Random Pictures

For My last entry I decided to just post random ocean related pics (all were taken from random sites on google.com)


Random beach

The Great Barrier Reef

Codfish

Coral Reef

More Amazing Ocean Facts!!

=>Low tide at Alma, New Brunswick, showing boats stranded on the ocean bottom

*The highest tides on Earth are found in the Bay of Fundy east of New Brunswick, Canada. The channeling effect of the bay is responsible for the amazing difference between high tide and low tide, which, during spring tides, can reach 53.5 feet. This is almost as tall as a four-story building.

*The largest waterfall on Earth is actually underwater. It is found in the Denmark Strait, and slowly cascades downward for 2.2 miles. This is over three times as tall as Angel Falls, in Venezuela, which is the tallest land waterfall.

*The record for the deepest free dive is held by Jacques Mayol. He dove to an astounding depth of 282 feet without any breathing equipment.

*Movie director James Cameron ventured to 12,378 feet below the surface of the Atlantic, in a submersible with a nine-inch-thick porthole, to film the movie "Titanic."

Read more at: http://members.aol.com/jtankard/ocean/oceanfacts.html

Some Weird Ocean Wonders

• The seahorse is the only animal with its head at a right angle to its body!
• A live fish in the open sea never stops growing!
• The sunfish is the world champion egg layer. In one spawning a sunfish can lay 300 million eggs!
• Remoras are used in some parts of the world to catch fish. Fishermen tie a line to its tail, then the remora is pulled up after it sucks onto a fish!
• The bluefin tuna can weigh more than a horse, and can move faster, too!
• Frogfish are the world's fastest reflex feeders, 1/400 second!
• Eels can swim backwards as fast as they swim forward!
• Elephants kill more people every year than sharks do!
• The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) has the largest shell in the world. It can grown over 4 feet (1.2 meters) across and weigh more than 700 pounds (318 kilograms)!
• An unhatched baby octopus can squirt ink!
• Octopi have the most developed eye of all invertebrates. They even see in color!
• The Portuguese man-o-war jellyfish is actually a colony of animals, each with a special duty: feeding and digestion, protection (by stinging), reproduction or transportation!
• The most poisonous animal on earth is Australia's box jellyfish; its sting can kill a human in as little as four minutes!
• The blue whale is the largest animal on earth: it is 100 feet, weighing 150 tons!
• Beluga whales can whistle like a bird, squeal like a pig, baa like a sheep, whinny like a horse, and growl like a dog!

See more amazing facts at: http://www.theoceanadventure.com/Kids%20Page/amazing.html

More Interesting videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJq9eMTnuAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7Ht9O2g_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtwI6gLZBfE

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, in Australia is "the world's largest World Heritage Area extending 2 000 kilometres and covering an area of 35 million hectares on the north-east continental shelf of Australia. Bigger than the entire area of Italy, it is probably the best known marine protected area in the world. The Great Barrier Reef's great diversity reflects the maturity of the ecosystem, which has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. It is the world's most extensive coral reef system and is one of the world's richest areas in terms of faunal diversity.
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area contains more than just coral reefs. It also contains extensive areas of seagrass, mangrove, soft bottom communities and island communities. Contrary to popular belief, the reef is not a continuous barrier, but a broken maze of coral reefs and coral cays. It includes some 2 800 individual reefs, of which 760 are fringing reefs. These reefs range in size from less than one hectare to more than 100 000 hectares, and in shape from flat platform reefs to elongated ribbon reefs.
The Great Barrier Reef provides habitats for many diverse forms of marine life. There are an estimated 1 500 species of fish and more than 300 species of hard, reef-building corals. More than 4 000 mollusc species and over 400 species of sponges have been identified."(www.environment.gov)

It has been said that the reef as a result of global warming will become functionally extinct in about 50 years. Get more info on this at: http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/index.html


To watch a clip of underwater of the Great Barrier reef, click the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqPdcVqLUEI

Exploding Whale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_t44siFyb4

Ocean plastic pollution- the trash vortex

Each year about 300 billion pounds of plastic is produced around the world, but only a fraction is recycled. The rest (the majority) ends up up in landfills, but some finds its way into our oceans. Plastic is valued for its resistance to degradation, so its life span can be hundreds of years. When plastic reaches our oceans, it eventually breaks down due to the action of the sun, wind, and currents, into small, literally bite sized pieces that wildlife confuse with food.
As trash swirls through the world’s oceans to a handful of vortexes like this, it leaves a trail of death and destruction along its path. Plastic is often mistaken for food and has been found inside marine life of all sizes, from whales to zooplankton. It has been directly blamed for the death of a wide range of animals including albatrosses and sea turtles.

The trash vortex is one of the most studied areas of plastic accumulation in our oceans. At its maximum the area can reach the size of Texas. It is made up of everything from tiny pieces of plastic debris to large ghost nets lost by the fishing industry.

Only a small percentage of the trash found at sea is thought to originate there. The plastic int he ocean comes from a variety of sources: from street litter to industrial waste. Pollution of various kind is washed from land into storm drains and rivers each time it rains, this trash eventually reaches the ocean. Once there, the long-lasting qualities of plastic mean that it remains in the ecosystem for decades (and potentially longer), and as more trash accumulates, our oceans and the inhabitants within them are facing a crisis.

The world's largest trash vortexes are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This particular trash vortex is sometimes referred to as the North Pacific garbage patch, it is the epicenter of a system of currents and winds covering most of the North Pacific. It has become home to a familiar substance – plastic.

To see this trash vortex, click the link below:
http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition/news/trashing-our-oceans/ocean_pollution_animation

Read more at:http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition/news/trashing-our-oceans

A look at Jamaica's Coral Reefs

Jamaica's coral reefs are among the most diverse and beautiful reefs in the world. I have seen them first hand while snorkelling and I would like to share some more information on Jamaica's coral reefs.
Coral reefs are the most important marine natural resource for Jamaica and most Caribbean islands, providing the bulk of fisheries catches and marine bio-diversity, the source of sand for the beaches on which the tourism economy is based, and protecting the shore from erosion by storm waves.
More species of hard corals can be found in Jamaica’s crystal waters than anywhere else in the Caribbean.
I will give some examples of different reefs found in Jamaica. These are reefs found in Montego Bay. Mo Bay as it known locally, is the home of the second of two International Airports on the Island. Being on the western tip, the main tourist area of Jamaica, it is the gateway through which most tourists enter. Montego Bay features a DC-3 aircraft to dive and a Reef conservation area. There is some wall diving and scattered areas of coral reefs. Montego Bay is the second largest city and is known for its beautiful waters, its marine park, mountains and plantations.
It stretches from the east end of the airport to the Great River and contains three major ecosystems, seagrass bed, mangroves and coral reefs.

