Introduction

Resources of the oceans

Development of the resources of the World Ocean

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The World Ocean has existed for more than 4 billion years, of which 3 billion years in the seas and oceans are the production processes of photosynthesis. The World Ocean has a slightly changing salt composition, the water contains almost all the elements of the periodic table. According to calculations, the total mass of substances dissolved in the World Ocean is estimated at a huge figure - 50 - 60 trillion. t. It is inhabited by over 300 thousand species of animals and more than 100 thousand species of vegetation.

The relief of the World Ocean is very diverse: about 80% of its surface falls at depths of more than 3 thousand meters and only 8% - at depths corresponding to the continental shelf.

The area of ​​the World Ocean is 361 million km2, or almost 71% of the area of ​​the globe. The oceans have huge natural resources, no less significant than the land.

The object of the study is the resources of the World Ocean, the subject of the study is the diversity of the main resources of the World Ocean.

The purpose of the work is to consider the resources of the World Ocean.

Tasks to be solved during the work:

characterize the resources of the World Ocean;

consider the problem of the development of the resources of the oceans.

Resources of the oceans

Mineral resources

The world ocean, which occupies about 71% of the surface of our planet, is a huge pantry of mineral wealth. Minerals within its limits are enclosed in two different environments - in the oceanic water mass itself, as the main part of the hydrosphere, and in the underlying earth's crust, as part of the lithosphere. According to the state of aggregation and, according to the operating conditions, they are divided into:

) liquid, gaseous and dissolved, exploration and production of which is possible with the help of boreholes (oil, natural gas, salt, sulfur, etc.); 2) solid surface deposits, the exploitation of which is possible with the help of dredges, hydraulic and other similar methods (metal-bearing placers and silts, concretions, etc.); 3) solid buried, the exploitation of which is possible by mining methods (coal, iron and some other ores).

The division of the mineral resources of the World Ocean into two large classes is also widely used: hydrochemical and geological resources. Hydrochemical resources include sea water itself, which can also be considered as a solution containing many chemical compounds and microelements. Geological resources include those mineral resources that are located in the surface layer and bowels of the earth's crust.

The hydrochemical resources of the World Ocean are elements of the salt composition of ocean and sea waters that can be used for economic needs. According to modern estimates, such waters contain about 80 chemical elements. The greatest amount of the oceanosphere contains compounds of chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, the concentration of which (in mg/l) is quite high; this group includes hydrogen and oxygen. All this creates the basis for the development of the "marine" chemical industry.

The geological resources of the World Ocean are the resources of mineral raw materials and fuel, which are no longer contained in the hydrosphere, but in the lithosphere, i.e., associated with the ocean floor. They can be subdivided into resources of the shelf, the continental slope and the deep ocean floor. The main role among them is played by the resources of the continental shelf, which occupies an area of ​​31.2 million km2, or 8.6% of the total ocean area.

The most famous and valuable mineral resource of the World Ocean is hydrocarbons: oil and natural gas. When characterizing the oil and gas resources of the World Ocean, usually, first of all, they mean the most accessible resources of its shelf. The largest oil and gas basins on the shelf of the Atlantic Ocean have been explored off the coast of Europe (North Sea), Africa (Guinea), Central America (Caribbean), smaller ones - off the coast of Canada and the USA, Brazil, in the Mediterranean and some other seas. In the Pacific Ocean, such basins are known off the coasts of Asia, North and South America, and Australia. In the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf occupies the leading place in terms of reserves, but oil and gas are also found on the shelf of India, Indonesia, Australia, and in the Arctic Ocean - off the coast of Alaska and Canada (the Beaufort Sea) and off the coast of Russia (the Barents and Kara Seas) . The Caspian Sea should be added to this list.

In addition to oil and natural gas, solid mineral resources are associated with the shelf of the World Ocean. According to the nature of occurrence, they are divided into primary and alluvial.

Primary deposits of coal, iron, copper-nickel ores, tin, mercury, common and potassium salts, sulfur and some other minerals of the buried type are usually genetically associated with deposits and basins of adjacent parts of the land. They are known in many coastal areas of the World Ocean, and in some places they are developed using mines and adits.

Coastal placers of heavy metals and minerals should be sought in the boundary zone of land and sea - on beaches and lagoons, and sometimes in the strip of ancient beaches flooded by the ocean.

