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The Oceans and Seas of the world form a relatively thin film of water that covers approximately
70.8% of the earth's surface. This thin
layer of water is interrupted by the continental
land masses,
which rise above the surface over about 29.2% of the earth's surface. About 76.7% of the world's
oceans are relatively deep (over 3,000 meters in depth), with only a small fraction (about 7.4%)
over the continental
shelves
(0-200 meters depth). About 15.9% of the oceans are over the continental
slope (between 200 and 3,000 meters in
depth). The ocean floor, that portion over 3,000 meters in depth, occupies the remaining 76.7%
of the area of the world's oceans.
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