"This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that govern the circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. The focus of the course is on the processes that control the climate of the planet.AcknowledgmentsProf. Ferrari wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by Prof. John Marshall."

This activity has students create a Cartesian diver, which will act in some ways like a submarine. Students will adjust the amount of air and water in an inverted test tube (the "diver") so that it at first barely floats in a water-filled bottle. Then, they will squeeze the closed bottle to create higher water pressure, causing the diver to sink. Releasing the bottle allows the diver to float again. Written instructions, a list of materials, and illustrations are included.

This study examines the metabolic costs of osmoregulation in a freshwater fish, the black molly (Poecilia latipinna). It could be used in either an upper-level ecology or physiology course. Students evaluate the metabolic rate of a fish at a particular salinity by measuring the continuous decrease in oxygen concentration in a sealed chamber over a ten-minute period, or the initial and final oxygen concentrations over a twenty-minute period. Metabolic rate is the slope of oxygen concentration versus time, or change in oxygen concentration divided by time. By measuring metabolic rate at different salinities, students evaluate the metabolic cost of osmoregulation.

Between 70 and 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and there exists still more water in the atmosphere and underground in aquifers. In this lesson, students learn about water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They will learn about several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources. They will also think about their role in water conservation.

When solutions of two different densities meet, the lower density (less dense) solution will move on top of the higher density (more dense) solution, resulting in a layering or stratification of the solutions. Density is an important feature of seawater since many physical and biological processes are affected by it, such as moving heat around the globe influencing climate and feeding and reproduction by marine organisms.

Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global sea surface salinity. Launching in 2009, this mission will provide the first global map of sea surface salinity with unprecedented accuracy, resolution and coverage. The importance of salinity measurements in understanding coastal ocean processes is critical. Because of its dynamic range in the coastal oceans, salinity is a critical factor in understanding and predicting biological and physical processes and their interactions with the food Web, climate, and global water cycle. Aquarius's pioneering efforts to deliver the "missing pieces of the climate puzzle" will undoubtedly intrigue informal audiences via the activities and information contained in this Website. Moreover, climate and its influence on humankind is an integral part of K-16 formal education and common to national learning standards. The goal of the Education and Outreach component of Aquarius is to teach fundamental concepts about salinity variations and the role these changes play in controlling global ocean circulation and Earth's climate. Education products will appear as modules addressing the mission's goals and purpose, augment existing El Nino/La Nina materials with salinity based content, provide on-line interactive tools demonstrating environmental change through data sets and in situ time-series analysis, and engage students in activities designed to demonstrate salt-water interactions.

The purpose of the following series of activities is to help students visualize the dead zone and to provide them with dissolved oxygen (DO) data to analyze and interpret. Students will plot and analyze DO from the July 23-28, 1993, scientific cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. The activities are designed to engage the students individually, within a group and as a class to plot, observe, analyze and interpret several different spatial slices of the dead zone. In addition, these graphing activities can also be used to graph other variables such as salinity, density and temperature. The five graphing and mapping activities are described in order from simplest to most complex.

In this activity, students learn about ocean currents and the difference between salt and fresh water. They use colored ice cubes to see how cold and warm water mix and how this mixing causes currents. Also, students learn how surface currents occur due to wind streams. Lastly, they learn how fresh water floats on top of salt water, the difference between water in the ocean and fresh water throughout the planet, and how engineers are involved in the design of ocean water systems for human use.

This class examines tools, data, and ideas related to past climate changes as seen in marine, ice core, and continental records. The most recent climate changes (mainly the past 500,000 years, ranging up to about 2 million years ago) will be emphasized. Quantitative tools for the examination of paleoceanographic data will be introduced (statistics, factor analysis, time series analysis, simple climatology).

" This class examines tools, data, and ideas related to past climate changes as seen in marine, ice core, and continental records. The most recent climate changes (mainly the past 500,000 years, ranging up to about 2 million years ago) will be emphasized. Quantitative tools for the examination of paleoceanographic data will be introduced (statistics, factor analysis, time series analysis, simple climatology)."

