The main routes of ocean routes in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean routes of the world. Geological structure and bottom topography

The largest and most ancient of all oceans. Its area is 178.6 million km2. It can easily accommodate all the continents combined, which is why it is sometimes called the Great. The name “Pacific” is associated with the name of F., who traveled around the world and sailed through the Pacific Ocean under favorable conditions.

This ocean is truly great: it occupies 1/3 of the surface of the entire planet and almost 1/2 of the area. The ocean has an oval shape, it is especially wide at the equator.

The peoples inhabiting the Pacific coasts and islands have been sailing the ocean for a long time and exploring its riches. Information about the ocean was accumulated as a result of the voyages of F. Magellan, J. . The beginning of its wide study was laid in the 19th century by the first round-the-world Russian expedition of I.F. . Currently, a special one has been created for the study of the Pacific Ocean. In recent years, new data have been obtained about its nature, its depth has been determined, currents and the topography of the bottom and ocean have been studied.

The southern part of the ocean from the shores of the Tuamotu Islands to the shores is an area of ​​​​calm and stable. It was for this calm and silence that Magellan and his companions called the Pacific Ocean. But west of the Tuamotu Islands the picture changes dramatically. Calm weather is rare here; stormy winds usually blow, often turning into... These are the so-called southern squalls, especially fierce in December. Tropical cyclones are less frequent but more intense. They arrive at the beginning of autumn from, at the northern tip they turn into warm westerly winds.

The tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean are clean, transparent and have medium salinity. Their deep dark blue color amazed observers. But sometimes the waters here turn green. This is due to the development of marine life. The equatorial part of the ocean has favorable weather conditions. The temperature over the sea is about 25°C and remains almost unchanged throughout the year. Winds of moderate strength blow here. At times there is complete calm. The sky is clear, the nights are very dark. The balance is especially stable in the area of ​​the Polynesian islands. In the calm belt there are frequent heavy but short-lived showers, mainly in the afternoon. Hurricanes are extremely rare here.

The warm waters of the ocean contribute to the work of corals, of which there are many. The Great Reef stretches along the eastern coast of Australia. This is the largest “ridge” created by organisms.

The western part of the ocean is under the influence of the monsoons with their sudden vagaries. Terrible hurricanes arise here and... They are especially ferocious in the northern hemisphere between 5 and 30°. Typhoons are frequent from July to October, with up to four per month in August. They originate in the area of ​​the Caroline and Mariana Islands and then “make raids” on the shores, and. Since in the west of the tropical part of the ocean it is hot and rainy, the islands of Fiji, the New Hebrides, New Hebrides are not without reason considered one of the most unhealthy places on the globe.

The northern regions of the ocean are similar to the southern ones, only as if in a mirror image: circular rotation of the waters, but if in the southern part it is counterclockwise, then in the northern part it is clockwise; unstable weather in the west, where typhoons enter further north; cross currents: North Passat and South Passat; in the north of the ocean there is little floating ice, since the Bering Strait is very narrow and protects the Pacific Ocean from the influence of the Arctic Ocean. This distinguishes the north of the ocean from its south.

The Pacific Ocean is the deepest. Its average depth is 3980 meters, and its maximum reaches 11022 m. The ocean coast is in a seismic zone, as it is the boundary and place of interaction with other lithospheric plates. This interaction is accompanied by terrestrial and underwater and.

A characteristic feature is that the greatest depths are confined to its outskirts. Deep-sea depressions stretch in the form of narrow, long trenches in the western and eastern parts of the ocean. Large uplifts divide the ocean floor into basins. In the east of the ocean is the East Pacific Rise, which is part of the system of mid-ocean ridges.

Currently, the Pacific Ocean plays an important role in the life of many countries. Half of the world's fish catch comes from this water area, a significant part of it being various shellfish, crabs, shrimp, and krill. In some countries, shellfish and various algae are grown on the seabed and used for food. Placer metals are being mined on the shelf, and oil is being extracted off the coast of the California Peninsula. Some countries desalinate seawater and use it. Important sea routes pass through the Pacific Ocean; the length of these routes is very large. Shipping is well developed, mainly along the continental coasts.

Human economic activity has led to the pollution of ocean waters and the extermination of some animal species. Thus, in the 18th century, sea cows were exterminated, discovered by one of the participants in V.'s expedition. Seals and whales are on the verge of extinction. Currently, their fishing is limited. Water pollution from industrial waste poses a great danger to the ocean.

Location: limited by the east coast, west coast of North and South America, north, south.
Square: 178.7 million km2
Average depth: 4,282 m.

Greatest depth: 11022 m (Mariana Trench).

Bottom relief: East Pacific Rise, Northeast, Northwestern, Central, Eastern, Southern and other basins, deep-sea trenches: Aleutian, Kurile, Mariana, Philippine, Peruvian and others.

Inhabitants: a large number of unicellular and multicellular microorganisms; fish (pollock, herring, salmon, cod, sea bass, beluga, chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon and many others); seals, seals; crabs, shrimp, oysters, squid, octopus.

: 30-36.5 ‰.

Currents: warm - , North Pacific, Alaskan, South Trade Wind, East Australian; cold - Californian, Kuril, Peruvian, Western winds.

Additional Information: The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world; Ferdinand Magellan crossed it for the first time in 1519, the ocean was called “Pacific” because during the entire three months of the journey, Magellan’s ships did not encounter a single storm; The Pacific Ocean is usually divided into northern and southern regions, the border of which runs along the equator.

Currently, the coast and islands of the Pacific Ocean are developed and populated extremely unevenly. The largest centers of industrial development are the coast of the United States (from the Los Angeles area to the San Francisco area), the coast of Japan and South Korea. The role of the ocean in the economic life of Australia and New Zealand is significant. The South Pacific is a "graveyard" for spaceships. Here, far from shipping routes, decommissioned space objects are sunk.

Fisheries and marine industries

The temperate and tropical latitudes of the Pacific Ocean are of greatest commercial importance. The Pacific Ocean accounts for about 60% of the world's fish catch. Among them are salmon (pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, masu), herring (anchovies, herring, sardine), cod (cod, pollock), perch (mackerel, tuna), flounder (flounder). Mammals are hunted: sperm whale, minke whale, fur seal, sea otter, walrus, sea lion; invertebrates: crabs, shrimp, oysters, scallops, cephalopods. A number of plants are harvested (kelp (kelp), ahnfeltia (agaronus), eelgrass and phyllospadix), which are processed in the food industry and for medicine. The most productive fishery occurs in the West Central and Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The largest fishing powers in the Pacific Ocean: Japan (Tokyo, Nagasaki, Shimonoseki), China (Zhoushan archipelago, Yantai, Qingdao, Dalian), Russian Federation (Primorye, Sakhalin, Kamchatka), Peru, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Chile, Vietnam, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA.

