Marginal sea

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A marginal sea is a part of ocean partially enclosed by land such as islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas. Unlike mediterranean seas, marginal seas have ocean currents caused by ocean winds.

Many marginal seas are enclosed by island arcs that were formed from the subduction of one oceanic plate beneath another.

Marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean:

Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean:

A marginal sea of the Indian Ocean:

A marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean: The Laptev Sea (separated by the Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands) Seas barely marginal include the Tasman Sea.

Note that although the Caribbean Sea is enclosed by most of the Antilles and the mainland of the Americas, it is not a marginal sea because (together with the Gulf of Mexico) it forms the American mediterranean sea and its currents are mainly caused by salinity and temperature differences rather than by ocean winds.

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