The Formation of the Oceans

Proto-planetary Disk, NASA

You begin this topic not with the beautiful, blue oceans as you know them today, but 13.7 billion years ago when the universe began. At this point, you may be wondering what the beginning of the universe has to do with the study of oceanography. Quite a lot, in fact! Scientists theorize that all the materials needed to form galaxies, stars, planets, and eventually the oceans and life on Earth, emerged during an event called the Big Bang.

Essential Questions

• How did the formation of the universe lead to the eventual formation of the oceans?
• What is the leading theory on how the Earth formed?
• How did the cooling of Earth lead to the formation of an atmosphere?
• What are the low points on the Earth termed?
• How did the oceans form?