Describe the mineral resources of the ocean. Sea water is an independent resource of the World Ocean

In our time, the “epoch of global problems”, the World Ocean plays an increasingly important role in the life of mankind. Being a huge pantry of mineral, energy, plant and animal wealth, which - with their rational consumption and artificial reproduction - can be considered practically inexhaustible, the Ocean is able to solve one of the most pressing problems: the need to provide a rapidly growing population with food and raw materials for a developing industry, danger of an energy crisis, lack of fresh water.

The main resource of the World Ocean is sea water. It contains 75 chemical elements, among which are such important as uranium, potassium, bromine, magnesium. And although the main product of sea water is still table salt - 33% of world production, magnesium and bromine are already being mined, methods for obtaining a number of metals have long been patented, among them copper and silver, which are necessary for industry, the reserves of which are steadily depleted, when, as in ocean waters Ah they contain up to half a billion tons.

In connection with the development nuclear power there are good prospects for the extraction of uranium and deuterium from the waters of the oceans, especially since the reserves of uranium ores on earth are decreasing, and in the ocean there are 10 billion tons of it, deuterium is practically inexhaustible - for every 5000 atoms of ordinary hydrogen there is one atom of heavy. In addition to isolating chemical elements, sea water can be used to obtain necessary for a person fresh water.

Many industrial desalination methods are now available: chemical reactions, at which impurities are removed from the water; salt water is passed through special filters; finally, the usual boiling is performed. But desalination is not the only way to obtain potable water. There are bottom sources that are increasingly being found on the continental shelf, that is, in areas of the continental shelf adjacent to the shores of land and having the same geological structure as it. One of these sources, located off the coast of France - in Normandy, gives such an amount of water that it is called an underground river.

The mineral resources of the World Ocean are represented not only sea ​​water, but also by the fact that "under water". The bowels of the ocean, its bottom are rich in mineral deposits. On the continental shelf there are coastal placer deposits - gold, platinum; meet and gems- rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. For example, near Namibia, diamond gravel has been mined underwater since 1962. On the shelf and partly on the continental slope of the Ocean, there are large deposits of phosphorites that can be used as fertilizers, and the reserves will last for the next few hundred years.

The most interesting type of mineral raw materials of the World Ocean is the famous ferromanganese nodules, which cover vast underwater plains. Concretions are a kind of "cocktail" of metals: they include copper, cobalt, nickel, titanium, vanadium, but, of course, most of all iron and manganese. Their locations are well known, but the results of industrial development are still very modest. But the exploration and production of oceanic oil and gas on the coastal shelf is in full swing, the share of offshore production is approaching 1/3 of the world production of these energy carriers. On an especially large scale, deposits are being developed in the Persian, Venezuelan, Gulf of Mexico, and in the North Sea; oil platforms stretched off the coast of California, Indonesia, in the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas.

The Gulf of Mexico is also famous for the sulfur deposit discovered during oil exploration, which is melted from the bottom with the help of superheated water. Another, as yet untouched pantry of the ocean are deep crevices, where a new bottom is formed. So, for example, hot (more than 60 degrees) and heavy brines of the Red Sea depression contain huge reserves of silver, tin, copper, iron and other metals. The extraction of materials in shallow water is becoming more and more important. Around Japan, for example, underwater iron-bearing sands are sucked out through pipes, the country extracts about 20% of coal from sea mines - they build artificial island and drill a shaft that exposes coal seams.

Many natural processes, occurring in the World Ocean - movement, temperature regime of waters - are inexhaustible energy resources. For example, the total tidal power of the Ocean is estimated at 1 to 6 billion kWh. This property of ebb and flow was used in France already in the Middle Ages: in the XII century, mills were built, the wheels of which were set in motion by a tidal wave. Today in France there are modern power plants that use the same principle of operation: the rotation of the turbines at high tide occurs in one direction, and at low tide - in the other.

The main wealth of the World Ocean is its biological resources (fish, zoo- and phytoplankton, and others). The biomass of the Ocean has 150 thousand species of animals and 10 thousand algae, and its total volume is estimated at 35 billion tons, which may well be enough to feed 30 billion! Human. Catching annually 85-90 million tons of fish, it accounts for 85% of the used marine products, shellfish, algae, humanity provides about 20% of its needs for proteins of animal origin. The living world of the Ocean is a huge food resource that can be inexhaustible if used properly and carefully. The maximum fish catch should not exceed 150-180 million tons per year: it is very dangerous to exceed this limit, as irreparable losses will occur.

