Some ocean facts

Well, I still haven't received my tank yet, but I have been reading, reading and then some more reading about saltwater reef systems. Online I've frequented nano-reef.com, reefcentral.com, reefbuilders.com just to name a few. It's truly amazing to see the myriad of successful and beautiful reef systems that people have put together. Their working reefs further confirm that the oceans are an intricate and diverse wellspring of life.

I thought for the time being, that I'd list a few ocean facts that might not readily be known to help create a better awareness of the watery mass that makes up 71% of this planet.

Fact: An estimated 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans. 85% of the area and 90% of the volume constitute the dark, cold environment we call the deep sea. The average depth of the ocean is 3,795 m. The average height of the land is 840 m. (http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Facts/)

Fact: The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is 53 feet 6 inches, the equivalent of a three-story building. (http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov)

Fact: Even if you live nowhere near the ocean, you will still experience the ocean's influence in our Earth system. Most of the rain that falls on land comes from the tropical ocean. The ocean is the primary driver of weather and climate and can give us clues to global phenomenon such as El Niño. The phytoplankton (microscopic plants) that live in the ocean are responsible for almost half the oxygen you inhale and play a vital role in the carbon cycle. Far inland from the ocean, fields of crops enjoy rainwater that traveled through the water cycle and spent a few days or perhaps thousands of years cycling through the ocean. (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/)

Fact: A swallow of seawater may contain millions of bacterial cells, hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton and tens of thousands of zooplankton (http://www.savethesea.org)

Fact: Over 60% of the world's coral reefs are threatened as a result of pollution, sedimentation and bleaching due to rising water temperatures caused by global warming. Global Coral Monitoring Network (GCRMN) states that currently 27% of all coral reef worldwide has disappeared and around 2050 only 30% will be left. (http://www.savethesea.org)