Of the metals contained in such placers, the most important is tin ore - cassiterite, which occurs in the coastal-marine placers of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Around the "tin islands" of this area, they can be traced at a distance of 10-15 km from the coast and to a depth of 35 m. Off the coast of Japan, Canada, New Zealand and some other countries, reserves of ferruginous (titanomagnetite and monazite) sands have been explored, off the coast of the USA and Canada - gold-bearing sands, off the coast of Australia - bauxites. Coastal-marine placers of heavy minerals are even more widespread. First of all, this applies to the coast of Australia (ilmenite, zircon, rutile, monazite), India and Sri Lanka (ilmenite, monazite, zircon), USA (ilmenite, monazite), Brazil (monazite). Placer deposits of diamonds are known off the coast of Namibia and Angola.

A somewhat special position in this list is occupied by phosphorites. Large deposits of them have been discovered on the shelf of the western and eastern coasts of the United States, in the strip of the Atlantic coast of Africa, along the Pacific coast of South America.

Of the other solid mineral resources, the ferromanganese nodules, first discovered more than a hundred years ago by the British expeditionary ship Challenger, are of the greatest interest. Although nodules are called ferromanganese, since they contain 20% manganese and 15% iron, they also contain nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium, molybdenum, rare earth and other valuable elements in smaller quantities - more than 30 in total. Therefore, in fact, they are polymetallic ores . The main concentrations of nodules are in the Pacific Ocean, where they occupy an area of ​​16 million km2.

In addition to concretions, there are ferromanganese crusts on the ocean floor covering rocks in the mid-ocean ridge zones. These crusts are often located at depths of 1-3 km. Interestingly, they contain much more manganese than ferromanganese nodules. Ores of zinc, copper, cobalt are also found in them.

Russia, which has a very long coastline, also owns the largest continental shelf in terms of area (6.2 million km2, or 20% of the world shelf, of which 4 million km2 are promising for oil and gas). Large reserves of oil and gas have already been discovered on the shelf of the Arctic Ocean - primarily in the Barents and Kara Seas, as well as in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk (off the coast of Sakhalin). According to some estimates, 2/5 of all potential natural gas resources are associated with the seas in Russia. In the coastal zone, placer-type deposits and carbonate deposits are also known, which are used to obtain building materials.

Energetic resources

The World Ocean contains huge, truly inexhaustible resources of mechanical and thermal energy, moreover, constantly renewable. The main types of such energy are the energy of tides, waves, oceanic (sea) currents and the temperature gradient.

The energy of the tides is especially attractive. Tidal phenomena have been known to people since time immemorial and have played and continue to play a very important role in the life of many coastal countries, to some extent determining the entire rhythm of their lives.

It is well known that high and low tides occur twice a day. In the open ocean, the amplitude between high and low water is approximately 1 m, but within the continental shelf, especially in bays and river estuaries, it is much greater. The total energy power of the tides is usually estimated from 2.5 billion to 4 billion kW. We add that the energy of only one tidal cycle reaches about 8 trillion. kWh, which is only slightly less than the total world electricity generation for a whole year. Consequently, the energy of sea tides is an inexhaustible source of energy.

Let us add such a distinctive feature of tidal energy as its constancy. The ocean, unlike rivers, knows neither high-water nor low-water years. In addition, he "works on schedule" with an accuracy of several minutes. Due to this, the amount of electricity generated at tidal power plants (TPPs) can always be known in advance - unlike conventional hydroelectric power plants, where the amount of energy received depends on the regime of the river, which is associated not only with the climatic features of the territory through which it flows, but also with weather conditions. conditions,

It is believed that the Atlantic Ocean has the largest reserves of tidal energy. In its northwestern part, on the border of the USA and Canada, there is the Bay of Fundy, which is the inner narrowed part of the more open Bay of Maine. This bay is famous for the highest tides in the world, reaching 18 m. The tides are also very high off the coast of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. For example, off the coast of Baffin Island, they rise to 15.6 m. In the northeastern part of the Atlantic, tides of up to 10 and even 13 m are observed in the English Channel off the coast of France, in Bristol Bay and the Irish Sea off the coast of Great Britain and Ireland.

There are also large reserves of tidal energy in the Pacific Ocean. In its northwestern part, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is especially prominent, where in the Penzhinskaya Bay (northeastern part of Shelikhov Bay) the height of the tidal wave is 9-13 m. On the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean, favorable conditions for the use of tidal energy are available off the coast of Canada, the Chilean archipelago in southern Chile, in the narrow and long Gulf of California of Mexico.