Many varieties of fish, whales, and pinnipeds have almost disappeared from ocean waters due to immoderate hunting, and it is not known whether their population will ever recover. But the population of the Earth is growing at a rapid pace, increasingly in need of marine products.

There are several ways to increase its productivity. The first is to remove from the ocean not only fish, but also zooplankton, part of which - Antarctic krill - has already been eaten. It is possible, without any damage to the Ocean, to catch it in much large quantities than all currently harvested fish. The second way is to use the biological resources of the open ocean. The biological productivity of the Ocean is especially great in the area of ​​upwelling of deep waters. One such appellant, located off the coast of Peru, provides 15% of the world's fish production, although its area is no more than two hundredths of a percent of the entire surface of the World Ocean. Finally, the third way is the cultural breeding of living organisms, mainly in coastal zones. All these three methods have been successfully tested in many countries of the world, but locally, therefore, the fish catch, which is detrimental in terms of volume, continues. At the end of the 20th century, the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk, and Sea of ​​Japan were considered the most productive water areas.

The ocean, being a pantry of the most diverse resources, is also a free and convenient road that connects distant continents and islands. Maritime transport provides almost 80% of transportation between countries, serving the growing global production and exchange.

The oceans can serve as a waste recycler. Thanks to the chemical and physical effects of its waters and the biological influence of living organisms, it disperses and purifies the main part of the waste entering it, maintaining the relative balance of the Earth's ecosystems. For 3000 years, as a result of the water cycle in nature, all the water in the oceans is renewed.

ocean oil deposit mineral

Humanity's need for minerals is growing rapidly and is already being met with difficulty. In the future, this problem will become even more acute. A - a new source of mineral raw materials.

The most accessible part of the World Ocean is the shelf - only 8 percent water surface planets. In the CIS, the shelf area is almost 6 million square kilometers, that is, 1/4 of the land area of ​​the countries. The average depth of the shelf is determined by the 200 m isobath, but the maximum depth can exceed 400 m. AT recent times The orographic concept of the shelf is increasingly being replaced by a legal concept, since only 28 coastal states have a sufficiently wide shelf to a depth of 200 meters. The UN International Law Commission in 1956 defined the continental shelf as the parts of the World Ocean adjacent to the coast, but not included in the territorial waters in those areas where the depth of the overlying waters allows the development natural resources seabed and its subsoil. Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR dated February 6, 1968 continental shelf open sea zones are declared up to a depth of 200 meters, and outside this zone to a place to which the depth of the overlying waters allows the exploitation of the natural resources of these areas. Legal definition shelf in international law rather vague, leading to conflicts. Thus, Argentina and Uruguay were arguing for the right to develop the La Planta shelf, the discovery of the Prinu and Kavala oil and gas fields in the Aegean Sea led to an aggravation of relations between Turkey and Greece. France and Spain are in conflict over the shelf of Biscay and the Gulf of Lion, France and Italy over the Ligurian Sea. Particularly fierce disputes were fought between Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands over oil and gas fields. North Sea. international Court distributed the area of ​​the sea south of 62° north latitude (in percent) as follows: Great Britain 46, Norway 27, the Netherlands 11, Denmark 10, Germany 5, and France and Belgium 0.5 each. North of the 62-parallel, the sea has not yet been divided, decisions made also not final yet.

Many problems of using the resources of the World Ocean depend on international relations. In 1970, at the XXV session of the UN General Assembly, it was decided that no state has priority rights to areas of the sea and bottom outside territorial waters and natural resources are equally available to all countries of the world. The United Nations Special Committee is developing the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

So far, various expeditions are exploring the seabed. Identified minerals can be divided into three groups:

coastal placers (ilmenite-rutile-zircon-monazite, magnetite, cassiterite, diamond, gold, platinum, amber);

minerals of the seabed (building materials, phosphorites, iron-manganese nodules, ore-bearing silts);

minerals of the seabed (, gas, sulfur, coal, iron ore, tin, barite).

Of course, the boundaries between the distinguished groups, as a rule, are rather fuzzy, as between interpenetrating parts of a single whole. In addition, the sea mass itself with all dissolved chemical elements, mechanical suspensions and biomass plays the role of a balance regulator. Metal-bearing deep solutions contribute to the formation of many types of marine minerals.

The topic of this work is relevant, since the World Ocean is the largest repository of minerals. Mankind has known the vast expanses of land and boldly stepped into space, but the ocean - a large part of the planet Earth - still remains a mystery. We can safely say that less is known about the vast areas of the seabed than about the surface of the Moon.

