Marine Science

Archive for September, 2011

Marine science, or otherwise known as marine biology, is a field of science that is concentrated on the different features of the sea and as well as other bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. This includes the discovery of underwater life forms and studying them in order to gather more facts for human knowledge. But what exactly is the scope of marine science in terms of its study and what are the elements under this kind of course or field?

Marine science is also called as oceanography. Oceanography is considered as one of the most important branches of the Earth Science. This particular branch deals with the study of oceans and as well as the life forms and things that can be seen in it. In addition to this, marine science is also divided into subgroups namely marine chemistry, marine biology, marine biogeography, marine geosciences and a lot more. A study of marine science usually includes all the aspects included in the marine environment such as the aspects of geology, chemistry, physics, geography and meteorology. This allows deeper understanding of the properties and as well as the processes that can be observed within the ocean environment. This likewise covers other range of topics such the ecosystem dynamics and the different marine organisms. This also includes the current and waves of the ocean, plate tectonics and geology of the ocean floor and as well as the geophysical fluid dynamics. Aside from this, marine science also opens the door for oceanographers to measure the impact of humans to the marine life and further enhance the use of the marine reserves or resources. This field is also very critical in Ocean Engineering since it paves the way for the safe use of the oceans. In addition, the data or facts retrieved by the oceanographers are the ones used in marine engineering in order to make it possible to create designs of infrastructures or buildings that are built in the middle of the ocean such as harbors, oil platforms and observatory decks.

A sub-branch of marine science, just like what is stated above, includes biological oceanography. Biological oceanography or marine biology deals specifically with the plants, microbes and animal life living in the ocean and as well as their ecological interaction with other life forms and the ocean itself. Marine chemistry, on the other hand is more on the chemical interaction of the ocean’s chemistry with the atmosphere. This is otherwise known as chemical oceanography. Marine geology is another sub branch of marine science that includes the geology of the ocean floor that includes plate tectonics and the paleaoceanography. On the other hand, marine physics studies the different physical characteristics of the ocean, which covers the ocean temperature and salinity structure, waves, surface tides, currents, and the internal tides and waves. These are some of the main branches of marine science. This only shows that oceanographers are trained first of the basics in science and mathematics before dwelling deeper into the course of oceanography.

These are a few of the main facts about the field of marine science. Nowadays, many schools or colleges offer this kind of course in order to train individuals to become experts about marine science or biology. The study of marine or ocean life is also very vital in connection to the changes in the global climate and as well as the potential occurrence of global warming. The atmosphere and the seas are recognized to be related to each other since both are included in the precipitation-evaporation cycle. Aside from this, the current of the ocean is also greatly affected by the stress of wind and the seas are also considered the receptacle of carbon dioxide coming from the atmosphere. This simply shows how vast the topics are covered by marine science, making it(marine science) a major field to be further analyzed and dissected.