OCS 1005 Chapter : Introduction To Oceanography
15 Mar 2019
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Document Summary
The four major fields of oceanography are: 1. Physical: involves the study of currents and tides: 2. Geological: involves plate tectonics and the layers of sediment at the ocean floor: 3. Chemical: involves water chemistry, nutrients and how organisms use them: 4. What do oceanographers do: collect data and samples at sea. Create models to simulate physical and biological processes. Work at sea can range from deploying small instruments to measure salinity and temperature to deploying large trull nets to capture fish. Or installing a buoy to measure wind speeds and height. Of the total amount of water on the planet, 97% of it is salt water in the worlds" oceans. Almost 69% of all freshwater is in glaciers. 1% is in permafrost, the icy layer of soil in the arctic. Surface water only accounts for . 4% of the freshwater. The average depth of the ocean is 3800 m (12,465 ft. )
