Ookeani

Ookeani is the Finnish term for the world's oceans. In Finnish language use, the word refers to the interconnected body of saltwater that covers most of the planet and shapes climate, weather, and life. The word is commonly seen in scientific, educational, and news texts dealing with marine environments.

Etymology and usage: Ookeani derives from the Greek okeanos via Latin Oceanus, adapted into Finnish as ookeani. In modern Finnish, ookeani can denote the global ocean as a single system or, when used with modifiers, the individual ocean basins.

Geography: Many oceanographers describe a single global ocean containing five major basins—Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic. The boundaries between them are traditional, defined by continents, mid-ocean ridges, and circum-polar currents. The term ookeani is also used to discuss oceanic processes without specifying a basin.

Hydrology and climate: The oceans store vast amounts of heat and dissolved carbon, regulating climate and atmospheric composition. They drive major circulation patterns, such as surface currents and the global thermohaline circulation.

Ecology and threats: Ocean ecosystems range from coastal marshes to open-ocean pelagic zones and deep-sea habitats. Human activities—overfishing, plastic pollution, habitat destruction, and acidification—pose ongoing challenges. International cooperation and marine governance seek to protect biodiversity while ensuring sustainable use of resources.