Ocean Facts! 31 Fascinating Facts About Our Oceans & Its Ecosystem

In 1998, a Frenchman named Benoît Lecomte swam 3,716 miles across the entire Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts to France; a feat that took him a total of 73 days, 5 of which he was being followed by a great white shark.

27. The difference between inland seas and lakes is that inland seas are formed as the result of oceans spilling over onto land during warm geological periods.

28. Living in an area where you can see the ocean has been found to reduce psychological stress, even after controlling for factors such as income and neighborhood status.

29. In order to stay hydrated, sea snakes drink a thin layer of fresh water that collects on the surface of the ocean, called a “lense”, after rainstorms. They do not drink seawater as previously thought.

30. The largest volcano on Earth is named Tamu Massif. Located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, it has the same surface as New Mexico, making it one of the largest volcanoes in the Solar System.

Jellyfish live in every ocean and have survived five mass extinctions, for possibly 700 million years or more, despite most of them lacking specialized digestive, osmoregulatory, central nervous, respiratory, or circulatory systems.