We have not done that. One distinction that has been made between the fields of marine biology and biological oceanography is this: marine biologists study the plants, animals and protists of our estuaries, coasts and oceans, ranging from whales to microscopic algae and bacteria, and biological oceanographers study marine organisms and their biological processes within the context of their natural environment.
As a growing global population stresses the ability of our society to produce food, water and shelter, we will continue to look to the oceans to help sustain our basic needs.
Advances in technology, combined with demand, will improve our ability to derive food, drinking water, energy sources, waste disposal and transportation from the ocean.
It will be up to this and future generations to build upon our existing knowledge of the ocean and its potential to help meet the needs of the world and its inhabitants. It is extremely rewarding when you know your work has direct application to an important effort.
For me, it is when final habitat maps and findings can be put to good use -- such as contribute to a better understanding of the ecosystem, identify physical-biological relationships, inform management decisions, and further methodologies used in the field of seafloor habitat mapping.
I also very much enjoy using ArcGIS mapping and spatial analysis software and being out on research vessels to conduct fieldwork. As many interesting geological features as there are on land, nearly as many exist within, under, and at the boundaries of the oceans. Mountains, valleys, volcanoes, islands, plains and canyons all exist in similar form in the marine realm.
In fact, Earth's largest continuous mountain chain is the Mid-Ocean Ridge, stretching for over 40, miles and rising above the surface of the water in a few places, such as Iceland.
The Mariana Trench, located in the central Pacific Ocean, is deeper, by about a mile, than the highest point of Mount Everest. Active deep-sea volcanoes, located along mid-ocean ridges, supply rich mineral deposits and new rock formations to the seafloor. It has been written that the ocean bottoms are the most active places on Earth, from a geological perspective.
Geological oceanographers study the formations, composition and history of the seafloor. They examine sediments, including physical characteristics such as size, shape, color and weight; chemical characteristics, such as composition and how sediments interact with the environment; and other factors, including sediment age, origin, distribution and transport. They piece together information about how the Earth formed and how the movement of plates and continents results in events such as volcanoes and earthquakes.
They work with biologists and chemical oceanographers to learn more about historical climate records and animal and plant life by examining sediment and rock cores for fossils and analyzing sediment composition using radiocarbon dating and other methods. They also use remote sensing technology to map the ridges and valleys. An increasingly important area of marine geology is coastal geology.
Throughout history, the human population has shown a tendency to settle along the world's , miles of coastline. Biological oceanography involves the study of the biological organisms in the ocean including life cycles and food production such as bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton and extending to the more traditional marine biology focus of fish and marine mammals.
Geological oceanography focuses on the structure, features, and evolution of the ocean basins. Oceanography is greater than the sum of these specific branches. Oceanographers use a variety of tools to study the ocean, and many of these studies involve more than one branch. Oceanographers collect discrete water, sediment and biological samples using ships Research Vessels. They deploy autonomous sampling systems such as buoys and gliders to collect data over time and space scales that cannot be done with a ship.
Remote sensing from aircraft and satellites allows oceanographers to get a global view of some parameters. Modeling allows oceanographers to look at the past and predict the future state of the ocean e. The knowledge gained from all of these types of measurements allows oceanographers to do many things including, but not limited to:.
About the Department What is Oceanography? Toggle navigation Menu. Toggle navigation. About the Department. What is Oceanography? Senior-level oceanographers often have an opportunity to work in a team lead or managerial capacity. Their expanded skillset often contains additional tasks like those below:. Research and governmental institutes who work to provide environmental protection and water management will also contribute to the rise in demand for oceanographers.
An oceanographer can find work all over the planet, either with large governments or academic institutions or for a corporation. Even if oceanographers are based in one country, they may travel to new locales for various job duties. Oceanographers usually receive a background education in biology, physics, chemistry, and geology, but they generally go on to focus their research within one field or the other. There are a few schools that offer undergraduate Bachelor's degrees in marine biology, however, most oceanographers further their study before seeking work.
Usually, there are internships and assistant-level positions available for those with only undergraduate degrees. To get a more prominent position as an oceanographer, students usually go on to acquire a Master's or PhD level education before become ocean scientists. However, the undergraduate period allows a student to acquire experience all the chemistry, biology, and physics basis that allow them to build upon their studies with more advanced topics in oceanography.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration NOAA a United States government organization tasked with studying the atmosphere, ocean, and coasts and informing the citizens of the United States of their findings.
This organization maintains a strong web presence and is a useful source of information regarding oceanic and atmospheric science and industry. Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography , a respectable foundation that furthers the cause of aquatic studies worldwide.
This organization also contributes to public policy as well as education and outreach. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September Through sampling, they look at millions of years of history of sea-floor spreading, plate tectonics, and oceanic circulation and climates.
They also examine volcanic processes, mantle circulation, hydrothermal circulation, magma genesis, and crustal formation. The results of their work help us understand the processes that created the ocean basins and the interactions between the ocean and the seafloor. Physical oceanographers study the physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean such as waves, currents, eddies, gyres and tides; the transport of sand on and off beaches; coastal erosion; and the interactions of the atmosphere and the ocean.
They examine deep currents, the ocean-atmosphere relationship that influences weather and climate, the transmission of light and sound through water, and the ocean's interactions with its boundaries at the seafloor and the coast.
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