These are some examples of the reefs found here are:

Name: Basket Reef

On the edge of the reef you find an abundance of basket sponges in all sizes, as well as sea fans and finger coral, to name a few of the coral types found here. A healthy fish population includes black durgeons, parrot fish, rock beauties and schools of creole wrasse. Sometimes even turtles and dolphins visit this very popular dive site.

Name: Black Coral Alley

A narrow alley with depths ranging from 40-65ft., covered with thick black coral trees divers may see tubeworms, sea worms, crabs, urchins and an occasional hiding octopus. Visibility is almost always good.

Name: Airport Reef

A delightful little reef just off-shore by the Donald Sangster International Airport, with pretty and very interesting marine life in just 8 meters (24 feet) of water and beautiful coral caverns and crevasses at 10 to 12 meters (30-40 feet). Definitely for "reef- crawling". Very suitable for the novice and experienced diver.

Name: Doctors' Cave Reef

A shallow boat dive across from Doctor's Cave Beach with depths averaging a mere 25 ft., making it a perfect dive site for beginners. Visibility ranges from 40-60ft. The reef is filled with brain coral, star coral heads and “elk horn clumps.” Miniature reef fish are plentiful. Very few currents.

Important relationships in the marine ecosystem

I have always learnt how one ecosystem affects another. I want to share and take a closer look at how one marine ecosystem affects another and ultimately life in general. Most marine systems rely on another system for some vital function or protection that could in some cases determine whether it survives or not. An interesting example of this important interaction is the relationship between wetlands such as mangrove forests, mud flats, and sea grass beds and the estuarine system which includes coral reef ecosystems.
Wetlands especially mangroves protect coral reef ecosystems by filtering sediments and absorb massive amounts of nutrients and sediment from runoff caused by farming and construction of roads, buildings, ports, channels, and harbors. If these mangroves are destroyed nutrient-rich water causes fleshy algae and phytoplankton to thrive in coastal areas in suffocating amounts known as algal blooms. Since coral reefs are biological assemblages adapted to waters with low nutrient content, the addition of nutrients favors species that disrupt the balance of the reef communities. The loss of wetlands and importantly mangrove habitats are considered to be significant factors affecting water quality on inshore reefs.
Poor water quality has also been shown to encourage the spread of infectious disease among corals. Corals are very delicate and sensitive organisms and excess sediment and nutrients are just some problems that will have detrimental effects on the reefs.Reefs are very important as they are very diverse habitats for numerous marine life that ultimately provides food for humans. They help to break waves, and thus aids in beach formation (helping to foster tourism in areas that rely on beautiful beaches as part of their tourist attraction package). These are just a few of the functions of reefs. Here it is clear to see why to maintain coral reefs, wetlands have to be protected from development to continue to ensure these vital functions.

Underwater bubble ring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bZ0Q3RG-YA

1 in 10 at risk of rising seas & storms

A recent international study to be published in the April edition of the journal Environment and Urbanization has shown that 1 in 10 people in the world (mostly in Asia) living in coastal areas are at risk from rising seas and more powerful storms that may be a result of global warming.
The researchers urged governments to make billion-dollar policy shifts to encourage more settlements inland rather than in coastal regions from China to Florida that may suffer even more storm surges and erosion.
The study states that a zone less than 10 meters (33 ft) above sea level has about 2 percent of the world's land and 10 percent of its population.

Based on new computer population models and NASA satellite data, it is estimated that 634 million people lived in the coastal zone in 2000- including 360 million in towns and cities, with more than 75% in Asia.
Globalization fosters world trade largely reliant on shipping in countries like China and India and this promotes a shift towards the coasts. Climate experts projected last month that sea levels could rise by 18 to 59 cms (7.1 to 23.2 inches) by 2100, and keep rising for centuries. They also forecasts more powerful storms, droughts and heatwaves resulting from enhanced greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels.

Ranked by population, China is most at risk with 143 million people living by the coast, followed by India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and the United States.
By another measure, small island states will be hardest hit. More than 90 percent of the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, the Cayman Islands and the Turk and Caicos Islands are less than 10 meters above sea level.
Many countries cannot afford Dutch-style dykes to keep out rising seas but the researchers said governments could do a lot with better long-term planning and incentives for settling on higher ground.

Read more @: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2714227620070328?pageNumber=2

The Antarctic ice sheet is thinning

Scientist have said that a Texas-sized piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is thinning, possibly due to global warming. According to polar ice experts this could cause a significant rise in the level of the world's oceans.

They said "surprisingly rapid changes" were occurring in Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study was needed to know how fast it was melting and how much it could cause the sea level to rise.
The warning came in a joint statement issued at the end of a conference of U.S. and European polar ice experts at the University of Texas in Austin.
The scientists blamed the melting ice on changing winds around Antarctica that they said were causing warmer waters to flow beneath ice shelves.

According to them, the wind change, appeared to be a result of several factors, which include global warming, atmospheric ozone depletion and natural variability.
The thinning in the two-mile-(3.2-km)- thick ice shelf is being observed mostly from satellites. Scientist do not know exactly how much ice has been lost, due to the fact that data is difficult to obtain on the remote ice shelves.
There is a study focusing on the Amundsen Sea Embayment because it has been melting quickly and scientist believe this area holds enough water to raise the world's sea level by some six meters, or close to 20 feet.
Taken from: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2834740720070329?pageNumber=2

Marine Scientist Myers Dies

I was reading the morning paper (The Daily News) and came across this article.
Ransom Myers, a 54 year old, Canadian scientist renowned for groundbreaking research and his blunt warnings about the extinction of marine species around the world is dead. He died Tuesday in Halifax after a brief illness linked to an inoperable brain tumour. He was a marine biologist who held the first Killam chair of ocean studies at Dalhousie University, he found out that global industrial fishing had cut populations of large fish, such as tuna, swordfish and marlin, to a mere 10% of the 1950 levels.
He has been described by his colleague, Boris Worm as being "an honest person who, informed the world about the dire state of the marine environment".
Taken from: The Daily News, Thursday March 29,2007 (pg 7).

