13/04/2022
Ocean Facts That Will Blow You Out of the Water
The biggest ocean waves are beneath its surface.
The biggest ocean waves are not the ones that you can see from the shoreline. As physical oceanographer Kim Martini told Deep Sea News, the largest waves that occur in the ocean are called internal waves, which take place between two fluids with two different densities. As these internal waves travel—for thousands of miles, no less—they can grow to be 650 feet tall.
Water at the bottom of the ocean is incredibly hot.
In these deepest parts of the ocean, the water temperature may only be 2º to 4º Celsius, with the exception of water coming out of hydrothermal vents in the seafloor. The water released from these vents can be up to 400º Celsius (750º Fahrenheit). It's the intense pressure at these depths—the same pressure that would crush you—that keeps the water from boiling.
The ocean is home to nearly 95% of all life.
With so much going on well below the surface, it's easy to forget that the oceans are teeming with life. In fact, 94% of life is aquatic, according to the USA Science & Engineering Festival. That means those of us who live on land are part of a very, very small minority.
