Transcript Intro to oceanography Power Point

Introduction to Oceanography
Definition
• Scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of
the world's oceans and seas, including their
physical and chemical properties, origin and
geology, and life forms. Research entails
sampling seawater and marine life, remote
sensing of oceanic processes with aircraft and
satellites, and exploration of the seafloor.
Oceanography aids in predicting weather and
climate, in exploitation of the Earth's resources,
and in understanding the effects of pollutants.
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http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oceanography
Why is Oceanography important?
• The importance of the oceans to physical
climate, food supplies and biological
stability
• An extra dimension to human activity
And……….
• Long-term habitability of Earth
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Fields of Oceanography
• Physical oceanographers
study the tides, currents, waves, particle
transportation, erosion, ocean-climate
relationship and the transmission of light and
sound waves through the water. Techniques
of physics and applied mathematics are used
by physical oceanographers for the study of
the physical ocean and climate.
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Fields of Oceanography
• Biological oceanographers
study the interactions of marine animals,
plants and micro-organisms. They are also
interested in the numbers of organisms as well
as how they adapt to their environment.
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Fields of Oceanography
• Geologic oceanographers
 study plate tectonics, processes which
form the seafloor, canyons and valleys,
seismic activities which cause tsunamis,
core sampling to study the geologic history
of the seafloor as well as ocean circulation
and climates.
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Fields of Oceanography
• Chemical oceanographers
 Study the composition of seawater, its processes,
cycles, and the chemical interaction of seawater
with the atmosphere and sea floor. analysis of
seawater components, the effects of pollutants, and
the impacts of chemical processes on marine
organisms. They may also use chemistry to
understand how ocean currents move seawater
around the globe and how the ocean affects climate
or to identify potentially beneficial ocean resources
such as natural products that can be used as
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medicines.
Living Machine
• Together with the atmosphere, continents
and ice-cover (the 'cryosphere'), they form
a working machine, driven mostly by
energy from the sun.
• Lesser amounts of energy derive from
tides raised by the moon and sun and
planets, and heat from the Earth's interior.
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Oceanographers and Oceans
• Oceanographers aim their work at both practical
problems and basic scientific discovery
• Oceans :
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provide threats;
a bountiful diversity of food
are the reservoir of our water supply
most of the heat and carbon of the climate system
are the source of roughly ½ the respired oxygen of
the biosphere,
– contain most of the remaining undiscovered natural
pharmaceuticals
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Oceanographers and Oceans
• Study of ocean life provides models for
research in human illness, for example
using the giant, accessible neurons of the
squid.
• Techniques of classical physics are joined
with modern instrumentation and
computers.
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A Young Science
• Although oceanography is a relatively
young science
• It is the natural setting to ask fundamental
questions about the development of life,
and the behavior (or misbehavior) of
global climate
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Some Interesting Facts
• The oceans cover 70% of the Earth's
surface.
• Much of the biomass...the mass of living
plants and animals...lives in the oceans,
far more than on land and we are still
discovering more species every year!
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More Interesting Facts
• Photosynthesis of the phytoplankton (the
'grass' of the seas) and respiration of
zooplankton and larger animals (the 'cows' of
the sea) are important to the global chemical
balance of our oxygen-rich world
• Very roughly 50% of the primary production of
oxygen from photosynthesis, by all life on
Earth, occurs in the sea. Roughly 50% of that
occurs in the productive, shallow ocean near
land.
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Even More Facts
• About 25% of global primary productivity
(photosynthesis by plant life) occurs in the ocean
near the coasts, and that is about one-half of the
total productivity of the world ocean. 80 to 90%
of the world fish catch occurs in the coastal
ocean.
• Today these shallow-water ocean regions are
under great stress from population increase,
pollution, ballast water exchange and other
major issues.
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What does Oceanography Entail?
• Until
the 1970s the normal oceanographic
expedition (time at sea) involved bringing back
samples of water from the deep ocean for analysis
using simple measurements:
– reversing thermometers and Nansen bottles
lowered on steel cables, and triggered by
dropping a weight (the 'messenger') down the
wire
– plankton tows in simple mesh nets
– small coring devices
– bottom dredges.
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Nansen Bottle
A Nansen bottle coming out of the water on a nearly mirror smooth sea.
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What does Oceanography Entail?
• Today with electronics and computers
many more things can be measured.
• Physical variables like temperature and
salinity are observed in this way, and there
are new probes being designed that will
allow electronic measurement of many
chemical and biological variables.
