I.

Introduction

Pacific Ocean, largest and deepest of the world's five oceans, covering more than a third of the Earth's surface and containing more than half of its free water. It is sometimes divided into two nominal sections: the part north of the equator is called the North Pacific; the part south of the equator, the South Pacific. The name Pacific, which means peaceful, was given to it by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1520.