churning of the ocean of milk, in Hinduism, one of the central events in the ever-continuing struggle between the devas (gods) and the asuras (demons, or titans). The gods, who had become weakened as a result of a curse by the irascible sage Durvasas, invited the asuras to help them recover the

Somadeva: Tawney, titled The Ocean of Story, was published in 1924–28. Somadeva wrote his monumental work during the two periods of Ananta’s interrupted rule, which ended in 1077.

Ha Jin: Literary works: His volume of army stories, Ocean of Words (1996), received the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1997, and his second book of stories, Under the Red Flag (1997), which tells of life during the Cultural Revolution, won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.

Richard Diebenkorn: …art and began his famed Ocean Park series. Inspired by the seascape near his Berkeley home, the series best exemplifies Diebenkorn’s ability to represent the passage of time, space, and light through shifting hues, bold lines, and opaque geometrical shapes.

redfish, (Sebastes norvegicus), commercially important food fish of the scorpionfish family, Scorpaenidae (order Scorpaeniformes), found in the North Atlantic Ocean along European and North American coasts. Also known as ocean perch or rosefish in North America and as Norway haddock in Europe, the

World Oceans Day: …the World Ocean Network and The Ocean Project, first celebrated the day along with their network of zoos, aquariums, and environmental groups around the world. After a petitioning drive guided in large part by those two organizations, the General Assembly of the United Nations formally designated World Oceans Day in…

yacht: Transatlantic racing and global circumnavigation: Ocean racing began in 1866 with a match race held under NYYC rules from Sandy Hook, Connecticut, to Cowes, Isle of Wight, by three schooners of 32- to 32.6-metre length: Fleetwing, Vesta, and Henrietta. Henrietta, owned by the American newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett, won…

ocean ranching, the rearing of fish and shellfish under artificially controlled conditions to restock the sea. See

Ocean Springs, resort city, Jackson county, southeastern Mississippi, U.S., on Biloxi Bay across from Biloxi. It developed around the site of Old Biloxi, where the explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville established Fort Maurepas in 1699 for France; it was the first permanent European settlement in

Rhode Island, constituent state of the United States of America. It was one of the original 13 states and is one of the six New England states. Rhode Island is bounded to the north and east by Massachusetts, to the south by Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the

mola, any of six species of oceanic fishes of the family Molidae. Molas have a distinctive bullet-shaped appearance, with a short body that ends abruptly in a thick rudderlike structure called a clavus just behind the tall triangular dorsal and anal fins. The development of the clavus results from

ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), form of energy conversion that makes use of the temperature differential between the warm surface waters of the oceans, heated by solar radiation, and the deeper cold waters to generate power in a conventional heat engine. The difference in temperature

ocean warming, the absorption of surplus heat attributed to global warming by water in the oceans. Ocean warming is measured as the change in thermal energy in a set volume of water (which is called ocean heat content, OHC). OHC can be calculated by measuring using floating sensors on buoys (or

materials science: Oil platforms: …to continually varying stress from ocean waves. Since the cost of building and deploying a platform can amount to several billion dollars, it is imperative that the platform have a long life and not be lost because of premature metal failure.

wave power, a form of renewable energy in which electricity is generated by harnessing the up-and-down motion of ocean waves. Wave power is typically produced by floating turbine platforms or buoys that rise and fall with the swells. However, wave power can be generated by exploiting the changes in

Awkwafina: Early comedic roles: …a coming-of-age movie on Netflix; Ocean’s 8, an all-female variation of Ocean’s Eleven, the classic heist movie starring Frank Sinatra that was remade in the 21st century with George Clooney in the lead role; and Crazy Rich Asians, the film adaptation of the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan. That same…

Steve Irwin: …while filming a documentary called Ocean’s Deadliest near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Irwin swam over a venomous bull stingray in shallow water, inadvertently provoking the animal to attack. He was stung in the chest and immediately went into cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Sarah Paulson: Other film and television roles: Paulson also had roles in Ocean’s Eight (2018), Bird Box (2018), Glass (2019), The Goldfinch (2019), and Run (2020). In 2020 Paulson appeared as Alice Macray, a friend and collaborator of activist Phyllis Schlafly, in FX’s limited drama series Mrs. America, about the

Casey Affleck: …the commercially successful caper comedy Ocean’s Eleven (2001), a role he repeated in Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Affleck drew favorable reviews for his performance as the depressed title character in Steve Buscemi’s Lonesome Jim (2005).