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What does Oceanography Entail?
•Seismology and sub-seabed geophysics
are being explored using 'underwater
observatories‘
• Moorings, with steel or Kevlar cable
extending from near the ocean surface to its
bottom, have many instruments to record
observations internally
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What does Oceanography Entail?
• Autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs)
propel themselves or drift with currents for
years at a time.
• Satellites - Satellite oceanography is
combined with other observations and with
computer modelling of ocean/atmosphere
circulation to give a 'best-fit' assimilation of
the complete circulation. (see Regional
Satellite Oceanography – Serge Victorov –
Taylor and Francis)
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What does Oceanography Entail?
In the Arctic oceanographers use Icebreakers or
methods of boring holes in the ice and helicopters
and ski-equipped airplanes to do 'sections' across
the Arctic, or to set moorings and autonomous
vehicles into action.
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• “Cat-Scans" using fast, small boats towing
instruments that 'fly' through the water on a
carefully controlled course. Acoustic waves are
sent down through the water column, and their
reflections off small particles in the water give a
complete profile of the ocean velocity, from top to
bottom.
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What does Oceanography Entail?
• Theoretical work in oceanography uses classical
physics and many sub-fields of physics: for
example the science of 'chaos', which involves
the complex behavior of seemingly simple
physical systems.
• The 'soliton', a fundamental, nonlinear wave that
propagates undistorted over great distances,
was discovered in oceanography and now is
found in fiber-optics cables, and many physical
systems
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What does Oceanography Entail?
• Computers play an intense role in physical
oceanography, giving us simulations of
waves and circulation based on Newtonian
dynamics.
• Ocean and atmosphere are coupled
together in 'climate models' and 'circulation
models'; the computer models become the
meeting point for observations, theory and
prediction.
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WOODS HOLE MASSACHUSETS
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is the
world's largest private, non-profit oceanographic
research institution and a global leader in the study
and
exploration of the ocean.
• Their purpose is to:
• UNDERSTAND the ocean and its importance to
Earth and humanity
• EXPLORE the ocean in all its depth and complexity
• EDUCATE scientists, students, decision-makers,
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and the public
WOODS HOLE MASSACHUSETS
R/V Atlantis
The 274-foot (83 meter) Atlantis, one of the nation's newest
research vessels, is specially outfitted for the vehicles of
the National Deep Submergence Facility.
R/V Knorr
A 279-foot (84.5-meter) vessel, Knorr can stay at sea for up
to eight weeks. It is equipped with sophisticated navigation
and communication systems and can accommodate a wide
variety of scientific projects.
R/V Tioga
Designed for day trips to coastal waters, 60foot Tioga can cruise at 20 knots and has a range of
350 miles.
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WOODS HOLE MASSACHUSETS
R/V Neil Armstrong
In May 2010, the Office
of Naval Research
selected WHOI to
operate one of two new
Armstrong-Class
research vessels.
R/V Neil Armstrong is
scheduled for
completion by 2014 and
to begin science
operations by 2015.
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Alvin is a 3-person research submarine that takes scientists deep into
the ocean. Since its launch in 1964, the Alvin has enabled more than
2,500 scientists, engineers, and observers to visit the floor of the deep
sea.
Jason/Medea is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system designed
and built by WHOI’s Deep Submergence Laboratory. A 10-kilometer
(6-mile) tether relays electrical power, control signals, data and live
video imagery between a surface ship and the vehicle.
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry is following in the
wake of its predecessor, ABE, as a fully autonomous underwater
vehicle capable of exploring the ocean down to 4,500 meters (14,764
feet) depth.
The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is a one-person human-occupied vehicle
(HOV) that was built to descend to and explore the deepest places in the
ocean. In March 2012, James Cameron used it to visit Challenger Deep. One
year later, he transferred the vehicle to WHOI, forming a partnership to 26
advance deep-ocean science and exploration.
The HROV will operate in two modes; as an autonomous, or
free-swimming, vehicle for wide area surveys (left) and as a
tethered, or cabled, vehicle for sampling and other tasks.
AUVs are programmable, robotic vehicles that, depending on
their design, can drift, drive, or glide through the ocean
without real-time control by human operators.
REMUS, SeaBED, Sentry, Spray Glider, Slocum Glider
Equipped with a variety of sensors, towed vehicles are
lowered over the side of a research vessel and pulled
through the water at different depths.
