Some Earth Ocean Data - (SCI-9)

Introduction

The following excerpts comes from a book titled “An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Sea” by Michael E.Q Pilson.

Earth Water Data

Volumes of water on Earth

“Seawater                                                        1 346 000 x 10³ km³ or 97.4%

Sea ice                                                              20 x 10³ km³

Continental ice                                                 27 800 x 10³ km³ or 2.0%

Lakes and rivers                                               225 x 10³ km³

Groundwater                                                    8062 x 10³ or 0.6%

Vapor (liquid volume)                                      13 x 10³ km³

TOTAL                                                             1 386 050 10³ km³ or 100%

From Baumgartner and Reichel 1975, Menard and Smith 1966, and Table J-6.

The water chemically combined in crustal rocks and in the mantle is not included in these estimates.”

Miscellaneous Earth Ocean Data

“Earth surface area                                         510 x 10⁶ km²

Land surface area                                            148 x 10⁶ km²

Ocean surface area                                          362 x 10⁶ km²

Ocean surface area, % of Earth area              71%

Ocean: total volume                                         1.35 x 10⁹ km³ or 1.35 x 10¹⁸ m³

Average depth                                                   3740 m

Temperature range                                           ~ –2 to ~40°C

Pressure range                                                 ~1 to ~1000 atm or ~1 to ~1000 kg cm^-2 or 

                                                                          ~1 to ~1000 bar or ~100 to ~10⁵ kPa

Menard and Smith 1966, and other sources. For more detail, see Appendix J.”

Summary

Very interesting, the figures that mean the most to us are the percentages. A staggering 97.4% of all the Earth’s waters are sea water and 71% of the Earth’s surface area is covered in water.

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