Marine Science in the Real World

Marine Science in the Real World — page 3 — ocean floor These springs are called hydrothermal vents They belch water heated by molten volcanic rocks Dr Van Dover studies the strange creatures that live nearby She also sees the effects of humans She finds lots of trash There are tracks left by fishing trawlers Marine Science and STEM Dr Van Dover is a marine scientist These researchers study oceans Marine science is also called oceanography It includes several fields Marine biologists study ocean plants and animals Marine geologists study the ocean floor Marine chemists study the ocean’s chemical properties 6 Weird Creatures Animals around hydrothermal vents are varied and unusual They include red-tipped tubeworms up to six feet 1 8 m long There are shrimp with eyes on their backs There are ghostly white fish giant clams and yellow mussels There are huge beds of sea anemones They all live in darkness and crushing pressures They get heat from deep-sea volcanoes Bacteria around the vents provide the creatures with energy

Marine Science in the Real World — page 4 — Marine scientists use technology to study the ocean environment and its organisms 7

Marine Science in the Real World — page 5 — Marine physicists study energy in the ocean They examine things such as heat light currents waves and tides Marine engineers and technologists also play important roles Marine engineers design submersibles and ships Marine technologists operate and fix these vehicles Science technology engineering and math are all involved in these careers These four subjects are known as STEM People in STEM fields usually focus on one area But they learn about all four STEM areas Dr Van Dover studies ocean life so she is a marine biologist But she must also know other sciences She must know technology and engineering to pilot a submersible She must understand mathematics and computer science too What Marine Scientists Study Oceans cover more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface On maps they are divided into several oceans including the Atlantic and Pacific But all of them 8

Marine Science in the Real World — page 6 — connect and form one world ocean Approximately 80 percent of its water volume is deeper than 3,280 feet 1,000 m Scientists say we know more about the moon and Mars than the deep ocean Scientists map the ocean floor They use radar from satellites and sonar from ships Radar cannot penetrate the water It measures differences in the ocean surface Scientists subtract the effects of waves and tides Then radar can show mountains and valleys on the ocean floor More detailed maps are made using sonar Sonar detects underwater objects It 9 IN THE REAL WORLD The Deepest Dive James Cameron directed Hollywood movies such as Avatar Titanic and The Abyss He is also an explorer On March 26 2012 Cameron visited the deepest point in the ocean This point is called Challenger Deep It is located in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean It is 35,800 feet 10,900 m deep Cameron piloted the Deepsea Challenger a submersible he helped design His journey became part of a documentary film called Deepsea Challenge

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