Seas covering three quarters earth's surface are certainly more accessible than outer space. However, penetration into the secrets of the most extensive part of them is extremely difficult because of the great depths. Nevertheless, without studying the World Ocean, its history, we will not be able to know either the past or the present of our planet. That is why various sciences are interested in a detailed study of the World Ocean. In its depths one can find answers to many unresolved questions of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, geography, climatology and biology.

The ocean serves as a source of rich mineral resources. They are divided into chemical elements dissolved in water, minerals contained under the seabed, both in the continental shelves and beyond; minerals on the bottom surface. More than 90% of the total cost of mineral raw materials comes from oil and gas.

The total oil and gas area within the shelf is estimated at 13 million square meters. km (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 iron-manganese 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.

The aim of the work is to study the mineral resources of the World Ocean. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set:

1. Consider natural resources in the oceans.

2. Consider the main features of the bottom topography and sediments of the World Ocean.

3. Consider the mineral deposits of the sea coasts.

The object of study is the World Ocean.

The subject of the research is mineral resources.

When writing this work, I used the following methods:

Ш Source study;

Sh Analytical;

Ш Comparatively - geographical.

The following sources were used to write the work:

Ш Literary;

Ш Cartographic;

W Internet sources.

SECTION 1. NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE WORLD OCEAN

The oceans throughout the history of mankind have played an important role in human life. The natural resources of the oceans are divided into four groups:

1. resources contained in sea water;

2. biological,

3. mineral,

4. resources of thermal and mechanical energy.

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Fig.1. Resources of the World Ocean.

Each cubic kilometer of sea water contains about 35 million tons solids, including about 20 million tons of table salt, 10 million tons of magnesium, 31 thousand tons of bromine, 3 tons of uranium, 0.3 tons of silver, 0.04 tons of gold. In total, more than 70 chemical elements are dissolved in sea water, i.e. 2/3 known in the world. Most of all in water sodium, magnesium, chlorine and calcium. However, only 16 elements have a relatively high concentration and practical value. Sea water is the only source of bromine; it is 8 times more in water than in the earth's crust.

Sea water, using desalination technologies, can be used to replenish fresh water reserves.

Biological resources are quite widely represented in the ocean: 180,000 animal species and 20,000 plant species. Significant biomass of marine organisms - 36 billion tons. Its quantity increases tenfold from the equator to the poles. This is because cold-water organisms are larger and reproduce faster.

More than 85% of the ocean's biomass used by humans is fish. The largest catches are in the Pacific Ocean and the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas. Scientists believe that almost all seaweed can be eaten. Most of all they are harvested by China, Japan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. But today the oceans provide humanity with only 2% of food.

Since the use of biological resources of the sea in many countries exceeds their natural reproduction, in many countries artificial breeding of fish, shellfish (oysters, mussels), crustaceans and algae, which is called mari culture, is a common activity. It is common in Japan, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, USA, the Netherlands and France.

The mineral resources of the oceans are divided into three groups. First of all, these are the resources of the subsoil (natural gas, oil, coal, iron ore, tin). Half of the world's oil reserves are in offshore fields, which are a continuation of the mainland. The most famous offshore fields of the North Sea, the Persian and Mexican Gulfs. The shelf is promising Barents Sea and Sakhalin. Even today, 1/3 of oil is obtained from offshore fields. In addition, with the action of waves and currents, the coastal part of the seabed is destroyed, which is the source of coastal placers (placer deposits) containing diamonds, tin, gold, platinum, amber. Mineral resources can be mined seabed— building materials, phosphorites, ferromanganese nodules. Ferromanganese nodules are 5-10 cm in diameter, their shape is predominantly round or flattened. They occur at depths of 100-7000 m. They are distributed in the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic oceans. In total, ore fields occupy 10% of the area of ​​the ocean floor. Technologies for their extraction have already been developed, but are not yet widely used. Significant reserves of ores of zinc, lead, copper and other metals are concentrated in the areas of mid-ocean ridges at the outlets of hot springs.

The resources of mechanical energy are significant: the hydropower potential of the tides is greater than the potential of all the rivers of the Earth, and the energy of the waves is 90 times greater than the energy of the tides. Thermal energy arises as a result of the temperature difference between surface and deep waters. This difference must be at least 20 C. Maximum values it in tropical latitudes. However, with the current level of development of science and technology, it is still economically unprofitable to use mechanical and thermal energy The oceans, with the exception of the energy of the ebbs and flows. Tidal power plants have been built in France, the USA, China and Russia.