More Amazing Sea Creatures

Here are some more of the world's strangest Sea Creatures:

NAME: The long-nosed Chimaera.

This is an ancient, deep-ocean relative of sharks and rays. The spine on its back is highly toxic.
Long-nosed chimaeras are rare, deep water fishes found in temperate and tropical seas, living to depths of 2000m. They are larger and have more elongated bodies than the other chimaerids and have snouts elongated into cylindrical or flattened points. They have long tails.

The chimaera is usually between 1 and 1.5m long (including its long tapering snout and fins), with hard and resilient snouts rich in sensory organs, used to dig in soft muddy bottoms in search of shellfish and crustaceans that make up the bulk of its diet. Their skin is orange-brown in colour, paler beneath, and has some irregular darker markings.

NAME: Shapeshifter (Mimic Octopus)

The Shapeshifter (Mimic Octopus) in the guise of a sea snake (left) and flounder (right)

The colorful and graceful mimic octopus boasts some of the most elaborate defensive maneuvers in nature. To confuse both predator and prey alike, it actually twists its semifluid form into the shapes of other sea creatures, changing its color and behavior accordingly. They have been observed copying seahorses, stingrays, flatfish, sea snakes, jellyfish, squid, starfish, crabs, lionfish, and more. There may yet be unknown transformations as well.

NAME: Deep-Sea Anglerfish

The darkest depths of the sea - where the pressure could shatter a human skull - are perpetually black, freezing cold, and absolutely teeming with life. This harsh environment is actually thought to boast a wider range of species than any other ecosystem on earth, including even the rainforest. New animals are discovered there regularly, and the forms taken by creatures at these depths can be baffling.

Probably the largest and most common group of the abyssal fish, deep-ocean anglers boast one of nature's most extreme examples of sexual dimorphism (physical difference between genders). The female angler (three examples shown above) is a large, bloated predator that lures prey directly into her jaws with a luminous "fishing pole". The male, however, is a tiny, eyeless creature with highly developed nostrils and very little else. Once he has sniffed out a female, he locks his jaws onto her flesh and begins to drink her blood. He will remain there for life, losing most of his non-reproductive organs as his skin and circulatory system merges with those of his mate. Some females may carry several parasitic husbands at once. It is not unheard of for a male to attach to a female of the incorrect species.

NAME: Fangtooth or Ogrefish (with an attached male)

The Fangtooth or "ogrefish" is a large abyssal hunter with tough, armored skin and four long, straight teeth that resemble iron nails. These teeth are so long that when the jaw is shut, the lower pair must slide into special sheathes on either side of the fish's brain to avoid impaling it.

Taken from: http://www.bogleech.com/bio-aqua.html & http://www.seafriends.org.nz/enviro/fish/sharkray/chimaeri.htm#chimaera

Reflection....

With less than two weeks to go in the semester, I just wanted to say how happy I am I chose to do this course. I mean school on a whole is a learning experience, but this is one of the few classes I have had the pleasure of being in where i get to learn about so many things that actually genuinely interests me. I have always been a big fan of the oceans and the unique creatures that live there, its many processes, history, formation and generally any and everything relating to it. I have learnt so much in these past months, it is so amazing. Thanks so much Cathy. I had a wonderful last semester, I even enjoyed doing this journal and i am really going to miss it:).

The Blue-Ringed Octopus

This species was mentioned in class, I had never heard of it before and found it quite fascinating. Here is some more on the Blue-Ringed Octopus.

The blue-ringed octopus is from the genus Hapalochlaena. They are actually three or four small octopus species living in tide pools in the Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Australia. The validity of one of the four taxons has been questioned since only a single specimen was found some time ago in the Bay of Bengal. The three are: the Greater and Southern blue-ringed and the Blue-lined octopuses.

The blue-ringed octupus is the size of a golf ball, but has a very powerful venom, one that can kill humans- for which there is no known antidote. The octopus produces venom that contains maculotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylchloline and dopamine.

An individual blue-ringed octopus will typically use its dermal chromatophore cells to camouflage itself until provoked. Then it will quickly change color, becoming bright yellow with blue rings or lines.

Their diet typically consists of small crab, and shrimp, but they may also feed on fish if they can catch them. They pounce on their prey, bite them then use their beaks to tear off bits. They then suck out the flesh from the crustacean's exoskeleton. They will hunt small crabs, hermit crabs, and shrimp but will bite an attacker (even humans) if provoked or stepped on.

When mating the male mates with a female by grabbing her mantle, which sometimes completely obscures the female's vision, then transferring sperm packets by inserting his hectocotylus into her mantle cavity over and over again. Mating continues until the female has had enough, and in at least one species has to remove the over-enthusiastic male by force.

Males will attempt copulation with members of their own species regardless of sex or size, however interactions between males are most often shorter in duration and end with the mounting octopus withdrawing the hectocotylus without packet insertion or struggle.
The blue-ringed octopus females will lay only one clutch of about fifty eggs in their lifetime towards the end of Autumn. Eggs are laid then incubated underneath the females arms for approximately six months, and during this process she will not eat. After the eggs hatch the female dies, and the new offspring will reach maturity and be able to mate by the next year.

Some Interesting Sea Dwellers

Name: Mantis Shrimp

The Mantis Shrimp is typically found in from the Gulf of Californai north to Point Conception. They are usually found moving about on the open ocean bottom or hiding in burrows in muddy or sandy bottom.
The adults can grow to be 12 inches long.
Mantis shrimp dig large burrows from 3-6 feet deep and 2-3 inches wide. They feed on clams, mussels and worms, the animals leave their burrows infrequently to feed.

Divers have reported hearing low, "groaning" sounds coming from mantis shrimp burrows. They may produce these sounds to attract a mate. The most amazing feature in the mantis shrimp is the "hammer-like" claw it uses to feed. It is folded back underneath its head, forming a collapsed "Z." It is reported to be one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom. The strike has been clocked at four milliseconds. In captivity the mantis shrimp can break aquarium glass.

