Coral reef habitat: A fisherman tries his luck with a simple net in American Samoa.
Image courtesy of Kip F. Evans

Ocean Literacy - Essential Principle 4

The ocean makes Earth habitable.

Fundamental Concept 4a.
Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere originally came from the activities of photosynthetic organisms in the ocean.

Fundamental Concept 4b.
The first life is thought to have started in the ocean. The earliest evidence of life is found in the ocean.

Last modified July 29, 2009 by Becca Hatheway.

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