Protecting Ocean Hotspots Lesson 3 Presentation Content
Lesson 3: Protecting Ocean Hotspots Lesson 3 Presentation Content
Engage – Imagining the Seafloor
Explore – Identifying Seafloor Features
Explain – Upwelling and Phytoplankton
Elaborate – Marine Sanctuaries
Evaluate – Seafloor Features and Upwelling Engage
Imagining the Seafloor The ocean looks similar everywhere …
because we can’t see through the water But the seafloor is full of features
Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean Explore
Identifying Seafloor Features Measuring the Seafloor
Aleutian Japan trench trench
Mariana trench
Trenches are very deep areas of the ocean. The Mariana trench is the deepest known trench, with a depth of 10,910 m Exploring the Seafloor ROV – Remotely Operated Vehicle Alaskan shelf
Continental shelves are shallow (0 – 200 m deep) areas on the edges of continents and islands
Gulf of Alaska Bering Sea slope slope
Continental slopes are the steep “drop offs” between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. The water depth ranges from 200 and 2,000 m
Continental Slope Abyssal plain
The abyssal plain is the deep (2,000 m and deeper) and relatively flat seafloor making up most of the world’s oceans
Cordell Bank
Cortes – Tanner Bank
Banks are undersea hills, sitting on the continental shelf. They often reach very close to the surface
Cordell Bank
Image USGS Emperor Seamount Chain
Seamounts are volcanic mountains rising over 1,000 m above the seafloor, but always remaining under the waves. Sometimes they reach to 100 m from the surface
Volcanic Underwater Seamount Shaded Contour Map of the North Pacific Seafloor
• Grey shading indicates seafloor depth (m)
The stars and labels mark the three study sites, where albatross were tagged with transmitters. Albatross Nesting Colony Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary Tern Island, National Wildlife Refuge Black-footed Albatross, kaʻupu, at Sea
Tagging Albatross over Cordell Bank One albatross tagged over Cordell Bank, off California (see close-up) • Black circles indicate where a bird was located at noon. Arrows show their path.
• Look at the map legend to find out what ocean depths this albatross flew over. Explain
Upwelling and Phytoplankton Microbes - microscopic organisms made up of a single cell (unicellular) or a cell cluster
Diatoms Cyanobacteria Microbes Are the Most Abundant Organisms in the Ocean and form the Base of the Marine Food Webs •These diatoms and other phytoplankton are tiny plant-like organisms.
• They produce sugar by photosynthesis using sunlight, carbon dioxide and nutrients.
The Wind Drives Coastal Upwelling Coastal Upwelling Fertilizes the Ocean Central • Top-down view from a California satellite shows the sea surface temperature off central California.
• Plumes of colder water (blue, 9 C or 42 F) upwell along the coast and mix with the warmer water offshore (red, 16 C or 60 F ). Productive Water Looks Green
Image Credit NASA
Green in the ocean indicates productive regions with abundant chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton. Albatross Food Chain
Image credits: Phytoplankton: NOAA MESA Project, Zooplankton: NOAA/D.Forcucci; NOAA Central Library/Charleston Bump Expedition 2003. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Dr. George Sedberry, South Carolina DNR, Principal Investigator, Fish: NOAA, NEFSC, Squid: NOAA/MBARI 2006, Albatross: NOAA Corps/Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo
Many marine birds and mammals come together to feed in productive areas of the ocean. Elaborate
Marine Sanctuaries Visit them online at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov Designing Marine Sanctuaries Several marine sanctuaries protect seafloor features and the productive waters surrounding them, where many marine animals aggregate and thrive.
Cordell Bank Sanctuaries Can Protect Seafloor Features
This map shows existing sanctuaries off central California and the location of seamounts and banks (pink shading)
Where would you create an Albatross Sanctuary? Map Hand-Outs for Printing The following slides interpret the “Albatross Tracking and Bathymetry Maps” and provide material to stimulate discussion. Commuting from the colony to a seamount Use of the California shelf / slope and a visit to seamounts offshore Foraging along the shelf / slope of the Aleutian Islands Foraging along the shelf / slope of Japan
Use Agreement This presentation was developed for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by Meghan Marrero of Mercy College and Oikonos - Ecosystem Knowledge.
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Lesson 3 Presentation Content
Engage – Imagining the Seafloor Explain – Upwelling and Phytoplankton
1. The ocean surface looks the same everywhere 1. Microbes are microscopic organisms 2. But the seafloor is full of features: Google Maps of 2. Phytoplankton microbes photosynthesize the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean 3. The wind drives coastal upwelling 4. Coastal upwelling fertilizes the ocean Explore – Identifying Seafloor Features 5. Productive water looks green 6. Albatross Food Chain 1. Measuring the Seafloor 7. Whales and birds feed in productive areas 2. Google Map of the Pacific Ocean 3. Google Map of Trenches Elaborate – Marine Sanctuaries 4. ROV Submersible 5. Google Map of Continental Shelves 1. Map of existing U.S. Marine Sanctuaries 6. Google Map of Continental Slopes 2. Designing Marine Sanctuaries 7. 3D graphic of Continental Slope 3. Sanctuaries Can protect Seafloor Features 8. Google Map of Abyssal Plains 4. Where Would You Create an Albatross Sanctuary? 9. Google Map of Banks 5. Information for Map Discussions 10. 3D graphic of Cordell Bank 6. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll Loop 11. Google Map of Seamounts 7. Map of Albatross Track: Cordell Bank Loop 12. 3D graphic of a volcanic seamount 8. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Alaska 13. B&W Contour Map of Pacific Ocean Bathymetry 9. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Japan 14. Albatross Nesting Colony 15. Photos of Kure Atoll and Tern Island where birds were tagged 16. Albatross At-Sea 17. Photos of Tagging over Cordell Bank 18. Handout Example: Cordell Bank Loop