Ocean and coasts

While there is only one global ocean, the vast body of water that covers 71% of Earth is geographically divided into distinct regions. The United States recognizes five named ocean basins: Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern.

The ocean and large inland lakes play an integral role in many of the Earth's systems, including climate and weather. More than 50% of all species on Earth are found under the ocean and the ocean helps sustain human life above the water by providing 20% of the animal protein and 5% of the total protein in the human diet. In the United States alone, there are over 95,000 miles of shoreline. More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast in the narrow area of land known as the "coastal zone."

Showing 7 of 7 Education Resource Collections
A pteropod shell is shown dissolving over time in seawater with a lower pH. The image reads: Ocean acidification. How will changes in ocean chemistry affect marine life? CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere [into the ocean]. The chemical equation for carbon dioxide mixing with seawater shows how carbonate ions impedes calcification in pteropods.
Ocean acidification

In the 200-plus years since the industrial revolution began, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased due to human actions. During this time, the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units. This might not sound like much, but the pH scale is logarithmic, so this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity.

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Education
Topics:
ocean acidification
education
A pteropod shell is shown dissolving over time in seawater with a lower pH. The image reads: Ocean acidification. How will changes in ocean chemistry affect marine life? CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere [into the ocean]. The chemical equation for carbon dioxide mixing with seawater shows how carbonate ions impedes calcification in pteropods.
A map showing sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic Ocean. Warmer and cooler waters are shown in contrasting colors and all water south of the Gulf Stream current is much warmer than the water north of it.
Ocean currents

Ocean water is on the move, affecting your climate, your local ecosystem, and the seafood that you eat. Ocean currents, abiotic features of the environment, are continuous and directed movements of ocean water. These currents are on the ocean’s surface and in its depths, flowing both locally and globally.

Focus areas:
Education
Topics:
ocean
education
tides and currents
A map showing sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic Ocean. Warmer and cooler waters are shown in contrasting colors and all water south of the Gulf Stream current is much warmer than the water north of it.
A map of the ocean floor in the North Atlantic showing major ocean floor features including the North American and African continental shelves, Bermuda, the Puerto Rico Trench, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Ocean floor features

Want to climb the tallest mountain on Earth from its base to its peak? First you will need to get into a deep ocean submersible and dive almost 4 miles under the surface of the Pacific Ocean to the sea floor. 

Focus areas:
Education
Topics:
education
ocean
A map of the ocean floor in the North Atlantic showing major ocean floor features including the North American and African continental shelves, Bermuda, the Puerto Rico Trench, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
A beach that is almost completely covered in trash and debris.
Ocean pollution and marine debris

Each year, billions of pounds of trash and other pollutants enter the ocean. Where does this pollution come from? Where does it go? Some of the debris ends up on our beaches, washed in with the waves and tides. Some debris sinks, some is eaten by marine animals that mistake it for food, and some accumulates in ocean gyres. Other forms of pollution that impact the health of the ocean come from sources like oil spills or from accumulation of many dispersed sources, such as fertilizer from our yards.

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Education
Topics:
education
marine debris
ocean
A beach that is almost completely covered in trash and debris.
A sea turtle covered in oil.
Oil spills

Oil is an ancient fossil fuel that we use to heat our homes, generate electricity, and power large sectors of our economy. But when oil accidentally spills into the ocean, it can cause big problems. Oil spills can harm sea creatures, ruin a day at the beach, and make seafood unsafe to eat. It takes sound science to clean up the oil, measure the impacts of pollution, and help the ocean recover.

Focus areas:
Education
Topics:
oil spills
education
A sea turtle covered in oil.
A graphic showing the frequency of tides and the tidal bulge of water due to the moon's gravitational pull. As the moon's position changes, the two tidal bulges rotate around the Earth. These bulges represent high tides, while the corresponding flatter sides indicate low tides..
Tides

Knowledge of the times, heights, and the flow of tides is of importance in a wide range of situations such as navigation through coastal waterways; construction of bridges, docks, breakwaters, and deep-water channels; and for fishing, boating, surfing, and water sports.

Focus areas:
Education
Topics:
ocean
education
tides and currents
A graphic showing the frequency of tides and the tidal bulge of water due to the moon's gravitational pull. As the moon's position changes, the two tidal bulges rotate around the Earth. These bulges represent high tides, while the corresponding flatter sides indicate low tides..
A map of the Earth visualizing the expected tsunami wave heights from the March 2011 Honshu, Japan earthquake. The highest tsunamis are in the area immediately surrounding the earthquake, but tsunamis reached all the way across the Pacific Ocean to the North and South American coast.
Tsunamis

Tsunamis are just long waves — really long waves. But what is a wave? Sound waves, radio waves, even “the wave” in a stadium all have something in common with the waves that move across oceans. It takes an external force to start a wave, like dropping a rock into a pond or waves blowing across the sea. In the case of tsunamis, the forces involved are large — and their effects can be correspondingly massive.

Focus areas:
Education
Topics:
tsunamis
education
A map of the Earth visualizing the expected tsunami wave heights from the March 2011 Honshu, Japan earthquake. The highest tsunamis are in the area immediately surrounding the earthquake, but tsunamis reached all the way across the Pacific Ocean to the North and South American coast.