Will the Atlantic Ocean ever be bigger than the Pacific Ocean?
Will the Atlantic Ocean ever be bigger than the Pacific Ocean?
The earth first started off as one huge continent called Pangea. Pangea was surrounded by one giant body of water. Over the course of millions and millions of years, Pangea began to break off and separate. After millions of years of movement, that is why the earth has the formation that it currently has, with seven large continents. With an area of 41,105,000 square miles, the Atlantic Ocean is currently just a little over half the size of the Pacific Ocean. The plates of the earth have never stopped moving. As the plates continue to shift, the Atlantic Ocean continues to grow each year, while the Pacific Ocean continually shrinks every year. While the Atlantic Ocean grows approximately one inch every year, the Pacific Ocean shrinks approximately one inch every year. If this pattern continues, millions and millions of years from now the Atlantic Ocean will be larger than the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is home of the “Ring of Fire.” The Ring of Fire is “a geologically active area where tectonic shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common.” (National Geographic) These volcanoes were all formed due to something called subduction. Subduction is what happens when the plates hit, the land from one shift under the other, moving kind of like a conveyor belt. Where the plate moves and bends under the other plate, this creates a trench. Trenches are all over the Pacific Ocean. Due to the activeness of the Ring of Fire, about 80% of all tsunamis in the world occur in the Pacific Ocean. A tsunami produces large waves that can be very destructive to the land around it. These occur after a deep water earthquake. With more research, we should be able to better predict this activity and be better prepared on land for large tsunamis.
Works Cited
" The Changing Oceans." Oceans Alive!. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. .
"How Big is the Atlantic Ocean." National Ocean Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
The earth first started off as one huge continent called Pangea. Pangea was surrounded by one giant body of water. Over the course of millions and millions of years, Pangea began to break off and separate. After millions of years of movement, that is why the earth has the formation that it currently has, with seven large continents. With an area of 41,105,000 square miles, the Atlantic Ocean is currently just a little over half the size of the Pacific Ocean. The plates of the earth have never stopped moving. As the plates continue to shift, the Atlantic Ocean continues to grow each year, while the Pacific Ocean continually shrinks every year. While the Atlantic Ocean grows approximately one inch every year, the Pacific Ocean shrinks approximately one inch every year. If this pattern continues, millions and millions of years from now the Atlantic Ocean will be larger than the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is home of the “Ring of Fire.” The Ring of Fire is “a geologically active area where tectonic shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common.” (National Geographic) These volcanoes were all formed due to something called subduction. Subduction is what happens when the plates hit, the land from one shift under the other, moving kind of like a conveyor belt. Where the plate moves and bends under the other plate, this creates a trench. Trenches are all over the Pacific Ocean. Due to the activeness of the Ring of Fire, about 80% of all tsunamis in the world occur in the Pacific Ocean. A tsunami produces large waves that can be very destructive to the land around it. These occur after a deep water earthquake. With more research, we should be able to better predict this activity and be better prepared on land for large tsunamis.
Works Cited
" The Changing Oceans." Oceans Alive!. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. .
"How Big is the Atlantic Ocean." National Ocean Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Cited: " The Changing Oceans." Oceans Alive!. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. . "How Big is the Atlantic Ocean." National Ocean Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. . "Tsunamis." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tsunami-profile/.