Ocean Script by NOAA/ESRL/GSD

Intro: Earth Color One

1\. Argo Buoy Tracks

-pip: Argo schematic

2\. Sea Currents Model

3\. Sea Surface Temperature Model

4\. Sea Ice

5\. Loggerhead Sea Turtles

-pip: Sea Turtle

6\. SeaWiFS

-pips: phytoplankton

7\. El Nino/La Nina

8\. Tsunami

-pips: hazard signs

Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific

Close: Blue Marble

[Intro: Earth Color One]{.underline}

The ocean is vast. 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by the ocean
and more than half of that area is over 9000 ft deep. The deepest part
of the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, is 35, 840
feet below sea level. That's almost 7 miles deep! So much about the
ocean has been discovered through exploration and research, but the
ocean still holds many more mysteries to solve and new areas to explore.
This exploration and discovery is important because the ocean affects
everyone, even people who don't live anywhere near the ocean.

[Argo Buoy Tracks]{.underline}

In order to learn more about the ocean, more information is needed.
Collecting data from the ocean can be a daunting task due to its
overwhelming size. Scientists need data from the whole ocean, not just
the areas where it's convenient, such as close to the shore. And not
only do they need surface data, but they also need data from below the
sea surface. It's improbable to have people constantly collecting data
from all over the ocean at all different depths. To complete this
seemingly impossible task, oceanographers from around the world have
worked together to create the Argo Buoy Network. This network of buoys,
numbering 3000, is providing continuous information from the upper
6500ft of the ocean. The buoys, represented by the green dots, are
placed roughly 185 miles apart and collect information about the
temperature, salinity and velocity of the upper ocean. This network is
providing unprecedented amounts of global information from the ocean.

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="4.163194444444445in"
height="2.9159722222222224in"}

PIP: The buoys spend most of their time free floating at a depth of
6500ft. For nine days a buoy floats at this depth and collects data.
After this time, the buoy rises to the surface, collecting data as it
goes. Once at the surface, the buoy transmits the collected data to a
satellite and then sinks back down to 6500ft to start over again. The
whole cycle takes about 10 days.

The horizontal movement of the buoys is controlled only by the ocean
currents. Some buoys can be seen moving slowly, while others move
quickly. This is because the ocean currents vary in speed across the
globe.

[Ocean Currents]{.underline}

The ocean is not a still body of water, but is constantly in motion, as
seen here. The color-coding in this animation represents the speed of
the water. The green areas are fast moving currents. The currents can be
traced all the way around the globe providing a good picture of how the
oceans are globally connected. The surface currents, seen here, are
driven mainly by the wind. Currents below the surface are driven by
differences in the temperature and salinity of the ocean. The currents
tend to travel along the equator and split when they reach obstacles,
such as islands or continents. The water along the equator is very warm,
and when the equatorial currents are forced to move north or south due
to an obstacle, they bring that warm water with them. This transport of
warm water is responsible for keeping some areas at high latitudes warm.
The ocean is a huge reservoir of heat which not only keeps the water
warm, but also warms the atmosphere, allowing the global ocean currents
to play a significant role in the global climate. If the currents were
to suddenly stop, many countries would experience significant
temperature changes. A good example of this is the Gulf Stream along the
eastern coast of the United States. The Gulf Stream is like a river of
warm water in the ocean. This river flows along the coast of the United
States and then crosses the Atlantic Ocean over to Europe. Many European
countries have relatively temperate climates due to the inflow of heat
from the Gulf Stream. Parts of Europe would become cooler if the Gulf
Stream were to suddenly stop.

[Sea Surface Temperature]{.underline}

This transport of heat by the ocean currents can be seen clearly in this
animation of sea surface temperature. Here, the temperature of the ocean
over the course of a year is displayed. The temperature of the ocean can
vary from freezing, denoted by the blue shading to over 80°F,
represented by the red shading. The Gulf Stream shows up as tongue of
warm water along the eastern coast of the United States. Also, the
warmer water can be clearly seen mixing with the cooler water in eddies
or small whirlpools. Typically the coldest water is at the poles with
the warmest water at the equator. Through the year however, the location
and magnitude of the warmest and coldest water shifts north and south
due to the seasons. During summer in the Northern Hemisphere the sun
heats the water north of the equator, causing the water to slowly warm.
Water warms up and cools down at a slower rate than air, so diurnal
variations, which are the result of heating during the day and cooling
during the night, that are seen in the atmosphere are hard to observe in
the ocean. This allows us to easily observe the seasonal variations.

[Sea Ice from 1987 -- 2007]{.underline}

The seasonal variations in the ocean are also unmistakably displayed in
the presence of sea ice. At least 15% of the ocean is covered by sea ice
during some part of the year. Because summer in the Northern Hemisphere
is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, the North Pole has a minimum in
sea ice concentration when the South Pole has a maximum in sea ice
concentration and vice versa. The minimum at the North Pole typically
occurs in September while the minimum at the South Pole typically occurs
in March. This dataset is from the National Snow and Ice Data Center
which collects data and monitors the condition of the sea ice. These
images were taken with a special sensor on a satellite. This dataset
starts in 1987 and runs through 2007. The concentration of the ice
changes drastically from season to season, and there is an overall
change in the ice from year to year. The amount of ice in the Northern
Hemisphere has been decreasing over the past several years, while the
amount of the ice in the Southern Hemisphere hasn't experienced that
kind of change. As the ocean temperature continues to change, the sea
ice will experience changes as well.

