Ben Franklin published the first chart of an ocean current in 1769 Franklin’s chart of the Gulf Stream Oceanography

Surface currents Deep water currents Bathymetry Tides Physical Oceanography

Dissolved Oxygen and other gases  Fish and other animals need oxygen to breathe. This oxygen is present in the water and is called dissolved oxygen (DO). It is measured in mg/L.  <3 mg/L – harmful to fish – too little O2  5-6 mg/L – desirable range  >10 mg/L – harmful to fish – too much O2 Dissolved minerals and other solids Salinity – amount of salt in water, measured in parts per thousand (ppt)

 Otherwise known as Marine Biology

Formation of Hurricanes

Photo by: Jill Turner Hurricane Katrina 2005 Eye wall of Hurricane Ivan

 Properties of water measured: Parameters, units, significance Temperature Salinity Dissolved oxygen Turbidity Light levels Depth…

 Typical open ocean profiles  Called - a hydrocast

 Sounding lines  Problems… (currents)  Pressure sensor  Sonar

 Direct or indirect measurement  Refractometer  Conductivity sensor

 Secchi disk  transmissometer

 Methods – chemical and electrical Polarigraphic electrode Winkler

 Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) sensor  Deck sensor

Niskin bottle

 Chlorophyll levels - fluorometer

 Hydrolab/YSI = brands

 moored, deployed, mobile  CTD  Argo ’floats’

See our CTD hydrocast

The Quest for Longitude shipwreck of four British warships dead -- Longitude Act of John Harrison

Global Positioning Systems Image from Wikipedia.com

Used with permission from Garmin

GPS APPLICATIONS Images from seaturtle.org

Gulf of Mexico MEXICO