Page 16 - INSIDE ACCESS NOVEMBER 1ST EDITION

INFO ZONE
Fun Facts
Interesting facts about the Ocean
Our oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface.
70%
With so much of the Earth's surface taken up by oceans, it's evident how vital these marine environments are to the planet, and how much there still is to be explored.
The majority of life on Earth is aquatic.
As so much of the Earth's surface is underwater, it comes as no surprise that marine species outnumber those on land. But, it's an incredible 94 per cent of the Earth's living species that exist within the oceans.
The world's longest mountain chain is underwater.
Earth's longest chain of mountains, the Mid-Ocean Ridge, is almost entirely beneath the ocean, stretching across a distance of 65,000 kilometres. It's said that this mountain chain is less explored than the surface of Venus or Mars.
There are more historic artefacts under the sea than in all of the world's museums.
Around 1,000 shipwrecks lie off the Florida Keys alone, some of which are within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Other underwater museums have been created in recent years, including the Mediterranean's submerged bronze statue, Christ of the Abyss.
We still only know a fraction of the marine species in our oceans.
According to the World Register of Marine Species there are now 240,470 accepted species, but this is believed to be just a small proportion of the species that exist, with new marine life being discovered everyday.
Over 70 percent of our planet's oxygen is produced by the ocean.
It's thought that between 70 and 80 percent of the oxygen we breathe is produced by marine plants, nearly all of which are marine algae.
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