Transport routes

Important sea and air communications between the countries of the Pacific basin and transit routes between the countries of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans lie across the Pacific Ocean. The most important ocean routes lead from Canada and the USA to Taiwan, China and the Philippines. The main navigable straits of the Pacific Ocean: Bering, Tartary, La Perouse, Korean, Taiwan, Singapore, Malacca, Sangar, Bass, Torres, Cook, Magellan. The Pacific Ocean is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the artificial Panama Canal, dug between North and South America along the Isthmus of Panama. Large ports: Vladivostok (general cargo, oil products, fish and seafood, timber and lumber, scrap metal, ferrous and non-ferrous metals), Nakhodka (coal, oil products, containers, metal, scrap metal, refrigerated cargo), Vostochny, Vanino (coal, oil) ( Russia), Busan (Republic of Korea), Kobe-Osaka (oil and oil products, machinery and equipment, automobiles, metals and scrap metal), Tokyo-Yokohama (scrap metal, coal, cotton, grain, oil and oil products, rubber, chemicals, wool, machinery and equipment, textiles, automobiles, medicines), Nagoya (Japan), Tianjin, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai (all types of dry, liquid and general cargo), Hong Kong (textiles, clothing, fiber, radio and electrical goods, plastic products, machinery, equipment), Kaohsiung, Shenzhen, Guangzhou (China), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Singapore (petroleum products, rubber, food, textiles, machinery and equipment) (Singapore), Klang (Malaysia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines ), Sydney (general cargo, iron ore, coal, oil and petroleum products, grain), Newcastle, Melbourne (Australia), Auckland (New Zealand), Vancouver (timber cargo, coal, ores, oil and petroleum products, chemical and general cargo) (Canada), San Francisco, Los Angeles (oil and petroleum products, copra, chemical cargo, timber, grain, flour, canned meat and fish, citrus fruits, bananas, coffee, machinery and equipment, jute, cellulose), Oakland, Long Beach (USA), Colon (Panama), Huasco (ores, fish, fuel, food) (Chile). There are a significant number of relatively small multifunctional ports in the Pacific Ocean basin.
Air transport across the Pacific Ocean plays an important role. The first regular flight across the ocean was made in 1936 on the route San Francisco (USA) - Honolulu (Hawaii Islands) - Manila (Philippines). Now the main transoceanic routes are laid through the northern and central regions of the Pacific Ocean. Airlines are of great importance in domestic and inter-island transport. In 1902, Great Britain laid the first underwater telegraph cable (12.55 thousand km long) along the ocean floor, passing through the Fanning Islands and Fiji, connecting Canada, New Zealand, and the Commonwealth of Australia. Radio communication has been widely used for a long time. Nowadays, artificial Earth satellites are used for communication across the Pacific Ocean, which significantly expands the capacity of communication channels between countries.

Minerals

The bottom of the Pacific Ocean hides rich deposits of various minerals. Oil and gas are produced on the shelves of China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the United States of America (Alaska), Ecuador (Gulf of Guayaquil), Australia (Bass Strait) and New Zealand. According to existing estimates, the subsoil of the Pacific Ocean contains up to 30-40% of all potential oil and gas reserves of the World Ocean. The largest producer of tin concentrates in the world is Malaysia, and Australia is the largest producer of zircon, ilmenite and others. The ocean is rich in ferromanganese nodules, with total reserves on the surface of up to 7,1012 tons. The most extensive reserves are observed in the northern, deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the Southern and Peruvian basins. In terms of the main ore elements, the ocean nodules contain 7.1-1010 tons of manganese, 2.3-109 tons of nickel, 1.5-109 tons of copper, 1,109 tons of cobalt. Rich deep-sea deposits of gas hydrates have been discovered in the Pacific Ocean: in the Oregon Basin, Kuril ridge and the Sakhalin shelf in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Nankai Trench in the Sea of ​​Japan and around the coast of Japan, in the Peruvian Trench. In 2013, Japan intends to begin pilot drilling to extract natural gas from methane hydrate deposits on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean northeast of Tokyo.

Recreational resources

The recreational resources of the Pacific Ocean are characterized by significant diversity. According to the World Tourism Organization, at the end of the 20th century, East Asia and the Pacific region accounted for 16% of international tourist visits (the share is projected to increase to 25% by 2020). The main countries for the formation of outbound tourism in this region are Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the USA and Canada. Main recreational areas: Hawaiian Islands, islands of Polynesia and Micronesia, the east coast of Australia, Bohai Bay and Hainan Island in China, the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, areas of cities and urban agglomerations on the coast of North and South America. Among the countries with the largest flow of tourists (according to 2010 data from the World Tourism Organization) in the Asia-Pacific region are: China (55 million visits per year), Malaysia (24 million), Hong Kong (20 million), Thailand (16 million), Macau (12 million), Singapore (9 million), Republic of Korea (9 million), Japan (9 million), Indonesia (7 million), Australia (6 million), Taiwan (6 million), Vietnam (5 million), Philippines (4 million), New Zealand (3 million), Cambodia (2 million), Guam (1 million); in coastal countries of the Americas: USA (60 million), Mexico (22 million), Canada (16 million), Chile (3 million), Colombia (2 million), Costa Rica (2 million), Peru (2 million ), Panama (1 million), Guatemala (1 million), El Salvador (1 million), Ecuador (1 million).

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the oceans. Its area is 178.7 million km 2. The ocean is larger in area than all the continents taken together, and has a rounded configuration: noticeably elongated from northwest to southeast, so air and water masses reach their greatest development here in the vast northwestern and southeastern waters. The length of the ocean from north to south is about 16 thousand km, from west to east - more than 19 thousand km. It reaches its maximum width in equatorial-tropical latitudes, so it is the warmest of the oceans. The volume of water is 710.4 million km 3 (53% of the volume of waters of the World Ocean). The average ocean depth is 3980 m, the maximum is 11,022 m (Mariana Trench).