Within the Arctic Ocean, in terms of tidal energy reserves, the White Sea stands out, in the Mezen Bay of which tides have a height of up to 10 m, and the Barents Sea off the coast of the Kola Peninsula (tides up to 7 m). In the Indian Ocean, the reserves of such energy are much smaller. The Gulf of Kutch of the Arabian Sea (India) and the northwestern coast of Australia are usually called promising for the construction of a TPP. However, in the deltas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong and Irrawaddy, the tides are also 4-6 m.

The kinetic energy of waves is also included among the energy resources of the World Ocean. The energy of wind waves is estimated in total at 2.7 billion kW per year. Experiments have shown that it should not be used near the coast, where the waves come weakened, but in the open sea or in the coastal zone of the shelf. In some offshore areas, wave energy reaches a significant concentration; and the USA and Japan - about 40 kW per 1 m of wave front, and on the west coast of Great Britain - even 80 kW per 1 m.

Another energy resource of the World Ocean is oceanic (sea) currents, which have a huge energy potential. Thus, the flow rate of the Gulf Stream even in the area of ​​the Florida Strait is 25 million m3/s, which is 20 times higher than the flow rate of all the rivers of the globe. And after the Gulf Stream, already in the ocean, connects with the Antilles current, its discharge increases to 82 million m3 / s. More than once attempts have been made to calculate the potential energy of this stream 75 km wide and 700 - 800 m thick, moving at a speed of 3 m/s.

When talking about the use of a temperature gradient, they mean the source of not mechanical, but thermal energy contained in the mass of ocean waters. Typically, the difference in water temperatures at the surface of the ocean and at a depth of 400 m is 12 °C. However, in the waters of the tropics, the upper layers of water in the ocean can have a temperature of 25-28 ° C, and the lower ones, at a depth of 1000 m, can be only 5 ° C. It is in such cases, when the temperature amplitude reaches 20° or more, that it is economically justified to use it to generate electricity at hydrothermal (seathermal) power plants.

On the whole, the energy resources of the World Ocean would be more correctly attributed to the resources of the future.

biological resources

The biological resources of the World Ocean are characterized not only by very large sizes, but also by exceptional diversity. The waters of the seas and oceans, in essence, are a densely populated world of many living organisms: from microscopic bacteria to the largest animals on Earth - whales. About 180 thousand species of animals live in the vast ocean spaces, from the surface illuminated by the Sun to the dark and cold realm of the deep sea, including 16 thousand different types of fish, 7.5 thousand species of crustaceans, and about 50 thousand species of gastropods. . There are also 10 thousand plant species in the World Ocean.

Based on the way of life and habitat, all organisms living in the oceans are usually divided into three classes.

The first class, which has the largest biomass and the greatest diversity of species, includes plankton, which, in turn, is divided into phytoplankton and zooplankton. Plankton is distributed mainly in the surface horizons of the ocean (down to a depth of 100-150 m), and phytoplankton - mainly the smallest unicellular algae - serves as food for many species of zooplankton, which in terms of biomass (20-25 billion tons) occupies the first place in the World Ocean. place.

The second class of marine organisms includes nekton. It includes all animals capable of moving independently in the water column of the seas and oceans. These are fish, whales, dolphins, walruses, seals, squids, shrimps, octopuses, turtles and some other species. A tentative estimate of the total nekton biomass is 1 billion tons, half of which is fish.

The third class includes marine organisms that live on the ocean floor or in bottom sediments - benthos. Various types of bivalve mollusks (mussels, oysters, etc.), crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, spiny lobsters), echinoderms (sea urchins) and other bottom animals can be named as representatives of zoobenthos; phytobenthos is represented primarily by a variety of algae. In terms of biomass, zoobenthos (10 billion tons) is second only to zooplankton.

The geographical distribution of the biological resources of the World Ocean is extremely uneven. Within its limits, very highly productive, highly productive, medium productive, unproductive, and most unproductive areas are quite clearly distinguished. Naturally, the first two of them are of the greatest economic interest. Productive areas in the World Ocean can have the character of latitudinal belts, which is largely due to the unequal distribution of solar energy. Thus, the following natural and fishery belts are usually distinguished: the Arctic and Antarctic, the temperate zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the tropical equatorial zone. Of these, the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere is of the greatest economic importance.

For a more complete characterization of the geographical distribution of biological resources, their distribution between the individual oceans of the Earth is of great interest.

The Pacific Ocean occupies the first place both in terms of total biomass and in terms of the number of species. Its fauna is three to four times richer in species composition than other oceans. In fact, all kinds of living organisms inhabiting the oceans are represented here. The Pacific Ocean also differs from others in its high biological productivity, especially in the temperate and equatorial zones. But the biological productivity is even greater in the shelf zone: it is here that the overwhelming majority of those marine animals that serve as objects of fishing live and spawn.

