It would seem that the Pacific Ocean should be serene, but in fact it is not at all calm - storms often rage here. The name was given by Ferdinand Magellan, who for three months did not fall into a storm, all the while observing a relatively calm water surface. The area is 180 million square kilometers, which is about 30 percent earth's surface or half the area of all the oceans and more than the area of all the land combined. extreme points- The Malay Peninsula and Panama are located at a distance of 24 thousand kilometers from each other, this is more than half of the circumference of the globe.
Peculiarities
The Pacific Ocean is by no means a calm place. Strong hurricanes sweep over the water. Tsunamis caused by earthquakes form waves that rush towards the coast at a speed of almost a thousand kilometers per hour, causing great destruction.
Tsunami in Japan
Europeans discovered the Pacific Ocean later than other oceans. It was visited almost simultaneously by the indigenous inhabitants of Europe from two sides - from the west in 1512 by the Portuguese Serrana and Di Abreu, and from the east - in 1513 by the Spaniard Nunez de Balboa, who crossed the Isthmus of Panama.
The water level of the Pacific Ocean is higher than in neighboring oceans; in such expanses, the law on vessels that communicate with each other does not work.
The perimeter of the Pacific Ocean is the line where tectonic plates collide, this is the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, this name was given due to the many active volcanoes. This dangerous area is rife with earthquakes, which often cause tsunamis. Only the South Pacific is a relatively calm place.
In ancient times, people on fairly simple ships plowed the ocean surface. This was proved by Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed on rafts made of Balsa wood from the coast of Peru to the Tuamotu archipelago. The endpoints were 7,000 kilometers apart, and the voyage itself took more than three months.
Large waves that form in different places are suitable for surfing.
On the island of Yap, you can see the largest monetary units - these are stone rings, the diameter of some of them exceeds two meters. People do not transfer them from place to place, but knock out the name of the new owner in front of witnesses, overwriting the name of the old one.
Interesting facts about the Pacific Ocean - records. This is a very deep reservoir - the average depth is about four kilometers, there is the deepest place on Earth - the Mariana Trench, whose depth is more than 11 kilometers. Of course, there are many interesting facts about such a significant place on the planet. There is also the Tonga Trench, which is only 200 meters shallower than the Mariana Trench and is the deepest place in the southern hemisphere. The third deepest place on Earth is located near the Philippine Islands, its depth is more than 10 kilometers. Connecting to the Tonga Trench is the Kermadec Trench, at just over 10 kilometers deep, the fourth deepest place in the Pacific Ocean.
There are many islands here - more than ten thousand (according to one of the data - about 25 thousand), in this parameter it is a champion. Such a large number of islands is explained by volcanic activity in this region - some islands arose from lava, others (for example, atolls) are the tops of volcanic cones. Some islands have arisen on shallows and are of coral origin.
In Micronesia, there are the Mariana Islands, which have a very warm climate - the air temperature is about 30 degrees Celsius, the water temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius. Moreover, temperature fluctuations are minimal - in 1934, the largest difference between the coldest and warmest day of the year was recorded, it amounted to 12 degrees Celsius.
There are many shells in which pearls are found. The largest pearl was found off the island of Palawan (Philippines). She weighed more than six kilograms, with a length of 24 and a width of 16 centimeters.
The Pacific Ocean is associated with warmth and palm trees. But there is a northern ice cover here, which is formed in the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the southern one, which is formed near Antarctica. Icebergs that float on the sea never cross the equator, and always belong to the part of the hemisphere in which they formed.
In Korea, the tides reach a height of 9 meters.
Animal and plant world
There is as much biomass (plants and animals) here as in all other oceans combined. This is due not only to its large size, but also to the fact that there are many more species in the tropical part than in the same climatic conditions in other parts of the world. In total, there are about 100 thousand animals living in the water in this region.
The largest tridacna lives near the equator, the weight of which can reach four hundred kilograms. It poses a danger to divers, because a large shell with its flaps can pinch the hand of a careless or too curious diver.
In the recent past, sea cows lived on the Commander Islands, which were first discovered by Bering in 1741. These animals lived in these territories even before the appearance of man. But when the hunters appeared, these mammals from the species of sirens were completely exterminated in a few decades.
The International Date Line, which runs approximately along the 180th meridian, divides time into two days. That is, on two sides of this conditional line - different dates.
In deep depressions there is very strong water pressure and almost complete darkness. But life thrives here, many deep-sea fish glow in the dark. This deep-sea world is little studied. Almost every time when scientific devices descend to great depths, new species of living beings are discovered.
Northeast of Australia is the Great Barrier Reef. This is the largest landform on the planet, which is created by living beings. In addition to many reefs, about a thousand atolls rise on the ocean surface here - low coral islands that have the shape of a ring. This shape is explained by the fact that the cone of an extinct volcano is overgrown with a coral reef in a circle.