Name: Orangethroat Pikeblenny

These are typically found on sand and mud bottoms living in dead worm tubes, from the Gulf of California north to Anacapa Islande

Little is known of the biology of the Orangethroat Pikeblenny.

They are typically seen with just their head extending from the parchment-like tube of marine worms. Extremely territorial, they aggressively defend their worm tube and the immediate area. Adults can grow to be 6 inches long. They feed on small crustaceans.

Name: Whitemargin Stargazers

They are found in Fiji, Samoa, and Indonesia to the Red Sea and are typically found buried in the sand or mud with only their eyes showing.

This bizarre type of fish gaze up at the stars (since their eyes point almost directly upwards), they wait buried under the sand for their prey to swim overhead. This is their classic ambush of predators. The little fleshy bumps around their mouths, called cirri, keep out the sand while they are breathing. Stargazers have a "fishing lure" in their mouths. It looks like a yummy worm and catches the attention of their victim. The stargazer blasts out of the sand, making a meal of small fishes.

Adults can grow to more than a foot long.

Read more at: http://www.pbs.org/oceanrealm/seadwellers/index.html

Divers Thrilled By Huge School Of Giant Sea Bass

Divers are always looking for that one underwater moment they can savor. For the first time in years, at La Jolla Cove, divers spotted large schools of giant sea bass swimming right by them. This is the moment the divers have waited for, for a long time.
A large number of giant sea bass started showing up in the area about two weeks ago.

These great creatures showed up in the underwater reserve in La Jolla. Seeing the bass return to La Jolla Cove, especially in large numbers is an incredible sight.

Some of the giant sea bass seen in the area ranged between 75 and 125 pounds, with the biggest bass well over 150 pounds.These magnificent fish are as gentle as they are big, and will allow an up close look. They were seen close to winter time, so it was a rare chance to get a glimpse of what the waters off the coast may have been like 50 years ago.

Taken from: http://www.kfmb.com/features/special_assignment/story.php?id=63836#

Flame retardant- growing threat to killer whales

I saw this in an article in the Vancouver Sun. A federal scientist warned that the levels of a toxic chemical retardant are growing quickly in coastal marine waters. The levels are expected to surpass PCBs as the leading contaminant in endangered southern resident killer whales.
The rest of the article is: "Peter Ross of the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney near Victoria said in an interview that research shows levels of PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) are steadily increasing in harbour seals in southern Puget Sound in Washington state, with levels in seals in B.C.'s Strait of Georgia expected to be similar.
At the current rate of increase, PBDE levels are predicted to exceed those of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in killer whales in our shared waters by 2020. That will further confound recovery efforts, Ross said.
PBDEs are the latest emerging threat to a population of killer whales that is already among the most polluted marine mammals in the world and is officially endangered in Canada and the U.S.
Two toxic lighter forms of PBDEs, penta and octa, were voluntarily withdrawn from the Canadian and U.S. marketplaces more than two years ago, Ross said. Environment Canada is re-evaluating a third type, deca, in light of research showing it can break down and resemble the two other forms and "magnify" up the food chain.
"Washington state is also trying to get rid of all three forms," Ross added.
Unlike PCBs, which were used largely as coolants in industrial transformers before being banned 30 years ago, PBDEs are widely used as flame retardants in polymer resins and plastics and found in consumer products such as furniture, TVs, stereos, computers, carpets, and curtains.
PBDEs find their way into the marine environment through the air or through runoff and effluent, and are thought to pose a risk to the endocrine system, reproductive health, the immune system, and development.
Ross said scientists are often asked to prove the threat posed by a chemical before it is removed, but he argued that in this case the "cautionary principle" should apply, given the killer whales' precarious existence.
"Any way you cut that picture, these chemicals are a perplexing conservation threat."
PBDE levels in harbour seals in Puget Sound have increased steadily: 14 parts per billion in 1984, 281 ppb in 1990, 328 ppb in 1993, 644 ppb in 1996, and 1,057 ppb in 2003.
In comparison, PCBs levels have declined: 100,000 ppb in 1972 and 17,000 ppb by 1984.
Killer whales carry 10 times the contaminants of harbour seals, which means an increase in PBDEs in seals is immediately cause for concern. "They might be much more vulnerable to these impacts," Ross said.
He suggested that society use alternative fire retardants that do not threaten both marine life and first nations who are heavy consumers of marine life." Taken from http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=9f50f8cd-d60f-4040-8446-52e8cbd56780&k=72368

Tsunamis

• Tsunami comes from the Japanese word meaning "harbour wave". They are often incorrectly referred to as tidal waves, they are not caused by the tides, as tides are caused by the earth's gravitational pull and regular waves are caused by the wind.


• A tsunami is a series of waves generated by underwater earthquakes, submarine rock slides or a volcanic eruptions and in rare cases a asteroids or meteoroids crashing into in the water from space. An earthquake has to be over magnitude 6.75 to cause a tsunami. They are very destructive and cause loss of life when they strike a coast.


• A tsunami starts when a huge volume of water is quickly shifted. This rapid movement can happen as the result of an underwater earthquake (when the sea floor quickly moves up or down), a rock slide, a volcanic eruption, or another high-energy event.


• After the huge volume of water has moved, the resulting wave is very long (the distance from crest to crest can be hundred of miles long) but not very tall (roughly 3 feet tall). The wave propagates (spreads) across the sea in all directions; it can travel great distances from the source at tremendous speeds.


• Tsunamis can be up to several miles long.


• In the deep sea, a tsunami's height can be only about 1 m (3 feet) tall. Tsunamis are often barely visible when they are in the deep sea. This makes tsunami detection in the deep sea very difficult


• A tsunami can travel at well over 970 kph (600 mph) in the open ocean - as fast as a jet flies. It can take only a few hours for a tsunami to travel across an entire ocean. A regular wave travels at up to about 90 km/hr.


• Tsunamis are very rare. There are roughly six major tsunamis each century.

