic crust is represented (from bottom to top) by a cumulative complex of dunites and locally serpentinized pyroxenites, a homogeneous or stratified gabbro sequence, a basalt layer (about 2 km thick), consisting of a dike complex (vertically standing parallel dikes) and submarine lavas, overlying the basalt layer sediment cover. With distance from the ridge, the age of the ocean floor and the thickness of sedimentary deposits increase. In the open ocean, the thickness of precipitation is 100-150 m and increases in the north and west, in the equatorial zone the thickness of precipitation is up to 500-600 m. which are traps of sedimentary material supplied from land.
Along the continents, mainly terrigenous sediments are developed (glacial and coastal in high latitudes, fluviogenic in temperate latitudes, eolian in arid latitudes). In the ocean pelagial at a depth of less than 4000 m, carbonate foraminiferal and coccolithic silts are almost universally developed, in temperate zones - siliceous diatomaceous oozes. Deeper, within the equatorial highly productive zone, they are replaced by siliceous radiolarian and diatom sediments, and in tropical low-productive zones - by red deep-sea clays. Along the active margins, the sediments contain a significant admixture of volcanic material. The sediments of the mid-ocean ridges and their slopes are enriched in oxides and hydroxides of iron and manganese carried into the bottom waters by high-temperature ore-bearing solutions.
Mineral resources
Oil and gas deposits have been discovered in the bowels of the Pacific Ocean, and placers of heavy minerals and other minerals have been found at the bottom. The main oil and gas bearing areas are concentrated on the periphery of the ocean. Oil and gas fields have been discovered in the Tasman Basin - Barracuta (over 42 billion m 3 of gas), Marlin (more than 43 billion m 3 of gas, 74 million tons of oil), Kingfish, near the island of New Zealand, the Kapuni gas field has been explored (15 billion m 3). The Indonesian seas, areas near the coast of South Alaska and the western shores of North America are also promising for oil and gas. Of the solid minerals, alluvial deposits of magnetite sands (Japan, the western coast of North America), cassiterite (Indonesia, Malaysia), and gold and platinum (the coast of Alaska, etc.) have been discovered and are being partially developed. In the open ocean, large accumulations of deep-sea iron-manganese nodules have been found, also containing a significant amount of nickel and copper (the Clarion-Clipperton fault). On many seamounts and slopes of oceanic islands, iron-manganese crusts and nodules enriched in cobalt and platinum have been found. Large deposits of sulfide ores containing zinc, copper, lead, and rare metals have been discovered within the mid-ocean rifts and in the area of back-arc spreading (in the western part of the Pacific Ocean) (East Pacific Rise, Galapagos Rift). Phosphorite deposits are known on the shelves - California and the island of New Zealand. In many shallow areas of the shelf, deposits of non-metallic minerals have been identified and are being exploited.
Mineralogical finds
(! - remarkable in some way; !! - outstanding; * new mineral (year of publication) ; (PM\TL) - original location of the mineral \ type locality; xls - crystals) Mineralogical finds around the Pacific Ocean (examples). II. From Alaska to Antarctica - http://geo.web.ru/druza/a-Ev_33_32_E.htm
Mineralogical finds around the Pacific Ocean (examples). I. From Chukotka to Antarctica - http://geo.web.ru/druza/a-Ev_33_32.htm
Locations of minerals
- Viti Levu island, Fiji \\ sylvanite - crystals up to 1 cm (Korbel, 2004, 41)
- East Pacific Rise \\ wurtzite; graphite; * kaminite \ caminite (PM \ TL) (1983; 1986); sulfides are massive!
Pacific Ocean – the largest of the Earth's oceans. Its area is about 180 million km 2, which is approximately 1/3 of the planet's surface and exceeds the total area of all continents. For its enormous size, the ocean is sometimes called Great.
The Pacific Ocean is located in all four hemispheres of the earth and washes all continents except Africa. The western and eastern shores of the ocean differ significantly in the nature of the coastline. The eastern coasts are mountainous, slightly indented, while the western coasts, on the contrary, are flatter and more dissected, with a large number of seas. The shelf zone in the ocean occupies a small area.
The Pacific Ocean is considered the most ancient in time of occurrence. Some scholars attribute the origin of its basin to the fall of a large cosmic body to Earth and the separation of part of the planet. At the place of separation, according to the hypothesis of these scientists, a depression of the ocean arose, and the Earth's satellite, the Moon, subsequently formed from the torn off terrestrial material. At the base of the ocean is the Pacific lithospheric plate. This is the only one of the lithospheric plates, in which the mainland crust is practically absent. The mid-ocean ridges within the plate are not very distinct. They are wide and are called uplifts. The largest of them is East Pacific.
The margins of the oceanic plate interact with the continental plates. This leads to the formation deep sea trenches and island arcs. Located in the Pacific Ocean the deepest of the ocean trenches – Mariana (depth 11,022 m) and the longest– Aleutian(length 3750 km). The interactions of lithospheric plates cause earthquakes and volcanism. On the outskirts of the ocean stretched pacific ring of fire where most of the active volcanoes of the Earth are concentrated. As a result of earthquakes, tsunamis are formed.
The Pacific Ocean is the deepest: the predominant depths are 4000 m
In count total area The Pacific Ocean is the leader. All types of islands are present here: mainland (Sakhalin, Taiwan, all the large islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Zealand), volcanic (Kuril, Hawaiian, Aleutian), coral (Marquesas, Marshall, Tuamotu). The total number of islands in the ocean exceeds 10 thousand.
The Pacific Ocean is located in all climatic zones except the Arctic. The widest part of the ocean is located in the equatorial, subequatorial and tropical zones. As a result, the ocean warmest in terms of water surface temperature(the average annual water temperature in the equator is +25-29°C). Precipitation as a whole predominates over evaporation, and the average salinity of the waters is somewhat lower than in the Atlantic. In winter, ice forms in the northwestern seas - Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese(influence of the laid out mainland) and off the coast of Antarctica.
Under the influence of the winds of the general circulation of the atmosphere of both hemispheres (trade winds, westerly transport), a system of surface currents is formed in the ocean, forming huge rings: anticyclone ring- in the subtropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, cyclonic ring in temperate latitudes. In the Southern Hemisphere, only one ring is expressed - anticyclonic. The Pacific Ocean is also rich in currents: in subtropical latitudes, cold currents (Peruvian, Californian) wash the western coasts of the continents, and warm (Kuroshio, East Australian)- east coasts in temperate latitudes off the western coast of North America, a warm Alaska Current, and the east of Eurasia is washed by cold Kuril current.
The Pacific Ocean is characterized by species diversity of the organic world. Only there are more animals here 100 thousand species, of which fish - about 3 thousand. Some species of fish are of commercial importance (salmon, chum salmon, herring, anchovy). The ocean falls more than half of the world's fish catches. In limited sizes, fishing for sea animals is carried out - seals, walruses, seals.
In addition to the commercial ocean, it also has great transport value. The main transport routes run along the coasts of the continents. On the shores of the ocean there are a number of the world's largest ports - Tokyo, Yokohama, Shanghai, Singapore, Vancouver, Los Angeles.
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