Coastal oceans are commonly defined as the areas from the shoreline to the outer edge of the continental margin. They connect the continents to the open ocean and serve as a link for transporting organic and inorganic, natural and anthropogenic material from land to sea. ice is only made of water without the salt. The ice in the Arctic and Antarctica is salt free. You may want to point out the 4 major oceans including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. Remember that the limits of the oceans are arbitrary, as there is only one global ocean. Coastal oceans are important because they are extremely productive biologically and because they are more directly affected by human activity than any other part of the ocean. Coastal oceans are the most fished, the most modified, and the most subject to natural and industrial disasters.