In this 3-4 day investigation, students explore how seafloor topography steers ocean flows and blocks deep water mixing. They create a seafloor model, test colored saline water, and reinforce learning through discussion, writing, and an animated video.
Students explore tides through discussion, a NOAA tutorial, and group activities to understand their causes, predictability, and connection to waves and currents.
Changing Landscape asks students to analyze “repeat photographs” (taken from the same vantage point at different times) of Alaska glaciers to observe the effects of retreating glaciers on the landscape.
Students conduct hands-on experiments to understand thermohaline circulation, learning how temperature and salinity affect density. They design their own experiments to simulate ocean mixing, building on introductory activities that define density.
In this 5-7 day investigation, students explore sea exploration vehicles, study deep-sea canyons in the Bering Sea, and create a mural of one canyon, simulating life sampling to understand its ecosystem.