Atomic Bomb Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pMac_pc0Jg

Operation Crossroads- Baker Event 1946 (atomic bomb test)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbmXXLwAdI

Underwater Worlds

A Look at : Florida's Dry Tortugas

Florida's Dry Tortugas is one of the five unique ecosystems that is a part of the rich diverse ocean life in U.S. waters. The remote waters of the Dry Tortugas is located seventy miles west of Key West. Fishing and coastal development and other human activities have long threatened marine ecosystems in the Gulf Coast. The Dry Tortugas are relatively pristine, but, overfishing has depleted fish stocks and damaged coral habitat with fishing gear and anchors.

In 2001, Florida and the federal government declared 150 square miles of the Tortugas' blue and lime-green waters to be a no-fishing marine reserve. Drilling, dumping and anchoring are also banned in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. The protected area extends from shallow waters to depths of 1,800 feet -- much of which scientists are only now beginning to explore.

The Dry Tortugas is home to some 250 species of fish, dazzling displays of mushroom-shaped coral reefs and swaying seagrass beds. The waters serve as a marine nursery for grouper, snapper, shrimp and other species important to both commercial and sport fishing. The powerful Gulf Stream current washes eggs, larvae and juvenile fish from the remote Tortuga nurseries out to populate the waters surrounding the Florida Keys and the state's southern tip.

Since the creation of the reserve, the Dry Tortugas have become a refuge for large pink shrimp, lobster and yellowtail snapper, just a few of the species whose size and number are increasing under the new protections.

Read more: http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/worlds/page2.asp

The Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea was briefly mentioned in class the other day, I decided to take a closer look at it.

The Sargasso Sea lies between the West Indies and the Azores and is part of the North Atlantic Ocean. It got its name from the sea weed sargassum that lazily floats on its surface. It is the strangest and most notorious sea on the planet, covering the heart of the Bermuda Triangle.

'The Sargasso Sea occupies that part of the Atlantic between 20o to 35o North Latitude and 30o to 70o (the horse latitudes), West Longitude. It is in complete contrast to the ocean around it. Its currents are largely immobile yet surrounded by some of the strongest currents in the world: The Florida, Gulf Stream, Canary, North Equatorial, Antilles, and Caribbean currents. These interlock to separate this sea from the rest of the tempestuous Atlantic, making its indigenous currents largely entropious. Therefore anything that drifts onto any of its surrounding currents eventually ends up in the Sargasso Sea amidst its expansive weed mats of sargassum. Because of the entropious currents, it is unlikely anything would ever drift out. The Sargasso Sea rotates slightly itself and even changes position as its surrounding currents change with weather and temperature patterns during different seasons'.

'The "Seaweed Sea" has a centuries old rep. for mysterious disappearances.An evaluation of ship and aircraft disappearances draws a striking connection with this ancient sea of mystery and the modern Bermuda Triangle: the northern boundary of the Sargasso Sea more correctly represents the northern limits of the area of disappearances, for many aircraft and ships were in this vicinity when they vanished– i.e. a few hundred miles north of Bermuda but just entering the Sargasso Sea. The s.s Poet, 520-feet, bound for Gibraltar in 1980, a SAC B-52 on maneuvers in 1961, KB-50 ariel tanker in 1962, a Super Connie in 1954, a Navy Martin Marlin amphibian in 1956 are but a few examples'. Read more at: http://shs.westport.k12.ct.us/chia/caribbean/sargasso_sea.htm

The Antarctic Plumbing System

Scientists using NASA satellites have discovered an extensive network of waterways beneath a fast-moving Antarctic ice stream that provide clues as to how "leaks" in the system impact sea level and the world's largest ice sheet. Antarctica holds about 90 percent of the world's ice and 70 percent of the world's reservoir of fresh water.
With data from NASA satellites, a team of scientists led by research geophysicist Helen Fricker of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif., detected for the first time the subtle rise and fall of the surface of fast-moving ice streams as the lakes and channels nearly a half-mile of solid ice below filled and emptied.

The surface of the ice sheet appears stable to the naked eye, but because the base of an ice stream is warmer, water melts from the basal ice to flow, filling the system’s “pipes" and lubricating flow of the overlying ice. This web of waterways acts as a vehicle for water to move and change its influence on the ice movement. Moving back and forth through the system's "pipes" from one lake to another, the water stimulates the speed of the ice stream's flow a few feet per day, contributing to conditions that cause the ice sheet to either grow or decay. Movement in this system can influence sea level and ice melt worldwide.

years, scientists have discovered more than 145 subglacial lakes, a smaller number of which composes this "plumbing system" in the Antarctic. Bindschadler and Fricker; Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo.; and Laurence Padman of Earth and Space Research in Corvallis, Ore.; observed water discharging from these under-ice lakes into the ocean in coastal areas. Their research has delivered new insight into how much and how frequently these waterways “leak” water and how many connect to the ocean.
Read more at: http://www.ocean.com/article.asp?locationid=1&resourceid=7506&ProdId=&CatId=1&TabID=&SubTabID=

Pictures of some Marine Animals

Jellyfish

Bull Shark

Bottlenose Dolphin

Antarctic Fur Seal

Bearded Fireworm

Emperor Penguin

Christmas Tree Worm

Broadclub Cuttlefish

A look at the Halifax Harbour Solutions Project

What is the Harbour Solutions Project?

Halifax Harbour has been polluted with untreated water for years, with over 181,000,000 litres per day of untreated water, both sanitary and storm wastewater.

The harbour is one of the best deepwater, ice-free ports in the world. The conditions in the habour have continued to worsen as time passed and without action will continue to do so.

Many attempts have been made during the past decades to implement a Halifax Harbour solution, but only now are the citizens of the Halifax Region finally seeing a strategy implemented. Halifax Regional Council is proceeding with the Halifax Harbour Solutions project, designed to eliminate the flow of raw sewage and other contaminants into the world-famous Halifax Harbour.
The current state of Halifax Harbour shows the significant effects of pollutants discharged to the harbour through untreated sanitary, storm and combined sewer outfalls. As a result:
Shellfish harvesting is prohibited in the harbour;
large areas of contaminated sediment exist around some forty separate outfalls;
water quality is poor along the shorelines;
bacterial contamination is widespread;
and aesthetics are poor along the Halifax/Dartmouth waterfronts due to particulates, floatables and odour.
All of these things have a detrimental affect on the reputation of our municipality and our region, and carry both economic as well as environmental impacts. Therefore, a small-scale, affordable solution has been developed, to be phased in over time, providing basic treatment for all untreated sewer discharges.