Ocean’s Eleven, American heist film, released in 1960, that featured the legendary 1960s “Rat Pack” of Las Vegas entertainers, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin. In the film, Danny Ocean (played by Sinatra) recruits a gang of his old army buddies to simultaneously rob five

Casey Affleck: …in Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Affleck drew favorable reviews for his performance as the depressed title character in Steve Buscemi’s Lonesome Jim (2005).

Casey Affleck: …a role he repeated in Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Affleck drew favorable reviews for his performance as the depressed title character in Steve Buscemi’s Lonesome Jim (2005).

climate: Circulation, currents, and ocean-atmosphere interaction: The circulation of the ocean is a key factor in air temperature distribution. Ocean currents that have a northward or southward component, such as the warm Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic or the cold Peru (Humboldt) Current off South America, effectively exchange…

climate: Circulation, currents, and ocean-atmosphere interaction: The circulation of the ocean is a key factor in air temperature distribution. Ocean currents that have a northward or southward component, such as the warm Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic or the cold Peru (Humboldt) Current off South America, effectively exchange…

climate change: Decadal variation: …Variability (PDV), which involves changing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Pacific Ocean. The SSTs influence the strength and position of the Aleutian Low, which in turn strongly affects precipitation patterns along the Pacific Coast of North America. PDO variation consists of an alternation between “cool-phase” periods, when coastal…

James Harrington: …political philosopher whose major work, The Common-wealth of Oceana (1656), was a restatement of Aristotle’s theory of constitutional stability and revolution.

Shedd Aquarium: The Oceanarium, a major addition completed in 1991, is the world’s largest indoor marine-mammal pavilion. It recreates a Pacific Northwest coastal environment and exhibits beluga whales and dolphins in a series of adjoining pools holding some 3 million gallons (11.4 million litres) of water. Other animals…

oceanarium, saltwater aquarium for displaying marine animals and plants, particularly oceanic, or pelagic, fishes and mammals. It serves as a centre for public entertainment and education and scientific study. Most oceanariums are located in coastal areas. The world’s first large oceanarium, now

Smashing Pumpkins: …releasing two related full-length albums, Oceania (2012) and Monuments to an Elegy (2014).

Oceania, collective name for the islands found throughout most of the Pacific Ocean. The term, in its widest sense, embraces the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas. A more common definition excludes the Ryukyu, Kuril, and Aleutian islands and the Japan archipelago. The most popular

Oceanic art and architecture, the visual art and architecture of native Oceania, including media such as sculpture, pottery, rock art, basketry, masks, painting, and personal decoration. In these cultures, art and architecture have often been closely connected—for example, storehouses and

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: NOAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and manages seven research laboratories—including the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma,…

Triassic Period: Permian-Triassic extinctions: These shales may reflect oceanic anoxia (lack of dissolved oxygen) in both low and high latitudes over a wide range of shelf depths, perhaps caused by weakening of oceanic circulation. Such anoxia could devastate marine life, particularly the bottom-dwellers (benthos). Any theory, however, must take into account that not…

perciform: bonitos, and skipjacks (family Scombridae), billfishes and marlins (Istiophoridae), swordfish (Xiphiidae), sea basses (Serranidae), and carangids (Carangidae), a large family that includes

ocean current, stream made up of horizontal and vertical components of the circulation system of ocean waters that is produced by gravity, wind friction, and water density variation in different parts of the ocean. Ocean currents are similar to winds in the atmosphere in that they transfer

marine west coast climate, major climate type of the Köppen classification characterized by equable climates with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation in all months. It is located poleward of the Mediterranean climate region on the western sides of the continents, between 35° and 60°

oceanic crust, the outermost layer of Earth’s lithosphere that is found under the oceans and formed at spreading centres on oceanic ridges, which occur at divergent plate boundaries. Oceanic crust is about 6 km (4 miles) thick. It is composed of several layers, not including the overlying sediment.