The Pacific Ocean is the most touristic place on earth, where locals relax and millions of tourists from all over the world come here. There are many ship routes, as well as air routes. It is very important to preserve the ecology of this place, since the large size does not at all mean that this place is protected from the harmful influence of man. Indeed, in the northern part of the water area there is a large garbage patch - here the waste produced by man is brought by the current. Pollution is very uneven, so its area cannot be accurately determined, but this spot on the water surface (and on the reputation of a person) is very large - from one to one hundred million square kilometers. You can observe the so-called garbage islands with a diameter of hundreds of kilometers.
Benoit Lecomte(Benoit Lecomte) was the first person to undertake such an adventure. His six-month and 5,500-mile swim will introduce people to the world's oceans from the inside.
The idea to swim across the Pacific Ocean from Tokyo to San Francisco came to Lecomte a few years ago. Since June 5 this year, he spends eight hours a day in the water, overcoming the largest ocean on the planet. Benoit pursues not only sports goals. Part of the Swimming expedition are research projects in biology, oceanography and medicine that Lecomte and six of his support team are working with teams of researchers from NASA and the Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole.
Swimmer
You may be familiar with his name. In 1998, Benoit became the first person to cross Atlantic Ocean by swimming, starting from Massachusetts in the USA and finishing in France, with a week-long stop in the Azores. That swim was dedicated to the memory of Father Lecomte and cancer research. The swimmer devoted four years to preparing for the current expedition.
“The ocean is in danger right now,” Lecomte says. We don't really know much about it. No one has yet collected data from one coast to another.”
By undertaking such an incredible journey, he hopes to raise public awareness of the human impact on the world's oceans.
Support
From Tokyo, Lecomte is escorted by Seeker, a yacht with six crew members, fully equipped for a semi-annual voyage. On it, the athlete rests after daily swimming sessions, in the same place, if necessary, he can get help. Lecomte swims about 30 nautical miles a day. Each morning Seeker uses GPS data to bring Benoit back to where he was picked up the night before. In addition to the usual swimming equipment - a suit, a mask with a snorkel and fins - the swimmer's arsenal includes an electromagnetic device that repels sharks and a biometric sensor. Data from the medical sensor feeds information about Lecomte's health to the crew and medical team on land.
Research
The athlete is equipped with research equipment, including a small radiation sensor to detect and measure contamination from the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011. The team is also collecting data on plastic pollution in the Pacific. Lecomte will get to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with his own eyes.
“This spot does not consist of large plastic elements, but of very small fragments,” says Lecomte, “so its real size is not visible from the satellite. The only way, with which you can detect it, is to cast a net and estimate its density. That way you know you're in the Pacific Garbage Patch."
By using modern technologies Benoit is involved in several medical studies. His health is monitored by doctors in Texas.
“We are very interested in studying the ultimate abilities human body, says Benjamin Levin, PhD, Institute of Sports and Environmental Medicine. “Benoit and his experiment is a perfect example for us.”
You can follow the adventure of Benoît Lecomte at benlecomte.com , Seeker.com , Discovery Go and Instagram.
We give a description of several days that we remember from Lecomte's diary.
1 day. June 5, 2018
departure
This day was very emotionally charged: after so many years of preparation, I will finally make my dream come true. However, it is not easy to realize that I am leaving family and friends for such a long time. We swam the first 50 meters with my children, Anna and Max, then hugged in the water and said goodbye for a long time. I was left alone with my thoughts, reliving the moments before sailing. After an hour of swimming, the water temperature began to drop and it became less comfortable to swim. At five o'clock on the first day of the swim, Seeker colleagues reported a five-foot shark they had seen nearby. While our medic Max was paddling towards me in a kayak with predator-repellent equipment, I saw a three-foot shark swimming in the opposite direction right behind me. Having looked around and no longer seeing danger nearby, I continued to swim on. Max swam up in a kayak, measured my pulse and offered to finish for today. Well, six hours for the first day is not so bad. And tomorrow will be a new day.
Day 15 June 20
Unforeseen difficulties
This morning, a strong northeast wind blew again, raising large waves. Waves also came from the south. It was a rather strange combination, and it clearly worked against me. I had to put on an extra layer of swimming suit. Now I made more effort to swim, but it became much warmer. After my second hour on the water, I was wondering what my speed was. It turned out that it was only a little more than one knot. I was upset - what's the point of sailing all day, and as a result, cover only a few miles, like yesterday. We tried to take a little to the south, but there was not much difference. Another hour passed - the speed increased by only a few knots. It was no good; I got even more upset. I had to interrupt the voyage for today ... I hope this weather will not last long.
Day 20 June 25
Good company
I didn't get much sleep today. When it was time to dive into the water, it began to rain. The first two hours of sailing, as usual, flew by unnoticed for me, but I was worried about T and Max, who accompanied me in a kayak, because the rain did not stop. Fortunately for us, a group of dolphins suddenly appeared, instantly raising our spirits. They allowed me to approach them, and for half a minute I swam in their flock - it was amazing! Sometimes they jumped out of the water, and I heard the delighted cries of Ti and Max. A little later we met another flock of dolphins, but these did not stay long. They must have been interested in the fish nailed to the bottom of the kayak. Such unique moments, lived together with loved ones, make them even more profound. It was a truly unforgettable day, thank you, friends.
