section_path: Terminology/World Ocean
section_name: World Ocean
paragraph_text: World Ocean
  
  The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was coined in the early 20th century by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky to refer to the continuous ocean that covers and encircles most of Earth. The global, interconnected body of salt water is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean, global ocean or the great ocean. The concept of a continuous body of water with relatively unrestricted exchange between its components is critical in oceanography.