Significance of marine geography research

The ocean is not only vast in area, but also deep. It is a complex large-scale system, including a series of subsystems at different levels. Such as deep sea, shallow sea, bay, strait and estuary subsystem; Tropical ocean, temperate ocean and frigid ocean subsystem; Wave, tide, ocean current and turbulent system; Marine carbon dioxide system and various marine ecosystems. The components of the system and the system are closely linked through the exchange and transformation of matter and energy. Marine geography studies the ocean from the perspective of resources and environment.

The ocean is rich in biological, mineral, energy, chemical and space resources. Due to the expansion and deepening of marine development, the international competition for marine resources is becoming more and more fierce. Developed countries of offshore fishing plundered offshore fishing resources of other countries; Discovery and effective development of submarine oil and gas; Develop ocean manganese nodules, etc. 1982 the United nations convention on the law of the sea clearly stipulates various legal systems in the marine field. China is a maritime country. There are more than 3 million square kilometers of marine land along the coast of China, which belongs to land land 1/3. At the same time, China is actively developing marine resources.

The biggest environmental effect of the ocean is its influence on weather and climate. According to research, half of the energy in the atmosphere comes directly from the ocean, and almost all the water vapor comes directly or indirectly from the ocean. Therefore, the ocean has a decisive influence on the behavior of the atmosphere. The ocean can not only regulate the climate, but also make the weather and climate abnormal. For example, in the equatorial eastern Pacific, the sea surface temperature rises abnormally (called El Nino event) or drops abnormally (called Lanino phenomenon). In addition, ocean currents and sea ice also have a significant impact on the climate.

The ocean has latitude zonality, circumterrestrial zonality and regional differences in depth and sea area. Their natural conditions, resource types and characteristics, and development and utilization conditions are different, which constitute an important basis for economic evaluation of marine resources.

All marine phenomena and processes occur in moving seawater, and the analysis of marine resources and marine environmental effects is closely related to the characteristics and temporal and spatial changes of marine elements. They are interrelated and interact with each other, and isomorphism becomes the research object of marine geography.