The sea can affect our lives in many ways. We eat food from the sea, we like to relax by the shore, we take pleasure in swimming and boating on the sea, and we take pleasure in the beauty of the sea. The sea is home to its own ecosystem that is both rich and diverse. The sea also produces storms and sets the climate for the whole planet.
The seas are critical to life on the planet. The seas offer a vast array of life forms that scientists are still learning about. The seas have existed longer than human life and there is much to learn from them. They affect everyone on the planet, even someone who doesn't live near the oceans.
The seas are part of the delicate ecosystem on the planet. This ecosystem supports ocean life - plant, animal and mineral. The ocean beds are made from deposits over the years and the shells of sea life settle on the floor. Years of water and waves grind the shells into sand that forms beaches along the water's edge. The food chain starts with tiny microscopic plankton and goes all the way to the largest whales and sharks that inhabit the seas.
A healthy ocean is essential to a healthy planet environment. The seas are at the heart of the hydrological cycle, which is nature's own water pump. Water evaporates from the oceans and part of that falls as precipitation over land. This replenishes the surface and ground waters and eventually completes the cycle by returning to the ocean. This delicate system provides water that everyone uses to drink and bathe.
The sea also drives the earth's climate. It stores huge amounts of solar energy in the process. The sea absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The ocean's currents transfer large amounts of water and nutrients from place to place. These currents help to maintain the earth's rivers. The storms are fuelled by the oceans and help to provide a source of water to many. Precipitation in the form of snow falls in the mountains. In springtime much of the snow melts and makes its way to the streams and rivers keeping them healthy. The rivers eventually flow back to the sea.
The oceans also provide a living to sustain millions of people that fish from it for a living. Many millions of people live in towns on the ocean. Many using fishing as a source of income and to provide food for people. Other seaside towns have built a large tourist economy because of the sea. Millions of people rely on this tourist population to live.
Seafood is popular around the world. Fish of many types is an important source of vitamins and nutrients. Seafood is flown to locations that are not near the sea to provide fresh seafood to even those who are not living near the oceans. The sea provides a large amount of food to people around the world and is healthy.
Adapted from
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