My reading goal The Sea


The sea is vast. There is more water on our planet than there is land and about 96% of that water is contained in the oceans. So much of these oceans are still unexplored and they could support up to one million different species, including the largest animal to have ever lived: the blue whale.


The sea is a diverse and dynamic place to be. Think about the differences between the sea that you might swim in and the deep, dark ocean depths.


The warm, turquoise waters of a coral reef are a long way from the chilly, polar waters where polar bears swim. The sea is a place that many creatures call home: creatures as different as the octopus and the oyster, the tiny krill and plankton (which form the basis of all marine food chains) and the great whales and sharks. From exploration by marine scientists on boats, diving and using deep-sea submersibles, we know a great deal about the hidden depths of these waters. Yet only 5% of the world’s oceans have been explored.


The Polar Seas


At the top and the bottom of the plant lie the North and South Poles. The chilly, polar seas that surround them are full of silent, drifting icebergs and sheets of creaking ice. In the warmer months, much of the ice melts. So much water is held as ice at the poles that if all the world’s ice melted, the oceans would rise over 60 metres. Because of the nutrients in the ice, life thrives in the sea directly around, and under, the ice. The Arctic Ocean (in the north) and the Southern Ocean (by Antarctica) are linked by their cold climate, but the types of wildlife that live there are very different. Life at both poles is harsh and extreme, which means that animals who live there are mostly large and often dangerous.


66


Read for information.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155