Pacific Ocean Essay, Research Paper

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest water body, occupies a third of

the Earth’s surface. Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi)

from the BERING SEA in the Arctic north to the icy margins of

Antarctica’s Ross Sea in the south, the Pacific reaches its greatest

width at about 5 deg north latitude, where it stretches approximately

19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia. The

western limit of the ocean is often placed at the Strait of Malacca. The

Pacific contains about 25,000 islands (more than the total number in

the rest of the world’s oceans combined), almost all of which are found

south of the equator. The Pacific covers an area of 179.7 million sq km

(69.4 million sq mi). The lowest known point on Earth, in the

MARIANAS TRENCH, lies within the Pacific.

Along the Pacific Ocean’s irregular margins lie many seas, the largest

of which are the CELEBES SEA, CORAL SEA, East China Sea, Sea

of Japan, SULU SEA, and YELLOW SEA. The Strait of Malacca joins

the Pacific and the Indian oceans on the west, and the Strait of

Magellan links the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

OCEAN BOTTOM

The ocean floor of the central Pacific basin is relatively uniform, with a mean depth of about 4,270 m (14,000 ft). The major

irregularities in the area are the extremely steep-sided, flat-topped submarine peaks known as SEAMOUNTS. The western part of the

floor consists of mountain arcs that rise above the sea as island groups, such as the Solomon Islands and New Zealand, and deep

trenches, such as the Marianas Trench, the Philippine Trench, and the Tonga Trench. Most of the deep trenches lie adjacent to the

outer margins of the wide western Pacific continental shelf.

Along the eastern margin of the Pacific basin is the East Pacific Rise, which is a part of the worldwide mid-oceanic ridge. About

3,000 km (1,800 mi) across, the rise stands about 3 km (2 mi) above the adjacent ocean floor. Because a relatively small land area

drains into the Pacific, and because of the ocean’s immense size, most sediments are authigenic or pelagic in origin. Authigenic

sediments include montmorillonite and phillipsite. Pelagic sediments derived from seawater include pelagic red clays and the skeletal

remains of sea life. Terrigenous sediments are confined to narrow marginal bands close to land.

WATER CHARACTERISTICS

Water temperatures in the Pacific vary from freezing in the poleward areas to about 29 deg C (84 deg F) near the equator. Salinity

also varies latitudinally. Water near the equator is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial

precipitation throughout the year. Poleward of the temperate latitudes salinity is also low, because little evaporation of seawater

takes place in these areas.

The surface circulation of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern

Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15 deg north by the trade winds, turns north near the

Philippines to become the warm Kuroshio, or Japan, Current. Turning eastward at about 45 deg north, the Kuroshio forks and some

waters move northward as the ALEUTIAN CURRENT, while the rest turn southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The

Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counterclockwise circulation in the Bering Sea.

Its southern arm becomes the slow, south-flowing California Current.

The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50 deg

south latitude, and joins the main westerly circulation of the Southern Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar

Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other

turns north to form the Peru, or Humboldt, Current.

CLIMATE

Only the interiors of the large land masses of Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand escape the pervasive climatic influence of the

Pacific. Within the area of the Pacific, five distinctively different climatic regions exist: the mid-latitude westerlies, the trades, the

monsoon region, the typhoon region, and the doldrums. Mid-latitude westerly air streams occur in both northerly and southerly

latitudes, bringing marked seasonal differences in temperature. Closer to the equator, where most of the islands lie, steadily blowing

trade winds allow for relatively constant temperatures throughout the year of 21-27 deg C (70-81 deg F).

The monsoon region lies in the far western Pacific between Japan and Australia. Characteristic of this climatic region are winds that

blow from the continental interior to the ocean in winter and in the opposite direction in summer. Consequently, a marked seasonality

of cloudiness and rainfall occurs. Typhoons often cause extensive damage in the west and southwest Pacific. The greatest typhoon

frequency exists within the triangle from southern Japan to the central Philippines to eastern Micronesia. Although more poorly

defined than the other climatic regions, two major doldrum areas lie within the ocean, one located off the western shores of Central

America and the other within the equatorial waters of the western Pacific. Both areas are noted for their high humidity, considerable

cloudiness, light fluctuating winds, and frequent calms.

