SEA

Sea

A sea is either a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, or a large, usually saline, lake that lacks a natural outlet such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea. Colloquially, the term is used synonymous with ocean. Large lakes, such as the Great Lakes, are sometimes referred to as inland seas. Marginal seas are those that have currents caused by ocean winds, and mediterranean seas are those in which currents are caused by differentials in salinity and temperature.

Contents
1 International Hydrographic Organization
2 List of seas
2.1 Atlantic Ocean
2.2 Arctic Ocean
2.3 Indian Ocean
2.4 Pacific Ocean
2.5 Southern Ocean
2.6 Landlocked seas
3 Nomenclature
4 Extraterrestrial seas
5 Science
6 See also
7 References
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is the international authority that sets forth nomenclature and definition of bodies of water.[1] The IHO's Limits of Oceans and Seas was first published in 1928, with its current working document the third edition published in 1953.[2] A fourth draft edition was proposed in 1986 but has yet to be ratified due to outstanding issues such as the Sea of Japan naming dispute.
List of seas
Atlantic Ocean
Adriatic Sea
Aegean Sea
Alboran Sea
Argentine Sea
Bay of Biscay
Bay of Bothnia
Bay of Campeche
Bay of Fundy
Baltic Sea
Black Sea
Bothnian Sea
Caribbean Sea
Celtic Sea
Central Baltic Sea
Chesapeake Bay
English Channel
Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Sidra
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Gulf of Venezuela
Ionian Sea
Ligurian Sea
Irish Sea
Marmara Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Mirtoon Sea
North Sea
Sea of Azov
Sea of Crete
Sea of the Hebrides
Sargasso Sea
Tampa Bay
Thracian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
Arctic Ocean
Amundsen Gulf
Baffin Bay
Barents Sea
Beaufort Sea
Bering Sea
Cambridge Bay
Chukchi Sea
Cold Bay
Davis Strait
Denmark Strait
East Siberian Sea
Greenland Sea
Hudson Bay
James Bay
Kara Sea
Kara Strait
Labrador Sea
Laptev Sea
Lincoln Sea
Norwegian Sea
White Sea
Indian Ocean
Arafura Sea
Andaman Sea
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Oman
Mozambique Channel
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Timor Sea
Pacific Ocean
Arafura Sea
Banda Sea
Bering Sea
Bismarck Sea
Bohai Sea
Bohol Sea (Mindanao Sea)
Camotes Sea
Celebes Sea
Ceram Sea
Chilean Sea
Coral Sea
East China Sea
Flores Sea
Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of California (Sea of Cortés)
Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Thailand
Halmahera Sea
Java Sea
Koro Sea
Molucca Sea
Philippine Sea
Savu Sea
Sea of Japan
Sea of Okhotsk
Seto Inland Sea
Solomon Sea
South China Sea
Sulu Sea
Tasman Sea
Timor Sea
Yellow Sea
Southern Ocean
Amundsen Sea
Bass Strait
Bellingshausen Sea
Davis Sea
Great Australian Bight
Gulf Saint Vincent
Ross Sea
Scotia Sea
Spencer Gulf
Weddell Sea
Landlocked seas
Aral Sea
Caspian Sea
Dead Sea
Sea of Galilee
Salton Sea
Great Salt Lake
† Not listed in IHO S-23 4th ed. (There are 113 Seas on Earth.)
Nomenclature
Some bodies of water that are called "seas" are not actually seas; there are also some seas that are not called "seas". The following is an incomplete list of such potentially confusing names.
The Sea of Galilee is a small freshwater lake with a natural outlet, which is properly called Lake Tiberias or Lake Kinneret on modern Israeli maps, but its original name remains in use.
The Sea of Cortés is more commonly known as the Gulf of California.
The Persian Gulf is a sea.
The Dead Sea is actually a lake, as is the Caspian Sea.
Extraterrestrial seas
See also Extraterrestrial liquid water
Lunar maria are vast basaltic plains on the Moon that were thought to be bodies of water by early astronomers, who referred to them as "seas".
Liquid water may have existed on the surface of Mars in the distant past, and several basins on Mars have been proposed as dry sea beds. The largest is Vastitas Borealis; others include Hellas Planitia and Argyre Planitia.
Liquid water is thought to be present under the surface of several moons, most notably Europa.
Liquid hydrocarbons are thought to be present on the surface of Titan, though it may be more accurate to describe them as "lakes" rather than "seas".
Science
The term "sea" has also been used in quantum physics. Dirac sea is an interpretation of the negative energy states that comprises the vacuum.
See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Seas

Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Look up sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Oceanography
Inlet
International Maritime Organization
List of places on land with elevations below sea level
Pole of inaccessibility: the locations farthest from any coastline
Marine debris
Sea level
Sea level rise
Sea salt
Seven Seas
References
1. ^ "IHO Background Information". International Hydrographic Organization (25 August 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
2. ^ International Hydrographic Conference of 1952 (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas: Special publication S-23" (.PDF). Third edition. International Hydrographic Organization. Retrieved on 2008-05-17