Mangroves

There are three types of Mangroves. White mangrove, black mangrove, and the red mangrove.

Ocean garbage patch

The ocean garbage patch, or pacific trash vortex is a part of the ocean that is high in chemical sludge as well as debris. It is formed from a mix of these things. It is located in the North Pacific Ocean. Many animals may swallow the garbage or die from the toxins released into the water. Eggs may never be born because of the garbage patch. If man is to help the control the ocean garbage patch the best thing to so is recycle!

Hawksbill turtle

Common name; Hawksbill turtle
Scientific name: Eretmochelys imbricata
Habitat: coral reefs in the tropic areas.
Adaptations: they have a beak like mouth and claws on their fins. Their lung capacity reaches over 50% of the normal human's.
Status: critically endangered
Current issues: they are hunted for their shells and meat.
I chose the hawksbill turtle because I used to own a turtle and enjoyed raising him.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is the decrease in the pH of the earth's oceans. The ocean absorbs a quarter of the CO2 released into the atmosphere. This CO2 does not initially harm the ocean but over an extensive amount of time it changed the chemistry of the sea water. The marine life in the ocean uses the calcium and carbonate to make shells and skeletons. The less pH makes if harder to make shells. It is not possible to produce calcium carbonate in acidic water. Ocean acidification can be traced to men who use fossil fuels and practice deforestation. Every day over 79 millions tons of carbon dioxide are released. The best way to prevent ocean acidification is to stop deforestation, continue to keep the ocean water clean and stop dumping waste into different areas.

Plankton Race

The most difficult part of the plankton project was to make sure it sank slowly instead of quickly. If I changed the design I would make the plankton lighter. I enjoyed having to use limited materials in order to reach an end result.

HAB

HAB is an abbreviation for Harmful Algae Bloom. HAB is caused by nutrient enrichment and water temperature warming.

Marine Plankton

Plankton are important to not only the ocean but also to man. This is because the plankton is the bottom of the food web. If plankton did not exist the whole food chain would fall apart. Including human life that not only feeds on creatures of the ocean but uses the oxygen produced as seventy percent of the earth's air. Plankton are also a large food source for not only fish but plants or algae within the ocean as well. Because many lower level fish feed on plants not just plankton their second source of food would also dwindle. Finally Plankton are considered the key to life's existence. This is not just because they provide a strong food source for fish and plants in the ocean but because of their role in the biogeochemical cycle of the carbon cycle within the ocean. The organic makeup of the plankton are more dense than sea water causing them to sink into the ocean ecosystem bringing the carbon with their bodies. The plankton has been discovered to be one of the largest reasons why the world receives so much of its oxygen from the ocean. The most common type of phytoplankton are Diatoms and Dinoflagellates. Diatoms are single-celled algae. They often join together in long chains. Where as Dinoflagellates are small organisms with two tails. Dinoflagellates come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some have shells and some do not need them. Not all dinoflagellates rely only on photosynthesis for all their energy like most plankton. Some wrap themselves around food and are able to absorb it. Some dinoflagellates can make their own light using an adaptation called bioluminescence.

The Sea Cucumber

Common name: Sea Cucumber
Scientific name: Holothuroidea
Adaptations: An interesting adaptation is how the Sea Cucumber is able to escape a possible threat. When they are threatened, some sea cucumbers are able to discharge sticky webs to entangle their enemies from movement towards them. Other sea cucumbers can mutilate their own bodies as a defense mechanism. The sea cucumber contracts their muscles and send some of their internal organs out of their anus. The missing body parts are able to quickly regenerated.
Habitat: The Sea Cucumber lives in many different areas but most frequently found in tropical coral reefs. The sea cucumber can happily live in the deepest part of the ocean or the more shallow areas. However they avoid areas with high current.
Endangered/ threatened: Sea Cucumbers are an endangered species. Although there are many different types of sea cucumber they are hunted by not only predators of the ocean but humans as well. In parts of Asia the different types of sea cucumber are considered a delicacy and farmed because of it.
Interesting facts: There are over a thousand different kinds of Sea Cucumbers.
Why did you choose this organism? I chose the Sea Cucumber because of its unique span of size. The Sea Cucumber can be as small as less than an inch to over seven feet long.

