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How do ocean currents work? - Jennifer Verduin

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Rising Ocean Temperatures are "Cooking" Coral Reefs | National Geographic

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Watch the full film here:

https://bluethefilm.org/watch

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Blue is a powerful film about our oceans. It charts the challenges we face and the opportunities for positive change. Filmed in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the South Pacific and the United States, this stunning cinematic documentary comes at a time when we are making critical decisions that will decide the legacy we leave for generations to come.

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NASA | The Ocean: A Driving Force for Weather and Climate

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NASA | Earth Science Week: Climate Change & The Global Ocean

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Why Does the Chemistry of the Ocean Matter?

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Why Does the Chemistry of the Ocean Matter?

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Underwater farms vs. climate change - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Megan Davis

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This Sea Creature Breathes through its Butt

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This Sea Creature Breathes through its Butt

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Ted-ed | 2020

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What's the purpose of an animal as sludge-like as the sea cucumber? You might be surprised: these echinoderms are capable of incredible bodily feats and make extraordinary contributions to their marine environments. From evisceration to anal teeth, Cella Wright explores the wonderful and weird world of sea cucumbers.

To learn more about sea cucumber biology, poop, and ecological value, you can visit this National Geographic page, which includes a video of a sea cucumber excreting its sandy waste.

Sea cucumbers are able to quickly regenerate their tissues after evisceration. This has fascinated scientists for some time. You can read more here to learn about what genes may be responsible for this feat.

Sea cucumbers also have great cultural importance, especially in the culinary realm. In China alone, sea cucumbers have been eaten for some 1,800 years. Back in the 1600s, politician and poet Wu Weiye wrote that, although no one was certain whether they were worms, or fish, or even plants, sea cucumbers could be eaten to promote health. (Indeed, they're a nutritious protein - you can read more about that here.)

Today, Chinese sea cucumber divers risk their lives in order to meet a seemingly insatiable market demand. Over-exploitation of sea cucumbers has become a huge problem across the globe. You can read more here to learn about how sea cukes are harvested in the wild, the role of aquaculture, and the conservation efforts being made.

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This sea creature breathes through its butt - Cella Wright

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Is it a fuzzy sock? An overripe banana? A moldy tube of toothpaste? No! In fact, it's a humble sea cucumber: a brainless, fleshy form surrounding a digestive tract, and bookended by a mouth and an anus. And while it might look odd, its daily toil paves the way for entire ecosystems to thrive.

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Why is the ocean important for life on Earth?

The ocean is important because it is a very large part of our planet. In fact, it covers 70% of Earth's surface. The ocean is a home and food source for countless fish, mammals, plants, birds, and more.

The ocean plays an important role in whatever happens in our environment on Earth. Even if you live on land - like humans do - you wouldn't survive without the ocean!

One example: without the ocean, Earth would be much hotter than it is right now. That's because the ocean absorbs heat from the Sun and spreads it more evenly around our planet.

How does the ocean soak up heat from the Sun?

Water is excellent at storing heat. Water has a high heat capacity-it absorbs a lot of heat before it begins to get hot. Air, on the other hand, is not so great at storing heat.

Earth's climate is warming due to human activities. As Earth experiences a warming climate, we experience hotter air temperatures. The ocean does an excellent job of absorbing the extra heat from the atmosphere, delaying the full impact of global warming.

The top few meters of the ocean store as much heat as Earth's entire atmosphere. So, as the planet warms, it's the ocean that gets most of the extra energy. More than 90% of the global warming is going into the ocean.

But if the ocean gets too warm, then the plants and animals that live there can get sick or even die.

How are coral reefs affected by climate change?

Coral reefs are created by living creatures. Warming oceans caused by climate change are putting coral reefs in danger. Coral reefs are made by very fragile colonies of organisms that build skeletons around themselves.

Coral lives together with a certain kind of colorful algae. The algae make food using sunlight ¬- a process called photosynthesis. The algae share the food with the coral, and in turn, the coral gives the algae a safe and comfortable place to live.

The two of them get along fine, living in clean, clear, shallow waters where the Sun shines through brightly. Fish and other sea creatures love coral too, because there are lots of nooks and crannies for them to hide in.

But the algae cannot carry out photosynthesis in water that is too warm. The algae either die, or the coral spits it out. It's bad for the algae, the coral and the fish, because the coral lose their food sources and become weak and can die. This event is called coral bleaching, and it is a very serious problem in many ocean ecosystems around the world.

Read about what it's like to be an ocean scientist studying coral reefs.

How does the ocean soak up CO₂?

Fish and other animals in the ocean breathe oxygen and give off carbon dioxide (CO ₂), just like land animals. Ocean plants take in the carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, just like land plants. The ocean is great at absorbing CO ₂ from the air.

However, a lot of CO ₂ comes from human activities, too. For example, exhaust from cars, planes, and factories put extra carbon dioxide into our air. Too much carbon dioxide in the air is a problem, as it causes the Earth to trap more heat. The ocean absorbs about one-quarter of the CO ₂ that humans create when we burn fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas).

Too much carbon dioxide in the ocean causes a problem called ocean acidification. You can read this article to learn all about ocean acidification and its effects.

How does the ocean affect the climate?

The ocean absorbs heat from the Sun and ocean currents move that warm water all around the planet. Ocean currents are like highways that carry water around the world. Heat (along with salt) is a major source of power for ocean currents.

Cold water near the North and South Poles sinks deeper into the ocean. Water near the equator is warmed by the Sun. Then, the warm surface water moves closer to the poles where it cools and sinks.

As Earth's climate warms, the water also warms melting sea ice. This warming could make the water less cold and less likely to sink. Without sinking cold water, the ocean currents could slow down or stop in some places. This could change the climate in places like Europe that have milder climates thanks to the warm currents in the oceans around them.

Does the salt in the ocean do anything?

The amount of salt in the ocean also affects currents. Saltier water is heavier than less salty water. When salty ocean water freezes, the ice can no longer hold on to the salt. Instead, the salt mixes with the water below making it saltier and heavier. Glaciers, land ice and icebergs are made of fresh water, so what happens when this ice melts? Good question!

The water in the North Atlantic sinks because it's cold, but also because it's salty. Being both cold and salty makes it really dense and heavy, so it can sink very far. But if too much ice melts in the North Atlantic, the water could become less salty and affect ocean currents. NASA satellites are keeping a close eye on the melting ice, the ocean currents, and ocean life to better understand this complicated system.

Play Go With the Flow to use temperature, salinity, and ocean currents to find treasure!

How does climate change impact sea level?

As Earth warms, NASA has observed that sea levels are rising. Water expands as it gets warmer. So, warm water takes up more room in our oceans, and this leads to higher sea levels. Another reason that oceans are rising is due to melting ice on land. Glaciers and ice sheets are large masses of ice that sit on the land. As our planet warms, this ice melts and flows into the oceans. More water in the oceans makes sea level higher.

NASA satellites are constantly measuring sea level around the globe. Learn more about how we measure sea level with satellites.

Related NASA Missions

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How Does Climate Change Affect the Ocean?

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Additional heat and carbon dioxide in the ocean can change the environment for the many plants and animals that live there.

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NASA

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Ocean acidification is a change in the properties of ocean water that can be harmful for plants and animals.

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Ecochallenge

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See the Oceans challenge in the Earth Day Ecochallenge Event

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Life started in the ocean, and 97% of the planet's water is in oceans. Even though oceans cover 71% of the planet, 95% of the oceans have yet to be explored by humans. Oceans regulate our climate, produce half of the oxygen we breathe, create important ecosystem habitats for marine life, and provide food and sustainable livelihoods for millions of humans.