A sea is a large body of salt water that is surrounded in whole or in part by la

nd.[1] More broadly, "the sea" is the interconnected system of Earth's salty, oc
eanic waters considered as one global ocean or as several principal oceanic divisi
ons. The sea moderates Earth's climate and has important roles in the water cycl
e, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle. Although the sea has been travelled and exp
lored since prehistory, the modern scientific study of the sea oceanography dates br
oadly to the British Challenger expedition of the 1870s.[2] The sea is conventio
nally divided into up to five large oceanic sections including the International H
ydrographic Organization's four named oceans[3] (the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian,
and Arctic) and the Southern Ocean;[4] smaller, second-order sections, such as t
he Mediterranean, are known as seas.
Owing to the present state of continental drift, the Northern Hemisphere is now
fairly equally divided between land and sea (a ratio of about 2:3) but the South
is overwhelmingly oceanic (1:4.7).[5] Salinity in the open ocean is generally i
n a narrow band around 3.5% by mass, although this can vary in more landlocked w
aters, near the mouths of large rivers, or at great depths. About 85% of the sol
ids in the open sea are sodium chloride. Deep-sea currents are produced by diffe
rences in salinity and temperature. Surface currents are formed by the friction
of waves produced by the wind and by tides, the changes in local sea level produ
ced by the gravity of the Moon and Sun. The direction of all of these is governe
d by surface and submarine land masses and by the rotation of the Earth (the Cor
iolis effect).
Former changes in sea levels have left continental shelves, shallow areas in the
sea close to land. These nutrient-rich waters teem with life, which provide hum
ans with substantial supplies of food mainly fish, but also shellfish, mammals, an
d seaweed which are both harvested in the wild and farmed. The most diverse areas
surround great tropical coral reefs. Whaling in the deep sea was once common but
whales' dwindling numbers prompted international conservation efforts and final
ly a moratorium on most commercial hunting. Oceanography has established that no
t all life is restricted to the sunlit surface waters: even under enormous depth
s and pressures, nutrients streaming from hydrothermal vents support their own u
nique ecosystem. Life may have started there and aquatic microbial mats are gene
rally credited with the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere; both plants and anima
ls first evolved in the sea.
The sea is an essential aspect of human trade, travel, mineral extraction, and p
ower generation. This has also made it essential to warfare and left major citie
s exposed to earthquakes and volcanoes from nearby faults; powerful tsunami wave
s; and hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones produced in the tropics. This importan
ce and duality has affected human culture, from early sea gods to the epic poetr
y of Homer to the changes induced by the Columbian Exchange, from burial at sea
to Basho's haikus to hyperrealist marine art, and inspiring music ranging from t
he shanties in The Complaynt of Scotland to Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Sea and Sinba
d's Ship" to A-mei's "Listen to the Sea". It is the scene of leisure activities
including swimming, diving, surfing, and sailing. However, population growth, in
dustrialization, and intensive farming have all contributed to present-day marin
e pollution. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is being absorbed in increasing amounts,
lowering its pH in a process known as ocean acidification. The shared nature of
the sea has made overfishing an increasing problem.