I would say that my current knowledge of the ocean mostly stems from an environmental view point, as I have had interest in environmental sciences for a long time. I do know that the ocean is a more resilient and stable environment due to its size diluting harmful substances and water's quality of being the universal solvent. However, humans have had some noticeable negative effects on it regardless, the most prominent being trash pollution and oil rig deployment. Both of these cause heavy damage to the ocean environment as trash and oil spills are highly toxic to aquatic life and the water itself while not breaking down easily. As for its processes, I'll admit I've put many more hours into studying what can affect oceans and what lives in it than the ocean itself, but I do know of some of its basic attributes. The tectonic plates have a larger effect on our oceans in multiple ways, such as forming huge underwater structures. Two plates moving towards each other can create underwater mountains or even islands, while plates moving apart can create huge chasms that let water come into contact with magma deep in the earth. A violent enough tectonic movement can cause earthquakes underwater, potentially causing a tsunami. The circulation patterns of the ocean play a huge part in how water moves around the ocean and the world. The North Atlantic Current is part of this pattern, and its motion helps keep the North Atlantic region of the world warm. Different temperatures of water move at different depths, with cold staying low and warm water floating to the surface due to its higher temperature. I don't know the *specifics* of how ocean currents connect to the atmosphere, but I do know that the currents are influenced by global wind currents. The earth's tides are influenced by the moon's gravity and position relative to the earth. The sides of the earth parallel to the moon the most affected, causing high tide, while the sides perpendicular to the moon are the least affected, causing a low tide. Tidal waves on the other hand are almost completely influenced by the wind, both in the open ocean and near the beach. The only exception to this are tsunamis, which are the result of a massive underwater earthquake. As for physical properties of the ocean, the one I know the most about is its depth allowing different communities to form. Deeper waters have significantly less light and also much higher pressure due to all the water above it. This means life has to evolve differently based on the levels of light and pressure in a given part of the ocean. Previously mentioned underwater currents also have a large effect on aquatic life often due to being an environment all on its own. Hundreds of organisms live a significant amount of their life in the currents, and many more use them to travel across the world.