Ocean planet

Large spars are fabricated. An 86 ft unstayed carbon fiber mast built by Composites Engineering for Ocean Planet, a yacht built by Schooner Creek Boat Works for an American owner, utilizes an infusion resin and hardener specialty formulated by MAS Epoxies. 

The concept of a water world or ocean planet, in which the surface of the planet is entirely covered by a deep layer of water, has arisen in the context of the search for exoplanets [90]. At least one exoplanet thought to correspond to such a structure, having nearly 50% of its mass as water, has been observed [91]. 

Hydrothemal vents would not be expected on ocean planets, which might reduce their biological potential. 

Leger A, Selsis F, Sotin C, Guillot T, Despois D et al (2004) A new family of planets Ocean Planets . Icarus 169 499-504... 

The Earth is sometimes called the Ocean Planet, but is this really accurate It is far from being true if one examines what the layer of water on the surface of otu planet represents. The world s oceans cover 71% of the surface of the Earth, whose radius is approximately 6400km, and the average depth of the ocean is 3.8km that is to say, a ratio of 1 1700. Represented on a human scale, the whole of the ocean is comparable to a film of water with a thickness of 1mm covering 71% of the surface of a sphere 3.40m in diameter The ocean is thus only one very thin layer on the surface of our planet, but it is within this layer that life first appeared. The ocean is thus like a kind of biofilm some may think of it as a window of opportunity, others may call it the breath of God. Although the average depth of the ocean is 3.8 km, the distribution of the immersed surfaces according to their depth is very unequal, as shown in Table 2.1. 

The oceans hold about 97% of the earth s water. More than 2% of the total water and over 75% of the freshwater of the world is locked up as ice ia the polar caps. Of the remaining 1% of total water that is both Hquid and fresh, some is groundwater at depths of > 300 m and therefore impractical to obtain, and only the very small difference, possibly 0.06% of the total water of this planet, is available for human use as it cycles from sea to atmosphere to land to sea. Only recently have humans been able to regulate that cycle to their advantage, and even now (ca 1997), only infinitesimally, ia some few isolated places. 

The ocean is an integral part of the climate system. It contains almost 96% of the water in the Earth s biosphere and is the dominant source of water vapour for the atmosphere. It covers 71% of the planet s surface and has a heat capacity more than four times that of the atmosphere. With more than 97% of solar radiation being absorbed that falls on the surface from incident angles less than 50" from the vertical, it is the main store of energy within the climate system. 

Thus the atmospheric component of the planet s radiation budget is strongly modulated by the indirect effects of oceanic gas and particle exchange. As will be... 

Of the remaining 99%, two-tliird.s i.s ab.sorbed by die earth and ocean.s, diereby headng die planet die remaining one-diird i.s lo.st as light reflected back into space. 

The Earth is a highly unusual planet because life did evolve on it and it thrived to the extent that the surface and atmosphere of the planet were greatly modified. The Earth is unique in this respect relative to all known astronomical bodies (Taylor, 1999). The Earth s location, composition, and evolutionary history are all significant factors in the planet s success in nurturing life. Critical factors include its temperature, its atmosphere, its oceans, its long-term stability and its "just right" abundance of water and other light element compounds. 

Brass, G. W. and Turekian. K. K. (1974). Strontium distribution in GEOSECS oceanic profiles. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 23,141-148. 

Edmond, J., Measures, C., Mcduff, E. et al. (1979) Ridge crest hydrothermal activity and the balances of major and minor elements in the ocean The Galapagos data. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 46, 1-18. 

Stakes, D.S. and O Neil, Jr. (1982) Mineralogy and stable i.sotopes geochemistry of hydrothermally altered ocean rocks. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett, 57, 285-304. 

Elderfield, H. and Schultz, A. (1996) Midocean ridge hydrothermal fluxes and the chemical composition of the ocean. Anna. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 24, 191-224. 

Delaney, M. and Boyle, E.A. (1986) Lithium in foraminiferal shells Implications for high-temperature hydrothermal circulation fluxes and oceanic crustal generation rates. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 80, 91-105. 

Hart, S.R. and Staudigel, H. (1982) The controls of alkalines and uranium in seawater by ocean crast alteration. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 58, 202-213. 

Palmer, M R. and Edmond, J.M. (1989) The strontium i.sotope budget of the modern ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 92, 11-21. 

Liu Y.-G. and Schmitt, R.A. (1993a) Earth s partial pressure of CO2 over the past 120 Ma evidence from Ce anomalies in the deep (>60 m) Pacific ocean. Lunar Planet. Sci., XX IV, 883-884. 

Fame G (1986) Principles of Isotope Geology, Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York Fleischer RL, Raabe OG (1975) Recoiling alpha-emitting nuclei. Mechanisms for uranium-series disequilibrium. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 42 973-978 Goldstein SJ, Murrell MT, Williams RW (1993) Pa and h chronology of mid-ocean ridge basalts. Earth Planet Sci Lett 115 151-159... 

Goldstein SJ, Murrell, MT, Wilhams RW (1993) Pa and h chronology of mid-ocean ridge basalts. Earth Planet Sci Lett 115 151-159... 

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