The biological resources of the Atlantic Ocean are also very rich and varied. It stands out for its high average biological productivity. Animals inhabit the entire thickness of its waters. Large marine mammals (whales, pinnipeds), herring, cod and other fish species, crustaceans live in temperate and cold waters. In the tropical part of the ocean, the number of species is no longer measured in thousands, but in tens of thousands. A variety of organisms also live in its deep-sea horizons under conditions of enormous pressure, low temperatures and eternal darkness.

The Indian Ocean also has significant biological resources, but they have been studied here worse and are still less used. As for the Arctic Ocean, the predominant part of the cold and icy waters of the Arctic is unfavorable for the development of life and therefore not very productive. Only in the Atlantic part of this ocean, in the zone of influence of the Gulf Stream, does its biological productivity increase significantly.

Russia has very large and diverse marine biological resources. First of all, this applies to the seas of the Far East, with the greatest diversity (800 species) observed off the coast of the southern Kuril Islands, where cold-loving and heat-loving forms coexist. Of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea is the richest in bioresources.

Development of the resources of the World Ocean

Along with the problem of water resources, as the largest independent complex problem, the task of developing the resources of the World Ocean arises.

The ocean occupies a larger part of the Earth's surface (71%) than land. He caused the emergence and evolution of many forms of life: 75% of the classes and subclasses of the Earth's animal organisms originated in the hydrosphere. The biomass of the ocean includes 150 thousand species and subspecies of living organisms. And at present, the World Ocean plays a huge role in creating the necessary conditions for life on Earth. It is the supplier of half of the oxygen in the air and approximately 20% of the protein food for humanity.

It is believed that it is the oceans that will “quench the thirst” of mankind in the future. Seawater desalination methods are still complex and expensive, but such water is already used in Kuwait, Algeria, Libya, Bermuda and the Bahamas, and in some parts of the United States. On the Mangyshlak peninsula (Kazakhstan), a seawater desalination plant is also operating.

In addition, the opportunity to use another source of fresh ocean water is becoming more and more real: towing giant icebergs breaking off from the northern and southern "ice caps" of the Earth to scarce countries.

Further research and development of the World Ocean can affect the prospects for solving other global problems. Let's list some of them.

The most important part of the resources of the oceans are biological. Scientists believe that these resources will be enough to feed 30 billion people.

The oceans are a repository of vast mineral resources. Every year, the real process of exploiting these resources is being deployed more and more actively. 1/4 of the world's oil is now extracted from the bottom of the seas, 12% of cassiterite (off the coast of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand), diamonds from the coastal sands of South Africa and Namibia, many millions of tons of phosphorite nodules for fertilizers. In 1999, to the east of New Guinea, a major project was launched to extract the richest complex ores of iron, zinc, copper, gold and silver from the ocean floor. The energy potential of the ocean is huge (one tidal cycle of the World Ocean is able to provide mankind with energy, but so far this is the "potential of the future").

For the development of world production and exchange, the transport significance of the oceans is great. The ocean is a receptacle for most of the waste of human economic activity (by the chemical and physical effects of its waters and the biological influence of living organisms, the ocean disperses and purifies the bulk of the waste entering it. However, exceeding the self-cleaning capabilities of the ocean by humanity is fraught with very serious consequences).

The development of the resources of the World Ocean and its protection are undoubtedly one of the global problems of mankind.

Conclusion

world ocean resource phytoplankton

Most of the Earth's surface is occupied by the ocean. The oceans play a huge role in creating the necessary conditions for life on Earth. It is a supplier of oxygen to the atmosphere and protein food for mankind,

It is believed that it is the oceans that will quench the "thirst" of mankind. Sea water desalination methods are still complex and expensive, but such a floor is already used in Kuwait, Algeria, Libya, Bermuda and the Bahamas, and some parts of the United States. In Kazakhstan, a seawater desalination plant is also operating on the Mangyshlak Peninsula.

The ever-expanding knowledge of the ocean's resource potential shows that in many ways it can replenish depleting mineral resources on land. Further research and economic development of the World Ocean can affect the prospects for solving a number of global problems.

