|
The oceans are important to humans not only because they fuel the amount
of water that is available on land, but for their own natural resources.
The oceans contain rich biological and mineralogical resources that help
humans survive. The biological component includes marine life that
humans and other organisms eat. In order for us to eat one fish, there
would have been thousands of other organisms to provide food for that
one fish through the food chain. Although the oceans do not have trees,
they do have small plants that provide the necessary beginning of the
food chain.
The bottom of the ocean contains resources like oil, gas, and heavy
metals. But the sea also produces minerals like salt and gypsum that
precipitate out of salt water. The bottom of the deep oceans is also a
unique area where some mineral resources, like manganese nodules form
in vast numbers. The oceans are a world unto themselves with many more
habitats and features than land. You can only start learning all its
secrets.
|
Manganese nodules from the Pacific Ocean
|
