STANDARD - UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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Coral Cores: Ocean Timeline - NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries 
Lesson PlanSummary
Using x-ray images of actual coral cores taken from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, students learn how corals generate calcium carbonate skeletons in layers and what those layers can tell us. Students also relate sections of these cores to the history of ocean exploration.
Less than 5% of the ocean has been explored; however, the ocean is a great resource, so in order to better understand the ocean we need to employ inquiry and investigation. Emphasis is placed on history of ocean exploration and on changing technology.
Education Standards
45 minsExploring Ocean Observing Systems - COSEE Coastal Trends
Lesson PlanSummary
Students explore web-based data collected by ocean observing systems as an introduction to the parameters these systems measure.
New technologies are expanding our ability to explore the ocean.
Education Standards
Designing Tools for Ocean Exploration - NOAA Ocean Exploration
Summary
Students design instruments that could potentially collect water, sediments, and infauna from the deep ocean, demonstrating the concept that new technologies allow us to learn more about the ocean.
New technologies are expanding our ability to explore the ocean.
Education Standards
Case Study: Upwelling - Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Summary
Students correlate sardine populations changes with upwelling events using mathematical model output and wind and water circulation data from the Monterey Bay.
Mathematical models are an essential tool for understanding ocean sciences.
Education Standards
Where is My Bot? Dead Reckoning and Navigation with Nautical Charts - NOAA Ocean Explorer
Summary
Students interpret authentic data to establish the position of an underwater robot conducting a survey of coral reefs off the coast of Bonaire. The activity demonstrates how technology (GPS), mathematics (geometry), and geography are all used to investigate a biological system (coral reefs).
The Biggest Plates on Earth - NOAA Ocean Explorer
Summary
Students use maps of the Pacific Basin to determine tectonic plate movement and differentiate the three types of boundaries that typically occur between tectonic plates.
Ocean and land movement has shaped the geologic features of the earth.
Education Standards
Top to Bottom - NOAA Ocean Explorer
Summary
Students explore the possible impacts on deep sea ecosystems associated with changes in thermohaline circulation resulting from climate change.
Ocean processes have major effects on global climate change; global climate change could have major impacts on the ocean.
Education Standards
Where have all the glaciers gone? - NOAA Ocean Explorer
Summary
Students investigate how changes in climate are affecting sea-ice, vegetation, and glaciers in the arctic, region. Students explore the “positive” and “negative” results of these changes.
Ocean processes have major effects on global climate change; global climate change could have major impacts on the ocean.
Education Standards
Photosynthesis and Respiration in Seagrass - COSEE Coastal Trends
Summary
Students conduct a hands-on experiment that illustrates how different levels of light affect photosynthesis and respiration in seagrass. Note: instructor may need to be creative with timing of the experiment to allow for an adequate incubation period.
Photosynthesis by marine plants produces much of the oxygen in the atmosphere and uses much of the carbon dioxide.
Education Standards
Plant Pigments in Oceanography - Classroom BATS (Bermuda Atlantic Time Series)
Summary
Students first learn how oceanographers study chlorophyll in the water to determine global plankton distribution, then conduct a hands-on activity to extract chlorophyll from a plant. Students also examine time series data to explore the seasonal and spatial distribution of plankton in the ocean.
Primary productivity is distributed throughout the world according to several factors
Education Standards