The most important part of the resources of the World Ocean are biological (fish, zoo- and phytoplankton). The oceans are a repository of vast mineral resources. The energy potential of the ocean is also great (only one tidal cycle is able to provide humanity with energy - but so far this is the "potential of the future"). For the development of the world economy and international exchange, the transport significance of the oceans is very great. Finally, the ocean is the main reservoir of the most valuable and increasingly scarce resource - fresh water (after desalination of sea water),

The resources of the oceans are enormous, but so are its problems. In the XX century. The impact of human activity on the World Ocean has taken on catastrophic proportions: the ocean is being polluted with crude oil and oil products, heavy metals and other highly and moderately toxic substances, and ordinary garbage. Several billion tons of liquid and solid waste enter the World Ocean annually, including with river runoff into the seas. By the chemical and physical action of its waters and the biological influence of living organisms, the ocean disperses and purifies the bulk of the waste that enters it. However, the ocean is finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the increasing amount of waste and pollution. The development of ocean resources and its protection is one of the global problems of mankind.

List of used literature

1.Alisov N.V. Economic and social geography of the world (general review). - M.: Gardariki, 2000.

2.Butov V.I. Economic and social geography of the foreign world and the Russian Federation. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M: ICC "MarT"; Rostov n / a: Publishing Center "Mart", 2006.

.Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world: In 2 books. Book 1: General characteristics of the world. - M.: Bustard, 2003.

.Rodionova I.A. Economical geography. - 7th ed. - M.: Moscow Lyceum, 2004.

.Socio-economic geography of the foreign world / Ed. V.V. Volsky. - 2nd ed., corrected. - M.: Bustard, 2003.

Tags: Resources of the oceans abstract Geography, economic geography

The oceans are a source of important resources for mankind. Numerous species of animals live in it, and its waters, bottom and subsoil are rich in minerals. The importance of the ocean for transport and recreation is enormous. Treasures of sunken ships can be considered a kind of resources of the ocean depths.

- natural elements, substances and energy that are extracted or that can be extracted directly from the waters, coastal land, the bottom or bowels of the oceans.

The natural resources of the World Ocean are divided into hydrochemical, geological (mineral), energy and biological.

hydrochemical resources. According to modern estimates, ocean and sea waters contain about 80 chemical elements, and most of all - compounds of chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, hydrogen and oxygen. Thus, more than 30% of the world's salt reserves, 60% of magnesium, 90% of bromine and potassium are extracted from the waters of the World Ocean. The total amount of some hydrochemical resources can be quite significant, which creates the basis for the development of the "marine" chemical industry. Salt sea water in a number of countries is used for industrial desalination. The largest producers of such fresh water are Kuwait, the USA, and Japan.

Map: Resources of the World Ocean

Geological (mineral) resources

Geological (mineral) resources. These are substances dissolved in sea water, as well as minerals located on the bottom and under the bottom of the ocean. Coastal-marine placers contain zirconium, gold, platinum, diamonds. Nadra shelf zone rich in oil and gas. The main areas of offshore oil production are the Persian, Mexican (Fig. 28), the Gulf of Guinea, the coast of Venezuela, the North and South China Seas. The UK, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia are introducing underwater mining of hard coal on the shelf. Iron ore (off the coast of Kyushu, in the Hudson Bay), sulfur (USA), and others are mined from underwater resources. The main wealth of the deep-sea bed of the ocean is iron-manganese nodules, the reserves of which reach 1.5 billion tons. The extraction of tin ore has been established in the shelf zone of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; rutile and zirconium off the coast of Australia; ilmenite - off the coast of India; diamonds - off the coast of Namibia; amber - in the Baltic Sea. Every year, almost 1 billion tons of sand and gravel are mined from the depths of the sea. According to the UN, the depths of the oceans contain 358 billion tons of manganese, 7.9 billion tons of copper, 5.2 billion tons of cobalt, 1 million tons of zircon. These reserves will last for tens of thousands of years.

Energetic resources. This is the energy of ebbs and flows, waves, sea currents. Now tidal power plants (TPPs) are operating, for example, in France (Fig. 29) and in Russia (Kislogubskaya TPP on the Kola Peninsula). Wave power plants operate in Japan, Great Britain, Australia, India, Norway. In the future, it is planned to use the thermal energy of ocean waters.

biological resources

These are all living organisms of the world's oceans that a person uses or can use for their own needs. The total mass of living organisms in the oceans is estimated at about 35 billion tons. They belong to renewable resources and are a source of food, as well as a raw material for obtaining valuable substances for industrial industries, agriculture, and medicine.

The shelf zone of the World Ocean is rich in biological resources: it accounts for more than 90% of the global catch of fish and non-fish objects. Among the oceans, the Pacific Ocean has the highest productivity (Fig. 30), and among the seas, the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese seas. About 90% of industrial objects that are mined in the ocean are fish. Thus, the largest fishing countries in the world are China, Peru, Japan, Chile, USA, Russia, India, Norway. the artificial cultivation of mollusks and algae on farms and marine plantations, called mariculture, is gaining more and more development.

