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
Japan
trench
Aleutian
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
California
• Top-down view from a
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.
Teachers, educators, researchers and students may incorporate these materials into their lesson plans, presentations,
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www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/wa.html
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Lesson 3 Presentation Content
Engage – Imagining the Seafloor
Explain – Upwelling and Phytoplankton
1. The ocean surface looks the same everywhere
2. But the seafloor is full of features: Google Maps of
the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Explore – Identifying Seafloor Features
1. Measuring the Seafloor
2. Google Map of the Pacific Ocean
3. Google Map of Trenches
4. ROV Submersible
5. Google Map of Continental Shelves
6. Google Map of Continental Slopes
7. 3D graphic of Continental Slope
8. Google Map of Abyssal Plains
9. Google Map of Banks
10. 3D graphic of Cordell Bank
11. Google Map of Seamounts
12. 3D graphic of a volcanic seamount
13. B&W Contour Map of Pacific Ocean Bathymetry
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
Microbes are microscopic organisms
Phytoplankton microbes photosynthesize
The wind drives coastal upwelling
Coastal upwelling fertilizes the ocean
Productive water looks green
Albatross Food Chain
Whales and birds feed in productive areas
Elaborate – Marine Sanctuaries
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Map of existing U.S. Marine Sanctuaries
Designing Marine Sanctuaries
Sanctuaries Can protect Seafloor Features
Where Would You Create an Albatross Sanctuary?
Information for Map Discussions
Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll Loop
Map of Albatross Track: Cordell Bank Loop
Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Alaska
Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Japan