dolphin: Paleontology and classification: Family Delphinidae (oceanic, or marine, dolphins)37 species in 17 genera found worldwide, some of which occasionally venture into fresh water. Genus Lagenorhynchus (white-sided and white-beaked dolphins)6 species found in subpolar to temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere and polar to temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere.

Atlantic Ocean: Islands of the Atlantic Ocean: Among purely oceanic islands (i.e., those without any foundation of continental rock, usually formed as the result of volcanic action) are Iceland, the Azores, Ascension, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Bouvet, and Gough, which all rise from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; and the Canary,

Oceanic languages, widespread, highly varied, and controversial language group of the Austronesian language family. Spoken on the islands of Oceania from New Guinea to Hawaii to Easter Island, certain of these languages share so little basic vocabulary that some scholars prefer to classify them in

Oceanic literature, the traditional oral and written literatures of the indigenous people of Oceania, in particular of Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Australia. While this article addresses the influence of Western literary forms, it does not address the adoption of purely Western styles;

Australia: Tectonic framework: …is between the plates of oceanic lithosphere, generated within the past 160 million years by seafloor spreading at the oceanic ridges, and the continental lithosphere, accumulated over the past 4 billion years. (The lithosphere is the outer rock shell of Earth that consists of the crust and the uppermost portion…

El Niño: The Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), a measure of the departure from normal sea surface temperature in the east-central Pacific Ocean, is the standard means by which each El Niño episode is determined, gauged, and forecast. El Niño episodes are indicated by sea surface temperature increases of…

Stone Age: Oceania: The long-term history of the Oceanic peoples, especially the Polynesians, has been the subject of many theories. Scholars reject ideas involving a lost continent (e.g., Lemuria, Mu) or direct relations with the Middle East (e.g., the Ten Lost Tribes, migrations of Children of the Sun from Egypt), early India (e.g.,…

metamorphic rock: Regional metamorphism: In areas of collision between oceanic and continental lithospheric plates such as the circum-Pacific region, the denser oceanic plate is subducted (carried into Earth’s mantle) beneath the more buoyant continental lithosphere (see plate tectonics). Rapid subduction of the cool oceanic lithosphere perturbs the thermal regime in such a way that

oceanic plateau, large submarine elevation rising sharply at least 200 m (660 feet) above the surrounding deep-sea floor and characterized principally by an extensive, relatively flat or gently tilted summit. Most oceanic plateaus were named early in the 20th century prior to the invention of sonic

marine ecosystem: Geography, oceanography, and topography: …the continental shelf, and the oceanic province, which includes all the open waters beyond the continental shelf. The high nutrient levels of the neritic province—resulting from dissolved materials in riverine runoff—distinguish this province from the oceanic. The upper portion of both the neritic and oceanic waters—the epipelagic zone—is where photosynthesis…

biogeographic region: Oceanic region: ) This region (Figure 2) is poorly defined. It contains some localized endemics, notably the bird family Rhynochetidae (kagu) in New Caledonia. Much of the fauna, especially birds, is of demonstrable Australian affinity.