Read more at:http://www.halifax.ca/harboursol/WhatistheHarbourSolutionsProject.html

Breathless Seas

Taken from: http://www.ocean.com/article.asp?locationid=1&resourceid=6372&ProdId=&CatId=1&TabID=&SubTabID=

The Florida Red tide is an ecological phenomenon that is an annual event in areas along the Gulf of Mexico. It is blooms of the ocean organism, Karenia brevis (K brevis) and can be harmful for people with asthma.

These organisms are concentrated along shorelines and produce highly potent aerosolized toxins. New research reported in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that Florida red tide toxins (known as brevetoxins) can impact respiratory function and increase respiratory symptoms in patients with asthma. Read more at the above site.

Invisible Octopus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQWxIrSRDQQ

The Geology of the Caribbean Sea

My project is on the Caribbean Sea, my section is on the Geology of the Caribbean Sea. I will give a summary of what i have so far.

Intro.: The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 square miles). The Caribbean Sea is a tropical sea in the western hemisphere; it is a part of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded on the south by South America, on the west and south by Mexico and Central America, and on the north and east by the Antilles. Atlantic Ocean enters the Caribbean through the Anegada Passage lying between the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands and the Windward Passage located between Cuba and Haiti. The Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico lie to the north, and a plethora of Lesser Antilles bound the sea on the east situated southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a Mediterranean Sea that covers most of the Caribbean Plate. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent coasts, are collectively known as the Caribbean. The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between Cuba and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 feet) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darien, Golfo de los Mosquitos and Gulf of Honduras.

Geology: The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins that are seperated from each other by underwater mountain ranges and ridges. The sea's age has been estimated to be anywhere from 20,000 years to 570 million years. The Cayman Trough is where the deepest points in the sea lie, with depths reaching 7,686m or 25,220 feet (approximately), inspite of this the Caribbean Sea is considered relatively shallow compared to other bodies of water.

The Hispaniola and Puerto Rico trenches are the two oceanic trenches that are found on the Caribbean Sea floor, these put the area at a higher risk of earthquakes. These underwater earthquakes pose a threat of generating tsunamis that could have devastating effects on the Caribbean Islands. Scientific data reveals that over the last 500 years the area has seen a dozen earthquakes above 7.5 magnitude. Volcanic activity is also common in the Caribbean, as well as destructive hurricanes that originate over the sea or in the Atlantic.

Global Warming

While we are on the topic of global warming, i found this video also talking about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox0wOCT2fTg

Methane alters ocean floor

The following study was taken from sciencedaily website, it looks at the effects of methane on the ocean floor. The study appears in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.


MOSS LANDING, Calif., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. geologists say methane gas bubbling through seafloor sediments has created hundreds of low hills on the floor of the Arctic Ocean.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute geologists Charlies Paull, William Usser and colleagues say the origin of the ocean floor hills has puzzled scientists since the features were discovered in the 1940s.
The team collected sediment and gas samples from the underwater hills they call "pingo-like" features on the Beaufort Sea Shelf, off the north coast of Canada.
Pingos, small, dome-shaped, ice-cored hills, are found in many Arctic regions. Previous studies suggested pingo-like features are pingos that formed on land, but were submerged when sea level rose following the last ice age.
Paull and colleagues propose an alternative hypothesis: Pingo-like features form when methane hydrate -- a frozen mixture of gas and seawater -- decomposes beneath the seafloor, releasing gas that squeezes deep sediments onto the seafloor, much as toothpaste from a tube.
Since methane is a potent greenhouse gas, scientists would like to know how much comes from the seafloor worldwide. Future research on methane hydrates and pingo-like features may help address that question. Taken from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070207-08032400-bc-us-oceanmethane.xml

Why is the ocean salty?

The ocean is salty because of the gradual concentration of dissolved chemicals eroded from the Earth's crust and washed into the sea. Solid and gaseous ejections from volcanoes, suspended particles swept to the ocean from the land by onshore winds, and materials dissolved from sediments deposited on the ocean floor have also contributed. Salinity is increased by evaporation or by freezing of sea ice and it is decreased as a result of rainfall, runoff, or the melting of ice. The average salinity of sea water is 35 o/oo, but concentrations as high as 40 o/oo are observed in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Salinities are much less than average in coastal waters, in the polar seas, and near the mouths of large rivers.
Sea water not only is much saltier than river water but it also differs in the proportion of the various salts. Sodium and chloride constitute 85 percent of the dissolved solids in sea water and account for the characteristic salty taste. Certain constituents in sea water, such as calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and silica, are partly taken out of solution by biological organisms, chemical precipitation, or physical-chemical reactions. In open water the chemical composition of sea water is nearly constant. Because of the stable ratios of the principal constituents to total salt content, the determination of one major constituent can be used to calculate sea water salinity. For minor constituents and dissolved gases the composition is variable and therefore ratios cannot be used to calculate salt Circulation and mixing, density and ocean currents, wind action, water temperature, solubility, and biochemical reactions are some of the factors that explain why the composition of water in the open sea is almost constant from place to place.
Taken from http://www.palomar.edu/oceanography/salty_ocean.htm

The Ocean zones & a few other terms

A quick look at the Ocean Zones:
Scientists have divided the ocean into separate and distinct levels or zones, starting with the surface and going down to the very bottom in the following order...

• Epipelagic: this is the top ocean layer, this is at or near the surface of the open ocean, here the water is warmer from sunlight and photosynthesis is most effective.
• Mesopelagic: mid- ocean; this is the layer of ocean water between 200m and 800m down. Here sunlight penetrates the water enough to be beneficial tot he species that live there.
• Bathypelagic: deep water; where penetration of sunlight is extremely low. The layer ranges from 800m to 4,000m deep.
• Benthopelagic: the layer of ocean that is just above the bottom; the sea floor, where the term benthic refers to the sea floor itself.
• Bathyal Zone: the benthopelagic areas of the ocean that are on continental slopes.
• Abyssal Zones: These are the benthopelagic areas of the ocean that are ont he sea floor plain.

