Oceans
Did you know that almost 97% of ALL the water on the Earth is found in the oceans?
On his travels around the Earth TOCK has had the chance to learn lots of interesting facts about the Earth’s oceans and why they so INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
Here are some of the things TOCK was astonished to discover about oceans:
OCEANS PROVIDE HOMES TO LOTS OF CREATURES
Over 400,000 known species of animals and plants live in the oceans. Scientists say that because the oceans are so very big and deep there are possibly millions of other creatures in the oceans that we have not discovered yet. In fact more is known about the surface of Mars than the bottom of the oceans.
OCEANS PRODUCE OXYGEN
Oceans are important because they produce more than half of the world’s oxygen – we all need oxygen to breathe.
OCEANS CONTROL THE CLIMATE
The oceans help to control the climate and weather – so the Earth does not get too hot.
OCEANS PROVIDE FOOD
Oceans are the world’s largest source of protein – lots of people depend on fish and other marine creatures for food.
SOME EXTRAORDINARY OCEAN FACTS:
Blue Whales can weigh as much as 30 elephants. A blue whales heart is about the size of a small car!
Scientists believe jellyfish were on the Earth even before the dinosaurs – possibly the 1st jellyfish lived as much as 650 million years ago.
Did you know that dolphins sleep with one eye open and only half their brain goes to sleep at a time?
An electric eel can make enough electricity to run about 10 light bulbs.
Sea turtles can hold their breath for 5 hours underwater.
The fish living 3000 metres below the ocean can make their own lights to help them get around in the dark down there.
Coral Reefs are made by billions of small sea animals. When they die, they leave their skeletons behind and this forms the coral reefs but very, very slowly.
The largest coral reef is called the Great Barrier Reef and is so big that it can be seen from the moon.
Coral reefs are very important as they provide shelter and food for lots and lots of marine animals and plants.
WORLD OCEAN DAY
World Ocean Day is held every year on the 8th June. World Ocean Day was officially set up by the United Nations in 2008 as a day to celebrate how awesome our oceans are and how important it is for us all to protect them and all the amazing creatures that make the oceans their home.
WHY DO THE OCEANS AND SEAS NEED OUR HELP?
The world’s oceans are full of fascinating plants and animals that depend on each other to survive. Sadly some of the creatures that live in the sea and oceans are in danger because:-
Pollution – people are polluting the oceans with rubbish and plastics (Rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams, rivers and through drains. Drains lead to the ocean!) In the ocean some of the fishes and other marine animals think the plastic is food and eat it which makes them really sick.
Overfishing – in some places too many fish are taken out of the sea before they have had time to grow properly and to have families of their own.
All the pollution in the air is making the oceans warmer which can hurt some of the animals and coral reefs.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP TOCK TAKE CARE OF THE OCEANS:
- Use reusable drink bottles, containers and bags.
- Always put recycling in the recycle bin.
- Don’t throw away litter.
- Use less plastic – a lot of plastic does not get recycled and ends up being swept into the oceans.
Every year about 12 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans. - Ask your family to only buy fish which has been caught in a sustainable way – without damaging the environment.
- Take part in a beach clean up with your family or school.
Test your memory with TOCK’s ocean themed picture matching game. Click on two images at a time until you find matching pairs. See if you can find all of the pairs. For an extra challenge, see if you can do it in a faster time…
Have a go at some of these ocean themed crafts:
