How are the oceans formed?

Most scientists agree that the atmosphere and the oceans accumulated gradually over millions and millions of years with the continual 'degassing' of the Earth's interior. According to this theory, the ocean formed from the escape of water vapor and other gases from the molten rocks of the Earth to the atmosphere surrounding the cooling planet. read more

Video: Theories About How Oceans Were Formed Today, more than 2/3 of Earth is covered with water, mostly in our oceans. But Earth itself is much older than our oceans. read more

The oceans on Earth formed around 4 billion years ago from water vapor that was accumulated in the atmosphere. Volcanoes spewed out many gases as well as water vapor. Comets and asteroids were also partially made of ice. read more