The ocean washes the shores of almost all continents with its waters, except Africa. It reaches Antarctica with a broad front, and its cooling influence extends through the waters far to the north. On the contrary, Quiet is protected from cold air masses by its significant isolation (the close location of Chukotka and Alaska with a narrow strait between them). In this regard, the northern half of the ocean is warmer than the southern half. The Pacific Ocean basin is connected to all other oceans. The boundaries between them are quite arbitrary. The most reasonable border is with the Arctic Ocean: it runs along the underwater rapids of the narrow (86 km) Bering Strait somewhat south of the Arctic Circle. The border with the Atlantic Ocean runs along the wide Drake Passage (along the line Cape Horn in the archipelago - Cape Sterneck on the Antarctic Peninsula). The border with the Indian Ocean is arbitrary.

It is usually carried out as follows: the Malay Archipelago is classified as part of the Pacific Ocean, and between Australia and Antarctica the oceans are delimited along the meridian of Cape South (Tasmania Island, 147° E). The official boundary with the Southern Ocean ranges from 36° S. w. off the coast of South America to 48° S. w. (at 175° W). The outlines of the coastline are quite simple on the eastern edge of the ocean and very complex on the western edge, where the ocean occupies a complex of marginal and interisland seas, island arcs and deep-sea trenches. This is a vast area of ​​the largest horizontal and vertical division of the earth's crust on Earth. The marginal type includes seas off the coasts of Eurasia and Australia. Most of the interisland seas are located in the Malay Archipelago region. They are often combined under the general name Australasian. The seas are separated from the open ocean by numerous groups of islands and peninsulas. Island arcs are usually accompanied by deep-sea trenches, the number and depth of which are unparalleled in the Pacific Ocean. The coasts of North and South America are slightly indented; there are no marginal seas or such large clusters of islands. Deep-sea trenches are located directly off the coasts of continents. Off the coast of Antarctica in the Pacific sector there are three large marginal seas: Ross, Amundsen and Bellingshausen.

The margins of the ocean, together with the adjacent parts of the continents, are part of the Pacific mobile belt (“ring of fire”), which is characterized by powerful manifestations of modern volcanism and seismicity.

The islands of the central and southwestern parts of the ocean are united under the general name Oceania.

The huge size of the Pacific Ocean is associated with its unique records: it is the deepest, the warmest on the surface, the highest wind waves, the most destructive tropical hurricanes and tsunamis are formed here, etc. The position of the ocean in all latitudes determines the exceptional diversity of its natural conditions and resources .

Occupying about 1/3 of the surface of our planet and almost 1/2 of the area, the Pacific Ocean is not only a unique geophysical object of the Earth, but also the largest region of multilateral economic activity and diverse interests of mankind. Since ancient times, residents of the Pacific coasts and islands have developed the biological resources of coastal waters and made short voyages. Over time, other resources began to be involved in the economy, and their use gained wide industrial scope. Nowadays, the Pacific Ocean plays a very important role in the lives of many countries and peoples, which is largely determined by its natural conditions, economic and political factors.

Features of the economic and geographical position of the Pacific Ocean

In the north, vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean are connected to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait.

The border between them runs along a conventional line: Cape Unikyn (Chukchi Peninsula) - Shishmareva Bay (Seward Peninsula). In the west, the Pacific Ocean is limited by the Asian mainland, in the southwest - by the shores of the islands of Sumatra, Java, Timor, then - by the eastern coast of Australia and a conventional line crossing the Bass Strait and then following along the shores of the island of Tasmania, and to the south along a ridge of underwater rises to Cape Alden on Wilkes' Land. The eastern limits of the ocean are the shores of North and South America, and to the south there is a conventional line from the island of Tierra del Fuego to the Antarctic Peninsula on the continent of the same name. In the extreme south, the waters of the Pacific Ocean wash Antarctica. Within these limits, it occupies an area of ​​179.7 million km 2, including marginal seas.

The ocean has a spherical shape, especially pronounced in the northern and eastern parts. Its greatest latitudinal extent (about 10,500 miles) is noted along the parallel of 10° N, and its greatest length (about 8,500 miles) falls on the meridian 170° W. Such large distances between the northern and southern, western and eastern shores are an essential natural feature of this ocean.

The ocean coastline is heavily indented in the west, while in the east the shores are mountainous and poorly dissected. In the north, west and south of the ocean there are large seas: Bering, Okhotsk, Japan, Yellow, East China, South China, Sulawesi, Javanese, Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen, etc.

The bottom relief of the Pacific Ocean is complex and uneven. In most of the transition zone, the shelves do not have significant development. For example, off the American coast the width of the shelf does not exceed several tens of kilometers, but in the Bering, East China, and South China Seas it reaches 700-800 km. In general, shelves occupy about 17% of the entire transition zone. The continental slopes are steep, often stepped, dissected by submarine canyons. The ocean bed occupies a huge space. A system of large uplifts, ridges and individual mountains, wide and relatively low shafts, it is divided into large basins: North-Eastern, North-Western, East Mariana, West Carolina, Central, South, etc. The most significant East Pacific Rise is included in the world's system of mid-ocean ridges. In addition to it, large ridges are common in the ocean: Hawaiian, Imperial Mountains, Caroline, Shatsky, etc. A characteristic feature of the topography of the ocean bottom is that the greatest depths are confined to its periphery, where deep-sea trenches are located, most of which are concentrated in the western part of the ocean - from the Gulf of Alaska to New Zealand.

The vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean cover all natural zones from the northern subpolar to the southern polar, which determines the diversity of its climatic conditions. At the same time, the most significant part of the ocean space, located between 40° N. w. and 42° S, is located within the equatorial, tropical and subtropical zones. The southern marginal part of the ocean is climatically more severe than the northern part. Due to the cooling influence of the Asian continent and the predominance of west-east transport, the temperate and subtropical latitudes of the western part of the ocean are characterized by typhoons, especially frequent in June-September. The northwestern part of the ocean is characterized by monsoons.

Its exceptional size, unique shape, and large-scale atmospheric processes largely determine the characteristics of the hydrological conditions of the Pacific Ocean. Since quite a significant part of its area is located in equatorial and tropical latitudes, and the connection with the Arctic Ocean is very limited, since the water on the surface is higher than in other oceans and is equal to 19’37°. The predominance of precipitation over evaporation and large river runoff determine the lower salinity of surface waters than in other oceans, the average value of which is 34.58% o.

Temperature and salinity on the surface vary both over the water area and over the seasons. Temperature changes most noticeably over the seasons in the western part of the ocean. Seasonal variations in salinity are small throughout. Vertical changes in temperature and salinity are observed mainly in the upper, 200-400-meter layer. At great depths they are insignificant.

