oceano-, ocean- +

(Greek > Latin: "the great river encompassing the whole earth"; hence, the "great Outward Sea" [as opposed to the "Inward" or Mediterranean]; the ocean)

Arctic Ocean (proper noun)
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited [established boundaries] Southern Ocean): The Northwest Passage (U.S. and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean.

The polar climate is characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow.

—Based on information from
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook;
December 13, 2007.
Atlantic Ocean (proper noun)
The world's second-largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean).

The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways.

The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.

The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Other economic activities include the exploitation of natural resources, such as fishing, dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

—Based on information from
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook;
December 13, 2007.
bio-oceanography (s) (noun), bio-oceanographies (pl)
The study of the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) of oceans in relation to their marine environments.
Indian Ocean (proper noun)
The third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean).

Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia).

The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.

The Indian Ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge.

—Based on information from
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook;
December 13, 2007.
ocean (s) (noun), oceans (pl)
1. A large expanse of salt water: The earth's five main oceans are the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic oceans.

The oceans occupy huge regions of the earth's surface, and their boundaries are usually established by continental land masses and ridges in the floor or bottom of the oceans.

2. The entire body of salt water that covers more than 70 percent of the earth's surface: In science class, Greg learned about different oceans and that they covered a lot of the earth's outermost layer.
3. A vast amount or immense expanse of something, or an apparently unlimited space or quantity: As they drove back home, Jack and Jill saw an ocean of corn fields.
ocean energy (s) (noun) (no pl)
A collective term for any form of energy that is extracted from the ocean; marine energy; ocean power; hydrokinetic energy: Ocean energy includes thermal energy from the difference between warmer surface waters and cooler deep waters, or mechanical energy from tides, waves, and currents.
ocean engineering (s) (noun) (no pl)
Specialized engineering which deals with the applications of design, construction, and maintenance principles and techniques to an ocean environment: Ocean engineering helps people to operate with certainty beneath the surface of the sea in order to set up and to make use of marine resources.
ocean fertilization (s) (noun) (no pl)
The process of putting nutrients into the open ocean: Ocean fertilization has the purpose of increasing marine food in the water, for example with iron or urea, in order to boost phytoplankton growth and to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
ocean mixing (s) (noun) (no pl)
Various processes that operate in the ocean to equalize the distribution of heat, salt, various chemicals, and pollutants: Winds, currents and surface waves are all involved in ocean mixing to balance the circulation of different elements that enter the ocean waters at various rates and in different locations.

The rate of ocean mixing affects the extent to which carbon dioxide is exchanged between the atmosphere and the oceans.

ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) (s) (noun) (no pl)
One of the various techniques for extracting energy from the vertical temperature difference in the oceans: In principle, ocean thermal energy conversion can be used to generate electricity, desalinate water, support deep-water mariculture, and provide refrigeration and air-conditioning.
ocean thermal gradient (OTG) (s) (noun) (no pl)
The temperature difference between warmer surface waters of the ocean and colder deep waters, whereas the deep waters are about 20-50 degrees Fahrenheit colder that the surface waters: In principle, the ocean thermal gradient can be utilized with various types of ocean thermal energy conversion systems.
oceanarium (s) (noun), oceanaria; oceanariums (pl)
A very large saltwater aquaria, or aquarium, for marine life: Gigantic fish, such as sharks, inhabit an oceanarium which is used for study or display and observation of sea life.

The local oceanarium had a large selection of fish as well as other ocean creatures and plants.

oceanaut (s) (noun), oceanauts (pl)
A skilled worker who lives in underwater installations and participates in scientific researches; aquanaut: Jim's brother was an oceanaut because he was very interested in sea life in the depths of the sea.
Oceania (proper noun)
The islands of the southern, western, and central Pacific Ocean: Oceania includes Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

The term Oceania is sometimes extended to encompass Australia, New Zealand, and the Malay Archipelago.

Oceanian (adjective) (not comparable)
Relating to Oceania or the people who live there: Mary was quite interested in the islands in the south of the Pacific and decided to travel there and get to know some Oceanian inhabitants and their way of life.

Additional information at "Oceanic Sounds in a Realm of Silence".


Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving the "sea" and the "ocean" bodies of water: abysso- (bottomless); Atlantic; batho-, bathy- (depth); bentho- (deep, depth); halio-, halo- (salt or "the sea"); mare, mari- (sea); necto-, nekto- (swimming); pelago- (sea, ocean); plankto- (drifting); thalasso- (sea, ocean).

Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "river, stream": amni-; fluvio-; meand-; potamo-; ripari-.