An extreme environment study By: Cassie Drieschner

Introduction For my project I am going to do a study on oceans. In my study I will research/write about Oceans (climate, and the different oceans there are), technology involved to explore this environment, and an interesting exploration of this extreme environment, the finding of the TITANIC! I will be getting my information from the internet.

Oceans as an Extreme Environment Oceans are classified as an extreme environment because of the complication that humans can not breath nor live under water. There are many things that help humans adapt to ocean environment. There are still lots of species and crevasses that are not known to humans at this point in time. Scientist are working very hard on new submerging vehicles and robots to help discover new things about oceans.

The Different Types of Oceans There are five oceans in the world. The Pacific, The Atlantic, The Indian, The Arctic, and The Southern (Antarctic). The three major Oceans are The Pacific, The Atlantic, and The Indian. The last Ocean to join was The Southern which was discovered in 2000 by the International Hydrographic Organization.

The Climate of Oceans The average temperature of the surface of the ocean (world wide) is around 17 degrees Celsius Ocean weather can vary from sunny to rainy as there are oceans everywhere! Some of the coldest oceans can be -2 degrees Celsius! Some of the hottest oceans are 36 degrees Celsius! Imagine swimming in an ocean as hot as a hot tub! That’s really hot!

Comparing Ocean Climate Here are two different oceans, with two very different climates!

Technology for Oceans There are lots of different types of technology that help with exploration of this environment. Some are like submarines and others are like robots. All of the technology that explores this extreme environment has to be able to withstand water pressure and be water proof. There are many company's that supply technology for this environment.

Technology: AUVs AUVs are a type of submerging vehicle that can do work without any physical connection with a power room/control station. AUVs are preprogrammed and can make simple decisions on their own. One company that makes AUVs are the International Submarine Engineering. AUVs are used for tasks underwater such as surveying the sea beds and mapping in the ocean. One AUV called The Arctic Explorer maps the sea in the arctic to help Canada find out where our boarder is. The Arctic Explorer is over 7m long and weighs around pounds! The Arctic Explorer was designed in 2001 and in 2010 surveyed under the ice for 10 days.

Sep : The Titanic is Found! An underwater mission that I am going to write about is the finding of the RMS Titanic on Sept The Titanic was found by a man by the name Robert Ballard. Robert Ballard took over to find the Titanic when Jack Grimm failed. One technology that help find the Titanic was ARGO, a system of television cameras and sonars that could take film for feet above the sea floor. The ARGO was named after the mythical Greek ship. The ARGO that found the Titanic was 3.5 feet tall, 15 feet long, 3.5 feet wide, and weighed around 4000 pounds out of the ocean!!! After the ARGO found the Titanic, they sent people down their in other underwater vehicles like the Alvin. Robert Ballard came to the Titanic a year later in the Alvin to take pictures of the wreck. Robert Ballard and his crew were the first people to reach the Titanic.

Titanic Pictures

How is Ocean Exploration Effecting our Environment? Ocean exploration can not effect are environment if we are carful. If people or robots go down into the oceans and take to much of something it can unsettle other species. For example, we suddenly find a rare coral plant. If we take to much of this plant, than a fish that may be living in it may die because we have taken its home/food source. To be safe humans should only take small samples of what we need when we explore under the surface.