The general circulation in the ocean consists of horizontal and vertical movements of water, which can be traced to one degree or another from the surface to the bottom. Under the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulation over the ocean, surface currents form anticyclonic gyres in subtropical and tropical latitudes and cyclonic gyres in northern temperate and southern high latitudes. The ring-shaped movement of surface waters in the northern part of the ocean is formed by the Northern Trade Wind, Kuroshio, North Pacific warm currents, California, Kuril cold and Alaskan warm currents. The system of circular currents in the southern regions of the ocean includes the warm South Passat, East Australian, zonal South Pacific and cold Peruvian. The rings of currents of the northern and southern hemispheres throughout the year separate the Intertrade Wind Current, passing north of the equator, in the band between 2-4° and 8-12° N latitude. The speeds of surface currents vary in different areas of the ocean and vary with the seasons. Vertical water movements of different mechanisms and intensity are developed throughout the ocean. Density mixing occurs in the surface horizons, especially significant in areas of ice formation. In zones of convergence of surface currents, surface waters sink and underlying waters rise. The interaction of surface currents and vertical movements of water is one of the most important factors in the formation of the structure of waters and water masses of the Pacific Ocean.

In addition to these main natural features, the economic development of the ocean is strongly influenced by the social and economic conditions characterized by the EGP of the Pacific Ocean. In relation to land areas gravitating towards the ocean, EGP has its own distinctive features. The Pacific Ocean and its seas wash the coasts of three continents, on which there are more than 30 coastal states with a total population of about 2 billion people, i.e. About half of humanity lives here.

Countries facing the Pacific Ocean include Russia, China, Vietnam, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, etc. Each of the three main groups of Pacific states includes countries and their regions with a more or less high level of economic development . This affects the nature and possibilities of using the ocean.

The length of the Pacific coast of Russia is more than three times the length of the coastline of our Atlantic seas. In addition, unlike the western ones, the Far Eastern sea coasts form a continuous front, which facilitates economic maneuvering in its individual sections. However, the Pacific Ocean is significantly remote from the main economic centers and densely populated areas of the country. This remoteness seems to be decreasing as a result of the development of industry and transport in the eastern regions, but still it significantly influences the nature of our connections with this ocean.

Almost all mainland states and many island states, with the exception of Japan, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, have large reserves of various natural resources that are being intensively developed. Consequently, sources of raw materials are distributed relatively evenly along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean, and the centers of its processing and consumption are located mainly in the northern part of the ocean: in the USA, Japan, Canada and, to a lesser extent, in Australia. The uniform distribution of natural resources along the ocean coast and the confinement of their consumption to certain areas is a characteristic feature of the EGP of the Pacific Ocean.

Continents and partly islands over vast areas separate the Pacific Ocean from other oceans by natural boundaries. Only to the south of Australia and New Zealand are the Pacific waters connected by a broad front to the waters of the Indian Ocean, and through the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Passage to the waters of the Atlantic. In the north, the Pacific Ocean is connected to the Arctic Ocean by the Bering Strait. In general, the Pacific Ocean, excluding its Antarctic regions, is connected in a relatively small part with other oceans. The routes and its communications with the Indian Ocean pass through the Australasian seas and their straits, and with the Atlantic - through the Panama Canal and the Strait of Magellan. The narrowness of the straits of the seas of Southeast Asia, the limited capacity of the Panama Canal, and the remoteness of vast areas of Antarctic waters from major world centers reduce the transport capabilities of the Pacific Ocean. This is an important feature of its EGP in relation to world sea routes.

History of the formation and development of the basin

The pre-Mesozoic stage of the development of the World Ocean is largely based on assumptions, and many issues of its evolution remain unclear. Regarding the Pacific Ocean, there is much indirect evidence indicating that the paleo-Pacific Ocean has existed since the mid-Precambrian. It washed the only continent of the Earth - Pangea-1. It is believed that direct evidence of the antiquity of the Pacific Ocean, despite the youth of its modern crust (160-180 million years), is the presence of ophiolite associations of rocks in folded systems found throughout the continental periphery of the ocean and having an age up to the Late Cambrian. The history of the development of the ocean in Mesozoic and Cenozoic times has been more or less reliably restored.

The Mesozoic stage appears to have played a large role in the evolution of the Pacific Ocean. The main event of the stage is the collapse of Pangea-II. In the Late Jurassic (160-140 million years ago), the young Indian and Atlantic oceans opened. The expansion of their bed (spreading) was compensated by the reduction in the area of ​​the Pacific Ocean and the gradual closure of the Tethys. The ancient oceanic crust of the Pacific Ocean sank into the mantle (subduction) in the Zavaritsky-Benioff zones, which bordered the ocean, as at the present time, in an almost continuous strip. At this stage of the development of the Pacific Ocean, a restructuring of its ancient mid-ocean ridges took place.

The formation of folded structures in northeast Asia and Alaska in the late Mesozoic separated the Pacific Ocean from the Arctic Ocean. In the east, the development of the Andean belt absorbed the island arcs.

Cenozoic stage

The Pacific Ocean continued to shrink due to continents pushing against it. As a result of the continuous movement of America to the west and the absorption of the ocean floor, the system of its median ridges turned out to be significantly shifted to the east and southeast and even partially submerged under the continent of North America in the Gulf of California region. The marginal seas of the northwestern waters also formed, and the island arcs of this part of the ocean acquired their modern appearance. In the north, with the formation of the Aleutian island arc, the Bering Sea became detached, the Bering Strait opened, and the cold waters of the Arctic began to flow into the Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Antarctica, basins of the Ross, Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas took shape. There was a major fragmentation of the land connecting Asia and Australia, with the formation of numerous islands and seas of the Malay Archipelago. The marginal seas and islands of the transition zone to the east of Australia have acquired a modern appearance. 40-30 million years ago, an isthmus formed between the Americas, and the connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in the Caribbean region was completely interrupted.

Over the past 1-2 million years, the size of the Pacific Ocean has decreased very slightly.

Main features of the bottom topography

As in other oceans, all the main planetary morphostructural zones are clearly distinguished in the Pacific: the underwater margins of continents, transition zones, the ocean floor and mid-ocean ridges. But the general plan of the bottom relief, the ratio of areas and the location of these zones, despite a certain similarity with other parts of the World Ocean, are distinguished by great originality.

The underwater margins of the continents occupy about 10% of the area of ​​the Pacific Ocean, which is significantly less compared to other oceans. The continental shallows (shelf) account for 5.4%.

