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
Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on India Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on India According to official estimates in India, 10,136 people were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless when a tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra struck the southern coast on 26 December 2004. The earthquake registered 9.1–9.3 M and was the largest in five decades. It was followed by strong aftershocks on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The death toll of the earthquake was 1,500 people. This disaster affected a total of fourteen regions. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands (land masses