shamanism: Southeast Asia and Oceania: Shamanism is prevalent in the Malay Peninsula and in Oceania. Among the peoples of the Malay Peninsula, the shaman heals with the help of celestial spirits or by using crystals of quartz. But the influence of Indo-Malayan beliefs is noticeable, too, as when shamans…

oceanic ridge, any of several continuous submarine mountain chains rising from the ocean floor. Individually, oceanic ridges are the largest features in ocean basins. Collectively, they form the oceanic ridge system, which extends approximately 80,000 km (50,000 miles) through all the world’s

deep-sea trench, any long, narrow, steep-sided depression in the ocean bottom in which occur the maximum oceanic depths, approximately 7,300 to more than 11,000 metres (24,000 to 36,000 feet). They typically form in locations where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest known

oceanic trough, an elongate depression in the seafloor that is characteristically shallower, shorter, narrower, and topographically gentler than oceanic trenches. Maximal depths of oceanic troughs range between 2,300 m (7,500 feet) in the Papuan Trough and 7,440 m in the Banda Trough. More typical

nymph: The Oceanids, for example, were sea nymphs; the Nereids inhabited both saltwater and freshwater; the Naiads presided over springs, rivers, and lakes. The Oreads (oros, “mountain”) were nymphs of mountains and grottoes; the Napaeae (nape, “dell”) and the Alseids (alsos, “grove”) were nymphs of glens and…

storm petrel: An example is Wilson’s petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), which breeds on islets along the Antarctic continent and near the Antarctic Circle and winters in the North Atlantic from about June to September.

storm petrel, any member of about 20 species of seabirds constituting the family Hydrobatidae, or sometimes considered as Oceanitidae (order Procellariiformes). Ranging in length from about 13 to 25 centimetres (5 12 to 10 inches), all are dark gray or brown, sometimes lighter below, and often with

storm petrel: Leach’s petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), for example, breeds on islands in the North Atlantic and south to about 28° N in the Pacific. Several other Oceanodroma species occur in the North Pacific. The British storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) breeds on islands and cliffs along the coasts…

migration: Oceanodromous fish: Oceanodromous fish, which occur widely throughout the world’s oceans, live and migrate wholly in the sea. They differ mainly from one another by the method and extent of their migration.

map: The rise of national surveys: …with the expansion of the Oceanographic Office (Navy), Aeronautical Chart Service (Air Force), and the U.S. Army Topographic command.

oceanography, scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of the world’s oceans and seas, including their physical and chemical properties, their origin and geologic framework, and the life forms that inhabit the marine environment. A brief treatment of oceanography follows. For full

Harold Ulrik Sverdrup: Sverdrup wrote Oceanography for Meteorologists (1942) and was coauthor of The Oceans (1942) and of Breakers and Surf (1944).

Oceanside, city, San Diego county, southern California, U.S. Situated about 35 miles (55 km) north of San Diego, Oceanside lies along the Pacific coast, at the mouth of the San Luis Rey River. The region was originally territory of the Luiseño Indians. Bounded to the south by Carlsbad and to the

Leslie Marmon Silko: Other works: …2011 Silko published the novella Oceanstory as an e-book on Kindle. Set partly in Tucson, Arizona, and partly in a seaside town in Mexico, it examines such themes as paranoia and the falsehood of the American Dream.

Oceanus, in Greek mythology, the river that flowed around the Earth (conceived as flat), for example, in the shield of Achilles described in Homer’s Iliad, Book XVIII. Beyond it, to the west, were the sunless land of the Cimmerii, the country of dreams, and the entrance to the underworld. In

English Channel, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais). With an area of some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square km), it is

Chang’e: …Earth from the plains of Oceanus Procellarum. The material was dated to be about two billion years old, making it the youngest lunar sample. Another lunar sample return mission, Chang’e 6, launched on May 3, 2024. Chang’e 6 landed on the lunar far side on June 1 and returned the…

turkey: …Agriocharis (or Meleagris) ocellata, the ocellated turkey. For unrelated but similar birds, see bustard (Australian turkey), megapode (brush turkey), and snakebird (water turkey).

cnidarian: Nervous system and organs of sensation: Light-sensitive ocelli (external patches of pigment and photoreceptor cells organized in either a flat disk or a pit) occur in some medusae of each of the three classes that possess this stage. Such sensory structures are closely associated with a nerve net.

cnidarian: Nervous system and organs of sensation: Light-sensitive ocelli (external patches of pigment and photoreceptor cells organized in either a flat disk or a pit) occur in some medusae of each of the three classes that possess this stage. Such sensory structures are closely associated with a nerve net.