The use of all types of resources of the World Ocean is accompanied by its pollution. A particular threat is posed by oil and oil products pollution as a result of waste dumping from ships, tanker accidents, losses during loading and unloading. Every year, 5-10 million tons of them enter the ocean. The oil film formed on the surface of ocean water slows down the process of biosynthesis, disrupts biological and energy ties. In addition, the pollution of the oceans is associated with the burial of toxic and radioactive waste, testing of various types of weapons. Also, significant amounts of pollution come with river waters. Every year, more than 320 million tons of iron salts and 6.5 million tons of phosphorus enter the ocean through this route. Almost a third of mineral fertilizers (30% potassium, 20% nitrogen, 2.5% phosphorus) are washed out by rainwater and carried by rivers into the seas and oceans. Sea water saturated with nitrates is a favorable environment for unicellular algae, which, forming huge layers (up to 2 m thick), hinder the access of oxygen to deep horizons. This leads to the death of fish and other organisms. A significant amount of ocean water pollution is associated with industrial and domestic waste. Security problem ocean waters applies to all countries, even those that do not have direct access to the sea. The protection and rational use of the marine environment is an object of international cooperation.

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1 What type of marine energy is developing most actively

1 What type of marine energy is developing most actively

• 1. Currently, all new types of coastal zone resources are being actively developed.
  2. Oceans have vast reserves mineral. Sea water itself contains almost all chemical elements, but many of them are in such low concentrations that the cost of extracting them is much higher than the cost of extracting the same elements on land.

  The mineral resources of the oceans are represented not only by sea water, but also by what is under water. The bowels of the ocean, its bottom are rich in mineral deposits. On the continental shelf there are coastal placer deposits - gold, platinum; there are also precious stones - rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. For example, near Namibia, diamond gravel has been mined underwater since 1962. On the shelf and partly on the continental slope of the Ocean, there are large deposits of phosphorites that can be used as fertilizers, and the reserves will be enough for the next few hundred years. The most interesting type of mineral raw material of the World Ocean is the famous ferromanganese nodules, which cover vast underwater plains. Concretions are a kind of cocktail of metals: they include copper, cobalt, nickel, titanium, vanadium, but, of course, most of all iron and manganese. Their locations are well known, but the results of industrial development are still very modest. On the other hand, the exploration and production of oceanic oil and gas on the coastal shelf is in full swing, the share of offshore production is approaching 1/3 of the world production of these energy carriers. The development of fields in the Persian, Venezuelan, Gulf of Mexico, and in the North Sea is going on on an especially large scale; oil platforms stretched off the coast of California, Indonesia, in the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas. The Gulf of Mexico is also famous for the sulfur deposit discovered during oil exploration, which is melted from the bottom with the help of superheated water. Another, as yet untouched pantry of the ocean are deep crevices, where a new bottom is formed. So, for example, hot (more than 60 degrees) and heavy brines of the Red Sea depression contain huge reserves of silver, tin, copper, iron and other metals.

  Mineral resources of the oceans

  The extraction of materials in shallow water is becoming more and more important. Around Japan, for example, underwater iron-bearing sands are sucked out through pipes, the country mines

  Methods for extracting coal, oil and gas from the seabed are widely used, where the thickness of the hard cover to deposits is thinner than on the surface of the earth, and this makes it possible for a person to obtain minerals by cheaper means.

  The current level of civilization and technology would be unthinkable without the cheap and plentiful energy provided by oil and gas extracted from the bottom of the seas and oceans. At the same time, in the Caspian Sea, on the coast of the Arab Emirates and in many other places, the natural landscape has been practically destroyed, the coastline has been disfigured, the atmosphere has been polluted, and flora and fauna have been exterminated.

  Not only should the ocean give its wealth to people, but people should also use them rationally and economically. All this is feasible if the rate of development of marine production takes into account the conservation and reproduction of the biological resources of the oceans and seas and the rational use of their mineral wealth. With this approach, the World Ocean will help solve the food, water and energy problems of mankind.

• (1 Currently, all new types of coastal zone resources are being actively developed). (2 The oceans have huge reserves of minerals. Sea water itself contains almost all chemical elements, but many of them are in such low concentrations that the cost of extracting them is much higher than the cost of extracting the same elements on the land).

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, total weight 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 is at depths of more than 3 thousand meters, and only 8% is at depths corresponding to the continental shelf.