[Loggerhead Sea Turtles]{.underline}

Sea ice is not the only thing that is affected by changing ocean
temperatures. Many of the animals in the ocean depend on the temperature
of the ocean remaining constant. Because the temperature of the ocean
varies with the seasons, many animals migrate to stay in waters that are
a comfortable temperature to them. By tagging animals with tags that
transmit their location via satellite, researchers are able to the
monitor the migration patterns of the animals. For this dataset,
researchers tagged loggerhead sea turtles and then monitored them
between 1997 and 2006. This animation represents a daily average of the
sea turtle movement independent of the year. The size of the turtle icon
is proportional to the turtle's actual length. In the area where the
turtles are, the ocean has been color coded according to the temperature
of the sea surface. The loggerhead sea turtles stay in a very narrow
temperature band and move their migration paths north and south to
remain in waters of the same temperature throughout the year. Research
from the National Marine Fisheries Service has shown that these turtles
use surface chlorophyll and temperature gradients to determine their
migration habits.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.4131944444444446in"
height="2.5597222222222222in"}

(PIP will be shown the entire time)

[SeaWiFS]{.underline}

The location of chlorophyll in the ocean changes with the seasons, just
like the temperature. What you are now looking at is the presence of
chlorophyll in the ocean over the course of one year, as detected by a
satellite. The green to red areas have high concentrations of
chlorophyll, while the blue areas have very little chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants that captures energy from the
sun. In the oceans, the presence of chlorophyll indicates the presence
of phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that are abundant in the ocean.
Sea turtles and many other ocean animals care about the presence of
phytoplankton because it is the base of the ocean's food chain. The
world's richest fisheries are in locations where the phytoplankton
concentrations are high.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.8715277777777777in"
height="3.1020833333333333in"}

PIP: Phytoplankton collage

Phytoplankton can take on many different forms, as seen here. Not only
do phytoplankton serve as the base of the ocean's food chain, but they
also play a significant role in oxygen production. Just like any other
plant, phytoplankton remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
produce oxygen. Scientists estimate that the world's phytoplankton
produce between 50% and 90% of the oxygen that we breathe! The presence
of phytoplankton in the ocean is affected not only by the seasons, but
also by large scale changes in the ocean such as El Nino. By using
satellite images like the ones used here, researchers have discovered
that phytoplankton decline during El Nino due to a lack of available
nutrients in the water and flourish during La Nina due to an abundance
of nutrients in the water.

[El Nino]{.underline}

During El Nino, the waters off of South America highlighted here,
experience warmer than normal temperatures. Areas that are red are
warmer than normal while blue areas are cooler than normal. Seen here is
one of the strongest El Nino's on record. It lasted from March of 1997
through June of 1998. Besides affecting the presence of phytoplankton in
the ocean, El Nino also impacts the global climate. During a strong El
Nino most of the United States has a wetter than normal season, while
other parts of the world experience drought. Indonesia and the
Philippines, for example, are drier than normal during El Nino and have
increased risk of forest fires.

[La Nina]{.underline}

The opposite of El Nino is La Nina. During La Nina, the waters off of
South America are cooler than normal. The same color convention is used
here, red is warmer than normal and blue is cooler than normal. During
the La Nina event seen here, the cool waters extend well into the
Pacific Ocean. This La Nina lasted from February of 1988 through
December of 1989. The effects of La Nina are opposite of El Nino. The
United States tends to be drier than normal while other parts of the
world can experience major flooding events. By affecting the climate,
the ocean affects everyone, even those who don't live near the ocean.

[Indian Tsunami]{.underline}

While El Nino and La Nina are examples of how the ocean can impact our
lives indirectly, tsunamis are an example of how the ocean can impact
lives directly. A tsunami is a series of waves generated when a body of
water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced on a massive scale. This
animation is a model of what happened on December 26, 2004. On the
morning of the 26^th^ an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 9.0 on
the Richter scale occurred, displacing a huge amount of water, causing a
tsunami. The resulting wave propagated out with incredible speed. Over
deep water, the waves of a tsunami are very shallow and travel very
fast. However, as the ocean gets shallower close to land the waves slow
down and build up. Wave heights of over 30 feet were reported during
this event. It is estimated that 250,000 people lost their lives in this
single event.

![](media/image4.png){width="3.486111111111111in"
height="2.6506944444444445in"}

PIP: Tsunami Warning Sign

Two main reasons for the widespread devastation were the lack of a
warning system and the lack of understanding about tsunamis. Previously
thought unnecessary in the Indian Ocean because the last major tsunami
was in 1883, efforts are underway to improve a warning system and
prepare people for the next tsunami. This is an example of the signs
that the Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific posts in areas that are
prone to tsunamis. The best thing to do if a tsunami ever occurs near
you is to seek higher ground. The first sign of a tsunami is receding
waters. Wandering out to explore the exposed sea floor is the worst
place to be because after the water recedes, it rushes back in as a
powerful wave. Seeking high ground is the safest thing to do.

[Blue Marble]{.underline}

The ocean has tremendous power and influence, playing a role in the
climate, the food chain, and even some natural disasters. Through
exploration and discovery, we have learned so much about the ocean and
its impact on people and the environment. But there is still so much
more to learn about our oceans. Advances in science, such as satellite
monitoring of the ocean and improved buoy networks, are helping to pave
the way.