Good Morning Pick up your work from your folder Our bell ringer today is to take notes The library does not have room for a class today so you may work on your project in class. Figure out who will present what tomorrow. How you will present it and make sure everyone is on track so that you all get an A!

Studying the ocean floor Sonar is technology using sound. Scientist send sound waves through the water and the sound bounces off the ocean floor and tells scientists how deep the floor is. The longer it takes to get back, the deeper the ocean is.

Studying the ocean floor Satellites are also used to study the oceans. The satellite “Seasat” allows scientists to measure the direction and speed of the ocean currents. The satellite “Geosat” measures changes in the ocean’s surface. This tells scientists if there are mountains, trenches, or other items underwater.

Scientists also explore the ocean floor using robots and even underwater airplanes like “Alvin”

The Ocean Floor The ocean floor is NOT a flat surface. It actually has the worlds longest mountain chain as well as canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. It is one of the few places on earth that is still not completely explored Say whaaat?

Regions of the Ocean Floor There are two main regions of the Ocean Floor Think of the ocean as a swimming pool – the Continental Margin is the shallow part where babies swim, the Deep Ocean Basin is the deep end where the diving board is.

Continental Margin Areas

Ocean Life There are three classifications of marine life Plankton – microscopic organisms that drift freely in water Nekton – ALL organisms (animals) that swim in open water Ex: Benthos – Organisms that live at the bottom of the sea/oceans. Ex.

Ocean Life continued… Did you know that microscopic algae in the ocean supply most of the world’s oxygen?? I would remember this if I were you…hint hint. They are also a part in all ocean food webs. Microbes are the most important primary producers in the ocean.

Currents A Current is a continuous movement of ocean water Oceanic currents are driven by several factors: Rise and fall of tide Wind Temperature and Salinity (thermohaline circulation) Upwelling is a type of current in which cold nutrient rich water from deep in the ocean rises to the surface to replace warm nutrient lacking water.

What is a Tide? A Tide is the rise and fall of the sea level Moon and Sun gravitational forces control the tide

Estuaries! An estuary is an area by the coast where salt and fresh water mix Estuaries are home to many plants and animals that live in part fresh/part salty water Estuaries filter and remove some chemicals from run off estuaries are the centers of our coastal communities.