The laws of classical mechanics and thermodynamics are used to explore how the properties of fluids on a rotating Earth manifest themselves in, and help shape, the global patterns of atmospheric winds, ocean currents, and the climate of the Earth. Theoretical discussion focuses on the physical processes involved. Underlying mechanisms are illustrated through laboratory demonstrations, using a rotating table, and through analysis of atmospheric and oceanic data.

Understand how the same object can both sink and float, depending on its density relative to a fluid. Seawater contains many dissolved substances and these add mass to the water producing a greater mass per unit volume, or density, than that of pure water. The relationship between the density of a fluid, weight of an object, and buoyancy is critical in understanding the ocean, because density has a direct influence on the way seawater and objects in seawater behave.

Have you ever wondered how scientists analyze the environment? This unit introduces you to the techniques used by science students at residential schools. You will learn how to determine where rocks have come from and how they were made. You will also examine the processes involved in determining the ecology of a particular area.

This course introduces theoretical and practical principles of design of oceanographic sensor systems. Topics include: transducer characteristics for acoustic, current, temperature, pressure, electric, magnetic, gravity, salinity, velocity, heat flow, and optical devices; limitations on these devices imposed by ocean environments; signal conditioning and recording; noise, sensitivity, and sampling limitations; and standards. Lectures by experts cover the principles of state-of-the-art systems being used in physical oceanography, geophysics, submersibles, acoustics. For lab work, day cruises in local waters allow students to prepare, deploy and analyze observations from standard oceanographic instruments.

This website features a lab activity, appropriate for grades 4-12, that teaches students to determine the salinity of a water sample by using a hydrometer and to understand how salinity influences an object's ability to float in water. The activity consists of the following sections: overview, objective, education standards, materials, procedure, background, vocabulary, extensions, and reference, including links to internet resources on salinity.

The purpose of this resource is to measure the salinity of the water at your hydrology site. Students use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the water sample, and use a thermometer to measure the temperature. With these two values, students will use tables to determine the salinity.

The purpose of this resource is to measure the salinity of the water using a salinity titration kit. Students will measure the salinity of saltwater using a salinity titration kit.

Each two-week module in the Study of Place curriculum is framed by an historical event that makes a connection between the physical environment and human activity. The activities focus primarily on physical and earth science content, geography, and inquiry skills. Assessments and scoring rubrics, including a pre-assessment that can be used for both modules, are embedded in each module, providing opportunities for tracking student learning. The Antarctic Exploration module is framed by Sir Ernest Shackelton's expedition to Antarctica. It explores the relationship between the expanse of sea ice and seasonal change. Students: * examine satellite images of Antarctica, comparing and contrasting the information provided by the various types of technology; * explore seasonal changes in the expanse of sea ice and learn about the Sun's seasonal effect on the concentration of energy on Earth's surface; * explore the differences between fresh and salt water and salinity levels in the Antarctic Ocean; * study the effect of albedo and insulation on sea ice and heat transfer and apply these concepts to a discussion of global climate change.

Each two-week module in the Study of Place curriculum is framed by an historical event that makes a connection between the physical environment and human activity. The activities focus primarily on physical and earth science content, geography, and inquiry skills. Assessments and scoring rubrics, including a pre-assessment that can be used for both modules, are embedded in each module, providing opportunities for tracking student learning. The Ocean Currents Exploration module is framed by Benjamin Franklin's quest to explain why English ships carrying mail to the American colonies took two weeks longer to cross the Atlantic than colonial merchant ships making a similar voyage. It explores the mysterious force in the ocean called the Gulf Stream. Students: * use images of the Gulf Stream to explore seasonal changes in temperature, wind direction, and wave height; * investigate density-driven ocean currents and consider whether global climate change might affect deep currents; * learn about wind-driven currents by plotting the location of sneakers from a ship's container spill, and model the movement of gyres; * investigate how sand and water store and transfer heat energy and read about the possible climatic implications of a warmer ocean.