The area of ​​the World Ocean is 361 million km2, or almost 71% of the area 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 actual oceanic water mass, as the main part of the hydrosphere, and in the underlying earth's crust, as part of the lithosphere. By 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, the operation of which is possible with the help of dredges, hydraulic and other similar ways(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 micronutrients. 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. By modern estimates, such waters contain about 80 chemical elements. AT most 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. AT Indian Ocean occupies a leading position in terms of reserves Persian Gulf, but oil and gas have also been discovered 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, the resources of solid minerals 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 genetically usually 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-marine 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 because 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 coastline very long, it also owns the most extensive 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 whole rhythm of their life.

It is well known that high and low tides occur twice a day. AT 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. Therefore, the energy sea ​​tides — inexhaustible source energy.

Let's add this distinguishing feature 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. Thanks 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 largest reserves tidal energy has the Atlantic Ocean. In its northwestern part, on the border of the United States and Canada, 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 energy resources of the oceans also include kinetic energy waves. 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 flow, 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, at a depth of 1000 m, - 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 populous world many living organisms: from microscopic bacteria to the largest animals on Earth - whales. On the vast oceanic expanses, from the surface illuminated by the Sun to the dark and cold realm sea ​​depths, inhabited by about 180 thousand species of animals, including 16 thousand different types of fish, 7.5 thousand species of crustaceans, 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. As representatives of zoobenthos, one can name different kinds bivalve molluscs (mussels, oysters, etc.), crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, lobsters), echinoderms (sea urchins) and other benthic animals, 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 the 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 may have the character of latitudinal belts, which is largely due to the unequal distribution 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, tropical-equatorial belt. Of these, the most important economic temperate zone northern hemisphere.

For more complete characteristics geographical distribution biological resources great interest represents their distribution among the individual oceans of the Earth.

The Pacific Ocean occupies the first place both in terms of total biomass and in terms of the number of species. Animal world its species composition is three to four times richer 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 now the world's oceans are playing huge role in building 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 the development of the oceans can affect the prospects for solving other global problems. Let's list some of them.

Most important part 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 it is great transport value World Ocean. The ocean is the repository of most waste economic activity mankind (by the chemical and physical influence 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 mankind 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 humanity,

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 resource potential oceans show that in many ways it can replenish the depleting reserves of minerals on land. Further research and economic development The oceans 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 energy to mankind - 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.

Mineral resources of the oceans

In the XX century. influence human activity on the World Ocean has taken 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 from 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 foreign world and 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 World Ocean Abstract Geography, economic geography

Education

Characteristics and resources of the Sea of ​​Japan

The water area of ​​the Sea of ​​Japan belongs to the Pacific Ocean, or rather, to its western part. Located near Sakhalin Island, between Asia and Japan. Washes South and North Korea, Japan and the Russian Federation.

Although the reservoir belongs to the ocean basin, it is well isolated from it. This affects both the salinity of the Sea of ​​Japan and its fauna. The overall balance of water is regulated by outflows and inflows through straits. It practically does not participate in water exchange (the contribution is small: 1%).

It is connected with other water bodies and the Pacific Ocean by 4 straits (Tsushima, Soyu, Mamaia, Tsugaru). The surface area is about 1062 km2. The average depth of the Sea of ​​Japan is 1753 m, the greatest is 3742 m. It is difficult to freeze, only its northern part is covered with ice in winter.

Hydronym - generally accepted, but disputed by the Korean powers. They claim that the name is, literally, imposed Japanese side around the world. AT South Korea it is called the East Sea, and the North uses the name of the East Sea of ​​Korea.

The problems of the Sea of ​​Japan are directly related to the environment. They could be called typical, if not for the fact that the reservoir washes several states at once. They have different policies to protect the waters of the sea, so the influence on the part of people also varies. Among the main problems are the following:

• industrial production;
• release radioactive substances and oil products;
• oil slicks.

Climatic conditions

The climate is maritime, so warm water and monsoons are a frequent occurrence for this sea. The southeast is characterized by frequent precipitation, in the northwest they minimal amount. Typhoons are often observed in the autumn season. Waves sometimes reach 10 meters. 90% of the Tatar Strait freezes. As a rule, the ice lasts for about 3-4 months.

The temperature of the Sea of ​​Japan fluctuates by several tens of degrees depending on the area. Northern and western are characterized by -20оС, eastern and southern - +5оС.

Resources of the oceans

August has been considered the warmest month for several years. At this time of the year in the north the temperature reaches +15°C, in the south - +25°C.

Salinity of the Sea of ​​Japan and its glaciers

Salinity ranges from 33 to 34 ppm - this is several times lower than in the waters of the World Ocean.

The Sea of ​​Japan is divided into three parts by glaciation:

• Tatar vs.;
• Gulf of Peter the Great;
• area from Cape Povorotny to Belkin.

