Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan
Location: body of water between
the Western Hemisphere, Asia, and Australia
Map references: Asia, North America, Oceania, South America,
Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area
165.384 million sq km
comparative area about 18 times the
size of the US; the largest ocean (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian
Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean); covers about one-third of the global surface;
larger than the total land area of the world
note includes Bali
Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China
Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu
Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea,
and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 135,663 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states)
Climate: the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy
season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from
the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry
winds blow from the Asian land mass back to the ocean
Terrain:
surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise,
warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific
by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific sea ice forms
in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific sea
ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean
floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while
the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the world's deepest,
the 10,924 meter Marianas Trench
Natural resources: oil
and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
fish
Environment:
current issues endangered
marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and
whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
natural hazards
surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes
referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons)
in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to
October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike
Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and
September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs from Antarctica; occasional
El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast of Peru when the trade winds slacken
and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent moves south, killing the plankton that
is the primary food source for anchovies; consequently, the anchovies move
to better feeding grounds, causing resident marine birds to starve by the
thousands because of their lost food source
international agreements
NA
Note: the major choke points are the Bering Strait,
Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides
the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean;
ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May
and in extreme south from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific
from June to December is a hazard to shipping; dotted with low coral islands
and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Digraph: ZN
Overview: The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to
the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch.
It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing
grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the
construction industry. In 1985 over half (54%) of the world's fish catch came
from the Pacific Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish catch has increased
every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing
an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of Australia, NZ, China, US,
and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with
the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped
new drillings.
Industries: fishing, oil and gas production
Ports: Bangkok (Thailand),
Hong Kong, Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San
Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia),
Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Telecommunications:
several submarine cables with network nodal points on Guam and Hawaii
Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan
gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428