Hadopelagic: This is the really DEEP water, down in the deepest ocean trenches.

Fathom: A fathom is a unit of length in Standard English that is used to measure ocean depths. It is approximately 6 vertical feet. To get the total depth in feet from fathoms given, just multiply by 6. For example, 500 fathoms = 500 x 6ft. = 3,000 feet.

League: A league is also a unit of length (or distance) that is used to measure ocean depths. It is not used in science, but in literature. One league = 3 miles (or 4.8 km).

Challenger Deep: Challenger deep got it's name from the British survey ship Challenger II, which pinpointed the deep water off the Marianas Islands in 1951. Then in 1960, the US Navy sent the Trieste (a submersible - a mini-submarine designed to go really deep) down into the depths of the Marianas trench to see just how far they would go, they touched bottom at 35,838 ft/10,923m. That means, while they were parked on the bottom in the bathyscaphe, there were almost seven miles/11km of water over their heads!

If you cut Mount Everest off at sea level and put it on the ocean bottom in the Challenger Deep, there would still be over a mile of water over the top of it! Read more at http://www.extremescience.com/DeepestFish.htm

Vessel leaks 200 tonnes of fuel

Taken from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6283965.stm

There are pollution fears after oil leaked from the MSC NapoliSome 200 tonnes of oil have leaked from a fuel tank on the stricken cargo ship MSC Napoli, beached off the Devon coast, coastguards have confirmed.
The ship has also lost some 200 containers overboard, including two holding "dangerous but low-risk" goods.

A sheen of oil eight kilometres (five miles) long is now on the sea surface.
The ship suffered structural damage during Thursday's storms and was deliberately beached off Branscombe to stop it sinking in deep water.
It is sharply listing and there are fears it could capsize and break up at any time.
An operation to pump the remaining oil on board is due to begin on Monday morning. The remaining containers could also then be winched off.

3,500 tonnes of oil- The 62,000 tonne vessel was carrying 2,323 containers, 158 of which are classed as having potentially hazardous contents.
Of the 200 that have gone overboard, one contained battery acid and perfumes, and one small gas bottles for car airbags.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Paul Coley said these were "considered dangerous goods but for us they're low-risk."
Others housed a variety of goods including BMW motorbikes and car parts.
Not all of the containers have been found and some have broken up. Some may have sunk while others could be far out to sea.
The ship also contains a further 3,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in tanks, but coastguards believe these have not split.
They believe 200 tonnes is close to the maximum that will leak out of the ship's engine room.
'Sensitive' coastline
The ship was being towed to Portland Harbour in Dorset for a salvage operation, but on Friday coastguards decided to beach it because of its structural damage - a fracture on both sides.
An eight-person salvage team is on board, and a team of divers is being flown in to join them.

Environmental damage is so far said to be minimal. Three oil-covered birds have been found.
Residents in nearby Sidmouth have spoken of the concern about the leak.
One man told the BBC: "It's a real worry that we could get pollution and there's a lot of wildlife lives on these shores, and certain rare sea birds."
Julian Wardlaw, of the Environment Agency, said: "We have an extremely sensitive bit of coastline; we are dealing with a World Heritage Site and we are working to make sure that damage is minimised."

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the ship previously ran aground off Singapore in 2001.
It was previously named CMA-CGM Normandie and ran aground in the Strait of Malacca in 2001.
The ship subsequently had to undergo "major repairs" in Vietnam, according to Tore Hoifodt, senior vice president at DNV, which classes and inspects cargo ships.

Pictures from accident and map showing general area:

Examples of Surface Tension

We talked about surface tension in class today, one example given was the water strider walking on water. Here are some other interesting ones taken from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/surten.html :

1. Floating a needle: If carefully placed on the surface, a small needle can be made to float on the surface of water even though it is several times as dense as water. If the surface is agitated to break up the surface tension, then needle will quickly sink.
2. Don't touch the tent!: Common tent materials are somewhat rainproof in that the surface tension of water will bridge the pores in the finely woven material. But if you touch the tent material with your finger, you break the surface tension and the rain will drip through.
3. Clinical test for jaundice: Normal urine has a surface tension of about 66 dynes/cm but if bile is present (a test for jaundice), it drops to about 55. In the Hay test, powdered sulfur is sprinkled on the urine surface. It will float on normal urine, but sink if the S.T. is lowered by the bile.
4. Soaps and detergents help the cleaning of clothes by lowering the surface tension of the water so that it more readily soaks into pores and soiled areas.
5. Surface tension disinfectants: Disinfectants are usually solutions of low surface tension. This allow them to spread out on the cell walls of bacteria and disrupt them. One such disinfectant, S.T.37, has a name which points to its low surface tension compared to the 72 dynes/cm for water.
6. Washing with cold water: The major reason for using hot water for washing is that its surface tension is lower and it is a better wetting agent. But if the detergent lowers the surface tension, the heating may be unneccessary.

Man-made sandbar might save disappearing Ocean Beach

Saw this on mercurynews.com:

Man-made sandbar might save disappearing Ocean Beach

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - Engineers believe they have solved the problem of Ocean Beach's disappearing coastline, which has vexed engineers for decades while creating millions of dollars in damage.
The Pacific Ocean takes more sand than is replaced, which has resulted in disappearing sand dunes south of Sloat Boulevard and damage to beach parking lots and the Great Highway.
The Army Corps of Engineers believes the solution lies in the creation of a sandbar a half-mile offshore using 300,000 cubic yards of sand it dredges each year from the shipping channel outside the Golden Gate.
The sandbar will lessen the wave energy and provide sand to replenish what is washed off the beach, engineers believe.
The corps has tested the idea, and dropped about 275,000 cubic yards of sand in June 2005. It dumped another 300,000 cubic yards in May.
Patrick Barnard, a coastal geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said tests show that the 1,000-meter stretch of coastline targeted in the tests has grown by three feet.
Even if the experiment is behind the beach's three-foot growth, engineers say it may take 10 or 20 years to restore the beach. There are still issues outstanding, such as the ideal shape and location for the sandbar.