As already described above, ice is always localized in a part of a given strait and bay. In other places, it practically does not form (if we do not take into account the bays and northwestern waters).

An interesting fact is that initially ice appears in places where there is fresh water Sea of ​​Japan, and only then it spreads to other parts of the reservoir.

Glaciation in the Tatar Strait lasts about 80 days in the south, 170 days in the north; in the Gulf of Peter the Great - 120 days.

If winter is no different severe frosts, then the areas are covered with ice in early-late November; if temperature drops to critical levels are observed, then freezing occurs earlier.

By February, the formation of the cover stops. At this moment, the Tatar Strait is covered by about 50%, and the Gulf of Peter the Great - by 55%.

Thaw often begins in March. The depth of the Sea of ​​Japan contributes to the rapid process of getting rid of ice. It may start at the end of April. If the temperature is kept low, then thawing begins in early June. First, parts of the Gulf of Peter the Great are "opened", in particular, its open water areas, and the coast of the Golden Cape. While the ice begins to recede in the Tatar Strait, it thaws in its eastern part.

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Resources of the Sea of ​​Japan

Biological resources are used by man to the maximum extent. Fishing is developed near the shelf. Valuable fish species are herring, tuna and sardines. In the central regions, squids are caught, in the north and southwest - salmon. Important role algae from the Sea of ​​Japan also play.

Flora and fauna

The biological resources of the Sea of ​​Japan in different parts have their own characteristics. Due to the climatic conditions in the north and northwest, nature has moderate characteristics, in the south the faunistic complex prevails. Near the Far East there are plants and animals that are characteristic of a warm-water and temperate climate. Here you can see squids and octopuses. In addition to them, there are brown algae, sea urchins, stars, shrimps and crabs. Yet the resources of the Sea of ​​Japan squeak with diversity. There are few places where you can find red ascidians. Scallops, ruffs and dogs are common.

Sea problems

The main problem is the consumption of sea resources due to the constant fishing for fish and crabs, algae, scallops, sea ​​urchins. Together with state fleets, poaching is flourishing. The abuse of fish and shellfish production leads to the constant extinction of any species of marine animals.

In addition, careless fishing can lead to death. Due to fuel and lubricant waste, Wastewater and oil products, fish die, mutate or become contaminated, which poses a great danger to consumers.

A few years ago, this problem was overcome thanks to coherent actions and agreements between the Russian Federation and Japan.

Ports of companies, enterprises and settlements are the main source of water pollution with chlorine, oil, mercury, nitrogen and other hazardous substances. Due to the high concentration of these substances, blue-green algae develop. Because of them, there is a danger of contamination with hydrogen sulfide.

tides

Complex tides are characteristic of the Sea of ​​Japan. Their cyclicity in different areas is significantly different. Semi-diurnal is found near the Korean Strait and near the Tatar Strait. Daily tides are inherent in the territories adjacent to the coast of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea and the DPRK, as well as near Hokkaido and Honshu (Japan). Near Peter the Great Bay, the tides are mixed.

The tide level is low: from 1 to 3 meters. In some areas, the amplitude varies from 2.2 to 2.7 m.

Seasonal fluctuations are also not uncommon. They are observed most often in summer; there are fewer in winter. The nature of the wind, its strength also affects the water level. Why are the resources of the Sea of ​​Japan highly dependent.

Transparency

Throughout the sea, the water is of different colors: from blue to blue with a green tint.

As a rule, transparency is maintained at a depth of up to 10 m. There is a lot of oxygen in the waters of the Sea of ​​Japan, which contributes to the development of resources. Phytoplankton is more common in the north and west of the reservoir. On the surface of the water, the oxygen concentration reaches almost 95%, but this figure gradually decreases with depth, and already by 3 thousand meters it is 70%.

14. Mineral resources of the oceans

The world ocean, which occupies about 71% of the surface of our planet, is also a huge pantry of mineral wealth. Minerals within its boundaries are contained 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: 1) liquid, gaseous and dissolved, the 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 diversity of which is shown in Figure 10. 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. The concentration of most other chemical elements is much lower, and sometimes scanty (for example, the content of silver is 0.0003 mg / l, tin - 0.0008, gold - 0.00001, lead - 0.00003, and tantalum - 0.000003 mg / l), which is why sea water is called "lean ore". However, with its overall huge volume, the total amount of some hydrochemical resources can be quite significant.

