
Skip Navigation

8.10: Importance of the Oceans

Difficulty Level: At Grade Created by: CK-12
Atoms Practice
Practice Importance of the Oceans
Practice Now

Just what is down there?

Mostly the oceans are cold, dark and have extremely high pressure. Except at the very top, they are completely inhospitable to humans. Even this humpback whale can only dive to about 700 feet, so there's a lot about the ocean it doesn't know. Earth would not be the same planet without its oceans.

Oceans Moderate Climate

The oceans, along with the atmosphere, keep temperatures fairly constant worldwide. While some places on Earth get as cold as -70oC and others as hot as 55oC, the range is only 125oC. On Mercury temperatures go from -180oC to 430oC, a range of 610oC.

The oceans, along with the atmosphere, distribute heat around the planet. The oceans absorb heat near the equator and then move that solar energy to more polar regions. The oceans also moderate climate within a region. At the same latitude, the temperature range is smaller in lands nearer the oceans than away from the oceans. Summer temperatures are not as hot, and winter temperatures are not as cold, because water takes a long time to heat up or cool down.

Water Cycle

The oceans are an essential part of Earth’s water cycle. Since they cover so much of the planet, most evaporation comes from oceans and most precipitation falls on oceans.

Biologically Rich

The oceans are home to an enormous amount of life. That is, they have tremendous biodiversity (Figure below). Tiny ocean plants create the base of a food web that supports all sorts of life forms. Marine life makes up the majority of all biomass on Earth. (Biomass is the total mass of living organisms in a given area.) These organisms supply us with food and even the oxygen created by marine plants.

Polar bears are well adapted to frigid Arctic waters.


  • biomass: The total mass of living organisms in a given region.


  • Oceans moderate Earth's temperature by not changing temperature rapidly and by distributing heat around the planet.
  • Oceans are an enormous reservoir for water in the water cycle.
  • Oceans have tremendous biodiversity and the majority of all biomass on Earth.


Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.


1. What are found in the oceans?

2. How much oxygen does the ocean produce?

3. How much of the water is covered by water?

4. How much of the ocean is protected?

5. What percentage of large predators are gone?

6. What percentage of coral reefs have disappeared?


1. What organisms form the base of the ocean food web?

2. How do the oceans moderate Earth's temperature?

3. What role do oceans play in the water cycle?




The total mass of living organisms in a given region.

Image Attributions


Difficulty Level:

At Grade


Date Created:

Feb 24, 2012

Last Modified:

Sep 09, 2015
Files can only be attached to the latest version of Modality


100 % of people thought this content was helpful.
( 0 )
Loading reviews...
Please wait...
Please wait...
Image Detail
Sizes: Medium | Original

Original text