The shelf, like the entire underwater margin of the continents, reaches its greatest development in the western (Asian-Australian) continental sector, in the marginal seas - the Bering, Okhotsk, Yellow, East China, South China, seas of the Malay Archipelago, as well as to the north and east from Australia. The shelf is wide in the northern Bering Sea, where there are flooded river valleys and traces of relict glacial activity. The Sea of ​​Okhotsk has a developed submerged shelf (1000-1500 m deep).

The continental slope is also wide, with signs of fault-block dissection, and is cut through by large underwater canyons. The continental base is a narrow trail of accumulation of products carried out by turbidity currents and landslide masses.

To the north of Australia there is a vast continental shelf with widespread development of coral reefs. In the western part of the Coral Sea there is a unique structure on Earth - the Great Barrier Reef. This is an intermittent strip of coral reefs and islands, shallow bays and straits, stretching in the meridional direction for almost 2500 km, in the northern part the width is about 2 km, in the southern part - up to 150 km. The total area is more than 200 thousand km 2. At the base of the reef lies a thick layer (up to 1000-1200 m) of dead coral limestone, accumulated during the slow subsidence of the earth's crust in this area. To the west, the Great Barrier Reef descends gently and is separated from the mainland by a vast shallow lagoon - a strait up to 200 km wide and no more than 50 m deep. In the east, the reef breaks off like an almost vertical wall towards the continental slope.

The underwater margin of New Zealand represents a unique structure. The New Zealand plateau consists of two flat-topped rises: Campbell and Chatham, separated by a depression. The underwater plateau is 10 times larger than the area of ​​the islands themselves. This is a huge block of continental-type earth's crust, with an area of ​​about 4 million km 2, not connected to any of the nearest continents. On almost all sides the plateau is limited by the continental slope, which turns into the foot. This peculiar structure, called the New Zealand microcontinent, has existed at least since the Paleozoic.

The submarine margin of North America is represented by a narrow strip of leveled shelf. The continental slope is heavily indented by numerous submarine canyons.

The area of ​​the underwater margin located to the west of California and called the California Borderland is unique. The bottom relief here is large-block, characterized by a combination of underwater hills - horsts and depressions - grabens, the depths of which reach 2500 m. The nature of the borderland relief is similar to the relief of the adjacent land area. It is believed that this is a highly fragmented part of the continental shelf, submerged to different depths.

The underwater margin of Central and South America is distinguished by a very narrow shelf only a few kilometers wide. Over a long distance, the role of the continental slope here is played by the continental side of the deep-sea trenches. The continental foot is practically not expressed.

A significant part of the continental shelf of Antarctica is blocked by ice shelves. The continental slope here is distinguished by its large width and dissected submarine canyons. The transition to the ocean floor is characterized by weak manifestations of seismicity and modern volcanism.

Transition zones

These morphostructures within the Pacific Ocean occupy 13.5% of its area. They are extremely diverse in their structure and are most fully expressed compared to other oceans. This is a natural combination of basins of marginal seas, island arcs and deep-sea trenches.

In the Western Pacific (Asian-Australian) sector, a number of transitional regions are usually distinguished, replacing one another mainly in the submeridional direction. Each of them is different in its structure, and perhaps they are at different stages of development. The Indonesia-Philippine region is complex, including the South China Sea, the seas and island arcs of the Malay Archipelago and deep-sea trenches, which are located here in several rows. To the northeast and east of New Guinea and Australia is also the complex Melanesian region, in which island arcs, basins and trenches are arranged in several echelons. To the north of the Solomon Islands there is a narrow depression with depths of up to 4000 m, on the eastern extension of which the Vityaz Trench (6150 m) is located. OK. Leontyev identified this area as a special type of transition zone - Vityazevsky. A feature of this area is the presence of a deep-sea trench, but the absence of an island arc along it.

In the transition zone of the American sector there are no marginal seas, no island arcs, and only the deep-water trenches Central American (6662 m), Peruvian (6601 m) and Chilean (8180 m). Island arcs in this zone are replaced by young folded mountains of Central and South America, where active volcanism is concentrated. In the trenches there is a very high density of earthquake epicenters with a magnitude of up to 7-9 points.

The transition zones of the Pacific Ocean are areas of the most significant vertical division of the earth's crust on Earth: the elevation of the Mariana Islands above the bottom of the trench of the same name is 11,500 m, and the South American Andes above the Peruvian-Chilean trench is 14,750 m.

Mid-ocean ridges (rises). They occupy 11% of the area of ​​the Pacific Ocean and are represented by the South Pacific and East Pacific rises. The mid-ocean ridges of the Pacific Ocean differ in their structure and location from similar structures in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They do not occupy a central position and are significantly shifted to the east and southeast. This asymmetry of the modern spreading axis in the Pacific Ocean is often explained by the fact that it is in the stage of a gradually closing oceanic trench, when the rift axis shifts to one of its edges.

The structure of the mid-ocean rises of the Pacific Ocean also has its own characteristics. These structures are characterized by a domed profile, significant width (up to 2000 km), an intermittent strip of axial rift valleys with extensive participation in the formation of the relief of transverse fault zones. Subparallel transform faults cut the East Pacific Rise into separate blocks, shifted relative to each other. The entire uplift consists of a series of gentle domes, with the spreading center confined to the middle part of the dome, at approximately equal distances from the faults that bound it to the north and south. Each of these domes is also cut by en-echelon short faults. Large transverse faults cut the East Pacific Rise every 200-300 km. The length of many transform faults exceeds 1500-2000 km. Often they not only cross the flank zones of uplift, but also extend far out onto the ocean floor. Among the largest structures of this type are Mendocino, Murray, Clarion, Clipperton, Galapagos, Easter, Eltanin, etc. The high density of the earth's crust under the ridge, high heat flow values, seismicity, volcanism and a number of others are manifested very clearly, despite the fact that the rift the system of the axial zone of the mid-ocean rises of the Pacific Ocean is less pronounced than in the Mid-Atlantic and other ridges of this type.

North of the equator, the East Pacific Rise narrows. There is a clearly defined rift zone here. In the California region, this structure invades the North American mainland. This is associated with the breakaway of the California Peninsula, the formation of the large active San Andreas fault and a number of other faults and depressions within the Cordillera. The formation of the California borderland is probably connected with this.

