What percent of the earth's surface is water?
Data Scavenger Hunt
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above:
All of the world’s nations combined make up what portion of the earth’s surface?
Russia is the earth’s largest country. What portion of the earth’s surface is in Russia?
What portion of the earth’s surface is “lawless” - outside of any one country’s jurisdiction?
The entire continent of Australia comprises what percent of the earth’s surface?
Which is larger in area, the U.S. or Antarctica? And which is larger in penguin population?
Big Brain Questions
Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and any links below:
The international portion of the ocean makes up 43% of the earth’s surface. International waters, or the “high seas,” as they are sometimes called, are the areas of the ocean that don’t fall under any nation’s jurisdiction. Countries own the waters that stretch out 12 miles from the shoreline, where international waters begin. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), every country has the power and authority to exercise its jurisdiction over all social, technical, and administrative matters on watercraft with its flag (registered in its country). Who would have jurisdiction if you committed a crime on a Dutch flagged cruise ship in international waters?
Earth’s abundant oceans raise the question of where all that water came from. Geoscientists continue to debate two competing theories. One suggests that Earth’s water might have been captured from asteroids and comets that collided with the planet. But recent research has strengthened the case for the other theory that water was always present in the rocks of the Earth’s mantle and was gradually released to the surface through volcanoes. Explain which of these two theories seems more reasonable, and how it makes you feel that we don’t know the definitive answer to such a basic and important question.
Because of the fact that most of the earth is actually ocean, explain whether we should rename Planet Earth, Planet Ocean.
While Antarctica has no official government, it is administered through yearly meetings known as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. These meetings involve a number of stakeholders, from member nations to observer organizations. Explain whether any other area in the world has no government.
The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded to by many other nations. According to the visual above, 1,610,000 km of Antarctica known as Marie Byrd Land (MBL) remains unclaimed territory. Why do you imagine no one has claimed this land?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Learn more about the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition and how you can help preserve the greatest undeveloped portion of the planet.
Get Creative
Plan a trip to Antarctica. List your itinerary and the details of your hypothetical journey.
Learn More
Check out this table of all the percent of the earth’s surface in each country.