Taken from: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/16563632.htm

Corals at risk as Caribbean waters warm again

Scientists are worried that as the Caribbean waters get warmer, there may be a repeat of the widespread coral death as a result of bleaching, that took place in 2005. As U.S. Geological Survey biologist Caroline Rogers told The Associated Press "about 40 percent of coral died around parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands last year, and the coral that survived likely isn't healthy enough to survive another hot summer". Rogers has studied Coral reefs in the U.S Virgin Islands for 22 years and is worried that the warming situation is looking a lot like that which occured in 2005. She also states that it is almost impossible to stress how important this is. Coral in Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands that are disease infested and bleached by warm waters, was especially hard hit last year.

Tyler Smith, a marine researcher at the University of the Virgin Islands states that "the rising temperatures appeared to be something new that the corals aren't used to" and he has "seen some very large colonies — 100-year-old colonies — in the Virgin Islands that have completely died".

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said waters were also warmer than usual in the South Pacific, mid-Atlantic and Indian oceans this month.

Coral reefs form a part of the Caribbean's multi-billion dollar tourism industry, as it is visited by tourist who are diving or snorkelling in the water. Read more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12475917/

Ocean Sediments

Just a little more information on ocean sediments.
Organic or inorganic matter originating from erosion or weathering of rocks, chemical processes involving sea water and the oceanic crust, volcanic eruptions and tghe activity of living organisms etc. that accumulates in unconsolidated, loose form is defined as sediment.
Sediments record the past, so sediments on the ocean floor will tell history of ocean basin development, tells when the ocean floor was formed (by studying age of the sediments and magnetic reversals), and will contain fossils that indicate ancient life in the sea.
There is biogenous sediments which is made up of 48% for calcareous ooze and 14% for siliceous ooze of the deep sea floor sediments, which is formed from the remains of living organisms (plants and animals). Sediments derived from rock are called lithogenous/terrigenous sediments, there is also authigenic (formed on or in the sediments on the sea floor), volcanogenic (particles from volcanic eruptions) and cosmogenous (particles from outer space). Read more at http://maritime.haifa.ac.il/departm/lessons/ocean/lect09.htm

The Blue Planet- Deep Sea

Check out these really amazing video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Er4dpUfrM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00YJIyoZ56U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaEHbBV4IGg

Salt-Water Fish Extinction Seen By 2048

Came across this article, thought it was a bit shocking and depressing, but interesting.
An international team of economists and ecologists think that pollution, climate change, habitat loss and over fishing resulting in the disappearance of numerous species will cause the worlds ocean to be empty by 2048.
Boris Worm, PhD, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with colleagues in the U.K., U.S., Sweden, and Panama, conducted a study in an effort to understand what this loss of ocean species might mean to the world.
These researchers analyzed several different kinds of data, data from 32 experiments on different marine environments. They found that already 29% of edible fish and seafood species have declined by 90% -- a drop that means the collapse of these fisheries. The researchers note that "the issue isn't just having seafood on our plates. Ocean species filter toxins from the water. They protect shorelines. And they reduce the risks of algae blooms such as the red tide". They also state that "the loss of species isn't gradual. It's happening fast -- and getting faster. Worm and colleagues call for sustainable fisheries management, pollution control, habitat maintenance, and the creation of more ocean reserves". Read more at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/02/health/webmd/main2147223.shtml

Greenhouse gas turning oceans acid

Researchers believe that the large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), that is being produced by transportation and other manufactoring industries is posing a new and potentially devastating danger to the world. British scientist believe that large amounts of CO2 that already greatly contribute to global warming is now posing a serious threat to marine life such as coral reefs and fish. It is now thought that CO2 "is also rapidly turning the world's oceans acid as it is dissolved in sea water, and putting an enormous array of marine life at risk.
Ocean acidification may wipe out much of the microscopic plankton at the base of the marine food web, and have a knock-on fatal effect right up the chain, through shellfish to major human food species such as cod. It is already known to be having a serious impact on some organisms such as coral, and putting a question mark against the whole future of coral reefs". Read more at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10009477

Underwater Jamaica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xc1EeMJa1I

NB: Cathy when I was going through these i realised that the other two videos had been removed from youtube, so i deleted them from the blog post.

The Ocean

Some Quick facts about the Ocean:

• The deepest known point on Earth is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, a depression in the floor of the western Pacific Ocean, just east of the Mariana Islands. The Mariana Trench is 1,554 miles long and 44 miles wide. Near its southwestern extremity, 210 miles southwest of Guam, lies the deepest point on Earth. This point — referred to as the “Challenger Deep”— plunges to a depth of nearly 7 miles.
• The ocean bottom is divided into three major areas: the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the deep ocean basin.
• The Earth’s longest mountain range lies under the sea. Over 56,000 kilometers (35,000 mi) long, this mountain range, called the Mid-Ocean Ridge system, snakes its way around the globe.

Read more at http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/geology/deepsea.html

Impacts of bottom trawling

Bottom trawling plays a major role in disrupting or destroying life on the ocean floor. Here is a video that shows some of the impacts of bottom trawling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRME2Sfqsnk

Global warming threatens basis of marine life in the world's ocean

Came across this interesting article on usatoday.com. According to Seth Borenstein (AP, Science Writer), new NASA satellite data show that as the world's oceans get warmer the critical base of the ocean food web is now shrinking. "The discovery has scientists worried about how much food will grow in the future for the world's marine life.
The data show a significant link between warmer water — either from the El Nino climate phenomenon or global warming — and reduced production of phytoplankton of the world's oceans, according to a study in Thursday's journal Nature". Read more at http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-12-06-marine-life-threatened_x.htm

Where in the Bahamas did Columbus first land?

I found it interesting and fascinating that people have spent so much time and effort trying to figure out exactly where in the Bahamas Columbus first landed. I googled this and found that they have concluded after much debate and interpretation of Columbus' journal that "in 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the New World on the island of San Salvador in the eastern Bahamas. After observing the shallow sea around the islands, he said "baja mar" (shallow water or sea), and effectively named the area The Bahamas, or The Islands of the Shallow Sea". http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/about/general.aspx?sectionid=1597&level=1 For further reading or to find out how they came to the conclusion that San Salvador was infact the island that Columbus first landed see http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/ColumbusNav%20&%20Landfall.pdfsNav%20&%20Landfall.pdf

Here is a picture of Columbus Isle, San Salvador, Bahamas.