Biological resources of the oceans

Ocean resources. resources of the Pacific. The richest reserves of ferromanganese nodules have been discovered at the bottom of the ocean. Oil and gas deposits have been discovered on the shelf off the coast of Africa and South America. Rivers erode and carry gold, tin and other metals into coastal waters, creating alluvial deposits. The ocean ranks first in the catch of fish and the production of other marine animals. Energy resources are large, but not yet used enough.

Resources of the Atlantic Ocean. The most important transoceanic routes run across the Atlantic. The reserves of iron ore and sulfur are concentrated in the bowels of the shelf. Oil and gas fields (in the North Sea, etc.). Several TPPs operate. Of all the oceans, the Atlantic has the most biological resources, but due to overfishing, the growth of fisheries has slowed down and the ocean has given way to the Pacific Ocean.

CSR in the subject "Economic and social geography of Western countries"

Topic: “Mineral resources of the world and their use for economic development. Resources of the World Ocean and prospects for their use »

Prepared by a 1st year student

2nd group MO FMO

Nikolaev Vasily

Minsk, 2006

World Ocean is the future of mankind. Numerous organisms live in its waters, many of which are a valuable bioresource of the planet, and in the thickness of the earth's crust, covered with the Ocean, there is a large part of all the mineral resources of the Earth.

In the context of the shortage of fossil raw materials and the ongoing accelerated scientific and technological progress for half a century, when it is less and less economically profitable to develop the explored deposits of natural resources on land, a person with hope turns his eyes to the vast territories of the Ocean.

The entire world ocean is 361 million sq. km (about 71% the entire surface of the Earth), and fresh water accounts for only 20 million square meters. km, and the total volume of the entire hydrosphere is 1390 million cubic meters km, of which the actual waters of the Ocean - 96,4% .

The resources of the oceans are divided into four groups:

1. Aquatic(with the advent of the industrial possibility of desalination of sea water [ distillation] many of the world's water-poor countries have to use this expensive method to cover their needs);

2. Energy(resources of ebbs and flows, sea currents, wave energy and temperature gradient), they are still technically difficult to master, therefore, they can only be counted "on account of future discoveries." Only one tidal energy is estimated in 8 trillion kWh (almost 100% coverage the world's electricity needs), taking into account the total power in 2,5 – 4 billion kWh. The big “plus” of TPP (tidal power plants), in contrast to hydroelectric power plants, is a sustainable energy output. But for now, these are rather resources of the future. They are inexhaustible.

3. Biological(divided into 2 groups: all marine life and those that are of direct commercial importance now or will be in the foreseeable future; estimates of the entire biomass of the Ocean fluctuate from 35 to 40 billion tons, which is certainly much lower than the biomass of land). Based on the way of life and habitat, all marine organisms are usually divided into 3 classes: plankton[possesses the highest biomass (62.5%) and diversity of species, emits zoo- and phytoplankton, populates water up to 150 m deep], nekton[all animals that can move freely in the water column - 2.5% of the biomass of the Ocean, half are fish] and benthos[bottom and simply deep inhabitants of the World Ocean, distinguish between zoo- (25%) and phytobenthos].

4. mineral, which we will discuss separately.

Mineral resources of the oceans

The total oil and gas area within the shelf is estimated at 13 million square kilometers (about ½ of its area).

The largest areas of oil and gas production from the seabed are the Persian and Mexican Gulfs. Commercial production of gas and oil from the bottom of the North Sea has begun.

The shelf is also rich in surface deposits, represented by numerous placers on the bottom containing metal ores, as well as non-metallic minerals.

On vast areas of the ocean, rich deposits of ferromanganese nodules have been discovered - a kind of multicomponent ores containing nickel, cobalt, copper, etc. At the same time, research allows us to count on the discovery of large deposits of various metals in specific rocks occurring under the ocean floor.

Osmosis and its energy

Salt water of oceans and seas harbors huge untapped reserves of energy that can be effectively converted into other forms of energy in areas with large salinity gradients, such as the mouths of the largest rivers in the world, such as the Amazon, Parana, Congo, etc.

The osmotic pressure arising from the mixing of fresh river water with salt water is proportional to the difference in salt concentrations in these waters. On average, this pressure is 24 atm., and at the confluence of the Jordan River into the Dead Sea, 500 atm.