CAMPER, SeaSoar, TowCam, Video Plankton Recorder
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Scripps Institute of Oceanography
• At Scripps, observation, measurement,
and collection of samples and data are
accomplished on a global scale by
extensive shipboard, ground, and aerial
operations, including remote sensing by
satellite and the use of wide-ranging
instrument networks.
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Scripps Institute of Oceanography
R/V Roger RevelleBuilt: 1996
Length: 273'
Beam: 52'5"
Draft (max): 17'
Gross Tonnage: 3,180 long tons
Displacement: 3,512 long tons
Crew: 22
Scientific berthing: 37
Motors: Two 3,000 hp Propulsion General Electric
Bow Thruster: 1,180 hp Azimuthing jet
Propulsion: Two 3,000 hp Z-Drive Lips
Water Capacity: 12,000 gal
Incinerator: YesFuel consumption: 4,400 gal/day (transit)
Speed, Cruising: 12 knots
Speed, Maximum: 15 knots
Speed, Minimum: variable to 0, any direction
Endurance: 52 days at 12 knots (fuel)
Range: 15,000 at 12 knots (fuel)
Fuel capacity: 227,500 (planning)
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ICES
• Oceanography Committee (OCC)
• Chair: Einar Svendsen Area of responsibility is
physical, chemical, and pelagic biological
oceanography, especially in relation to the
processes relevant to living marine resources and
environmental quality.
• Responsiblity includes issues such as impacts of
climate variability and change, and the quantification
of physical, chemical and biological fluxes in coastal,
shelf and open ocean areas.
• Describe, understand, and quantify the state and
variability of the marine environment in terms of 30its
physical, chemical and biological processes
ICES
• Understand and quantify the role of
climate variability and its implications for
the dynamics of the marine ecosystems
• Evaluate the ecosystem consequences
of contaminants and eutrophication
• Develop and improve fisheries
assessment tools that utilize
environmental information, consider
biological and socio-economic interactions
and address issues of uncertainty, risk, and
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sustainability
ICES cont…
• Play an active role in the design,
implementation, and execution of global
and regional research and monitoring
programmes
• Co-ordinate international monitoring
and data management programmes that
underpin ongoing ICES core science.
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IFREMER
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Some Examples
• Seafloor
• Satellite Oceanography
• Circulation and Currents
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
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Other Areas
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Ocean Dimensions, Shapes & Bottom Materials
Properties of Salt Water
Geography – patterns and distributions
Water, Salt and Heat budgets
Geology
Deep Sea Fisheries
Coral Reefs
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Useful Websites
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http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/ocean/vl/ (WWW Virtual Library)
http://www.tos.org/ (Oceanography Society)
http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/ (Southampton Oceanography Society)
http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/GDD/index.html (Ocean Processes)
http://www.esdim.noaa.gov/ocean_page.html (Ocean Resources)
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/ (OceanWorld)
http://www.bio.gc.ca/welcome-e.html (Bedford Institute)
http://sio.ucsd.edu/ (Scripps Institute)
http://www.mar.dfompo.gc.ca/science/ocean/remotesensing/welcome.html (Remote
Sensing)
http://www.phys.ocean.dal.ca/hotlists/Canada.html (Hotlist of
Oceanography websites)
• http://www.ices.dk/ (ICES)
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References
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Oceanography, An Illustrated Guide, Wiley & Sons, New York. edited by
Colin Summerhayes and Stephen Thorpe, Eds. 1998
Science and the Seven Seas: a history of Oceanography, 1650-1900,
Margaret Deacon, Academic Press, 1971.
Why We Are Oceanographers, in Collected Works of Henry M. Stommel,
Amer. Meteorological Soc. Press, 1995 (reprinted from Oceanography, vol
2, pp 48-54, 1989)
New Eyes on the Oceans, Jennifer Ackerman, National Geographic
Magazine, October 2000
Ocean Sciences At the New Millenium, National Science Foundation, March
2001.
Ocean Circulation - The Open University Press - Butterworth Heinemann
Descriptive Physical Oceanography - G. Pickard and W.Emery - Pergamon
Introductory Physical Oceanography - S. Pond and G.Pickard - Pergamon
Waves, Tides and Shallow-Water Processes - The Open University Press
-Butterworth Heinemann
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Jobs on Oceanography
• Background in
– Physics
– Mathematics
– Chemistry
– Biology
– Geology...
– ……coupled with an intense curiosity about
the natural world!
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