The absolute elevations of the bottom relief in the axial part of the East Pacific Rise are everywhere about 2500-3000 m, but at some elevations they decrease to 1000-1500 m. The foot of the slopes is clearly traced along an isobath of 4000 m, and the bottom depths in the framing basins reach 5000-6000 m At the highest parts of the rise there are islands. Easter and the Galapagos Islands. Thus, the amplitude of uplift above the surrounding basins is generally quite large.

The South Pacific uplift, separated from the East Pacific by the Eltanin fault, is very similar to it in its structure. The length of the Eastern rise is 7600 km, the Southern rise is 4100 km.

ocean bed

It occupies 65.5% of the total area of ​​the Pacific Ocean. Mid-ocean rises divide it into two parts, differing not only in their size, but also in the characteristics of the bottom topography. The eastern (more precisely, southeastern) part, which occupies 1/5 of the ocean floor, is shallower and less complexly built in comparison with the vast western part.

A large proportion of the eastern sector is occupied by morphostructures that have a direct connection with the East Pacific Rise. Here are its lateral branches - the Galapagos and Chilean uplifts. The large blocky ridges of Tehuantepec, Coconut, Carnegie, Nosca, and Sala y Gomez are confined to zones of transform faults cutting the East Pacific Rise. Underwater ridges divide the eastern part of the ocean floor into a number of basins: Guatemala (4199 m), Panama (4233 m), Peruvian (5660 m), Chilean (5021 m). In the extreme southeastern part of the ocean is the Bellingshausen Basin (6063 m).

The vast western part of the Pacific Ocean floor is characterized by significant structural complexity and a variety of relief forms. Almost all morphological types of underwater bed rises are located here: arched shafts, block mountains, volcanic ridges, marginal rises, individual mountains (guyots).

The arched uplifts of the bottom are wide (several hundred kilometers) linearly oriented swellings of the basaltic crust with an excess of 1.5 to 4 km over the adjacent basins. Each of them is like a giant shaft, cut by faults into a number of blocks. Usually, entire volcanic ridges are confined to the central arched and sometimes to the flank zones of these uplifts. Thus, the largest Hawaiian swell is complicated by a volcanic ridge, some of the volcanoes are active. The surface peaks of the ridge form the Hawaiian Islands. The biggest one is o. Hawaii is a volcanic massif of several fused shield basalt volcanoes. The largest of them, Mauna Kea (4210 m), makes Hawaii the highest of the oceanic islands of the World Ocean. In a northwesterly direction, the size and height of the islands of the archipelago decrease. Most of the islands are volcanic, 1/3 are coral.

The most significant swells and ridges of the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean have a common pattern: they form a system of arcuate, subparallel uplifts.

The northernmost arc is formed by the Hawaiian Ridge. To the south is the next one, the largest in length (about 11 thousand km), starting with the Cartographer Mountains, which then turn into the Marcus Necker Mountains (Midpacific), giving way to the underwater ridge of the Line Islands and then turning into the base of the Tuamotu Islands. The underwater continuation of this rise can be traced further east up to the East Pacific Rise, where the island is located at the place of their intersection. Easter. The third mountain arc begins at the northern part of the Mariana Trench with the Magellan Mountains, which pass into the underwater base of the Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, and Samoa. Probably, the ridge of the southern islands of Cook and Tubu continues this mountain system. The fourth arc begins with the uplift of the North Caroline Islands, turning into the Kapingamarangi submarine swell. The last (southernmost) arc also consists of two links - the South Caroline Islands and the Eauriapic submarine swell. Most of the islands mentioned, which mark arched underwater shafts on the surface of the ocean, are coral, with the exception of the volcanic islands of the eastern part of the Hawaiian ridge, the Samoa Islands, etc. There is an idea (G. Menard, 1966) that many underwater rises of the central part of the Pacific Ocean - relics of the mid-ocean ridge that existed here in the Cretaceous period (called the Darwin Rise), which underwent severe tectonic destruction in the Paleogene. This uplift extended from the Cartographer Mountains to the Tuamotu Islands.

Block ridges are often accompanied by faults that are not associated with mid-ocean rises. In the northern part of the ocean, they are confined to submeridional fault zones south of the Aleutian Trench, along which the North-Western Ridge (Imperial) is located. Block ridges accompany a large fault zone in the Philippine Sea basin. Systems of faults and block ridges have been identified in many basins of the Pacific Ocean.

Various uplifts of the Pacific Ocean floor, together with mid-ocean ridges, form a kind of orographic framework of the bottom and separate oceanic basins from each other.

The largest basins in the west-central part of the ocean are: Northwestern (6671 m), Northeastern (7168 m), Philippine (7759 m), East Mariana (6440 m), Central (6478 m), West Carolina ( 5798 m), East Carolina (6920 m), Melanesian (5340 m), South Fiji (5545 m), South (6600 m), etc. The bottoms of the Pacific Ocean basins are characterized by low thickness of bottom sediments, and therefore flat abyssal plains are very limited in distribution (the Bellingshausen Basin due to the abundant supply of terrigenous sedimentary material carried from the Antarctic continent by icebergs, the North-Eastern Basin and a number of other areas). The transport of material into other basins is “intercepted” by deep-sea trenches, and therefore they are dominated by the topography of hilly abyssal plains.

The Pacific Ocean bed is characterized by separately located guyots - underwater mountains with flat tops, at depths of 2000-2500 m. On many of them, coral structures arose and atolls formed. The guyots, as well as the large thickness of dead coralline limestones on the atolls, indicate significant subsidence of the earth's crust within the Pacific Ocean floor during the Cenozoic.

The Pacific Ocean is the only one whose bed is almost entirely within the oceanic lithospheric plates (Pacific and small - Nazca, Cocos) with a surface at a depth of an average of 5500 m.

Bottom sediments

Bottom sediments of the Pacific Ocean are extremely diverse. In the marginal parts of the ocean on the continental shelf and slope, in marginal seas and deep-sea trenches, and in some places on the ocean floor, terrigenous sediments are developed. They cover more than 10% of the Pacific Ocean floor. Terrigenous iceberg deposits form a strip near Antarctica with a width of 200 to 1000 km, reaching 60° S. w.

Among biogenic sediments, the largest areas in the Pacific Ocean, as in all others, are occupied by carbonate (about 38%), mainly foraminiferal sediments.