GEOLOGY

The Andesite Line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. It separates the deeper, basic igneous rock of the Central

Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of acidic igneous rock on its margins. The Andesite Line follows the

western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula,

the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand. The dissimilarity continues northeastward

along the western edge of the Albatross Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California.

Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand–all eastward extensions of the continental blocks of Australia and

Asia–lie outside the Andesite Line.

Within the closed loop of the Andesite Line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic

islands that characterize the Central Pacific Basin. It is here that basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped

volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the Andesite Line, volcanism is of the

explosive type, and the so-called Pacific rim of fire is the world’s foremost belt of explosive volcanism.

LANDMASSES

The largest landmass in the Pacific is the continent of Australia, which is approximately equal in size to the 48 contiguous U.S.

states. About 3,200 km (2,000 mi) southeast of Australia is the large island group of New Zealand. Almost all of the smaller islands

of the Pacific lie between 30 deg north and 30 deg south latitude, extending from Southeast Asia to Easter Island; the rest of the

Pacific Basin is almost devoid of land. The great triangle of Polynesia connecting Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand

encompasses the island arcs and clusters of the Cook, Marquesas, Samoa, Society, Tokelau, Tonga, and Tuamotu islands. North of

the equator and west of the international date line are the numerous small islands of Micronesia, including the Caroline Islands, the

Marshall Islands, and the Mariana Islands. In the southwestern corner of the Pacific lie the islands of Melanesia, dominated by New

Guinea. Other important island groups of Melanesia include the Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands,

and Vanuatu. Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs, and uplifted coral

platforms. Continental islands lie outside the Andesite Line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the

Philippines. These islands are structurally associated with the nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many

contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.

The third and fourth types of islands are both the result of coralline island building. Coral reefs are low-lying structures that have built

up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean’s surface. One of the most dramatic is the GREAT BARRIER REEF off northeastern

Australia. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral

islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.

HISTORY AND ECONOMY

Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times, most notably those of Polynesians from Tahiti to Hawaii and

New Zealand. The ocean was sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century, first by Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1513) and then by

Ferdinand Magellan, who crossed the Pacific during his circumnavigation (1519-22). For the remainder of the 16th century Spanish

influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Spain to the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomons. During the 17th century

the Dutch, sailing around southern Africa, dominated discovery and trade; Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered (1642) Tasmania and

New Zealand. The 18th century marked a burst of exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, the French in

Polynesia, and the British in the three voyages of James Cook–to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American

Pacific Northwest.

Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of the Pacific by the Western powers. Significant

contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of the H.M.S. Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin

aboard; the H.M.S. Challenger during the 1870s; the U.S.S. Tuscarora (1873-76); and the German Gazelle (1874-76). Although the

United States took the Philippines in 1898, Japan controlled the western Pacific by 1914. By the end of World War II the U.S. Pacific

Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean.

Fourteen independent nations are located in the Pacific: Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Tuvalu, Western Samoa,

Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Eight of these nations have achieved

full independence since 1960, and the islands formerly within the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands have redefined their

relationships with the United States. Also within the Pacific are the U.S. state of Hawaii and several island territories and

possessions of Australia, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The exploitation of the Pacific’s mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean’s great depths. In shallow waters off the coast of Australia,

petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea,

Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume. The Pacific’s greatest asset is its fish. The shoreline

waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as

shellfish. In 1986, the member nations of the South Pacific Forum declared the area a nuclear-free zone in an effort to halt nuclear

testing and prevent the dumping of nuclear waste there.

Bibliography: Barkley, R.A., Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean (1969); Cameron, I., Lost Paradise (1987); Couper, A.,

Development in the Pacific Islands (1988); Crump, D.J., ed., Blue Horizons (1980); Gilbert, John, Charting the Vast Pacific (1971);

Lower, J. Arthur, Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500-1978 (1978); Oliver, D.L., The Pacific Islands, 3d ed.

(1989); Ridgell, R., Pacific Nations and Territories, 2d ed. (1988); Soule, Gardner, The Greatest Depths (1970); Spate, O.H.,

Paradise Found and Lost (1988); Terrell, J.E., Prehistory in the Pacific Islands (1986).

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