Sea is a large body of salt water that is completely or partially surrounded by land while an ocean is a large body of salt water that covers approximately 71% of the earth’s surface.
Here are some of the main differences between sea and ocean to help you understand how both differ:
Sea Vs Ocean:
What is Sea?
The sea is the body of water that is less than the ocean and where the sea joins the land, a body of salt water emerges.
The aquatic species that exist in the water are determined by the temperature and location of the sea.
It includes the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
What is Ocean?
An ocean is a vast body of water that covers a large amount of the hydrosphere of a planet.
Oceans occupy more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and are far larger and deeper than seas.
The world’s top five oceans are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Antarctic Ocean.
What is the Difference Between Sea and Ocean?
Ocean water is larger than the sea whereas the sea includes all types of water that exist between land and oceans.
So, what’s the difference? Let’s discuss the difference between sea and ocean:
| Sea | Ocean |
| The seas are also made up of salt water, but they are smaller than the oceans. | The saltwater that makes up the sea, oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. |
| Mediterranean Sea is the most immense sea in the world. | With a surface area of approximately 60 million square miles, the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. |
| The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about 1.14 million square miles. | An area of 5.4 million square miles, the Arctic Ocean is the most miniature ocean in the world. |
| The sea is usually seen near the land than the ocean. | The ocean does not have to be close to land to survive. |
| Sea is often close to the land; the sea is rich in aquatic life. | Since they are far from land and deeper than the Seas, oceans have reduced aquatic life. |
| As sunlight can reach deep into the oceans, which can lead to photosynthesis, the oceans have a large marine life population. | Bacteria, prawns, and minute plankton make up most of the marine life in the ocean. It penetrates deep into the water due to lack of sunlight, limiting photosynthesis opportunities. |
| Saline water. | Saltwater. |
| The sea covers a smaller area. | The ocean covers a larger area than the sea. |
| Commercial applications such as fishing and leisure sports activities are carried out at sea. | In the ocean: industrial purposes such as natural gas and oil mining, etc. |
| Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, South China Sea, Black Sea, and others are some of the major seas. The Caribbean Sea is the deepest sea, at a depth of around 6900 meters. | The Pacific Ocean, which is about 10,000 meters deep, and the Arctic Ocean, which is about 5600 meters deep, are the two deepest oceans. |
Related Articles: Difference between Hard Water and Soft Water
Conclusion:
After reading this article you learned a lot about the differences between sea and ocean.
The major difference is the ocean’s and sea’s size.
The ocean is a large mass of salt water when compared to its size, they can either exist as part of the open ocean or as landlocked areas separated from the oceans.
Oceans and seas are essential for the life of plants and animals that exist on earth.
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