Glomar Challenger

The Glomar Challenger first set sail on March 23, 1968. This expedition was the beginning in oceanography and marine geology studies. What most people don't know is that the Glomar Challenger was built in orange, Texas. Its' name also originated from the words "global", and "marine", a dedication to the HMS Challenger. The DSDP (deep sea drilling program) began a fifteen year expedition with the Glomar Challenger where they took core samples of the ocean floor. This information gathered helped greatly in the understanding of plate tectonics and sea floor spreading theories. One of the most important discoveries was made during its fifteen year expedition. The crew drilled 17 holes at 10 different sites along a oceanic ridge between South America and Africa. The core samples retrieved proof for continential drift and seafloor renewal at rift zones. This confirmation of Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift strengthened the proposal of a single ancient land mass, which we know as Pangaea.

History of oceanography

Oceanography is one of the newest sciences to be developed. There is still so much knowledge to be gained from studying the ocean. The original oceanography could date back to the beginning of earth. When man first started to go into the ocean in search of recourses. The understanding gained of currents and tides was passed down for thousands of years until the original line with a detachable weight was created. This sounding was able to determine the depth of the water. Although it's accuracy was not very accurate it was the beginning to the sonar we are now able to use. Sonar is a recent development where we are able to take seabed surveys, underwater investigations and bathymetric seabed mappings. Since World War Two the research of the ocean has taken off. Although a still immature study the development of new tools is in constant motion.

Study the ocean because..

There are many reasons it is important for us to study and understand the ocean better. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina the second strongest hurricane in United States history not only effected Louisiana and Mississippi but the whole world. Many people from all over came to aide, did what they could for the displaced families and mass destruction. Without the study of the ocean we would not know when these hurricanes were approaching. Not only that but we would not be properly prepared for the storm. It is also important to study the ocean in order to understand the habits of the fish living inside. If we did not do this people would not be able to own fish tanks in their homes. We wouldn't know what to feed the fish or how to properly take care of them. Many people think the ocean is a inexhaustible resource but in fact it is not. 70% of the earth's oxygen comes from the ocean. We must know how to take care of the water instead of pollute and destroy our oxygen system. Not only is this oxygen source dwindling but many fish and organisms within the ocean are disappearing. It is critical that we are able to take care of these creatures and help their population to flourish and continue the growth within the ocean. Finally it is important to study the ocean in order to gain an ability for the betterment of society. Recently oceanographer Bob Ballard stated that he believed we would one day be able to colonize the ocean. If this is possible we must build a knowledge of how to sustain our society in the deep water.

Boat Race

During the boat race our first trial went very well with a 3.50 seconds to reach the end of the tub. However the beginners luck quickly faded. On our second, third, and even fourth try out boat continually turned to the right and hit the wall. We then did our best to work out the problems with our boat. What was going on with the spinning? Boggled, our teacher helped by offering her advice to move the sail down nearer to the bottom. After doing so we were able to make our final voyage across the tub at a 3.64 second mark. If we were to recreate the boat I would probably not use two water bottles but instead three to possibly even the weight to the middle instead of one side or the other. I enjoyed using our creativity in class. We were not given many guidelines which gave us unlimited options and our own minds to think them up.

Boat Project

Originally when my partner Caitlin and I designed our boat we decided to use two water bottles taped together and a plate on top. However the marbles continually rolled around the plate and sunk the boat in either direction. Because of this we added a row Popsicle sticks to the bottom for extra support, put sand in the plate and filled the water bottles with the marbles. We also took our boat "The Lucky Charm", home to work on it and successfully spilled sand every where. The sand however was a huge help in balancing out the weight of our boat.

Beluga Whales

Common Name: Beluga or White Whale
Scientific Name: Delphinapterus Leucas
Adaptations: Although believed that Belugas are found in only waters of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower they have been able to adapt to warm waters as well. During the summer Beluga whales can often be found in even fresh water habitats. Because of this it is helping their efforts in preventing extinction of the Beluga Whale.
Habitat: Beluga Whales live in pods of about a dozen to twenty five individual whales. Beluga Whales main habitat are found in the arctic and subarctic ocean. Belugas can be found in places such as the Gulf of Alaska, and Hudson Bay. Often found in shallow waters that barely cover their bodies.
Endangered/ Threatened/ or Not: endangered species.
Why did you choose this organism? I chose the Beluga whales because they are one of the most social animals of the ocean. The Beluga is often referred to as the canary of the sea. Their "songs" can be heard above the water as well as vibrations against boats. Echolocation helps the Beluga to locate the bottom of the ocean as well as food for hunting.