Foraminiferal oozes are distributed mainly south of the equator to 60° S. w. In the Northern Hemisphere, their development is limited to the top surfaces of ridges and other elevations, where bottom foraminifera predominate in the composition of these silts. Pteropod deposits are common in the Coral Sea. Coral sediments are located on shelves and continental slopes within the equatorial-tropical zone of the southwestern part of the ocean and occupy less than 1% of the ocean floor area. Shelly shells, consisting mainly of bivalve shells and their fragments, are found on all shelves except the Antarctic. Biogenic siliceous sediments cover more than 10% of the Pacific Ocean floor area, and together with siliceous-carbonate sediments - about 17%. They form three main belts of siliceous accumulation: the northern and southern siliceous diatom oozes (at high latitudes) and the equatorial belt of siliceous radiolarian sediments. In areas of modern and Quaternary volcanism, pyroclastic volcanogenic sediments are observed. An important distinctive feature of the bottom sediments of the Pacific Ocean is the widespread occurrence of deep-sea red clays (more than 35% of the bottom area), which is explained by the great depths of the ocean: red clays are developed only at depths of more than 4500-5000 m.

Bottom mineral resources

The Pacific Ocean contains the most significant areas of distribution of ferromanganese nodules - more than 16 million km 2. In some areas, the content of nodules reaches 79 kg per 1 m2 (on average 7.3-7.8 kg/m2). Experts predict a bright future for these ores, arguing that their mass production can be 5-10 times cheaper than obtaining similar ores on land.

The total reserves of ferromanganese nodules at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean are estimated at 17 thousand billion tons. The United States and Japan are conducting pilot industrial development of nodules.

Other minerals in the form of nodules include phosphorite and barite.

Industrial reserves of phosphorites have been found near the California coast, in the shelf parts of the Japanese island arc, off the coast of Peru and Chile, near New Zealand, and in California. Phosphorites are mined from depths of 80-350 m. There are large reserves of this raw material in the open part of the Pacific Ocean within underwater rises. Baryte nodules were discovered in the Sea of ​​Japan.

Placer deposits of metalliferous minerals are currently important: rutile (titanium ore), zircon (zirconium ore), monazite (thorium ore), etc.

Australia occupies a leading place in their production; along its eastern coast, placers stretch for 1.5 thousand km. Coastal-sea placers of cassiterite concentrate (tin ore) are located on the Pacific coast of mainland and island Southeast Asia. There are significant placers of cassiterite off the coast of Australia.

Titanium-magnetite and magnetite placers are being developed near the island. Honshu in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, the USA (near Alaska), in Russia (near Iturup Island). Gold-bearing sands are known off the west coast of North America (Alaska, California) and South America (Chile). Platinum sands are mined off the coast of Alaska.

In the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands in the Gulf of California and in other places in rift zones, ore-forming hydrotherms (“black smokers”) have been identified - outlets of hot (up to 300-400°C) juvenile waters with a high content of various compounds. Polymetallic ore deposits are being formed here.

Among the non-metallic raw materials located in the shelf zone, glauconite, pyrite, dolomite, building materials - gravel, sand, clay, limestone-shell rock, etc. are of interest. Offshore deposits of gas and coal are of greatest importance.

Oil and gas shows have been discovered in many areas of the shelf zone in both the western and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean. Oil and gas production is carried out by the USA, Japan, Indonesia, Peru, Chile, Brunei, Papua, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia (in the area of ​​Sakhalin Island). The development of oil and gas resources on the Chinese shelf is promising. The Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas are considered promising for Russia.

In some areas of the Pacific shelf there are coal-bearing strata. Coal production from the subsoil of the seabed in Japan accounts for 40% of the total. On a smaller scale, coal is mined by sea in Australia, New Zealand, Chile and some other countries.

Which seas are colored?
And the salinity of the seas

The largest water areas of the Pacific basin include the Bering Sea in the north; Gulf of Alaska in the northeast; the Gulf of California and Tehuantepec in the east, off the coast of Mexico; the Gulf of Fonseca off the coast of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua and slightly to the south - the Gulf of Panama. There are only a few small bays off the west coast of South America, such as Guayaquil off the coast of Ecuador. In the western and southwestern Pacific Ocean, numerous large islands separate the main waters from many interisland seas, such as the Tasman Sea southeast of Australia and the Coral Sea off its northeastern coast; Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria north of Australia; Banda Sea north of the island. Timor; the Flores Sea north of the island of the same name; Java Sea north of the island. Java; Gulf of Thailand between the Malacca and Indochina peninsulas; Bac Bo Bay (Tonkin) off the coast of Vietnam and China; Makassar Strait between the islands of Kalimantan and Sulawesi; the Moluccas and Sulawesi seas, respectively, to the east and north of the island. Sulawesi; finally, the Philippine Sea east of the Philippine Islands. A special area in the southwest of the northern half of the Pacific Ocean is the Sulu Sea within the southwestern part of the Philippine archipelago, where there are also many small bays, bays and semi-enclosed seas (for example, the Sibuyan, Mindanao, Visayan Seas, Manila Bay, Lamon and Leite). The East China and Yellow Seas are located off the eastern coast of China; the latter forms two bays in the north: Bohaiwan and West Korean. The Japanese islands are separated from the Korean Peninsula by the Korea Strait. In the same northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, several more seas stand out: the Inland Sea of ​​Japan among the southern Japanese islands; the Sea of ​​Japan to their west; to the north is the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which is connected to the Sea of ​​Japan by the Tatar Strait.

The average depth is 3988 m. The deepest point of the ocean (it is also the deepest point in the world) is located in the Mariana Trench and is called the Challenger Deep (11,022 m).
. Average temperature: 19-37°C. The widest part of the Pacific Ocean is located at equatorial-tropical latitudes, so surface water temperatures are significantly higher than in other oceans.
. Dimensions: area - 179.7 million sq. km, volume - 710.36 million sq. km.

To imagine how big the Pacific Ocean is, there are enough numbers: it occupies a third of our planet and makes up almost half of the World Ocean.

Salinity - 35-36 ‰.

Pacific Currents

Alaskan- washes the western coast of North America and reaches the Bering Sea. It spreads to great depths, right down to the bottom. Current speed: 0.2-0.5 m/s. Water temperature: 7-15°C.

East Australian- the largest off the Australian coast. It starts at the equator (Coral Sea) and runs along the east coast of Australia. Average speed is 2-3 knots (up to 7). Temperature - 25°C.

Kuroshio(or Japanese) - washes the southern and eastern shores of Japan, carrying the warm waters of the South China Sea to the northern latitudes. It has three branches: East Korean, Tsushima and Soya. Speed: 6 km/h, temperature 18-28°C.

