cean Sea" redirects here. For the novel, see Ocean Sea (novel). For other uses, see Sea (disambiguation) and The Sea (disambiguation).
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A wave dashing on the shore
A wave dashing on the shore in the Gulf of Santa Catalina
Shipping at Singapore Harbour
The sea is important for human development and trade, as at Singapore, the world's busiest transshipment port which is beside a major shipping route.
The sea, the world ocean, or simply the ocean, is the connected body of salty water that covers over 70 percent of the Earth's surface. It moderates the Earth's climate and has important roles in the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle. Although the sea has been travelled and explored since ancient times, the scientific study of the sea—oceanography—dates broadly from the voyages of Captain James Cook who explored the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779. In geography, "sea" is used in the names of smaller, partly landlocked sections of the ocean, for example the Irish Sea, while "ocean" is used in the names of the five largest sections, such as the Pacific Ocean.