According to available estimates, 1 km 3 of sea water contains 35–37 million tons of dissolved substances. Including about 20 million tons of chlorine compounds, 9.5 million tons of magnesium, 6.2 million tons of sulfur, as well as approximately 30 thousand tons of bromine, 4 thousand tons of aluminum, 3 thousand tons of copper. Another 80 tons are manganese, 0.3 tons are silver and 0.04 tons are gold. In addition, 1 km 3 of sea water contains a lot of oxygen and hydrogen, there is also carbon and nitrogen.

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.

Rice. ten. Hydrochemical resources of the oceanosphere (according to R.A. Kryzhanovsky)

The most famous and valuable mineral resource of the World Ocean is hydrocarbons: oil and natural gas. Even according to the end of the 80s. In the 20th century, 330 sedimentary basins were explored in the World Ocean, promising for oil and gas. About 2000 deposits were discovered in about 100 of them. Most of these basins are continuations of land basins and are folded geosynclinal structures, but there are also purely marine sedimentary oil and gas basins that do not go beyond their water areas. According to some estimates, the total area of ​​such basins within the World Ocean reaches 60–80 million km2. As for their stocks, different sources they are estimated differently: for oil - from 80 billion to 120-150 billion tons, and for gas - from 40-50 trillion m 3 to 150 trillion m 3. Approximately 2/3 of these reserves belong to the Atlantic Ocean.

When characterizing the oil and gas resources of the World Ocean, they usually first of all 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 coasts of Europe (North Sea), Africa (Guinea), Central America (Caribbean), smaller ones - off the coasts 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.

However, the continental shelf accounts for only about 1/3 of the predicted oil and gas resources in the World Ocean. The rest of them belong to the sedimentary strata of the continental slope and deep-water basins, located at a distance of many hundreds and even thousands of kilometers from the coast. The depth of oil and gas bearing formations here is much greater. It reaches 500-1000 m and more. Scientists have found that the greatest prospects for oil and gas have deep-water basins located: in the Atlantic Ocean - in the Caribbean Sea and off the coast of Argentina; in the Pacific Ocean - in the Bering Sea; in the Indian Ocean - off the coast

East Africa and the Bay of Bengal; in the Arctic Ocean - off the coast of Alaska and Canada, as well as off the coast of Antarctica.

In addition to oil and natural gas, solid mineral resources are associated with the shelf of the World Ocean. According to the nature of their occurrence, they are subdivided into indigenous 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 genetically usually 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. (Fig. 11).

Coastal-marine 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. However, even the Soviet oceanological expeditions in the 60–70s. 20th century Phosphorites have been explored not only on the shelf, but also within the continental slope and volcanic uplifts in the central parts of the oceans.

Of the other solid mineral resources, the most interesting are ferromanganese nodules, first discovered over a hundred years ago by the British expeditionary ship Challenger. Since then, they have been studied by oceanographic expeditions of many countries, including Soviet ones - on the ships "Vityaz", "Akademik Kurchatov"), "Dmitry Mendeleev", etc. It was found that such nodules are found at depths from 100 to 7000 m , i.e., both in the shelf seas, for example, the Kara, Barents, and within the deep-sea bed of the ocean and its depressions. At great depths, there are much more concretion deposits, so that these peculiar brown “potatoes” ranging in size from 2–5 to 10 cm form an almost continuous “pavement”. 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 .

Rice. eleven. Mineral resources of the bottom of the World Ocean (according to V. D. and M. V. Voiloshnikov)

The total reserves of nodules in the World Ocean are estimated with a very large “fork”: from 2–3 trillion tons to 20 trillion tons, and recoverable ones are usually up to 0.5 billion tons. It should also be taken into account that they grow by 10 million tons annually.

The main accumulations of nodules are in the Pacific Ocean, where they occupy an area of ​​16 million km2. There it is customary to distinguish three main zones (hollows) - northern, middle and southern. On the separate sections in these basins, the density of nodules reaches 70 kg per 1 m 2 (with an average of about 10 kg). In the Indian Ocean, nodules have also been explored in several deep basins, mainly in its central part, but their deposits in this ocean are much smaller than in the Pacific, and the quality is worse. There are even fewer concretions in the Atlantic Ocean, where their more or less extensive fields are located in the northwest, in the North American Basin, and off the coast. South Africa (rice. 77).

In addition to nodules, there are ferromanganese crusts on the ocean floor that cover rocks in the zones of mid-ocean ridges. 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 most extensive continental shelf in terms of area (6.2 million km 2, or 20% of the world shelf, of which 4 million km 2 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.

