Ocean smoothly into oceans of supercritical hydrogen. The atmosphere of Venus is 96.5% carbon dioxide, which is a supercritical fluid at its surface. On other bodies: Ocean An ocean () is a body of saline water that composes much of a planet's hydrosphere. On Earth, an ocean is one of the major conventional divisions of the World Ocean. These are, in descending order by area, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Arctic Oceans. The word "ocean" is often used interchangeably with "sea" in American English. Strictly speaking, a "sea" is a body of saline water (generally a division of the
Ocean Institute largest annual fundraiser is its Laguna Beach Million Dollar Home Raffle, which began in 2005. Ocean Institute The Ocean Institute is an ocean education organization located in Dana Point, California. Founded as the Orange County Marine Institute in 1977, it offers ocean science and maritime history programs for K–12 students and their teachers. Over 100,000 students and 8,000 teachers from Orange County and the surrounding counties participate yearly in immersion-style programs in the Institute's oceanfront labs and abroad. The Institute is open to the general public on weekdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and weekends, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.;