21 day. June 26
Plastic
Maria, Seeker team: “While Ben continues to swim, we look after him and the crew of the boat, while at the same time watching the endless ocean around. But the picture is not only majestic, but, alas, sad: the ocean is full of garbage. Almost every minute we see something that should not be in the ocean - bottles, polystyrene, all kinds of plastic ... To be honest, I am horrified at the realization of how much a person affects environment especially since we don't notice it. And because we do not directly interact with the consequences of our activities, it is very easy to ignore them, pretending that everything is in order. I feel a great need to show people how big the problem is and how acute the issue of human responsibility to nature is now.
Whenever possible, we fish for some debris and watch how marine life adapts to it, how new ecosystems grow right before our eyes. On the one hand, this wonderful ability of nature to adapt to everything cannot but impress, but there is also back side - Negative influence, the degree of which we cannot even measure yet.
With the help of GPS, we try to fix the location of especially large accumulations of debris.
It is interesting to understand how garbage gets into the ocean and what happens to it next. This may help to study the problem, but in order to solve it, we need to radically change the approach to consumption. And this is a personal matter for everyone - how much plastic they use, how they dispose of it, whether there is a need for disposable packaging at all, given the deplorable consequences of its use.
I'm sure that Ben with his crazy "Swim" is a great way to draw the attention of society to this problem and together try to solve it."
Day 27 July 2
curious turtle
Great weather again today. Early in the morning, Mark spotted a turtle to my right. She swam very close, looking at me. It was followed by a colony of about 20 fish. Having made an almost complete circle around me, the turtle and its retinue dived into the depths and disappeared without a trace. A couple of hours later we saw them again, but not so close. In the evening we noticed dolphins, but they did not allow us to swim up to them.
Day 45 July 20
Nausea
The weather was bad that morning, and according to the forecasts, no improvement was expected. Harsh winds and rain are not the best conditions for swimming, so Max suggested that I take a moment to rest and eat my fill, which I did. But I was not used to being on a yacht that was being tossed about by the waves, and I began to feel sick. There is a big difference - to be in a rough sea in the water or on a yacht. In the second case, the body is forced to adapt to the rhythm of the boat, which can be rather unpleasantly tossed on the waves, while in the water the same waves raise and lower you quite gently. Therefore, in harsh seas, I have to get used to being on board for a while, and sometimes, as now, this is accompanied by nausea.
Day 48 July 23
The appearance of whales
"Whales!" Max shouted, pointing overboard. Paul was at the helm this morning, I was on deck with him. The whole crew gathered at the top in an instant, and Paul turned the yacht around to where the spray was coming from. We all watched a magnificent picture: birds were circling above the water, and whales were splashing under the water, sending up jets of water. Paul brought the yacht to a halt nearby, and in less than a minute, a jet rose from the water a few meters away. Max grabbed his GoPro and jumped into the water.
These shots are some of the best of our trip.
Day 64 August 7
Communication with the ocean
When I swim in the heart of the ocean, I do not need Wi-Fi, because there is a more subtle connection here. In our age of the Internet and social networks We often forget how important it is to be alone with ourselves for a while. In this regard, I was lucky to be in the company of the ocean most of the day. This is important to me because I can ask myself a lot of important questions. How can I best express what I'm experiencing? How to make people hear the real voice of the ocean? I have never felt so close to this unknown watery universe, and I hope I will be able to convey this feeling to people. Perhaps together we can find a way to protect him.
Day 65 8 August
What am I striving for?
I am not against plastic, I am for a responsible attitude to its use. I would not like to put an extra burden on the shoulders of the next generation. Like many today, I try to cut down on the amount of packaging I buy. And yet, probably not ready to completely abandon plastic in Everyday life. But what I see in the ocean today makes me really think about how to solve this problem. I hope that those who read this blog hear me.
There are five oceans in the world - the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Each of these oceans is characterized by a certain area, depth and size. Want to know which ocean is the deepest ocean in the world? The largest and deepest ocean in the world is the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 65,300 thousand square miles or 169,200,000 square kilometers. The ocean extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Southern Ocean.
According to geographic data, about 46 percent of the surface waters of the earth belong to the Pacific Ocean. In other words, it accounts for up to 30 percent of the earth's surface. Interesting fact The volume of the Pacific Ocean is believed to be about 622 million cubic meters. The Pacific Ocean is divided into two parts, the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, the division occurs along the equator.
Speaking of the average depth of the Pacific Ocean, oceanographers suggest that it will be about 13,215 feet. The main reason is the collision of oceanic plates in this region. Two converging oceanic plates collided with each other, and one of them moved down to the mantle layer. This collision led to the formation of the Mariana Trench - 35,797 feet or 10,911 meters.