ocelot, (Felis, or Leopardus, pardalis), spotted cat of the New World, found in lowland areas from Texas southward to northern Argentina. The short, smooth fur is patterned with elongated, black-edged spots that are arranged in chainlike bands. The cat’s upper parts vary in colour from light or

Oceti Sakowin, broad alliance of Indigenous North American peoples who spoke three related languages within the Siouan language family, commonly known by the exonym (a name given and used by outsiders) Sioux. The Oceti Sakowin people are divided into three groups based on the language variant they

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), agency of the United Nations (UN) Secretariat originally established in 1972 to coordinate international relief activities to countries struck by natural or other disasters. It is headed by a disaster relief coordinator who

ochre, a native earth coloured with hydrated iron oxide. It varies in colour from pale yellow to deep red, brown, and violet. There are two kinds: one has a clayey basis, while the other is a chalky earth. The former variety is in general the richer and purer in colour of the two. Both kinds are

Vladimir Sorokin: …in Paris of Ochered’ (The Queue), a satire on the ordinariness of Soviet life that was written as a string of dialogue between people waiting in line to purchase goods from a store. The Queue, which consists of a formless narrative that fails to attribute dialogue and represents a…

Anton Ivanovich Denikin: …where he wrote his memoirs, Ocherki russkoy smuty, 5 vol. (1923–27; “History of the Civil Strife in Russia”). He immigrated to the United States in 1945.

hocket, in medieval polyphonic (multipart) music, the device of alternating between parts, single notes, or groups of notes. The result is a more or less continuous flow with one voice resting while the other voice sounds. The hocket was a popular device in the motet and the cantilena (vernacular

Euboea: …metres]), while in the south Óchi Mountain reaches 4,587 feet (1,398 metres). The east coast is rocky and harbourless; in ancient times the main traffic from the north Aegean to Athens used the inshore channels because of the hazards of Cape Kafirévs on the southeast coast. Euboea has few streams,…

Hishida Shunsō: Among his best-known works are “Ochiba” (1909; “Fallen Leaves”) and “Kuroi neko” (1910; “A Black Cat”).

Ochikubo monogatari, Japanese novel of the late 10th century, one of the world’s earliest extant novels. Its unknown author is thought to have been a man, one of the Heian court’s literate elite, writing for an audience of female readers. It was translated into English as Ochikubo monogatari; or,

Bernardino Ochino was a Protestant convert from Roman Catholicism who became an itinerant Reformer and influenced other radical Reformers by his controversial anti-Catholic views. Taking his surname from the Sienese district dell’Oca, Ochino joined the Franciscan order in the Roman Catholic church

Ochnaceae: Fun shrub, or carnival bush (Ochna multiflora), reaches 1.5 metres (5 feet) and has evergreen leaves. Its yellow, buttercup-like flowers have sepals that turn scarlet and remain after the petals fall. There are 3 to 5 projecting, jet-black fruits. Other genera have dry capsules with…

Ochnaceae, a family of the order Malpighiales, comprising 27 genera and some 495 species of tropical trees and shrubs, with a few genera of herbs. Many species are native to Brazil. The largest genus is Ouratea (including Gomphia), with about 200 species. The tropical African and Asian genus Ochna

Miguel de Cervantes: Civil servant and writer: …years later in the collection Ocho comedias, y ocho entremeses nuevos (1615; “Eight Plays and Eight New Interludes”). Fixed theatre sites were just becoming established in the major cities of Spain, and there was an expanding market geared to satisfying the demands of a public ever more hungry for entertainment.…

Ocho Rios, town and Caribbean port on the north coast of Jamaica, northwest of Kingston. The Spanish name, meaning “eight rivers,” refers to the number of rivers in the area. The 600-foot (180-meter) cataracts of Dunns River Falls make Ocho Rios a popular tourist resort, and the town has numerous

Ellen Ochoa is an American administrator and former astronaut who was the first Hispanic woman to travel into space (1993). She later served as director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (2013–18). Ochoa studied electrical engineering at Stanford University, earning a master’s degree (1981) and a

