The Sea

The sea makes up 70 per cent of our planet: it is because most of it is sea that it looks blue when seen from outer space. Without the sea almost no life would survive. The sea is the source of almost all fresh water The land and everything on it, including ourselves, obtain water from the sea because sea water, like all stretches of water, is constantly being converted into moisture (evaporating). It is drawn up to form clouds. The clouds are blown over the land and let fall their moisture as rain. The rain makes crops, flowers and trees grow. It fills streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs. It drains through the earth to fill up underground springs and water sources.

by kind permission of the RSPCA

The Sea Helps To Regulate The World's Temperature

Climates of places near the sea are neiter so hot nor so cold as those in places far from the sea. In Britain no place is far from the sea, that is why it has a temperate climate. Among these coasts, for example here in the South-East, summer heat is neve so strong, nore are frosts so severe as inland.

On the promenades of south east coast towns there are temperate as well as weather information notices so you can check up.

People Use The Sea to Keep Us Fit and for Enjoyment

On sandy beaches children like to build sand castles. Sea sports include: swimming, surf-boarding, wind-surfing, water-skiing, canoeing, rowing, yachting, and fishing.

People Need the Sea to Transport

(a) themselves
(b) freight and goods of all kinds including food and fuels, such as oil and coal.

Ninety per cent of the world's trade goes by sea, about 500 ships a day go through the English Channel and Dover Straight

Refrigerated containers in ships, introduced in 1880, increased the variety of food because different kinds could be sent from anywhere in the world to anywhere.

Ships also transport building materials like timber and aggregate, a mixture of gravel and sand used to make cement. The huge quantities of timber people use to manufacture paper products cross the world in ships.

All these cargoes go through the south east coast ports: Dover, Folkestone, Newhaven, Shoreham, and Chichester.

The Sea Provides Minerals

Ninety five per cent of the sea is water: five per cent is minerals. The most important mineral for us is SALT.

The most important method of producing salt from sea water is by letting the sun's heat evaporate the water, leaving the salt crystals as a residue. The water can also be evaporated by boiling it away.

The Sea is Used For Industrial Purposes

Sea water is used to cool off parts of electrical power stations. They all use huge amounts of water which is run off into rivers or the sea while still hot. Hot water is bad for most sea creatures and plants. Along the south east coast there is a nuclear power station at Dungeness.

The Sea Provides a Vast Amount of our Food

Protein in the form of fish, a huge variety of them - and some vegetable foods - seaweeds.