As a source of osmotic energy, it is also planned to use salt domes enclosed in the thickness of the ocean floor.

Calculations have shown that when using the energy obtained by dissolving the salt of a salt dome with average oil reserves, it is possible to obtain no less energy than when using the oil contained in it. Work on converting "salt" energy into electrical energy is at the stage of projects and pilot plants.

Among the proposed options are of interest hydroosmosis devices with semi-permeable membranes. In them, the solvent is absorbed through the membrane into the solution.

As solvents and solutions, fresh water is used - sea water or sea water - brine, which is obtained by dissolving salt dome deposits.

findings

Despite the huge prospects for using the bowels of the world ocean, as well as its energy from tides, waves, etc., humanity at this stage of its technical development has focused mainly on oil and gas production in easily accessible continental regions and active (up to the threat of extermination) catching the biomass of the seas. and oceans of the earth.

Bibliography

Maksakovskiy, V. P. Geographical picture of the world: in 2 books. / V. P. Maksakovskiy. M., 2003. Book 1: General characteristics of the world.

Alisov, N.V. Economic and social geography of the world (general review): textbook. for universities / N. V. Alisov, B. S. Khorev. M., 2001.

Lyubimov I. M. General political, economic and social geography: Textbook. – M.: Helios, 2001.

Big encyclopedic dictionary of the schoolboy. Compiled by - Gorkin A.P. M., 1999.

Network Internet .

The water shell that surrounds the continents and islands and is continuous and unified is called

The word "ocean" comes from the Greek. oceanos, which means "a great river flowing around the whole earth."

The concept of the World Ocean as a whole was put into use by a Russian oceanologist Yu. M. Shokalsky(1856-1940) in 1917

The ocean is the custodian of water. In the Southern Hemisphere, it occupies 81% of the territory, in the Northern - only 61%, which indicates an uneven distribution of land on our planet and is one of the main factors in the formation of the nature of the Earth. The ocean influences the climate (since it is a huge accumulator of solar heat and moisture, thanks to it, sharp temperature fluctuations are smoothed out on Earth, remote areas of land are moistened), soils, flora and fauna; is a source of various resources.

They stand out in a separate part of the Earth's hydrosphere - oceanosphere, which accounts for 361.3 million km2, or 70.8% of the area of ​​the globe. The mass of ocean water is about 250 times the mass of the atmosphere.

The oceans are not just water, but a single natural formation in its essence.

Unity of the World Ocean how the water mass is ensured by its continuous movement in both horizontal and vertical directions; homogeneous universal composition of waters, which is an ionized solution containing all the chemical elements of the periodic table, etc.

All processes occurring in the World Ocean have a pronounced zonal and vertical character. The natural and vertical belts of the ocean are described in Sec. "Biosphere of the Earth".

The world ocean is a habitat for many forms of life, as it has quite favorable conditions for the development of life. Almost 300 thousand species of plants and animals live here, including fish, cetaceans (whales and dolphins), cephalopods (octopuses and squids), crustaceans, sea worms, corals, etc., as well as algae. More details about the inhabitants of the oceans are described in sec. "Biosphere of the Earth".

The oceans are of great importance for the nature of the Earth and man. For example, the transport significance of the ocean is simply undeniable. Back in the 19th century the importance of the oceans as a means of communication between continents and countries became obvious. Currently, a huge amount of cargo is transported by world seaports. Although sea transport is not the fastest, it is one of the cheapest.

So, the meaning of the oceans is as follows:

• is an accumulator of solar heat;
• determines the weather, climate;
• habitat for hundreds of thousands of species;
• these are the "lungs of the planet";
• is a source of seafood, mineral resources;
• used as a transport route;
• it is the supplier of fresh water as a result of evaporation and the transfer of moisture to land.

Natural resources of the oceans

The waters of the oceans are rich in various resources. Among them are of great value organic (biological) resources. At the same time, about 90% of the biological resources of the ocean are fish resources.

In the first place in terms of production volumes in the world fishery are herrings. Salmon and especially sturgeon fish are of particular wealth. Mostly fish are caught in the shelf zone. The use of fish is not limited to just eating, it is used as fodder meal, technical fat, fertilizers.

Hypericum(they hunt walruses, seals, fur seals) and whaling fisheries are now either limited or banned altogether.

Fishery related to trapping invertebrates and crustaceans, has become widespread in the countries of Southeast Asia and many other coastal countries, in which mollusks and echinoderms are widely used for food. Shellfish are highly valued in the market. One of the representatives of crustaceans is krill, from which food protein and vitamins are produced.

