Final Paper

After taking Marine Biology last year I thought it would be a good idea to take Oceanography. Many people told me how they were kind of similar. I really wanted to learn about the ocean because there were many things I did not understand. I hoped this class would answer some of those questions. I did end up learning many things about the ocean. I learned more than I thought I would. I learned about the physics, sand, salinity, temperature, currents, and history of the ocean. I learned about how there are people who set up underwater observatories to view the ocean for extended periods of time. I liked that we got to create our own observatory. I got to understand how much preparation goes into an operation like that. I also learned about different types of sand in this class. We examined sand under the microscopes and noticed unique colors, shapes, and sizes to each of them. I now know that you can identify where sand has been by its appearance. Another thing we studied was salinity. I know that salinity affects the way things float because we did a lab on it using hydrometers. I also know that the salinity of oceans affects the temperature. The temperature then can affect the weather. Warmer water temperatures promote wild weather like hurricanes. We also learned about ocean currents in this course. The thing that I remember most is the video we watched one day about plastic waste. The video showed how waste can travel thousands of miles across the ocean and land on other coasts. It is amazing how powerful and huge some currents are. Lastly, we all researched and and learned about the history of the ocean. I liked listening to peoples presentations on sailors who traveled the ocean finding new land and discovering parts of the ocean people never knew about. Overall, I really enjoyed taking Oceanography and I think I got a lot out of it.