Treasures of sunken ships can also be considered as a kind of “resources” of the bottom of the World Ocean: according to estimates by American oceanographers, at least 1 million such ships lie at the bottom! And now they die every year from 300 to 400.

Most underwater treasures are located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along the expanses of which in the era of the Great geographical discoveries Large quantities of gold and silver were exported to Europe. Dozens of ships perished from hurricanes and storms. Recently, with the help of modern technology the remains of Spanish galleons were found at the bottom of the ocean. Huge values ​​were raised from them.

In 1985, an American search team discovered the famous Titanic that sank in 1912, in whose safes billions of dollars worth of valuables, including 26,000 silver plates and trays, were buried, but it has not yet been possible to raise them from a depth of more than 4 km.

One more example. During the Second World War, 465 gold bars (5.5 tons) were sent from Murmansk to England on the cruiser Edinburgh as payment for military supplies from the allies. In the Barents Sea, the cruiser was attacked by a German submarine and damaged. It was decided to flood it so that the gold would not fall into the hands of the enemy. After 40 years, divers descended to a depth of 260 m, where the ship sank, and all the gold bars were recovered and raised to the surface.

The oceans are all the oceans of the planet, the seas, straits and bays that unite and separate them. According to all researchers, it is a huge storehouse of natural wealth, a variety of resources, exhaustible and inexhaustible, renewable and non-renewable.

Types of natural resources of the World Ocean

Allocate such basic natural resources as:

• water resources;
• energetic resources;
• mineral resources;
• biological resources;
• recreational resources.

In the 20th century, scientists also began to allocate such resources of the world's oceans as:

• land;
• climatic;
• geothermal.

Rice. 1. Biological resources of the oceans

Sea water is an independent resource of the World Ocean

Sea water is an independent resource and wealth of the oceans. It makes up 96.5% of the entire hydrosphere of the planet. For every inhabitant of the Earth, there are 270 million cubic meters. km. This is a very large stock, especially since desalination is not a problem right now.

In addition, sea water contains a large number of chemical elements:

• table salt;
• magnesium;
• potassium;
• iodine;
• bromine;
• uranium;
• gold.

The water resources of the oceans are an exhaustible renewable type of natural resources.

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Rice. 2. Sea water is a resource of the World Ocean

You can give a brief description of all other resources of the World Ocean using a table, which, in turn, can be used both in geography lessons in grade 10 and in preparation for the exam in the subject.

Table (classification scheme) "Natural resources of the oceans"

Type of natural resource	Resource type	a brief description of	Geography of World Ocean Resources
exhaustible renewable	Biological	To biological resources The oceans include all kinds of fish, marine animals and plants that live and grow in it.	Throughout the oceans, but the most productive are: Bering Sea; Norwegian Sea; Sea of ​​Okhotsk; Japanese Sea.
	Land	Use of underwater sites for agriculture.	The entire territory of the oceans
Exhaustible non-renewable	mineral	The mineral resources of the World Ocean include various minerals: oil reserves; gas reserves; deposits of diamonds, gold, platinum; deposits of tin and titanium ores; iron deposits; phosphorus deposits; non-metallic raw materials; reserves of drinking water on the shelf of the World Ocean.	The main oil and gas fields are concentrated in the North Sea, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Mexico
Inexhaustible	Energy resources of the oceans	First of all, we are talking about energy: sea ​​and ocean currents; tidal energy; wind energy in the oceans and seas; wave energy.	The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Barents Sea, the White Sea and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.
	climatic	Energy of sun. The oceans shape the planet's climate, ensuring agricultural productivity
	Geothermal	Geothermal resources can be conditionally referred to as energy resources, since we are talking about thermal energy potential water masses, due to the difference in temperatures in the shallows and in depth.

Rice. 3. Energy resources of the oceans

The problem of using the resources of the oceans

Back in the 70s of the XX century, the leading countries of the world realized that the World Ocean requires special treatment. Irrational and inefficient use of its resources can lead to serious global problems. That is why the rules governing

• fishing in the waters of the oceans;
• extraction of minerals, including oil and gas;
• use of energy resources.

Rice. 4. Oil production in the sea area

Various international treaties and conventions regulate and control the pollution of the oceans. Work is underway to ensure the safety of oil and gas production, and to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants.

Pollution of the waters of the World Ocean can lead to a decrease in its resource capacity. For example, the pollution of the Baltic Sea led to the fact that all biological life was destroyed in one-fourth of its water area.

What have we learned?

The oceans are a pantry of a variety of natural resources. Unfortunately, some of them are exhaustible and non-renewable. That is why it is necessary to find ways to use them rationally.

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