The most important natural resource of the ocean, used for food preparation, for obtaining iodine, paper, glue, etc., - seaweed.

Also recently, the artificial cultivation of living organisms in the waters of the World Ocean (aquaculture) has become widespread.

chief chemical resource oceans are the water itself and the chemical elements dissolved in it. There are about 800 desalination plants operating in the world, which results in the annual extraction of millions of cubic meters of fresh water. However, the cost of this water is very high.

Main mineral resources extracted from the bottom of the sea is oil and gas. Their production continues and is growing rapidly every year. Coal, iron ore, tin and many other minerals are also mined, but this mining has not yet been fully established.

Huge and energetic resources ocean. So, water contains a promising fuel for nuclear reactors - deuterium (heavy water).

In some countries of the world (France, Great Britain, Canada, China, India, Russia, etc.) tidal power plants (TPPs) operate. The first TPP in the world was built in France in 1966. It was built at the mouth of the Rane River and is called "La Rane". It is currently the world's largest tidal power plant. Its installed capacity is 240 MW. The volume of electricity production is about 600 million kWh.

More than 100 years ago, scientists put forward the idea of ​​obtaining energy due to the difference in water temperatures in the surface and deep layers of the ocean. After 1973, extensive practical research was launched in this direction. There are experimental facilities in the Hawaiian Islands, where the temperature difference at the surface of the water and at a depth of about one kilometer is 22 °C. Another hydrothermal station was built on the west coast of Africa near the city of Abidjan (the largest city in the state of Côte d'Ivoire). Power plants using the energy of sea waves can operate on a similar principle to tidal ones. One of these power plants, although of low power, was commissioned in commissioned in Norway in 1985

Due to the rich chemical composition, sea water has many healing properties, and sea air is saturated with many ions. This indicates the possibility of using recreational resources ocean. Sea water brings a special effect when used together with therapeutic mud and thermal waters. Therefore, seaside resorts, such as the Mediterranean, resorts of California, Florida, etc., are in great demand.

Now, when global changes are taking place on the entire planet, the World Ocean in the life of mankind, more than ever, plays a huge role. After all, it contains such riches that, with rational use and ensuring their reproduction, are practically endless.

With the right approach, the resources of the World Ocean can provide the industry with the necessary raw materials, and the rapidly growing population of the planet with food and fresh water, and save it from the energy crisis. All its inexhaustible riches are divided into several types.

Resources of the oceans: their main types

1. Sea water. This is the first and main resource. Firstly, it highlights 75 important chemical elements (bromine, potassium, magnesium, uranium and others). Of all the production of table salt in the world, the share obtained from ocean waters is 33%. They are also a source of some metals (including silver and copper) necessary for industry. In addition, fresh water can be obtained from sea water. And this is important, if we take into account its deficit in many hot countries.

2. Mineral resources of the oceans. This is not only what is directly in its waters, but also what is hidden in the depths. There are many minerals on the bottom of the ocean. Some of them - platinum, gold, and sometimes precious stones - are washed away by the waters on the coasts of the continents. The vast underwater plains of the World Ocean are predominantly covered with ferromanganese nodules. They are a mixture of many metals: cobalt, titanium, nickel, vanadium, copper. But manganese and iron predominate among them, of course.

3. Energy resources of the oceans. This is the temperature regime and the movement of its waters. At present, the development of the energy of ebb and flow, which began in the Middle Ages, continues, scientists are developing projects for the most expedient use of the energy of currents, waves and surfs.

4. Fuel resources of the oceans. In its bowels, deposits of oil, coal and natural gas were formed and accumulated in large quantities. These fossil fuels are the most widely used fuels in the world today.

The need for them in most countries is increasing every day, since not all regions are equally provided with them. The conducted exploration works have shown that it is the bottom of the World Ocean that can serve as the main source of gas and oil production.

5. Natural resources of the oceans. The total volume of its biomass, consisting of algae and animals, is 35 billion tons. This is enough to feed 30 billion people. In order for the food resources of the World Ocean to remain inexhaustible, they must be used very carefully, in no case exceed the maximum limit for catching fish, pinnipeds and whales. One way to increase its biological productivity is to artificially breed living organisms in coastal zones.

Additional value of the oceans

It serves not only as a storehouse of various resources, but also as a road connecting entire continents. Most of the transportation between countries is provided by sea transport. Also, the physical and chemical properties of ocean waters, the influence of living organisms inhabiting them, contribute to the processing of almost all waste entering it, thereby supporting the planet's ecosystems.