Marine Plankton

Marine plankton, as small as many are and seemingly unimportant in many people's eyes, are one of the most important groups of organisms in the world ocean.

The linked article talks about a newly completed 'Global Atlas of Marine Plankton.'

WHOI - Atlas of Plankton

US Coast Guard

I was reading an article earlier today, and it prompted me to think of the US Coast Guard and their surf training.   No, this is not done with a board.  For the Coast Guard, well, they train for piloting 47' rescue boats in rough surf conditions.

The video below from the US Coast Guard does a great job illustrating some of the conditions in which they train.

Post-'Shark Week'

Image Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Well, last week was 'Shark Week' and also 'Shark Fest.'  When most people think of sharks, they think of 'Jaws,' shark fishing, and shark attacks.  Most don't think of them as the amazing creatures that they actually are.  Furthermore few people do not realize that the known populations are crashing due to over-fishing.

The linked article is from Woods Hole and about one person's, one student's, efforts to stop this human assault on sharks: Woods Hole Article - Sharks

Trash, trash, trash!

Below is a fascinating read from National Geographic on the amount of deep-sea trash researches have found off the coast of California.  The scary thing - this is no way contributes to the Pacific Garbage Patch.

National Geographic Article - Deep Sea Trash

Shoreline Features

One of my favorite chapters to teach is the one covering shoreline features.  I'm especially fascinated by depositional shores.  Long Island, NY, is a great place to study them.

Here's a linked photo-essay on impressive shoreline features from around the world.
Shoreline Feature article - World Geography.com

A 'Hot' Topic

Image Credit - NASA

During our discussions of the world ocean and its myriad aspects and characteristics, we don't often discuss what the earth would be like without it.  Scary thought!

Read on to the linked Scientific American article about the results of a new study about climate change/the greenhouse effect.

Scientific American - Greenhouse Effect article