1 – Ocean waters serve as a source of food and valuable minerals.
2 – Other products of the oceans are also used. For example , pearls taken from oysters are used in jewelry , and shells and coral have been widely used as a source of building material.
3 – Ocean water is processed to extract commercially valuable minerals such as salt , bromine , and magnesium.
4 – The shallow continental shelves have been exploited as a source of sands and gravels.
5 – In addition , extensive deposits of petroleum sands have been exploited in offshore areas.
6 – The area of the World Ocean covers about 71 % of Earth’s surface.
7 – Ocean currents greatly affect Earth’s climate by transferring heat from the tropics to the polar regions. Transferring warm or cold air and precipitation to coastal regions , winds carry them inland.
8 – The ocean has a significant effect on the biosphere. Oceanic evaporation , as a phase of the water cycle , is the source of most rainfall , and ocean temperatures determine climate and wind patterns that affect life on land.
9 – The oceans are essential to transportation. This is because most of the world’s goods move by ship between the world’s seaports.
10 – Oceans are also the major supply source for the fishing industry. Some of the major harvests are shrimp , fish , crabs , and lobster.
- It is the Creator who has created the ocean.
- And it is the Creator who has put all the benefits in the ocean so that man can take advantage from it.
- It is The Creator who has put special properties in the oceans to complete the water cycle.
- The Creator tells us in the Qur’an , how He has subjected the seas , with their waves lapping the shores , and how He blesses His servants by subjecting the seas for them so that they may travel on them, and by putting fish in them , by making their fresh and tender flesh permissible to eat. He has created pearls and precious jewels in the oceans , and made it easy for His servants to recover ornaments that they can wear. He made the sea such that it carries the ships which plow through it. (Qur’an Surah Nahl verse 14)
- Until the beginning of the 20th century , the only relationship known between the wind and the rain was that it was the wind that drove the clouds. However , modern meteorological findings have demonstrated the “fecundating” role of the wind in the formation of rain.
- In one verse of the Qur’an, the “fecundating” characteristic of the winds, and the resulting formation of rain are mentioned.
- And We send the fecundating winds , then cause water to descend from the sky , therewith providing you with water in abundance. (Qur’an, Surah Al-Hijr -15:22)
- This fecundating function of the wind works in the following way:
- On the surface of oceans and seas , a large number of air bubbles form because of the water’s foaming action. The moment these bubbles burst , thousands of tiny particles, with a diameter of just one hundredth of a millimetre, are thrown up into the air. These particles, known as “aerosols,” mix with dust carried from the land by the wind , and are carried to the upper layers of the atmosphere. These particles carried to higher altitudes by winds come into contact with water vapour up there. Water vapour condenses around these particles and turns into water droplets. These water droplets first come together and form clouds , and then fall to the Earth in the form of rain. As mentioned , winds “fecundate” the water vapour floating in the air with the particles they carry from the sea , and eventually help the formation of rain clouds.