In 1865, the Danish geologist and mineralogist Johan Georg Forchhammer, with the help of naval and civilian collaborators, collected numerous samples of seawater from the…
View More What is the Forchhammer’s Principle?Category: Uncategorized
What is marine biogeography?
Marine biogeography is the study of marine species, the geographic distribution of their habitats, and the relationships between living organisms and the environment. By mapping…
View More What is marine biogeography?What color is an iceberg?
Most people would say that icebergs are white—and most of them are. But did you know that icebergs can also appear in spectacular shades of…
View More What color is an iceberg?What is the Great Loop?
The Great Loop is a continuous waterway that recreational mariners can travel that includes part of the Atlantic, Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, Canadian…
View More What is the Great Loop?What is GPS?
For thousands of years, humans found their way by looking to the sky. Sailors used the constellations, sun, and moon to navigate to distant shores.…
View More What is GPS?What are barnacles?
Of the more than 1,400 species of barnacles found in the world’s waterways, the most common ones are called “acorn barnacles.” As anyone who’s ever…
View More What are barnacles?What is a pocosin?
Pocosins are generally found along the Atlantic coastal plain of the United States, from southern Virginia to northern Florida. These areas typically occur in broad,…
View More What is a pocosin?What is an oil spill trajectory?
During the threat of an oil spill, responders need to know where that spilled oil will go in order to protect shorelines with containment boom,…
View More What is an oil spill trajectory?What is a living shoreline?
Living shorelines are a green infrastructure technique using native vegetation alone or in combination with offshore sills to stabilize the shoreline. Living shorelines provide a…
View More What is a living shoreline?What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth’s center?
Mount Everest, located in Nepal and Tibet, is usually said to be the highest mountain on Earth. Reaching 29,029 feet at its summit, Everest is…
View More What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth’s center?What is ocean etiquette?
Wildlife viewing is a popular recreation activity, but it is important to know how to interact with ocean wildlife so that you can make the…
View More What is ocean etiquette?How do sea turtles hatch?
In summertime when the weather is warm, pregnant female sea turtles return to the beaches where they themselves hatched years before. They swim through the…
View More How do sea turtles hatch?How does climate change affect coral reefs?
Climate change is the greatest global threat to coral reef ecosystems. Scientific evidence now clearly indicates that the Earth’s atmosphere and ocean are warming, and…
View More How does climate change affect coral reefs?How does overfishing affect coral reefs?
Coral reef ecosystems support important commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishery resources in the U.S and its territories. Fishing also plays a central social and cultural…
View More How does overfishing affect coral reefs?Can a coral reef recover from bleaching and other stressful events?
Climate change and ocean acidification can result in mass coral bleaching events, increased susceptibility to disease, slower growth and reproductive rates, and degraded reef structure.…
View More Can a coral reef recover from bleaching and other stressful events?How does land-based pollution threaten coral reefs?
Impacts from land-based sources of pollution—including coastal development, deforestation, agricultural runoff, and oil and chemical spills—can impede coral growth and reproduction, disrupt overall ecological function,…
View More How does land-based pollution threaten coral reefs?What are microplastics?
Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our ocean and Great Lakes. Plastic debris can come in all shapes and sizes,…
View More What are microplastics?What are beach advisories and beach closures?
A beach advisory leaves it up to users as to whether they wish to risk going into the water. In the case of a beach…
View More What are beach advisories and beach closures?What are the doldrums?
Known to sailors around the world as the doldrums, the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, (ITCZ, pronounced and sometimes referred to as the “itch”), is a belt…
View More What are the doldrums?What is marine telemetry?
Marine telemetry interprets into data the movements and behavior of animals as they move through oceans, coastal rivers, estuaries, and the Great Lakes. Telemetry devices,…
View More What is marine telemetry?What is the difference between local sea level and global sea level?
Global sea level trends and relative sea level trends are different measurements. Just as the surface of the Earth is not flat, the surface of…
View More What is the difference between local sea level and global sea level?Why do scientists measure sea surface temperature?
Sea surface temperature provides fundamental information on the global climate system. Because the ocean covers 71 percent of Earth’s surface, scientists record sea surface temperature…
View More Why do scientists measure sea surface temperature?What is coral spawning?