Lorena Ochoa is a Mexican golfer who was one of the leading players in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in the early 2000s. Ochoa, who grew up near the Guadalajara Country Club in Mexico, won 44 Mexican national junior events, plus five consecutive age-group titles (1990–94) at the

Severo Ochoa was a biochemist and molecular biologist who received (with the American biochemist Arthur Kornberg) the 1959 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of an enzyme in bacteria that enabled him to synthesize ribonucleic acid (RNA), a substance of central importance to

Permian Period: Later work: Leonardian, Guadalupian, and Ochoan—on the basis of the succession in West Texas and New Mexico.

pika, (genus Ochotona), small short-legged and virtually tailless egg-shaped mammal found in the mountains of western North America and much of Asia. Despite their small size, body shape, and round ears, pikas are not rodents but the smallest representatives of the lagomorphs, a group otherwise

pika: The collared pika (O. collaris) of Alaska and northern Canada has been found on the isolated nunataks (crags or peaks surrounded by glaciers) in Kluane National Park, and O. macrotis has been recorded at 6,130 meters (20,113 feet) on the slopes of the Himalayas. The pika…

pika: …with the largest distribution, the northern pika (O. hyperborea), ranges from the Ural Mountains to the east coast of Russia and Hokkaido Island of northern Japan. Although the northern pika is considered a typical talus-dwelling species, it also is known to inhabit rocky terrain in coniferous forests, where it makes…

pika: One of these, Koslov’s pika (O. koslowi) from China, was originally collected by the Russian explorer Nikolai Przewalski in 1884, and approximately 100 years passed before it was seen again. Not only is this species apparently rare, but it may be in danger of being poisoned as part…

pika: …in Kluane National Park, and O. macrotis has been recorded at 6,130 meters (20,113 feet) on the slopes of the Himalayas. The pika with the largest distribution, the northern pika (O. hyperborea), ranges from the Ural Mountains to the east coast of Russia and Hokkaido Island of northern Japan. Although…

pika: The steppe pika (O. pusilla) has been reported to have litters of as many as 13 young and breed up to five times in a year.

pika: …living genus of the family Ochotonidae, and its members lack several special skeletal modifications present in hares and rabbits (family Leporidae), such as a highly arched skull, relatively upright posture of the head, strong hind limbs and pelvic girdle, and elongation of limbs. The family Ochotonidae was clearly differentiated from…

Sea of Okhotsk, northwestern arm of the Pacific Ocean, bounded on the west and north by the east coast of Asia from Cape Lazarev to the mouth of the Penzhina River, on the east and southeast by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands, on the south by the northern coast of the Japanese island

ochre, a native earth coloured with hydrated iron oxide. It varies in colour from pale yellow to deep red, brown, and violet. There are two kinds: one has a clayey basis, while the other is a chalky earth. The former variety is in general the richer and purer in colour of the two. Both kinds are

Ohrid, town, southwestern North Macedonia, on the northeastern shore of Lake Ohrid (Ohridsko Jezero). The chief resort of North Macedonia, Ohrid is linked by road and air to Skopje. Agriculture, fishing, and tourism provide a livelihood for the population. In Classical antiquity Ohrid was a Greek

balsa, (Ochroma pyramidale), fast-growing tropical tree in the mallow family (Malvaceae), noted for its extremely lightweight and light-coloured wood. Balsa can be found from southern Mexico to Bolivia and is a common plant throughout much of its range. The wood has long been used in many

algae: Annotated classification: Lagynion, and Ochromonas. Class Dictyochophyceae Predominantly marine flagellates, including silicoflagellates that form skeletons common in diatomite deposits; fewer than 25 described species. Order Pedinellales When pigmented, has 6 chloroplasts in a radial arrangement; flagella bases attached

connective tissue disease: Hereditary disorders of connective tissue: …by this pigment is termed ochronosis and is accompanied by gradual erosion of cartilage and progressive joint disease.