North Pacific- continuation of the Kuroshio current. It crosses the ocean from west to east, and near the coast of North America it branches into the Alaskan (goes to the north) and California (to the south). Near the coast of Mexico, it turns and crosses the ocean in the opposite direction (North Trade Wind Current) - all the way to Kuroshio.

South Passatnoe- flows in the southern tropical latitudes, stretches from east to west: from the coast of South America (Galapagos Islands) to the coast of Australia and New Guinea. Temperature - 32°C. Gives rise to the Australian Current.

Equatorial countercurrent (or inter-trade current)- stretches from west to east between the North Passat and South Passat currents.

Cromwell's current- a subsurface countercurrent that passes under the South Passat. Speed ​​70-150 cm/sec.

Cold:

Californian- the western branch of the North Pacific Current, flows along the western coasts of the United States and Mexico. Speed ​​- 1-2 km/h, temperature 15-26°C.

Antarctic Circumpolar (or Western Winds Current)— circles the entire globe between 40° and 50° S. latitude. Speed ​​0.4-0.9 km/h, temperature 12-15 °C. This current is often called the "Roaring Forties", as powerful storms rage here. The Peruvian Current branches off from it in the Pacific Ocean.

Peruvian Current (or Humboldt Current)- flows from south to north from the coast of Antarctica along the western coast of Chile and Peru. Speed ​​0.9 km/h, temperature 15-20 °C.

Underwater world of the Pacific Ocean

The flora and fauna of the underwater world in the Pacific Ocean is the richest and most diverse. Almost 50% of all living organisms in the World Ocean live here. The most densely populated area is considered to be the area near the Great Baller Reef.

All the living nature of the ocean is located according to climatic zones - in the north and south it is scarcer than in the tropics, but the total number of each species of animal or plant is greater here.

The Pacific Ocean produces more than half of the world's seafood catch. Of the commercial species, the most popular are salmon (95% of the world catch), mackerel, anchovies, sardines, horse mackerel, and halibut. There is limited whale fishing: baleen whales and sperm whales.

The richness of the underwater world is eloquently demonstrated by the following figures:

• more than 850 species of algae;
• more than 100 thousand species of animals (of which over 3800 species of fish);
• about 200 species of animals living at a depth of more than 7 thousand km;
• more than 6 thousand species of mollusks.

The Pacific Ocean is home to the largest number of endemics (animals that are found only here): dugongs, fur seals, sea otters, sea lions, sea cucumbers, polychaetes, leopard sharks.

The nature of the Pacific Ocean has only been studied about 10 percent. Every year scientists discover more and more new species of animals and plants. For example, in 2005 alone, more than 2,500 new species of mollusks and more than 100 species of crustaceans were discovered.

Pacific exploration

According to scientific research, the Pacific Ocean is the oldest on the planet. Its formation began in the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic, that is, more than 140 million years ago. The exploration of the ocean began long before the advent of writing. People who lived on the shores of the greatest water area have been using the gifts of the ocean for thousands of years ago. Thus, Thor Heyerdahl's expedition on the Kon-Tiki balsa raft confirmed the scientist's theory that the islands of Polynesia could have been populated by people from South America who were able to cross the Pacific Ocean on the same rafts.

For Europeans, the history of ocean exploration is officially dated from September 15, 1513. On this day, traveler Vasco Nunez de Balboa first saw the expanse of water stretching to the horizon, and dubbed it the South Sea.

According to legend, the ocean received its name from F. Magellan himself. During his trip around the world, the great Portuguese for the first time circled South America and ended up in the ocean. Having sailed along it for more than 17 thousand kilometers and without experiencing a single storm during all this time, Magellan christened the ocean the Pacific. It was only later research that proved him wrong. The Pacific Ocean is actually one of the most turbulent oceans. It is here that the largest tsunamis occur, and typhoons, hurricanes and storms occur here more often than in other oceans.

From then on, active exploration of the largest ocean on the planet began. We list only the most significant discoveries:

1589 - A. Ortelius publishes the world's first detailed map of the ocean.

1642-1644 - the ocean conquers A. Tasman and opens a new continent - Australia.

1769-1779 - three voyages around the world by D. Cook and exploration of the southern part of the ocean.

1785 - voyage of J. La Perouse, exploration of the southern and northern parts of the ocean. The mysterious disappearance of the expedition in 1788 still haunts the minds of researchers.

1787-1794 - the journey of A. Malaspina, who compiled a detailed map of the west coast of America.

1725-1741 - two Kamchatka expeditions led by V.I. Bering and A. Chirikov, study of the northern and northwestern parts of the ocean.

1819-1821 - trip around the world by F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev, discovery of Antarctica and islands in the southern part of the ocean.

1872-1876 - the world's first scientific expedition to study the Pacific Ocean was organized on the corvette Challenger (England). Maps of depths and bottom relief were compiled, and a collection of ocean flora and fauna was collected.

1949-1979 - 65 scientific voyages of the ship "Vityaz" under the flag of the USSR Academy of Sciences (measuring the depth of the Mariana Trench and detailed maps of the underwater relief).

1960 - first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

1973 - creation of the Pacific Oceanological Institute (Vladivostok)

Since the 90s of the twentieth century, a comprehensive study of the Pacific Ocean has begun, which combines and systematizes all the data obtained. Currently, the priority areas are geophysics, geochemistry, geology and commercial use of the ocean floor.

Since the discovery of the Challenger Deep in 1875, only three people have descended to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. The last dive took place on March 12, 2012. And the brave diver was none other than the famous film director James Cameron.

Many representatives of the fauna of the Pacific Ocean are characterized by gigantism: giant mussels and oysters, the tridacna clam (300 kg).

There are over 25 thousand islands in the Pacific Ocean, more than in all other oceans combined. Here is also the oldest island on the planet - Kauai, whose age is estimated at 6 million years.

More than 80% of tsunamis are “born” in the Pacific Ocean. The reason for this is the large number of underwater volcanoes.

The Pacific Ocean is full of secrets. There are many mystical places here: the Devil's Sea (near Japan), where ships and planes disappear; the bloodthirsty island of Palmyra, where everyone who remains there perishes; Easter Island with its mysterious idols; Truk Lagoon, where the largest military equipment cemetery is located. And in 2011, a sign island was discovered near Australia - Sandy Island. It appears and disappears, as evidenced by numerous expeditions and Google satellite photos.

The so-called Garbage Continent was discovered in the north of the ocean. This is a large garbage heap containing over 100 million tons of plastic waste.