Once a year, on cues from the lunar cycle and the water temperature, entire colonies of coral reefs simultaneously release their tiny eggs and sperm,…
View More What is coral spawning?What is an oil seep?
Did you know that naturally occurring oil seeps from the seafloor are the largest source of oil entering the world ocean? In fact, they account…
View More What is an oil seep?What is a sea lamprey?
Among the most primitive of all vertebrate species, the sea lamprey is a parasitic fish native to the northern and western Atlantic Ocean. Due to…
View More What is a sea lamprey?How are satellites used to observe the ocean?
Satellites are amazing tools for observing the Earth and the big blue ocean that covers more than 70 percent of our planet. By remotely sensing…
View More How are satellites used to observe the ocean?What are the trade winds?
Known to sailors around the world, the trade winds and associated ocean currents helped early sailing ships from European and African ports make their journeys…
View More What are the trade winds?What is ocean noise?
Ocean noise refers to sounds made by human activities that can interfere with or obscure the ability of marine animals to hear natural sounds in…
View More What is ocean noise?Where do fish go when it freezes outside?
Have you ever wondered how fish survive in cold winter weather, or where they go when lakes and ponds freeze over? Like many people, fish…
View More Where do fish go when it freezes outside?What is the Pineapple Express?
Atmospheric rivers are narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes. Atmospheric rivers are part of…
View More What is the Pineapple Express?Are all fish cold-blooded?
Not all fish are cold-blooded. In 2015, researchers with the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center revealed the opah, or moonfish, as the first fully warm-blooded…
View More Are all fish cold-blooded?What are the Roaring Forties?
During the Age of Sail (circa 15th to 19th centuries), these strong prevailing winds propelled ships across the Pacific, often at breakneck speed. Nevertheless, sailing…
View More What are the Roaring Forties?What are the oldest living animals in the world?
Scientists now believe that some corals can live for up to 5,000 years, making them the longest living animals on Earth. Continue reading → Post…
View More What are the oldest living animals in the world?What causes a sea turtle to be born male or female?
In most species, gender is determined during fertilization. However, the sex of most turtles, alligators, and crocodiles is determined after fertilization. The temperature of the…
View More What causes a sea turtle to be born male or female?How does sea ice affect global climate?
Sea ice is frozen water that forms, expands, and melts in the ocean. It is different from icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves, which…
View More How does sea ice affect global climate?
What is a King Tide?
A King Tide is a non-scientific term people often use to describe exceptionally high tides. Tides are long-period waves that roll around the planet as the ocean is “pulled” back and forth by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun as these bodies interact with the Earth in their monthly and yearly orbits. Higher than normal tides typically occur during a new or full moon and when the Earth is at its perigee, or during specific seasons around the country
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What are brain corals?
The cerebral-looking organisms known as brain corals do not have brains, but they can grow six feet tall and live for up to 900 years! Found in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, brain corals display what is known as Meandroid tissue integration. This means that the polyps, which are the basic living unit of corals, are highly associated to one another. Their tissues are more closely connected than those of other corals and are not separated by skeletal structures. Many researchers think that the more integrated a coral’s polyp tissue is, the more advanced the coral species.
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What is a tide gauge?
A tide gauge, which is one component of a modern water level monitoring station, is fitted with sensors that continuously record the height of the surrounding water level. This data is critical for many coastal activities, including safe navigation, sound engineering, and habitat restoration and preservation.
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What are the Totten Beacons?
In 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León sailed into the strong currents of the Florida Straits. Little did he know that within a few years, these uncharted waters, which fed into the Gulf Stream, would become a major international shipping route to and from Europe and the New World.
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What is a Rossby wave?
Oceanic and atmospheric Rossby waves — also known as planetary waves — naturally occur largely due to the Earth’s rotation. These waves affect the planet’s weather and climate. Waves in the ocean come in many different shapes and sizes. Slow-moving oceanic Rossby waves are are fundamentally different from ocean surface waves. Unlike waves that break along the shore, Rossby waves are huge, undulating movements of the ocean that stretch horizontally across the planet for hundreds of kilometers in a westward direction. They are so large and massive that they can change Earth’s climate conditions. Along with rising sea levels, King Tides, and the effects of El Niño, oceanic Rossby waves contribute to high tides and coastal flooding in some regions of the world.
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