Ocean science news, explainers, and statistics covering marine environments, currents, climate, coasts, seafloor research, and the changing global ocean.
An ocean thermocline is a layer where temperature falls rapidly with increasing depth. It lies between warmer, wind-mixed surface water and the colder water below. Rather than marking a fixed depth everywhere, the thermocline shifts with latitude, season, weather and ocean circulation. The temperature change affects water density, vertical mixing, nutrient supply, oxygen distribution and…
More
Hawaii’s marine food web begins with microscopic phytoplankton in the water and algae growing on the seafloor. Herbivorous fish and invertebrates consume this primary production. Predatory fish, seabirds, turtles and sharks connect the higher levels, while microbes and detritivores return nutrients from waste and dead organisms. The web changes between shallow reefs and deeper mesophotic…
A map of the United States and surrounding oceans must include more than the Atlantic and Pacific. The contiguous states face the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west. The Gulf coast borders the Gulf of Mexico, while Alaska reaches the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions. Hawaii lies in the central…
Biotic factors in the ocean are its living organisms and the relationships among them. They include microscopic phytoplankton, bacteria, kelp, corals, fish and whales. They also include predation, competition, decomposition and symbiosis, because those interactions alter which organisms survive and how energy moves through a marine community. Biotic factors differ from temperature, light, salinity, pressure…
